May Frances Aufderheide- "The Thriller Rag" 1909

This light and energetic rag was one of Aufderheide's most notable rags, and said to be her most famous composition, and it is easy to see how the stylistic elements of the piece made it so. A lot can be credited to the thick texture, created by a lot of strength and difference between the treble and bass notes. Additionally, the constantly fast tempo, which spikes and drawls at certain times, only adds to the intensity of the song and technical skill of the performer. The song is played loudly with emphasis on the bass clef octaves and chords. However, the song tends to return to a medium level volume when it is not at an area of crescendo. The tempo is very lively, and as a listener I could imagine the performer's hands jumping off the keys to reach the next chord. Another image that entered while I was listening, was that of a large group of people dancing quickly and vivaciously to the duple meter. Aufderheide, despite training in various types of music style, used her passion for the style to create a composition with an upbeat theme and fitting "ragged" sound.

Aufderheide was the daughter of a wealthy German pawnbroker who encouraged and fostered his daughters talent as a pianist and composer. Aufderheide was known to be a fan of the rag style, and so it makes sense that a large number of her compositions were rags. Her fame and acknowledgment resulted not only from her talent, but also from her fathers desire to spread her music. He formed his own publishing company exclusively for her works. Thanks to a financially and emotionally supportive family, Aufderheide was able to compose many pieces and exceed her great potential.

Amy Beach, "Scherzo" Published in 1900.

Amy Beach's composition, "Scherzo" stays very true to its name. Scherzo in Italian means joke, and it is clear through the light notes, uncontrollable volume, and overall style that this song embodies laughter and fun. The song includes a "lively, indeed overwhelming piano accompaniment"( Briscoe 119) along with a large string section-Violins and cellos, and some unidentifiable wind instruments. With all of these different instruments, the song takes on a very polyphonic texture. In keeping form with what the song stands for--levity-- Beach has the instruments play many of the notes as staccatos. The song also flows from overwhelming to simple with the deduction then introduction of instruments in changing passages. Additionally the many crescendos and wide range add to the lightness of the song. The meter of the song, while the song does change from fast to slow many times, consistently carries a duple beat.

I loved the complexity of this song, and the almost joking attitude that the notes played on the audience. The trills at the end, and the chords played as staccatos almost seem to physically wink at the listeners.

Hildegard von Bingen, Clara Schumann Youtube video review

MUS 119 Women in Music

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

Video 1: Benedictus es Domine Hildegard von Bingen

This video consists of a solo soprano female voice singing “Benedictus es Domine.” The song is performed in a church since the listener can clearly hear the echoing and reverberations that the music makes of the high ceiling. The song is around four minutes in length and during the duration of the video a series of photos are displayed. The video begins and ends with a picture of a woman, who I can only assume is the singer of this recording. Throughout the middle section, a range of photos, paintings and stained glass depictions are used to describe Bingen’s life and work. The photos of her consist of a simple woman dressed in nun clothing, typically holding either an instrument or paper. The rest of the images are of large churches and many church embellishments. This illustrates Bingen’s relationship with the church, and the direct influence that God had in her compositions. This visual representation provides a face to Bingen, and a place where her music was typically created and performed. One can envision Bingen’s choir singing in unison under the large arches of Europe’s Benedictine chapels. The images help create a context in which the listener can better understand how unique Bingen’s music was to the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9261SIYOBRS

Video 2: Hildegard of Bingen

This video is a narration of the life and recent rise to popularity that constituted Hildegard von Bingen. The video begins showing a picture of Hildegard von Bingen playing some sort of harp to another person in a church courtyard. The image then is placed to the side and while her life is briefly described an odd image appears. While the narrator is detailing how Bingen was the only known female figure of the time, and had other successes in her publication of scientific findings, the creator of the video places and image of a nun crouched to the ground with a man standing over her. The video’s verbal cues and visual depictions completely contrasted one another. While one highlighted her specialties, the other subjected her to the gender inequalities she faced centuries ago.

Length: 1:50

www.youtube.com/watchv=ntakmv2PMcY

Video 3: Hildegard von Bingen-*- O Ecclesia

The video combined Bingen’s song, “O Ecclesia” with an image of a women sitting on a large chair, with a stream of light shinning directly on her face. The picture included what appeared to be the universe in her lap and people kneeling at her feet praying. The image directly transfers to the biographies of Hildegard von Bingen. It enforced the idea that she received musical inspiration through God, and that she was the center of female music. The song is stylistically similar to all of Bingen’s chants in that it is melismatic has a wide range, and a low volume. What made this version different was the introduction of an instrument. Although I could not identify what kind of instrument it was, it provided a humming sound in the background of the soprano choir.

Length: 6:04

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvoB4uN1Qs

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Video 1: Clara Schumann-Der Wanderer

This video has deep connections with the composer. Pianist Lauretta Bloomer is playing “Der Wanderer” on the composer’s old piano, while Elisabeth Goell sings the soprano lyrics. The images accompanying the video are of a large river, which I assume is from her home in Europe. The images and video clips show glistening water, trees and various nature clips, along with images of religious crosses. The video attempts to illustrate a sense of where Schumann is from, and what her surroundings were when she was composing and what some of her inspirations could have been.

Length: 1:21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8lZQWSSQQ8&feature=related

Video 2: Daria van den Bercken plays the Clara Schumann Concerto

What was great to watch in this video was the presence and power of women in the performance. The conductor JoAnn Falletta and pianist Daria vanden Bercken were the center of attention in this version of one of Clara Schumann’s concertos. The song was strong and embellished with long scales and arpeggios. The song was performed on January 19^th 2007 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The large scale of the performance highlights Schumann’s popularity both during the 17^th century and now in the 21 century.

Length: 2:48

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5mkYofWbXc

Video 3: “Träumerei” by Robert Schumann (K. Hepburn ‘Song of Love’)

This movie clip from the 1947 movie “Song of Love” has Clara Schumann, played by Katherine Hepburn, performing her husband’s composition, “Träumerei” in front of a large audience, and most notably, royalty. She is playing a slow, graceful love song, and at one point has the Kings son captivated by the tranquility of the song. Although Clara is not to be performing one of her own compositions, the honor of such a crowd still demonstrates her popularity and promise. At the end of the scene when she stops playing, and the crowd claps vivaciously, the film’s audience knows that Clara has become an accepted pianist of her age. The clip comes from a Hollywood depiction of what the 1800’s demanded. The concert hall has detailed decorating, and the clothing is of high quality. These two observations illustrate that the occasion is very special, and that as a woman, Clara has a rare opportunity to show off her abilities. This video agrees with Clara’s life, her partnership with her husband, and the great occasions she had to perform, and influence women in music.

Length:2:05

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhmIhDsazyY

"Variations on a Theme" by Robert Schumann; Clara Schumann 1853

Already by listening to the works of Hildegarde von Bingen, Barbara Strozzi and Clara Schumann one can clearly see how music changed and transgressed. The tones, instruments and style are complete stylistic opposites. In "Variations on a Theme," Schumann uses a single piano as her instrumental medium. She also divides the song into multiple sections that each typically last a minute. I noticed that for the first three sections there was a growing intensity in each section. This feeling of intensity was created by using a wider range and volume than the preceding section. The style of each section also changed. With the first, it is mainly played in chords and with a slow and smooth texture. Yet with the next section, more arpeggios and scales are introduced. This continues until we come to the third section where Schumann has the pianist covering the piano with two independent sounding treble and bass clefs. This flow of going from soft and demure to loud and bold sounds continue throughout the piece and set up a tidal feeling to the song, as if the music is the subsiding and rising tide.

Clara Schumann was a provocative woman for the time. Author's Jane Bowers and Judith Tick wrote, "Clara Schumann was unique among the women of her time. She thought of herself as an artist first and as a woman and mother second." (Women Making Music 257) While Schumann composed her own masterpieces it is a fact that her father was the central reason for how she became the great musician that she was. He devoted extensive training and money into her career- taking her traveling, buying her gifts and supporting her years of training and performing. Yet even with the male influence, Schumann gave women's music a face and empowered all women to break societal normality's by living her own life and performing whilst very pregnant. The way she composed her music and her life lead to her musical success then and now.

"Hor Che Apollo" by Barbara Strozzi

"Hor Che Apollo" by Barbara Strozzi 1664

In "Hor Che Apollo" Strozzi utilizes multiple instruments; the harpsichord, two violins, a cello, and a Soprano female opera singer. The song, in its length, takes on multiple sections. Each part alternates between instrumental playing only, and the singer with harpsichord accompaniment. The instrumental sections are played at an increased tempo than those of the singing sections. The lyrics seem to have a common chorus within each singing section. After around 7:30 of the song, the singing changes by including 15 second bursts of rapid singing. While this adds some novelty to the song, the range of the vocals continue to be very broad, the volume more on the subtle and quiet side, and to be mainly syllabic. Another observation I made about "Hor Che Apollo" was that with the ending of every instrumental section, the last chord was played in ascending intervals, which really slowed down the song and signified that the phrase had ended.

While doing my research about Strozzi I learned that while, "Singing was a fairly common activity for a woman during this period, composition, certainly published composition, was not." (New Historical Anthology of Music by Women) Additionally, author James Briscoe cited that Strozzi's fame and ability to be such a strong female composer was "clearly thanks to her father." (New Historical anthology of Music by Women) By learning this it brought a new element to the song. At the time of composition, a woman still needed a man to support her in order to have her music accepted and recorded.

Hildegard von Bingen, "O Rubor Sanguinis"

Hannah Rapp, 09/07/2009, MUS 119 Women in Music

"O Rubor Sanguinis" by Hildegard von Bingen C.1170

The instruments entirely used in this piece are the multiple voices of women. It is hard to hear the multiple vocals because the women sing in such strong unison that the song gives off the allusion of a single voice. Yet when it comes to the ending of a phrase, the echoing of the song reveals multiple voices.

This piece was memorable to me due to a few features. Firstly the strength, power and control behind the women's voices. Their angelic tone and ability to produce such a range in their voices while never blending notes demonstrates real talent. Additionally the singers of the a Capella choir sing with a wide in volume. The pieces slow tempo allows for the singers to gently build intensity in their volume without it sounding harsh or angry. While it is the recording of the singers that the listeners are focused upon, one must remember that Hildegard von Bingen was the actual voice behind the song, since it is her composition that created the graceful and proudly alternative sound of music within medieval Christian religious chants.

As said in James Briscoe's compilation, New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, Bingen's "compositions do not conform to the linguistic and musical designs of her time." Such an example of her contrasting style is her use of multiple notes for each syllable. This willingness to be the frontier in developing new musical style illustrates how women have been changing music for centuries.

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