March is Women's History Month. And it's a great opportunity for Classics a Day to focus on the contributions of women to classical music.
Women composers are often unjustly overlooked by history. The problem is seldom the quality of their work -- just the worker's gender. The challenge in March is to post examples of music by women composers. There's a millennium of music to choose from. For me, the challenge was what to leave out. Here are my posts for the first week of #WomensHistoryMonth.
03/03/25 Kassia (c. 810- before 865): Hymn of Kassia
Kassia is the earliest known woman composer. She was a noblewoman in Constantinople who became an Eastern Orthodox Abbess and founded an order of nuns. She composed over 40 hymns, many of which are still used in church services to this day.
03/04/25 Hildegard von Bingen: (1098-1179) De spirito Sancto
Though not the earliest known Medieval female composer, Hildegard is certainly the best-known. Her music was originally written to be sung during services in her convent. In the 1920s, her music was revived and is now performed throughout the world.
03/05/25 Maddalena Casula (c. 1544-c.1590): Morir non può il mio cuore
Casuala was a lutenist patronized by Isabelle de Medici. Casuala published four volumes of her madrigals between 1566 and 1586. She's the earliest known published female composer.
03/06/25 Raffaella Aleotti (c. 1575-after 1620): Sacrae cantonies: Sancta et immaculata virginitas
Aleotti became a nun at age 14. Yet she composed both sacred and secular works. A collection of sacred music (Sacrae cantonies) was published in 1593.
03/07/25 Alba Iressina (c.1590-d after 1638): Vulnerasti cor meum
Iressina was abbess of a convent in Vicenza. She studied with Leone Leoni, a priest and composer. He included four of her works (with credit) in a collection published in 1622.
