Women's Choral Music (sic)
When I embarked on the project of unearthing a body of early American women's choral music in 2012, I was searching for a clear musical identity and lineage for American women's choirs. In pre-Depression era America, women were often given music with subjects equally suitable for children, and as an adult this troubled me. I culled through the repertoire to make a distinction between those two bodies of music. As I have been working with this music and with a variety of treble choirs, I am finding that embracing women's choirs as a category is less liberating than it once was. This category that created a wonderful sense of identity for myself, does not resonate that way with all of my treble-voiced singers. I no longer believe that I am on this journey to promote women's choirs; rather, the promotion of women's choirs and their music mark a stop along a longer path. I see the next stop featuring music that is meaningful for gender-inclusive adult treble choirs. The integration of the pre-Depression Era music is particularly interesting (and problematic) given the highly gendered culture of early 19th and 20th-century America. I still want this music to be a recognized part of the lineage, but some things of the past are (un)fortunately better suited for the past. I now work to promote specific repertoire that wears well over time.
The Gilded Quire (2012 - 2014), which I founded to promote this music, performed a number of pieces that are interesting and appropriate for continued inclusion in the modern choral world.
Seven Greek Pastoral Scenes by Horatio Parker (1863 - 1919)
1. The windy winter from the sky is gone (SSAA choir)
2. I will twine the violet (soprano solo)
3. The Swallow Song (SSAA choir)
4. White flowers the violet now (alto solo)
5. Sweet on the pipe (SSAA choir)
6. Love! I cry (soprano solo)
7. The golden stars are quiring in the west (SSAA choir)
Elfin Song by George Chadwick (1854 - 1931)
Balm in Gilead by H. T. Burleigh (1866 - 1949)
On the Sea by Dudley Buck (1839 - 1909)
Through the Rushes by the River by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937)
When the Stars are Brightly Shining by Adam Geibel (1855 - 1933)