Broadening the Repertoire,
Celebrating International Women's Day
International Women's Day (March 8th) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. In aid of International Women's Day, we have compiled a selection of publications featuring the latest compositions by talented contemporary female composers, alongside anthologies featuring the music of women composers throughout history. Find out more about these inspirational women below.
Vocal & Choral
This collection features 100 songs arranged for piano, voice and guitar from 100 iconic female artists. Artists showcased include Adele, Pat Benatar, Beyoncé, Karen Carpenter, Cher, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Lorde, Madonna, Idina Menzel, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Taylor Swift, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Amy Winehouse, and many others.
Available Format: Sheet Music
For SSA and piano. Music of Life is a vibrant setting of a poem by George Parsons Lathrop that describes how music underpins all earthly life. An active piano part provides an energetic undercurrent to compelling vocal lines, with the voices beginning in unison before opening out into two and then three parts.
Available Format: Sheet Music
For SSA and piano, with optional melody instrument. With lyrics by the composer, Come Alive explores the scientific notion that energy never dies, but instead transforms into or transfers to something new.
Two more new compositions by Jenny Mahler, The Tide, and The Compass, are also now available.
Available Format: Sheet Music
For unaccomapnied TTBB voices. TaReKiTa is a refreshing concert piece that effortlessly fuses the Hindustani (North Indian) and Western classical music styles. The composer's scats are combined with a fast triple metre, vocal slides, and captivating melodies built on the Jog raga.
Available Format: Sheet Music
For upper voices (SSAA) and SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied. This is an innovative, striking setting of the Magnificat text that is well suited to both liturgical and concert performance. The work celebrates the strength, character, and intelligence of teenage girls, as well as offering a different presentation of Mary, focusing on her courage and determination.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Echo is Jessica Curry's emotive setting of the Christina Rossetti poem for SATB chorus and orchestra, here available with piano reduction. The piece is Curry's response to losing her father during the COVID-19 pandemic. It serves not only as a reflection on grief but anchors the global events within a deeply personal context, asking that each loss and each life is seen, heard and remembered. A poignantly beautiful choral work, Echo is characterised by its contemporary and delicately ethereal musical style. Dynamic in its contrasting tones and textures, it is ideal for concert performances.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Piano & Organ
HerStory: The Piano Collection presents invaluable repertoire by remarkable female composers across the ages. Written and compiled by award-winning author and piano pedagogue Karen Marshall, each piece is accompanied by a fascinating 'snapshot' of the 29 composers, providing invaluable insights into how they lived and composed, alongside quotes from them or about them. In addition there are suggestions of other pieces to try, personal observations from Karen Marshall and pedagogical activities and ideas.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Melanie Spanswick's new series of piano music by women composers is a progressive compendium of educational literature covering a broad repertoire from the 17th century to the present day. For each piece, the editor has written short instructions with tips for rehearsing and biographical notes on the composers. An indispensable enrichment for lessons and concerts.
Book two is also now available
Available Format: Sheet Music
First Repertoire for Little Pianists is a series of delightful, original piano works for children from beginner to preparatory level. Comprising 25 performance pieces that may also be used to supplement a method, each book in the series provides a treasure trove of meticulously graded music, bursting with imagination and inventiveness. Both books feature piano solos, solos with teacher accompaniment, and pupil duets that will motivate further study and foster a love for music-making.
Book two is also available here.
Available Format: Sheet Music
This fantasia for organ was composed in 2019. The composition is based on a melody attributed to the French composer Louis Bourgeois (approx. 1510–1560) which is one of the most well-known melodies in the Christian musical tradition. It has also been sung to various other texts, such as Lutheran chorales. The composer has retained the style of French Romanticism. The character of the work corresponds to the content of the text and culminates in a festive finale. This music is suitable for many church music occasions.
Available Format: Sheet Music
More Sheet Music Celebrating Female Artists and Composers
Breath of Song brings together ten exquisite works by contemporary women composers. Compiled and edited by Sarah Quartel, the collection features an eclectic mix of styles and colours.
Available Format: Sheet Music
The Sarah Quartel Songbook brings together a selection of the composer's best-loved pieces for mixed voices, including favourites such as Sing, my Child, Voice on the Wind, and Swept Away.
Sarah Quartel Songbook: 10 songs for upper voices is also available here.
Available Format: Sheet Music
The choirbook Women of Our World is more than a simple song collection: In easy two- to three-part arrangements for women’s voices, 40 pieces in 25 different languages from more than 30 countries are gathered here. Singable transcriptions for each piece as well as pronunciation guides and translations in the appendix enable an immediate access. Introductory texts inform on the origin and cultural background of the songs.
Available Format: Sheet Music
This volume offers a refreshing alternative to the many Italian Songs and Arias books geared towards young singers. It celebrates women composers who composed solo music in Italian beginning in the Late-Renaissance period. These songs, arias, and madrigals have been compiled and annotated by Nicole Leone and noted vocal pedagogue, Randi Marrazzo. The collection includes several songs in multiple keys to make it a great resource for all voice types.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Including works by: Lettie Beckon Alston, Rachel Amelia Eubanks, Jeraldine Saunders Herbison, Zenobia Powell Perry, Mary Watkins and Dolores White. For violin and piano, cello and piano or piano trio.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Eighteen intermediate to late intermediate piano pieces by eight composers. Includes music by Amy Marcy Beach, Teresa Carreño, Cécile Chaminade, Louise Dumont Farrenc, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Margaret Ruthven Lang, Clara Gottschalk Peterson, and Clara Schumann. With composer biographies.
Available Format: Sheet Music
This unique compilation of eighteen beautiful pieces pays tribute to thirteen of the world's greatest women composers from the Baroque to contemporary periods. Included are works by Amy Beach, Teresa Carreno, Cecile Chaminade, Louise Farrenc, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Wieck Schumann and Maria Szymanowska as well as pieces from relatively unknown composers, ranging in difficulty from intermediate to moderately advanced.
Available Format: Sheet Music
With forty-five songs by twenty-two composers, Women Compoers - A Heritage of Song is a comprehensive single volume of art songs composed by women. It includes biographical information about the composers and historical information about each song, with songs in English, French, German and Italian.
An edition for high voice is also available here.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Ellena Taylor - Sheet Music and Books Manager
