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MUSIC: Beethoven's 5th Symphony
in C Minor
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Traditionally, the story of Western
classical music
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is told as one great
male genius after another.
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00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,840
Across the centuries, many composers
have been inspired by female singers
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to write dazzling roles for women.
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But what about works written by a
female composer?
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That's a different matter
altogether.
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I can count on the fingers of
one hand
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the ones that I've performed in.
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I'm an opera singer who's studied
and performed all over the world.
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OPERATIC SINGING
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And only now am I seeing female
composers taken seriously.
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Because the truth is that women,
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despite facing all kinds
of challenges, have always composed.
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They've produced great works, like
this one by Florence Price.
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It's just that time has not
been kind, or even
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fair, in preserving their legacy.
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So why is that?
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From all the female composers over
the past millennium, I've picked
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five exceptional ones who helped
shape Western musical history.
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Women who had to fight to
fulfil their ambitions
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and overcome the obstacles that
society placed in their way.
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Through incredible talent...
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By the time she was 20 years
old she was a superstar.
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..and dogged determination.
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This was her piano
and she would say occasionally
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she would find herself like this,
asleep on the keys.
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It's a story that will take us
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from the creative powerhouse of the
medieval convent,
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to the beauty and brutality of
Florence's Medici court.
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From conflicted sexual politics
in the 19th century,
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to blatant discrimination in
the 20th.
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Each of my composers found
fame in her lifetime,
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but then disappeared into obscurity.
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Only some have gained
recognition again.
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All of them
have stories that deserve to be told
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and music that deserves to be heard.
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In 1934, at London's Royal Albert
Hall,
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a birthday concert celebrated
Dame Ethel Smyth,
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one of the first women who had her
music performed at the Proms.
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Smyth, whose work is largely
forgotten now,
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once wrote, "The whole English
attitude towards
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"women in fields of art is ludicrous
and uncivilised.
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"How you compose is what matters."
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Smyth was a passionate
suffragette during the time
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when women were
campaigning for the right to vote.
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She even wrote the movement's
anthem, The March of the Women,
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a song so well known that at a rally
here at the Albert Hall in 1911,
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the crowd burst into a spontaneous
rendition of it.
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# March, march, swing you along
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# Wide blows our banner
and hope is waking. #
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So this is where Ethel Smyth
conducted her rousing chorus,
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March of the Women.
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Yes, back in 1911, this hall would
have been filled with people
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supporting the suffragette
and suffragist movement.
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She had written the music. You can
hear their voices now.
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She was handed her baton
by Emmeline Pankhurst, no less.
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"I feel I must fight for my music",
Smyth once said.
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At every stage
in a young girl's live,
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there were barriers put in her way
and the really sad thing is,
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we don't know of the 99% of women
who were silenced
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early on in their careers,
who had the talent,
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had exceptional ability,
but simply did not have access to
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education, support and even
when they do succeed
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in writing music,
then they don't have access to the
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spaces for that music to be
performed.
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The composers who managed to
surmount the numerous barriers -
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how did they manage it?
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There is a T-shirt that says
something like, you know,
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"Well-behaved women rarely
make history."
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So determination, I think,
is the key quality of every woman
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who continued to pursue her
compositional career.
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I think, also, a kind of sheer love
of creation, of making that music.
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All that is found in the story
of Hildegard, who lived
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here in the German
town of Bingen in the 12th century,
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and revolutionised her era's main
musical form, religious song.
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And her story shows how
a composer's work
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can disappear for centuries
before attracting a new audience.
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Hildegard is the very first composer
in the history of Western music,
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male or female, who we really know
about. And what a composer she was.
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For me, her music is genuinely
spine-tingling,
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and way ahead of its time.
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Hildegard's soaring compositions
anticipated polyphony,
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the combination of melodies
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in a single verse that became
the foundation of Western music.
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What's even more remarkable
is that she achieved
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all of this in an era when the
church stuck rigidly to
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St Paul's doctrine that women should
remain silent in churches.
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They weren't even allowed to
join in with the singing.
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They had to mime along.
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BARITONE CLASSICAL SINGING
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In a male-dominated society based
on the Bible, Eve's role in the fall
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from grace cast women as
seductresses,
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whose voices led men astray.
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Instead of an arranged marriage,
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Hildegard was placed in a convent
by her parents when she was eight.
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Ironically, nuns had more musical
freedom than most other women.
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You put them in a convent,
they can sing as much as they like.
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And, my God, there is
some fabulous music.
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They're safe, they're sequestered
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and their music can take
you to the divine.
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Hildegard ended up running
the convent and her own music was
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inspired by a remarkable
series of visions in 1141.
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Can you tell us
a little bit about these visions?
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She says, "There, in my 43rd
year, there was coming very
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"brilliant, fury light out of
heaven.
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"And this light was flooding my
mind."
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And then she hears a heavenly voice
and this voice commands,
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"Tell and write down what you see
and hear."
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So contrary to our commonly held
beliefs that people are very
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restricted in the convent life,
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Hildegard suddenly had an almost
divine freedom to compose.
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In every aspect, she was creating
her own universe. A visionary.
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A visionary universe. She is doing
strange things in her monastery.
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Nuns are standing in the choir,
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they have open hair,
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they wear golden crowns.
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They have silk garments on.
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She must have been aware that she
was ahead of her time.
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Yes, because you can easily hear and
detect something, this is Hildegard.
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Because she has a very, so to say,
ecstatic language.
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SOPRANO CLASSICAL SINGING
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Over the next decade,
Hildegard composed 77 musical pieces
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sung by her nuns at religious
ceremonies and, fortunately,
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they were collected, along with her
other writings, in illuminated
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manuscripts like this one,
dating from around 1150.
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Until the Middle Ages,
music was an oral tradition.
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It was in monasteries
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and convents like Hildegard's that
scribes first wrote it down.
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This is the only surviving volume
of Hildegard's collected works
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that she was directly
involved in putting together.
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It looks like a treasure trove.
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These are individual
sheets of music that were used to
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sing from in Hildegard's abbey.
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You can see here
stains on the music.
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Stitches, even, in the parchment.
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Quite familiar to people who
really get a lot of wear
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and tear out of their music,
like I do.
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What a piece of history.
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SOPRANO CLASSICAL SINGING
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Translated from the Latin,
Hildegard's language is not
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what I'd expected from a woman
closeted behind convent walls.
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It's overflowing with exuberance
and even sensual imagery.
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Greenness and gardens,
growth and fire.
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And purity and womanhood.
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BELL TOLLS
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This Benedictine abbey near Bingen
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is still run in Hildegard's name,
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and the sisters here still sing
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Hildegard's revolutionary
compositions.
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Back then, the musical rules - laid
down by men, of course -
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stressed simplicity and austerity.
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But in Hildegard's far more
expansive pieces, words and melodies
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flow and work together, so I've come
for a lesson in how to sing one.
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# Caritas. #
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That's all you need. It's not so
easy. No, it is not.
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I'm looking at what you're reading
here and it looks very
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different to the music I've grown up
reading my whole life.
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How can you describe what this is?
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The most important thing is that you
have sort of meditated the text.
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We have in this music a very
near connection between the text
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and the melody. This connection
gives
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what you have to do with the melody.
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00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,040
Also, the accent of the
word is important.
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CA-ritas. CA-ritas.
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And not Carit-AS. Of course. It's
the accent from the Latin word.
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# Ca-a-a-a... #
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And then you have the flow
from the first accent of this word.
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And we have to consider here,
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when you have two notes on the same
level, you have to sing both.
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You have to...
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# Aa-aa-aa... # OK.
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That's also important
for the flow of the melody. OK.
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# Caritas. #
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Caritas means love. Yes.
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And you will find in the Bible, "God
is love."
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And this is the image of God
for Hildegard.
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Abundat in omnia.
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Which means flowing in everything.
In everything. That's right.
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MUSIC: Caritas by Hildegard von
Bingen
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Hildegard created a kind
of republic of women within her
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convent walls,
united by shared musical experience.
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We all know the emotional
power of singing.
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And we all know the emotional
power of hearing other
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voices around you
and becoming part of a whole.
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And you were singing music
of the beauty at which Hildegard was
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composing it, then you were part, in
all senses, of something bigger.
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Hildegard died in 1179 at the grand
old age of 81.
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Her remains are contained in a gold
casket here at the parish
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church of St Hildegard.
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During her lifetime, Hildegard was
something of a celebrity in Germany.
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But over the centuries,
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two male French monks called
Adam of St Victor and Leonine
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have been credited as the
earliest identifiable composers.
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The first mention in a reference
book of Hildegard's music
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only came in the late 20th century.
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Then in 1983, a CD called
A Feather on the Breath of God
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brought her compositions to a much
wider audience.
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Albums of very early music didn't
exactly fly off the shelves.
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00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:48,080
And so there was very little
expectation for commercial success.
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In fact, even the sound engineer
had said, "Lovely music.
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"Shame no-one will buy it."
But boy, was he wrong!
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00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,520
Hildegard's music struck a chord
with audiences
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and that album sold over
half a million copies.
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Nearly 1,000 years
since Hildegard composed it,
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00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,280
her music has been receiving
the attention it deserves.
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00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:12,920
And I think she would have liked
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some of the surprising ways it's
been reinvented.
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PERCUSSIVE AND METALLIC SOUNDS
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Like this 2012 ambient album
produced by Guy Sigsworth,
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whose clients include Madonna
and Bjork.
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00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,840
I didn't want this to be a kind of
hair shirt, difficult, purist
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00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,560
classical record that would
kind of scare people off.
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00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,680
Because to me, Hildegard's music has
a kind of generosity,
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a sort of ravishing luxury to it.
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STRINGS RESONATE
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And so I wanted to make
sure that we were true to that.
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# Caritas. #
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Therefore, I wanted to find
colours that you could complement
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00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,520
these beautiful rhapsodic melodies.
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You're not taking liberties
with the music.
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You're discovering the liberties
that are in the music.
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And that's what
I was trying to do with Hildegard.
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My next composer lived
here in the Italian
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00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,160
city of Florence in the 17th
century.
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00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,720
Like Hildegard before her, Francesca
Caccini lived in an era where
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00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,320
young women's choices were
incredibly restricted.
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00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,200
If they don't get put into convents,
then they will have to be married.
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00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,000
Because they cannot be respectable
and autonomous if they're not.
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00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,720
Once they're married, that means
becoming a breeding
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cow for children.
And there's no room for them
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00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,360
to have any kind of professional
engagement in the world.
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STRING MUSIC PLAYS
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00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,960
Yet Francesca Caccini managed
to become one of her generation's
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00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,560
most successful composers.
So how did she do it?
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00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,040
Hard work, determination,
237
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:13,800
incredible talent, of course,
238
00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,280
played their part.
239
00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,680
But Caccini was born lucky, too.
240
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,000
VIOLIN MUSIC PLAYS
241
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,680
In the 17th century,
242
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,560
a beautiful singing voice was much
prized in Italian music
243
00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,600
with composer Claudio Monteverdi
in Venice
244
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,200
pioneering the new art form of
opera.
245
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,000
And since the late 1500s,
246
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,920
Italian courts had allowed female
servants to become paid singers.
247
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,000
Some of them began to compose, too.
248
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,600
RENAISSANCE CHORAL MUSIC
249
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,960
The Florentine court was ruled over
250
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,080
by the all-powerful Medici clan.
251
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,760
During the Renaissance, the Medicis
were generous patrons of the arts.
252
00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,600
But they governed Florence
with an iron fist.
253
00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,920
It was full of creativity
and full of beauty.
254
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:11,120
But it was equally, I think,
full of corruption and brutality.
255
00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,560
You know, they may look civilised,
256
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:16,040
They may look cultured,
257
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,840
but if your daughter-in-law
or your brother-in-law
258
00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:20,760
causes trouble, there is a dungeon.
259
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:22,400
There is a prison.
260
00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,400
RENAISSANCE CHORAL MUSIC
261
00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,920
In 1607, 20-year-old Caccini found
a place with the Medicis, whose
262
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,360
main residence was
here at the Pitti Palace.
263
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,520
She was basically a servant,
but a servant whose job was to sing
264
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,760
and compose music.
265
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,880
So here we are in the main palace of
the Medicis.
266
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,840
So how did their court help
the careers of female
267
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:52,800
artists like Caccini?
268
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,680
Well, first of all, we have to
remember that Florence at that
269
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,560
time was one of the most important,
270
00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,080
if not the most important city,
in Italy, and perhaps in the world.
271
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,640
So this was like being in Hollywood.
272
00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:08,600
How successful was Francesca Caccini
as a singer and a composer?
273
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:12,280
She was probably the first
diva in history.
274
00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,400
She was a very talented girl.
275
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,160
She made her grand debut
when she was 13-years-old and
276
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:23,480
by the time she was 20-years-old,
she was a superstar here at court.
277
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,720
So what was working life like,
day-to-day, for Francesca Caccini?
278
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,800
She was the main
teacher in the palace.
279
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,760
And also she had to compose music
on demand, you know.
280
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,960
She was commissioned music with
very short notice.
281
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:39,080
Something like,
282
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,840
"Hey, hey, Francesca, we need a new
piece for next week."
283
00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,080
Caccini was incredibly prolific,
284
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,920
yet her music is not well
known today.
285
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,840
To me, her songs feel very modern,
286
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,400
soulful and even bluesy.
287
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,360
I wanted to try singing one.
288
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,160
First sight reading but...
We try. We try.
289
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,320
SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
290
00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:54,600
Caccini, like all woman of her era,
291
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,440
lived under strict
guidelines for virtuous behaviour.
292
00:19:58,440 --> 00:19:59,840
"Her own singing voice..."
293
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,600
a contemporary Christopher Bronzini
wrote,
294
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,440
"..had such stunning effects
295
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:09,200
"on her listeners that she changed
them from what they had been."
296
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,400
A great compliment,
but hazardous, too.
297
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:18,680
Florence's courtesans were notorious
for singing that lured men into sin.
298
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,200
So song would be connected with Eve
and the temptress.
299
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,840
RENAISSANCE SOPRANO SINGING
300
00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:34,240
Perhaps this is why Bronzini
was at pains to stress that
301
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,400
Caccini wasn't
favoured by the gifts of nature.
302
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,640
In other words,
she wasn't attractive.
303
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,200
Because women who had the whole
package
304
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,240
were just way too threatening.
305
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,000
RESONANT STRING MUSIC
306
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,400
But Caccini thrived both as a singer
and composer of
307
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,040
vocal and theatrical works.
308
00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,120
The Medicis,
who owned the rights to her music,
309
00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:02,280
even paid for some of them
to be published.
310
00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:07,120
I've come to Florence's National
Central Library to examine
311
00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:11,840
an edition of Caccini's
songs from 1618, when she was 31.
312
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,240
There are only three of these
that survived
313
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:22,920
and this one I'm holding here is
the best preserved of them.
314
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,280
The first thing that's
so interesting about this is
315
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,560
that the biggest thing in the title
316
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,640
is the name of the
Cardinale de Medici.
317
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:34,280
So you can see immediately,
Francesca Caccini, you know,
318
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,120
had to play by the rules
of the game.
319
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,200
But the songs can feel
slightly subversive.
320
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:42,840
Like the piece I sang earlier.
321
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,920
This is a lament
322
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:49,960
that talks about...
323
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,440
..a burning desire.
324
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,000
SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
325
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:03,720
There's a b natural.
326
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,640
Now, this note, this b natural,
327
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,240
is not a part of this key.
328
00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:18,000
To me, sort of expresses, like,
a spur of colour.
329
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,640
A spur of desire.
330
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,240
And in fact, the text that she
chose to make this note
331
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:30,720
appear on is, "You can well
see in my face my torment."
332
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,600
And, you know, I look at this text
333
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:34,840
and we've got a woman here who is
334
00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:39,040
constrained by the rules
of court life.
335
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,600
The phrase starts to expand as well,
336
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,040
to reflect this desire to reach out.
337
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,720
But, of course, she has to turn
back...
338
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,040
..to her key, to her constraints.
339
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:58,920
LIVELY VIOLIN MUSIC
340
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:03,320
In 1621, the death of Grand
Duke Cosimo II allowed
341
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,480
Caccini to write what is said to
342
00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:07,920
be the first surviving opera by
a woman.
343
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,400
Cosimo's son was only 11 and
until he came of age, his mother,
344
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,440
the formidable Maria Maddalena,
ruled the Medici court as regent.
345
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,120
You did get occasionally very
powerful women.
346
00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,360
We had Queen Elizabeth I in England.
347
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,040
In fact, at this time,
348
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,840
the Florentine court was entirely
run by women.
349
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,520
And a lot of the opera really is
justifying the fact that
350
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,160
women can rule.
351
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,320
LUTE MUSIC
352
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,960
Of course, this was done while being
suitably pious and virtuous.
353
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,480
Though other operas written at
the time featured remarkable women,
354
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:50,720
36-year-old Caccini's stands out for
its celebration of female strength.
355
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,800
Melissa, a good sorceress,
rescues Ruggiero,
356
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,560
a knight, from the clutches
of an evil sorceress.
357
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,040
LUTE MUSIC CONTINUES
358
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,200
The real superhero of the story
is Melissa.
359
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,400
And Melissa may well have been
based on the character
360
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,160
of the archduchess herself,
Maria Maddalena.
361
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,560
RENAISSANCE MUSIC PLAYS
362
00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,320
The premiere of The Liberation
of Ruggiero took place here,
363
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,040
at Maddalena's Villa di Poggio
Imperiale.
364
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,320
Imagine the scene.
365
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:29,400
It's February 3rd 1625, the day
of the Villa's grand opening,
366
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:33,000
and all the great
and the good in Florentine society
367
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,720
are arriving in the carriages up
a beautiful wide avenue.
368
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,520
The high point of the celebrations
is the premiere of Caccini's
369
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:42,280
proto-opera.
370
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:48,640
It took place not inside, but in a
loggia, an outside covered gallery.
371
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,600
ITALIAN OPERATIC SINGING
372
00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:01,800
It's a major piece of music.
373
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,520
It's not just a little interesting
piece because it's by a woman.
374
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,280
In the four centuries since,
375
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,560
performances of Caccini's opera
have been rare.
376
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,000
This version,
set in Edwardian Brighton,
377
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,680
is one of the first times it's
been staged in Britain.
378
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:20,400
THEY SING IN ITALIAN
379
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:33,400
She was brought up singing concerted
music for female voices.
380
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,920
That's the real characteristic of
this opera that makes it glorious.
381
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,720
THEY SING IN ITALIAN
382
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,120
The whole moral of the story,
at the end, which is
383
00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:53,360
the final chorus, really,
is that it's all right.
384
00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,720
Women can rule, but men can still be
men and women can still be women.
385
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,000
THEY SING IN ITALIAN
386
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,160
And I have heard rumours of other
performances that might be mounted,
387
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:21,200
so if we've started something like
that, then I'm totally thrilled.
388
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,680
APPLAUSE
389
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,560
SOFT STRING MUSIC
390
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,240
Not long after Caccini's death,
around 1641,
391
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,360
the Age of Enlightenment
began in Europe.
392
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,880
You might have thought this
championing of reason
393
00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,840
and liberty over dogma and
tradition would help
394
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,240
transform the lives of women like my
next composer, Clara Schumann.
395
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,520
But instead, their very ability to
be creative was questioned.
396
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,360
The 18th century philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau had
397
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:58,400
proclaimed, "Women in general
possess
398
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,360
"no artistic sensibility nor
genius.
399
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:05,040
"Their creations are as cold
and pretty as women.
400
00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:09,040
"They have an abundance of spirit
but lack soul."
401
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:12,720
In Clara Schumann's time,
there are plenty of men
402
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,280
and women who still believe that.
403
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,680
SOFT PIANO PLAYING
404
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,720
Clara was born Clara Weick
here in Leipzig in 1819.
405
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,560
Piano works by German
composers like Johann Sebastian Bach
406
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:33,160
and Ludwig van Beethoven were
all the rage.
407
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,240
And Clara, like many middle
and upper-class girls,
408
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:37,600
learned to play the piano.
409
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,960
Most just played for family
and friends at home,
410
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,160
but Clara was a prodigy.
411
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,120
And her father Friedrich was what
today we might call a Tiger Dad.
412
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,280
Mozart's piano concerts as a child
half a century before had
413
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,560
left the public hungry for more -
414
00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,840
even if the performer was a girl.
415
00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:01,720
There was good money to be made,
too,
416
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,680
as long as the stage image was
suitably demure.
417
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,840
She needed to appear slightly
melancholy,
418
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,400
the girl with the sad eyes.
419
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,440
A certain innocence
tying in with that.
420
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,640
And it was cultivated really
ruthlessly by the family,
421
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,160
whereas behind the scenes,
Clara was actually quite feisty.
422
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:26,880
But women of this era were expected
to keep feistiness under wraps.
423
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,640
In the 19th century,
the piano was one of the very few
424
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:36,000
instruments considered
acceptable for a woman to play.
425
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,560
And the reasoning for this has
to do with the male
426
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,400
perception of the female body.
427
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,200
To start with, I'm sitting down,
428
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,680
so this would preserve my modesty,
apparently.
429
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:59,600
Also, there are no rapid,
unladylike movements.
430
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:02,800
Unlike the violin, which was
considered very unsuitable,
431
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,320
all that head bending
and rapid arm movements,
432
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,920
not to mention the frisson
from the feminine-like curves
433
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,200
of the instrument itself.
434
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,680
And the cello?
435
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:16,040
Don't even go there.
436
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,920
Clara gave her first solo
concert aged 11.
437
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:26,320
And by her mid-teens,
438
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,920
she'd become one of Europe's great
concert pianists.
439
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,760
Mostly she performed other
people's work,
440
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:38,040
but the custom was that pianists
would also play some of their own.
441
00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:42,040
And composing was often a joy
for Clara, who once wrote,
442
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,360
"There's nothing that surpasses
the joy of creation."
443
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:50,400
Clara's father encouraged
her to compose.
444
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,640
It might not have
been for the best of reasons,
445
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,240
but they were good, hard-headed
commercial reasons.
446
00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,040
He could put his daughter up
there as not only the virtuoso of
447
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,760
her generation, but as somebody who
could just write
448
00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:04,280
a piano concerto at 15.
449
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,120
For decades, pianist Lucy Parham
has championed
450
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,760
Clara's piano works, including that
precocious piano concerto.
451
00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:30,640
It starts like that and the piano
has this beautiful long solo,
452
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,440
which was really
unusual at that time.
453
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,160
It's so lyrical but it's also...
It's got quite a lot of depth.
454
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,880
I imagine her as being a woman,
455
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,680
or a child at that point, who was
456
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,360
kept very much at home, you know,
under the tutelage of her father.
457
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,360
So, really, music was the only way
458
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,440
she could let out all these
feelings.
459
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,360
It's very beautiful,
but then we've had the Annee,
460
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,000
and then she goes into all these
flying, tense double thirds
461
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,160
and she's like, "Look what I can do,
I'm really clever."
462
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,440
Clara draws on the passionate,
tempestuous
463
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,600
music of 19th-century Romanticism.
464
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,760
This was rather radical,
465
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,440
as women were supposed to compose
gentle, undemanding pieces.
466
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:39,920
And that's the opening. Gosh.
467
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:43,440
But there was a critic who said that
if the name of the composer were not
468
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,840
in the title, one would never have
known it was written by a woman.
469
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:51,800
And they were right. Because it's
so full of passion and strength.
470
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:53,160
She was a strong woman.
471
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,600
Clara's father worried what would
happen to her composing
472
00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:01,520
when she married.
473
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,520
At the time, a wife's only priority
was supposed to be her husband
474
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:07,400
and children.
475
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:08,880
And Freidrich wasn't happy
476
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:12,800
when Clara fell for one of his own
students, Robert Schumann.
477
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:19,400
Robert would become one of the 19th
century's greatest composers.
478
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,560
And his relationship with Clara is
479
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,680
one of music's great love
affairs,
480
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:25,720
encoded in their compositions.
481
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,920
Like this nocturne by Clara.
482
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,480
This piece is really significant
because it has a little
483
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:49,160
motif in it that
pervaded their whole relationship.
484
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,400
And it starts like this...
485
00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:57,720
So this five note, which is the five
letters of her name, for Clara.
486
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,400
This theme was used by Robert
487
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,920
in some of his most famous
compositions.
488
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,640
I mean, the fantasy starts like...
489
00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,880
So you have... # Doo-da-da-da... #
490
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,720
There it is.
491
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,120
And even the notes at the beginning,
these are the five notes.
492
00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,720
So they would send each other
compositions
493
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,000
and this theme meant that they were
thinking of one and other.
494
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,920
It was like saying, "I love you."
495
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:32,640
But it was in music. It's so
romantic. It's so romantic.
496
00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:37,280
And Robert Schumann described this
as, "Like the buds before the wings
497
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,760
"of colour are exploded into open
splendour."
498
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:42,640
And that would have meant
so much to her
499
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:45,480
because she really lacked
confidence
500
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:47,360
and when he said something
501
00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:53,960
beautiful about her compositions, it
gave her confidence to compose more.
502
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,720
But progressive as he was, Robert
was also a creature of his time.
503
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,240
"Men stand higher than women",
he wrote.
504
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:07,680
Robert, in the end, for all
his grand words about compositional
505
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,160
collaboration,
about how they were both going to
506
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:14,160
develop their art together, in the
end, he wanted his tea on the table.
507
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,560
This is a reproduction of a book
that Robert gave to Clara as
508
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:26,120
a Christmas present in 1839,
the year before they married.
509
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:27,480
His initials are here. R.S.
510
00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:30,240
He had a special cover made
511
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:33,240
and embossed with gold
lettering saying,
512
00:34:33,240 --> 00:34:35,600
"Meiner Hausfrau gewidmet",
513
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,240
which means, "Dedicated
to my housewife."
514
00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:40,960
This is a cookbook.
515
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:45,280
Clara herself had written to Robert
earlier in the year, "I will
516
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:49,160
"do everything possible to set
myself up so well
517
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:50,960
"that you're at peace."
518
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:54,760
But she'd also written,
"Must I bury my art now?
519
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,920
"Love is all very beautiful
but, but..."
520
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:04,240
After marriage, the couple lived in
an apartment in this building here.
521
00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:07,400
Clara refused to give up her
concerts, but she seemed to
522
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:11,760
accept that her composing was
not as important as his.
523
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,760
At public recitals, Clara
performed new works by Robert.
524
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:17,720
Her own were only performed at home.
525
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,360
Add children into the mix -
and Robert's developing mental
526
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,360
illness - and it's surprising
she wrote music at all.
527
00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:32,680
Yet in 1846, Clara composed
a masterpiece - this piano trio.
528
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,280
The story of this piano trio is
even more poignant
529
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:47,360
when you consider what Clara was
dealing with at the time.
530
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,880
Not only did she have four
young children,
531
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:53,880
but she was pregnant with a fifth,
which then miscarried.
532
00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:55,200
And as if that wasn't enough,
533
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,720
Robert also had a mental
collapse during the same time.
534
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:01,720
Despite all of this,
535
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,840
Clara still found great
satisfaction in writing her trio.
536
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,760
She said, "There is nothing better
than composing something oneself,
537
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:12,920
"then hearing it played."
538
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,640
But when Robert wrote his own piano
trio shortly after,
539
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:21,040
all of her self-doubt crept back in.
540
00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,040
Of course her piece, she said,
541
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,320
"Remains the work of a woman."
542
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,920
SOFT PIANO MUSIC
543
00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:33,800
It's only in the 21st century that
interest has really
544
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:37,880
revived in the 50 or so piano
works Clara Schumann left behind.
545
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:43,040
After Robert's death,
Clara spent the next 40 years
546
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,720
focused on his legacy,
rather than her own.
547
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:49,160
She stopped composing completely.
548
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:57,840
The fact that she chose performance
over composition, I think
549
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:02,600
speaks to that powerful idea that
women are allowed on stage to
550
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:04,560
perform other people's works.
551
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,560
They are interpreters,
they are muses.
552
00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:13,360
She once wrote,
"A woman must not desire to compose.
553
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,480
"There has never yet been
one able to do it.
554
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,760
"Should I expect to be the one?"
555
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,240
It feels like a great loss.
556
00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:25,720
For Clara, personally, and for all
of us
557
00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:29,800
who missed out on more works
from this incredibly talented woman.
558
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,040
What could Clara Schumann have
achieved today?
559
00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:38,120
I think she would have achieved
superstardom.
560
00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:41,120
She would probably have had her
pieces played at the Proms
561
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:45,480
and she would have, you know,
been a real composer-pianist
562
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:48,480
in the tradition of all
the great composer-pianists.
563
00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:57,880
By the 1930s, the situation of women
in Western music was improving.
564
00:37:57,880 --> 00:37:59,480
Female musicians in Britain
565
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,760
and America now played in full-size
symphony orchestras.
566
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:09,280
But performances of symphonies
by female composers remained rare.
567
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:12,600
American composer Florence Price
was especially aware
568
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,160
of the obstacles she faced with this
piece, her Symphony Number One.
569
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:32,360
"I have two handicaps", she once
wrote. "Those of sex and race.
570
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:36,440
"I'm a woman
and I have negro blood in my veins."
571
00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:41,400
But it was performed by the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933.
572
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:45,360
The premiere was a genuinely
historic event.
573
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:48,600
The first performance by a major
orchestra of a symphony
574
00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:50,880
by an African-American woman.
575
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:53,160
And the perception was rapturous.
576
00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:56,080
One critic wrote that it was
a faultless work
577
00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:59,240
worthy of a place in the regular
repertoire.
578
00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,040
So how did Price pull this off?
579
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,680
Price's story and music are grounded
here, in America's Deep South.
580
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:16,880
She was born in 1887 in Arkansas.
581
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,960
Society remained segregated.
582
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:24,320
Slavery had only been
abolished 20 years earlier.
583
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:27,840
Price's family was middle-class,
584
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:30,560
but like these African-American
children,
585
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,840
she grew up immersed in gospel songs
and spirituals.
586
00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:39,480
Price studied music at college
and began to create a unique
587
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:43,320
musical style, mixing
romanticism with gospel.
588
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,960
And in 1912, she married
and started a family.
589
00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:52,320
But there was still racial
violence by mobs
590
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:55,200
and groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
591
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,480
After a brutal
lynching in Arkansas in 1927,
592
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,320
the family moved to Chicago.
593
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:08,160
Florence Price's story isn't
one of those fairy tales where
594
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,760
she moves to the big city
and everything works out fine.
595
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,600
In 1931, she made a difficult
decision to divorce her
596
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:17,720
husband, who'd become abusive.
597
00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:21,600
And she suddenly found herself
raising two children on her own.
598
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:25,440
So she went out to work,
making money by playing the organ to
599
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:28,120
accompany silent movie screenings
600
00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,360
and composing radio jingles.
601
00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:33,080
And somehow, she still carved
out the time
602
00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:35,120
to write her own compositions.
603
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,320
PIANO MUSIC
604
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:42,800
She wrote orchestral and chamber
works, violin and piano concertos.
605
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:45,920
PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES
606
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,480
And arrangements of traditional
spirituals,
607
00:40:56,480 --> 00:41:01,480
one of which was sung in 1939 at a
momentous concert in Washington DC.
608
00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:08,320
NEWS ARCHIVE: The nation's most
impressive Easter demonstration.
609
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:11,640
75,000 massed before
Lincoln Memorial to hear
610
00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:14,680
Marian Anderson, coloured
contralto, make her capital
611
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:17,120
debut at the great
emancipator's shrine.
612
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:20,600
Washington's Concert Hall refused to
let a non-white artist
613
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:25,680
perform inside. Eleanor Roosevelt,
the First Lady, was furious
614
00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:28,320
and the concert was moved outdoors.
615
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:30,920
This historic set closed
with Price's
616
00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:33,600
arrangement of My Soul's Been
Anchored in the Lord.
617
00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:37,480
# In the Lord, in the Lord
618
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,640
# My soul's been anchored
in the Lord
619
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:44,280
# In the Lord, in the Lord
620
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:47,680
# My soul's been anchored
in the Lord. #
621
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:51,800
Of course, singing styles have
changed since the 1930s.
622
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,800
So how should a contemporary,
classically-trained
623
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,040
singer like me approach My Soul's
Been Anchored in the Lord?
624
00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:01,800
# In the Lord... #
625
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,800
I went to meet Mica Paris, whose
background is in gospel music.
626
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:11,000
The first thing I'm thinking about
is I have to evoke enough emotion
627
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,680
so that the audience are totally
taken by the message.
628
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:17,960
And think about how each
lyric is going to pierce the person
629
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,400
listening. This first phrase, it's
a short phrase, "In de Lord",
630
00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:24,480
so how do you start to sing it?
You're going to go...
631
00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:30,320
# In the Lord... #
632
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:31,840
And you hear the church,
633
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:34,960
because that's why the church is so
brilliant because that acoustic...
634
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:41,160
# In the Lord, in the Lord. #
635
00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:43,640
And give it a bit of welly.
636
00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:46,000
You see what happens.
637
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,680
You start to feel something. Shall
we sing it together?
638
00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:50,160
Yeah. Let's try.
639
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:59,080
# In the Lord. #
640
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:04,480
Nice. Good, right? It felt good.
It feels good, right? Yeah.
641
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,560
I mean, when we were singing it
together it felt really reflective,
642
00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:10,920
like it could be something that is
both happy and melancholy.
643
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:15,240
At the same time, yeah. If you
remember, this comes from slavery.
644
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:17,200
And in those times of slavery,
645
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:19,840
it was the spiritual songs that got
them through.
646
00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:21,680
When they were on those cotton
fields,
647
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,440
they were trying to keep
motivated...
648
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,360
Keep going. ..keep going.
And that's where gospel comes from.
649
00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:30,040
Gospel comes from that
time of that's all they had.
650
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:34,720
# In the Lord
651
00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:39,000
# In the Lord
652
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:48,640
# My soul's been anchored in the
Lord. #
653
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:53,880
That was dope. Am I allowed to say
that? I can't believe it.
654
00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:56,600
That was gorgeous.
655
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:05,840
By the early 1950s, Price's work was
performed across the USA
656
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:07,080
and here in London, too.
657
00:44:08,800 --> 00:44:12,400
The Royal Albert Hall,
founded by Queen Victoria to promote
658
00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:16,640
the arts, was now bringing
music to the masses via the Proms.
659
00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:21,720
And in 1950, Marian Anderson also
performed here...
660
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:24,880
..as I discovered in the archives.
661
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:31,400
And she does an amazing programme
with many of the great composers.
662
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:36,760
Bach, Brahms, Donizetti,
Britten and at the very end,
663
00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:40,880
she saved for last, My Soul's
Been Anchored in the Lord.
664
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,280
After Price's death in 1953,
665
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:48,800
her sweeping melodies fell
out of favour,
666
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:51,840
replaced by the harder edged
music of modernism.
667
00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:56,280
But recently,
interest in her has rekindled.
668
00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:57,880
Especially since 2009,
669
00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:00,040
when dozens of scores were found
670
00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,080
in an abandoned house in Illinois
671
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:04,040
that Price used as a summer home.
672
00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:08,160
They included two lost violin
concertos
673
00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:11,400
and an unheard fourth Symphony.
674
00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:16,480
Dr Shirley Thompson, a British
composer, selected one of these
675
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:22,080
newly-found works to be performed
and recorded the very first time.
676
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:26,200
The piece she picked is Price's
concert overture number two.
677
00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:31,120
The power is in this
depth of feeling, which is not,
678
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,160
I don't think it's an easy
thing to achieve
679
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:36,600
but I think she just has that timing
that can make it happen.
680
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:51,000
In the musical style that
Price pioneered,
681
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:54,600
this concerto weaves together
the themes from three spirituals,
682
00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:57,320
including Let My People Go.
683
00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:08,880
I love the way that she uses
harmonic progression.
684
00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,560
I love her confidence in that
journey.
685
00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:17,120
She doesn't rush there,
she just takes her time.
686
00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:19,600
I think her pacing is perfect.
687
00:46:26,840 --> 00:46:31,720
I think it adds this soul to
classical music and the repertoire.
688
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:39,800
I think it brings this majesty to,
and dignity to, what has happened
689
00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:44,880
in the cotton fields, to what those
people, my forefathers, suffered.
690
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,720
For conductor Jane Glover, it's
an opportunity to champion
691
00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:57,120
the work of a forgotten composer who
deserves a wider audience.
692
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:04,120
It's thrilling to play it,
693
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:07,480
knowing that it's been
sitting in a box in a private
694
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:12,200
house on the south side
of Chicago for decades.
695
00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:13,960
And here we are doing it.
696
00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:26,200
The only thing that matters
is quality.
697
00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:29,640
I think it certainly deserves
a place in programmes from now on.
698
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:50,760
GENTLE VIOLIN MUSIC
699
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:54,400
In early 20th-century Britain,
my last composer,
700
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:58,440
Elizabeth Maconchy, blazed a trail
through institutional sexism
701
00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:01,040
and the familiar
challenges of family life.
702
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:07,560
By the time Maconchy moved to
London from Ireland in 1923,
703
00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:11,280
suffragette protests had helped many
British women gain the vote.
704
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:16,360
But much of the musical
establishment still refused
705
00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:17,960
to take women seriously.
706
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:23,200
Maconchy arrived at the
Royal College of Music at a time
707
00:48:23,200 --> 00:48:25,360
when many of the tutors
like the composer
708
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:27,480
Ralph Vaughan Williams were
promoting
709
00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:29,440
a British pastoral school of music.
710
00:48:32,120 --> 00:48:34,880
But Maconchy preferred
cutting-edge continental
711
00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:37,360
composers like Bela Bartok.
712
00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:40,280
Bartok was a big influence for her?
713
00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:41,440
I think so, yes.
714
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:44,760
And most of the tutors
and professors there were not
715
00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,320
really involved in new music, so
they would kind of go, "Oh!"
716
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:49,000
Like this if she played a chord that
717
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,680
instead of being that, was that.
718
00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:53,480
But that's Bartok.
It's not a wrong note.
719
00:48:56,960 --> 00:48:59,400
And ingrained sexism
reared its ugly head
720
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:03,320
when Maconchy applied for the
prestigious Mendelssohn scholarship.
721
00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:05,160
The head of the college came up to
722
00:49:05,160 --> 00:49:07,400
me and congratulated me on
getting the scholarship.
723
00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:09,960
And I said, "But I didn't get it,
you gave it to David Evans."
724
00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:14,120
And he said, "Oh, they must have
changed it after I'd left.
725
00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:17,040
"Anyway, if we'd given to you'd
only have got married
726
00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:18,800
"and never written another note."
727
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:22,920
Well, I did get married but I did
continue to write many notes.
728
00:49:25,400 --> 00:49:26,800
Maconchy's husband,
729
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:30,240
William LeFanu, was a great
supporter of his wife's composing.
730
00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:36,720
And in 1930, some of Maconchy's
many notes led to sudden success
731
00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:40,560
when this piece, The Land,
was accepted at the Proms.
732
00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:48,080
Both Vaughan Williams
and Holst were there at the Proms
733
00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:50,680
and Holst went up to my father
and said,
734
00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:52,480
"Keep her at it, keep her at it."
735
00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:54,920
He did know that he
didn't need to keep her at it,
736
00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:57,560
because my mother was absolutely
so strong in her
737
00:49:57,560 --> 00:50:00,520
vocation as a composer. Nothing
would make her swerve from it.
738
00:50:02,760 --> 00:50:06,320
Maconchy was just 23
when The Land was performed.
739
00:50:07,360 --> 00:50:10,560
"Girl composer triumphs", wrote
one newspaper.
740
00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:14,920
That kind of attitude meant it took
Maconchy nearly a decade to find
741
00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:16,160
a publishing deal.
742
00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:20,120
One found that there was a great
prejudice against girls.
743
00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:22,560
Publishers particularly, or
concert promoters,
744
00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:25,240
they only thought of them as able to
write little things like
745
00:50:25,240 --> 00:50:27,760
piano pieces and songs,
not as serious composers.
746
00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:32,080
And as for getting performances,
747
00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:33,760
there was no way.
748
00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:42,960
So, in 1931, a remarkable group of
women got together and set
749
00:50:42,960 --> 00:50:46,000
up their own London showcase for new
composers,
750
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:47,920
including works by Maconchy.
751
00:50:49,560 --> 00:50:52,560
This building behind me
used to be the Mercury Theatre where
752
00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:55,880
these ground-breaking
performances took place.
753
00:50:55,880 --> 00:50:59,880
But Maconchy's modernist-influenced
music wasn't entirely to the
754
00:50:59,880 --> 00:51:01,080
taste of the critics.
755
00:51:02,720 --> 00:51:05,480
Some couldn't get past the fact
that, oh, my goodness,
756
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:08,800
there are women composers composing
pieces of, and I quote,
757
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,000
"Almost aggressive virility."
758
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:16,840
And the one lone man was producing
somewhat effeminate little songs.
759
00:51:16,840 --> 00:51:20,120
That's what you get when you do
a concert based on women's music.
760
00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:26,840
As modernist music became more
mainstream in the 1940s and '50s,
761
00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:29,880
Maconchy's career
went from strength to strength.
762
00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:36,000
These are programmes
from premieres of Maconchy's
763
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:38,800
works at Royal Albert Hall.
764
00:51:38,800 --> 00:51:40,800
The earliest in 1942.
765
00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:43,280
Maconchy in a line-up with
Mendelssohn,
766
00:51:43,280 --> 00:51:45,880
Brahms, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky.
767
00:51:45,880 --> 00:51:47,360
That's a pretty good line-up.
768
00:51:48,520 --> 00:51:52,000
Maconchy's favourite musical form
was the string quartet.
769
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:53,640
She wrote 13.
770
00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:55,360
She said the thrill
of composing them
771
00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:59,480
was like combining the intuition
and skill of a poet with
772
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:02,080
the excitement of driving a four
horse carriage.
773
00:52:06,760 --> 00:52:09,080
In the early 1940s,
Britain had endured
774
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:11,960
the traumas of German bombing during
the Blitz.
775
00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:13,760
And this unsettling piece,
776
00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:16,960
Maconchy's string quartet number
four, struck a chord.
777
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:24,600
Along with Benjamin Britten's
Symphony Number One,
778
00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:28,560
Maconchy's continued composing was
seen as a sign of British pluck
779
00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:31,440
and creativity in the face
of adversity.
780
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:40,800
Her fourth quartet was recorded
by the BBC, broadcast across Europe.
781
00:52:40,800 --> 00:52:43,760
It was a symbol that the
show would go on.
782
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:46,560
And people loved its intensity,
783
00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:49,280
its drive, its seriousness.
784
00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:52,440
And for a moment, they even forgot
that it was a woman who composed it,
785
00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:54,480
because there were greater things
at stake.
786
00:52:56,040 --> 00:53:00,600
Maconchy's personal favourite,
the fifth quartet, followed in 1948.
787
00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:16,960
It's played here by students
from the Royal College of Music.
788
00:53:21,400 --> 00:53:24,320
The group call themselves
the Maconchy Quartet.
789
00:53:34,760 --> 00:53:39,160
Nicola, the fifth string quartet was
composed while both you
790
00:53:39,160 --> 00:53:43,440
and your sister were ill. Yes.
I think it's remarkable.
791
00:53:43,440 --> 00:53:46,400
My sister had appendicitis,
she was in Dublin.
792
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:48,280
My parents were in Ireland.
793
00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:50,200
And then they had come back
to England
794
00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:53,160
because I was in Great Ormond Street
because I'd had an adverse reaction
795
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:58,720
to a vaccination. So somehow,
despite this, my mother found the
796
00:53:58,720 --> 00:54:03,200
space, even at such a worrying time,
to write this wonderful quartet.
797
00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:15,480
Like Clara Schumann, Maconchy had to
manage the competing
798
00:54:15,480 --> 00:54:18,840
demands of motherhood
and creativity.
799
00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:21,880
She did so with her usual grit
and determination.
800
00:54:23,080 --> 00:54:25,760
I can remember her playing
the piano. When I'd gone to bed
801
00:54:25,760 --> 00:54:27,960
and my sister had gone to bed, and
we'd hear the piano.
802
00:54:27,960 --> 00:54:30,040
It sounds rather romantic
but it wasn't, really,
803
00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:33,200
it was because it was the only time
in the day she had to compose.
804
00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:38,520
And in a similar way to
Schumann, Maconchy wrestled with
805
00:54:38,520 --> 00:54:41,200
self-doubt and writers block.
806
00:54:41,200 --> 00:54:44,120
She was a very severe self critic.
807
00:54:44,120 --> 00:54:46,720
She used to write here at this
piano,
808
00:54:46,720 --> 00:54:48,840
and she'd have the manuscript paper
up here,
809
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:50,600
and then she'd throw it on the
floor.
810
00:54:51,760 --> 00:54:54,560
I've always scrapped a great deal
811
00:54:54,560 --> 00:54:57,320
and used a great
deal of manuscript paper.
812
00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:00,160
Because I think you either write the
Mozart and Schubert way
813
00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:03,160
with the music just running down
your pen onto the paper,
814
00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:04,800
or the Beethoven way, which is
815
00:55:04,800 --> 00:55:07,960
the hard way, with awful heart
searchings
816
00:55:07,960 --> 00:55:09,880
and scrappings and so on.
817
00:55:09,880 --> 00:55:11,600
And that's really the way I write.
818
00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:21,000
In 1952, one of these painfully
delivered pieces,
819
00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:25,680
Proud Thames, won a competition to
be London's Coronation overture.
820
00:55:33,080 --> 00:55:37,880
Against all the odds, Maconchy was
becoming a national treasure.
821
00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:41,880
She went on to be appointed chair of
the Composers Guild of Great
Britain,
822
00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:44,400
and was even made a Dame of
the British Empire.
823
00:55:44,400 --> 00:55:48,520
And yet, since Maconchy's death
824
00:55:48,520 --> 00:55:52,600
she's become known as one of
our finest lost composers.
825
00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:56,040
Her works have become much harder
to find in the repertoire than
826
00:55:56,040 --> 00:55:59,680
those of her male contemporaries,
like Vaughan Williams or Britten.
827
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:06,440
Is it that she writes this quite
dense, cerebral music?
828
00:56:06,440 --> 00:56:08,480
Then again, other people wrote
music like that,
829
00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:09,760
they just happened to be men.
830
00:56:09,760 --> 00:56:11,720
And we still hear their music.
831
00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:17,040
I don't like to accept
the depressing truth that it
832
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:21,960
simply has to be the fact that she
was a woman working in a world
833
00:56:21,960 --> 00:56:25,800
that was, and to some extent
still remains,
834
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:30,000
ruled by a set of values or
a set of ideas about what makes
835
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:35,520
a great composer. And one of those
things is to be born a man.
836
00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:38,920
So how far have we actually
come in the new millennium?
837
00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:40,960
And how much is still left to do?
838
00:56:44,920 --> 00:56:48,640
In 2013, Marin Alsop became
the first woman to conduct
839
00:56:48,640 --> 00:56:50,240
the Last Night of the Proms.
840
00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:57,960
I'm incredibly honoured
and proud to have this title.
841
00:56:57,960 --> 00:57:01,840
But I have to say, I'm still quite
shocked that it can be 2013
842
00:57:01,840 --> 00:57:03,480
and there can be firsts for women.
843
00:57:05,640 --> 00:57:09,160
Marin, what is it like to be
a woman in classical music today?
844
00:57:10,640 --> 00:57:15,600
Well, I think it's a much more
positive outlook
845
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:22,320
and I think it's a moment
of optimism and hope, but also
846
00:57:22,320 --> 00:57:24,600
it's a moment where we can't
let our guard down.
847
00:57:24,600 --> 00:57:29,600
We have to continue to be vigilant
about creating opportunities.
848
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:32,280
Particularly for female composers.
Yes.
849
00:57:32,280 --> 00:57:34,440
Do find the avenues
opening up for them?
850
00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:38,040
I think female composers
would say that
851
00:57:38,040 --> 00:57:41,440
there's certainly more opportunity
now than there was.
852
00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:45,120
And as a composer, you have to try
things on the orchestra
853
00:57:45,120 --> 00:57:47,640
and without those opportunities,
really,
854
00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:50,600
I don't think greatness can
really exist.
855
00:57:50,600 --> 00:57:53,960
And how important is it for the next
generation of female composers
856
00:57:53,960 --> 00:57:57,720
and conductors to know about the
women who came before them,
857
00:57:57,720 --> 00:58:01,040
and know these histories?
This is critical.
858
00:58:01,040 --> 00:58:06,280
Having a sense of history
behind you, you know, and in front
859
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:13,480
of you, so that you feel supported
is essential to feeling entitled.
860
00:58:13,480 --> 00:58:15,320
Women need to know these stories.
861
00:58:15,320 --> 00:58:17,320
They need to celebrate the stories.
862
00:58:22,400 --> 00:58:24,280
Yet in 2016,
863
00:58:24,280 --> 00:58:26,080
there were as many performances
864
00:58:26,080 --> 00:58:29,080
of Shostakovich's string quartets in
just one week,
865
00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:34,040
as there have been of Maconchy's in
the previous five years.
866
00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:37,960
And the truth is, the female
composers we've looked at represent
867
00:58:37,960 --> 00:58:45,240
only a tiny sample of an estimated
6,000 whose work has been forgotten.
868
00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:47,400
There's still a long way to go.
117966
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