The Women Composers Challenge Week 4
Welcome to week four of our community-driven challenge on women composers! In week three, we heard some music by Madeleine Cottin, Annette Kruisbrink, Maria Linnemann, and Ida Presti. Hopefully, many of you are saving up what you are working on for this last week, and so we will have many more posts to enjoy!
So, the goal is to choose a piece (or several pieces), and to work on it throughout the course of the challenge, posting videos or audio files of your progress along the way.
Or maybe you are a woman composer, and you would like to take this opportunity to share some of your work with the community.
The challenge will last for four weeks, ending on Saturday, May 3rd. A new discussion thread will be posted for each week of the challenge.
If you are looking for a place to start your search and pique your interest, Candice Mowbray has an excellent website on the subject. Here is a link.
If any beginners would like some suggestions for your playing level, feel free to ask the community by posting a message here.
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Gubaidulina April Day Musical Toys #5 Oh Boy!
What a mess! It has taken me the entire month to transcribe this 1 page piece and get it to this point. I thought I had it more under control until I listened to the video. I don't think I should have posted it like this but I wanted to at least contribute something. I think this is well worth listening to a recording of this in its original.
It is very chromatic and 'spikey' and there are a lot of minor 2nd interval which are a real challenge to play as well as many leaps. I feel I have a feel for it (even though that is not apparent in this video) though there is at least one section that I have figured out musically. I also have a lot not trouble rhythmically especially the first section. Oh well....
If I can get a better recording before Eric blows the whistle I'll post it.
Sofia Gubaidulina was a Russian composer that was out of favor with the Russian Music authorities. According to an NPR piece on her life and music ;
She was able to study composition in Moscow, where she played some of her unconventional music for the revered composer Dmitri Shostakovich. He encouraged her by suggesting that she continue down her "incorrect path" — in other words, don't compromise. That path led to music awards, but also official blacklisting by the Soviet Composers' Union, which denounced her music as "noisy mud." In 1973, a person believed to be a KGB operative tried to strangle Gubaidulina in the elevator of her apartment building. She scared him off by asking him why he was taking so long to kill her.
That was one feisty lady! She died on March 13th of this year at the age of 93 (so take that KGB).
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric. It was a struggle getting this transcription to work. I went thru a lot of transpositions both in key signature and and in octave shifts in phrases. The fingering was also really difficult but I think this works without losing too much.
Thanks for the dynamics suggestion. I agree and will work on that. Up tp now I have been lost in just trying to get this under control. I think concentrating more on the phrasing, articulations and dynamics now will bring a better focus to the piece.
I really miss that piano dynamic range in the last section!
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Dale Needles Thanks Dale. I do intend to keep working on this. Maybe by June I'll have made enough improvement to post it publicly.
See you in June - I will also just be getting back from the TB Music Intensive in LA.
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Jack Stewart That's great, Jack. I knew the piece since I'd been listening to the piano album and I think this sits nicely on the guitar. If you ever get comfortable with sharing your transcription, I'd love to check it out. It would fit in well with the Lutoslawski and Stravinsky piano miniatures I mess around with.
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Steve Price Thanks Steve, however, I don't know if I would agree that this sits well on the guitar. I went back to the original piano score to check for details and I marveled at how simple it looks. But then pianists get to play each voice in a separate hand.
I am posting my transcription with my (current) fingerings. They might still change as I continue to work on it but right now these are working for me. Certainly feel free to alter as necessary.
The tempo marking is a goal not what I can currently manage.
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Jack Stewart Thank for sharing that score, Jack! I want to commend you on your proficiency with whatever software you use to create scores. It looks good enough to publish. Maybe you should make a phone call to some publishing company like Productions d'Oz.
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Jack Stewart That's awesome, Jack. And tough to play. Those open strings towards the end are a welcome sight, lol. That's some excellent engraving, too. I've paid a lot of money for pieces that weren't near as well done as these.
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Jack Stewart well done! What software did you use to transcribe?
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don Thanks Don. I use Musescore. It's probably not as robust as some of the professional software like Sibelius or Finale but I find it to have everything I need so far. They have a pretty good tutorial and help system. And the software is free!
The biggest down side that I can think of is the guitar midi sound is pretty weak. I usually use the piano midi for playback because it is more neutral.
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don Jack Stewart That's good to know about Muscore. I've been using Finale since the '90s, but it was discontinued last year with no new releases, no more support, and no activations on new devices.
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Maria Luisa Anido - Nana
This is apparently based on a melody by Alfonso el Sabio (Alphonse the Wise in English). It very much reminds me of Llobet's arrangements of Catalan folk songs, which makes sense as Anido was a student of Llobet.
There are some harmonics in the piece that I have taken out (in measures 32-34), playing them instead as regular notes. They are accompanying notes, not melody, and I found that trying to play them as harmonics was not only very difficult, but was detracting from the melody. Maybe if I worked on them for longer, I could pull them off.
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Eric Phillips This is a fascinating and beautiful piece, Eric. I always had an affection for Medieval music and this piece brings it into the modern age while still maintaining its Medieval essence.
As always, your performance is excellent. Thanks for sharing this.
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Eric Phillips I love this one. I don't think the change takes anything away at all, and I've heard several people skip them in pieces by Torroba, Poulenc, and others before. I listened to her album before I got the book, and this was one of the pieces that stood out the most for me.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. It sounds like you have some knowledge of this melody. I had no idea it was a medieval tune, but that makes sense.
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve. I really like this one too. It brings out the best qualities of the guitar's sound, in my opinion. It is a bit of a pain, though, putting the guitar into the tuning (sixth to D and fifth to G). I don't think I would ever play a piece like Koyunbaba.
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Eric Phillips Enchanting music. Love it!
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Eric Phillips I said this was one of the pieces that stood out to me the most on the album, but you hit the nail on the head for why I never tried to play it. I have a guitar with sketchy intonation, so I have to tweak it enough without using altered tunings.
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I suppose this is the official "end" of this challenge, but I see no reason why people cannot keep posting music by women composers here. I, for one, plan to continue working on some of these pieces. Unfortunately, we have no means of having a Watch Party on our own.
I'd like to propose that we begin a new challenge next Saturday, May 10th, on the theme of Dance, which received just one fewer point in our voting than this challenge received. I certainly can get the ball rolling each week, posting a thread, but if someone else wants to take up that task, you would be very welcome.
What say the community?
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Eric Phillips another fine initiative. I intend to join in again. - with a new, hopefully better try of the Danse Rythmique. And I have a few other ideas. Thank you, Eric,
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Eric Phillips A job well done Eric. What about opening a 'Watch Party' in a new section and people can post which pieces they would like to be included. At least that way we can have all submissions in a single 'page'.
I actually think that might be a good way forward. Since sometimes people only submitted at the beginning of the challenges and Martin would usually just select from the last week.
Got my dancing shoes on!
However I will be at the TB Music Intensive in LA for the last 2 weeks of May. -
Eric Phillips I think dances sound great. And thanks for doing this. This has been a great challenge.
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Eric Phillips
Women composers was an inspiring topic and I think, dances are as well.
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Eric Phillips Well done and thanks to you Eric. I haven't managed to participate in this challenge until today but I've enjoyed watching the videos and it's great that these challenges are continuing in Martin's absence. Dance sounds great for next time!
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Eric Phillips Dance sounds great to me. I love having these challenges - they give me something different to focus on each month! Thank you so much for organising them.
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I was hoping to be more active this month but life got the better of me. This isn't the piece I was going to record but I have recorded for a previous challenge last year (and possibly more before that!). I've had to relearn it over the last week but here it is anyway (sorry about the excuses!)
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Derek Well done, Derek. This is a beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing this.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
