# Female Composers ?



## malc (Apr 19, 2018)

In my band we are doing a full prog of music by female composers.This is laudable , but does average stuff have to be included ?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

What is average, and who makes those decision?


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2018)

Yes, I don't understand what 'average' in when used to describe music...................


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## malc (Apr 19, 2018)

There was no reflection on the music we will be doing , as i dont know what it is yet. My point is that can a piece of music be ascribed a gender [written by a man ?] , or would a female composer see herself as a writer first , regardless of gender?


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

malc said:


> There was no reflection on the music we will be doing , as i dont know what it is yet. My point is that can a piece of music be ascribed a gender [written by a man ?] , or would a female composer see herself as a writer first , regardless of gender?


Well, of course she would! If anyone asked her occupation she wouldn't say "I'm a female composer".
Btw, good for you for saying 'female', so many people including radio announcers refer to 'women' composers! Very annoying.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

This thread is worth investigating:

Female Composers

Despite the plethora of more modern examples highlighted there, for obvious reasons, there are plenty of older composers to try and hear too.

I cannot find any examples where having or lacking a Y chromosome actually matters....


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

malc said:


> My point is that can a piece of music be ascribed a gender [written by a man ?] , or would a female composer see herself as a writer first , regardless of gender?


You could _ask_ them. It sounds like you haven't talked to any female composers. I see no connection between what you are trying to do and real people, yet. Sometimes it's necessary to look into matters further, especially when gender issues are involved and such a hot topic.

I hear gender in music frequently, but it's not what one might think. A composer might write something that sounds like an intimate or passionate conversation between a man and woman, for instance, Chopin's _Nocturne No. 13 In C Minor Op. 48 No. 1_, especially the bridge or middle section when the energy becomes more animated. There are two lines and two moods reacting off each other like two people having an intimate conversation. But in most instances, most works, it can be very difficult tell what gender the composer is because a woman can express herself forcefully and a man can express himself with great tenderness and subtlety... If Carl Jung is right (and I believe he is), everyone has a male and female side to their nature regardless of what gender they are or identify with. The Nocturne starts out with a masculine bass line listening to the conversational feminine melodic line and the conversation evolves from there until the bass line becomes more and more passionate and animated but never angry or harsh - there's even a sense of pleading in it as if two people were trying to reach a deeper understanding - my impression of the interaction between male and female energy that I believe Chopin was trying to portray, but the intimate and conversational interaction of the two voice may not be apparent at first, perhaps one of his greatest Nocturnes.

It would be very easy to contact a number of female composers and _ask_ them rather than rely on a third-party answer.


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