Through musical analysis of compositions written between the mid-twelfth to late nineteenth centuries, this volume celebrates the achievements of eight composers, all women: Hildegard of Bingen, Maddalena Casulana, Barbara Strozzi, Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Marianne Martines, Josephine Lang, Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach. Written by outstanding music theorists and musicologists, the essays provide fascinating in-depth critical-analytic explorations of representative compositions, often linking analytical observations with questions of meaning and sociohistorical context. Each essay is introduced by a brief biographical sketch of the composer by the editors.The collection--Volume 1 in an unprecedented four-volume series of analytical studies on music by women composers--is designed to challenge and stimulate a wide range of readers. For academics, these thoughtful analytical essays can open new paths into unexplored research areas in the fields of music theory and musicology. Post-secondary instructors may be inspired by the insights offered in these essays to include new works in music theory and history courses at both graduate and upper-level undergraduate levels, or in courses on women and music. Finally, for soloists, ensembles, conductors, and music broadcasters, these detailed analyses can offer enriched understandings of this repertoire and suggest fresh, new programming possibilities to share with listeners.

AcknowledgmentsAbout the Companion WebsiteChapter 1. Introduction: "Half of Humanity has Something to Say, Also"Laurel Parsons and Brenda RavenscroftPART I: EARLY MUSIC FOR VOICEChapter 2. Hildegard of Bingen, O ierusalem aurea civitas (ca. 1150-70)Varied Repetition in Hildegard's Sequence for St. Rupert: O ierusalem aurea civitasJennifer BainChapter 3. Maddalena Casulana, "Per lei pos' in oblio" from Cinta di fior (1570)Finding the "Air" in Maddalena Casulana's MadrigalsPeter SchubertChapter 4. Barbara Strozzi, Appresso ai molli argenti (1659)Consolation Amid Barbarous Misfortune: Barbara Strozzi's Appresso ai molli argenti and the Mid-Seventeenth-Century LamentRichard Kolb and Barbara SwansonPART II: SEVENTEENTH- AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY KEYBOARD MUSICChapter 5. Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Sarabandes from the Suites in A minor (1687) and D minor (1707)In the Realm of All the Senses: Two Sarabandes by Élisabeth Jacquet de La GuerreSusan McClaryChapter 6. Marianna Martines, Sonata in A major, I (1765)"Zierlichkeit und Genie": Grace and Genius in Marianna Martines's Sonata in A majorL. Poundie BursteinPART III: NINETEENTH-CENTURY LIEDER AND PIANO MUSICChapter 7. Fanny Hensel, "Von dir, mein Lieb, ich scheiden muss" (1841) and "Ich kann wohl manchmal singen" (1846)Fanny Hensel's Schematic Fantasies; Or, The Art of BeginningStephen RodgersChapter 8. Josephine Lang, "An einer Quelle" (1840/1853) and "Am Morgen" (1840)Josephine Lang's Multiple Settings of Poems by Christian Reinhold KöstlinHarald KrebsChapter 9. Clara Schumann, "Liebst du um Schönheit" (1841)Multiply-Interrupted Structure in Clara Schumann's "Liebst du um Schönheit"Michael BakerChapter 10. Amy Beach, "Phantoms," op. 15, no. 2 (1892)Gapped Lines and Ghostly Flowers in Amy Beach's "Phantoms," op. 15, no. 2Edward D. LathamGlossaryBibliographyIndex