Female composers are expanding the choral repertoire
With Fanny Hensel’s «Gartenlieder,» Marianna von Martines’ «Seconda Messa,» and a choral collection featuring works by female composers, mixed choirs now have new programming options.
The three editions from Carus-Verlag presented here are prime examples of the welcome rediscovery of female composers and enrich the choral repertoire with works of great musical and historical significance.
With Fanny Hensel's Garden Songs Op. 3 is a meticulous Urtext edition of a Romantic choral cycle that impresses with its subtle interpretation of the text, tonal diversity, and editorial precision. With Marianna von Martines‘ Second Mass A melodious, relatively easy-to-perform work of the Viennese Classical period is made available in a scholarly edition, thereby further establishing one of the most significant female composers of the 18th century in the performance repertoire.
The Anthology Choral Music Composed by Women provides a cross-epochal overview of the diverse works of female composers. It brings together well-known names with rewarding rediscoveries and offers choir directors valuable inspiration for creating varied and contemporary programs. Together, the three publications demonstrate how editorial quality and the expansion of the repertoire can go hand in hand.
Fanny Hensel: *Gartenlieder*, Op. 3, 6 Songs for Mixed Choir, ed. by Lorenz Adamer, conductor’s score, 9.308/00, €15.00, Carus, Stuttgart
Marianna von Martines: Seconda Messa, ed. by Joseph Taff; conductor’s score, 27.907/00, €60.00; piano reduction, 27.907/03, €18.00; Carus, Stuttgart
Choral Music Composed by Women, 47 compositions for SATB choir, some with piano or organ, edited by Franziska de Gilde, Mary Ellen Kirchens, and Jan Schumacher, Chorbuch 2.251/00, €24.00, Carus, Stuttgart
