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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
A new label revives forgotten female composers' music
The realization2 came as a shock to Hélo?se Luzzati. How could she have spent the better part of three decades playing music without ever studying a piece composed by a woman?
As her gigs dried up at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and concert halls around the world went dark for months, the French cellist3 dedicated4 much of her time to remedying that gap. "The role of women in the history of music began to gain a certain importance in my life as a musician," the French cellist told NPR's Leila Fadel. "We don't know enough works composed by women. My aim is to increase the percentage of known works written by female composers."
She unearthed5 manuscripts by the likes of Mel Bonis (1858-1937), Clémence de Grandval (1828-1907) and Rita Strohl (1865-1941). In many cases, these pages of music had simply been sitting in a trunk in the attic6, preserved by the composers' own descendants.
Luzzati has a hard time picking just one piece as her favorite. "There [are] so many. I cannot answer this question," she said. "I ask myself, how could I [not] know this piece?"
Many of these works had never been published or recorded before, and yet to Luzzati they shone like priceless jewels. Her project quickly grew from a set of online biographical videos to a virtual advent7 calendar featuring recorded performances, a festival with top soloists8 at ch?teaux and other historic sites near Paris — and now a new record label.
La Bo?te à Pépites (The Jewel Box) aims to "exhume9 pieces that seem worthy10 of a good position in the standard musical repertoire," Luzzati explained. The label's first release, launched in France in April and set for September 30 in the UK, is centered around French composer Charlotte Sohy, who died in 1955.
"I was completely captivated by this music," said Luzzati, who gave a special nod to what she considers a "masterpiece," the Op. 24 piano trio.
"It's completely specific as French music from the beginning of the 20th century — sometimes impressionistic, sometimes figurative, with colors of Ravel, Chausson or Debussy."
The rich harmonies also come from someone who faced tremendous odds11, having survived two world wars, mothered seven children and cared for a conductor-composer (Marcel Labey). At times, she composed under a male name — that of her grandfather, Charles Sohy — or just used the abbreviation Ch. Sohy "to bypass the prejudices about women," Luzzati explained. And yet her catalogue includes 35 opuses. She studied under composer Vincent d'Indy, himself a student of César Franck.
A three-CD boxset — also available on streaming platforms — features world premieres of Sohy's piano, chamber12 and orchestral works. Among the soloists are rising and veteran stars of the classical world in their own right, including David Kadouch, Xavier Phillips, Célia Oneto Bensa?d and Marie-Laure Garnier. The Quatuor Hermès recorded Sohy's first two quartets and the Orchestre national Avignon-Provence took up orchestral works under the baton13 of Debora Waldman.
It all began when Waldman introduced Luzzati to Sohy's grandson Fran?ois-Henri Labey. Since retiring from directing regional conservatories14 about a decade ago, Labey has copied his grandmother's handwritten work in digital format15 on a computer. He's said that he stumbled upon her "Grande Guerre" (Great War) Symphony in C sharp minor16 in the bottom of a drawer. In 2019, Waldman led the Orchestre Victor-Hugo Franche-Comté in the posthumous17 world premiere of the work, composed during World War I. Sohy was informed of her husband's death on the battlefield while writing the second movement, only to learn a week later that he was found alive.
Luzzati is intransigent in her selection both of the pieces and performers put forward via her project, a charitable organization run by musicians. Violinist Renaud Capu?on and pianist Bertrand Chamayou are among the internationally renowned18 musicians who have joined the effort. Rather than simply performing a piece because it was composed by a woman, Luzzati and her fellow artists work together to breathe life into some of the most accomplished19 works by a composer who happened to be a woman.
"We want this music to exist for the future and for the young generations too," she explained. "We don't want to rewrite the story of the music. We want to add the women who count in the story."
Gender20 inequality is still prevalent in the music industry today. While there are growing efforts to promote music by composers of underrepresented genders21 and backgrounds, only 5% of compositions scheduled to be performed by 100 orchestras worldwide in the 2020-2021 season were written by women, according to the UK-based foundation Donne.
Historically, much of this music has been overlooked — if not dismissed entirely22 — by music directors, and even teachers. Music students, from their very beginnings to advanced studies at top conservatories, are still largely taught music composed by white men who have been dead for decades, if not centuries.
Some women gained wide acclaim23 during their lifetimes, especially in the late 19th century. Virtuoso24 pianist Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a prolific25 composer and the only female professor of music to teach at the Paris Conservatory26 in that century. But she was quickly forgotten after her death, despite her work being published.
"So there you go. It's as simple as that. When a composer dies and she's no longer there to keep her work alive, it disappears almost instantly," Luzzati said.
Her group has also spotlighted27 living composers, like Ethiopian nun28 Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou or Alicia Terzian of Argentina. There are also new arrangements, such as one of a song by Barbara, who started out as a cabaret singer before writing her own tunes29.
And Luzzati only just got started. She's setting her sights next on music publishing — blowing the dust off old manuscripts so that the works can be played by students and soloists alike. If she succeeds, the ripple30 effect could have a long lasting31 impact on the classical music industry.
收听单词发音 |
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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cellist
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| n.大提琴手 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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soloists
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| n.独唱者，独奏者，单飞者( soloist的名词复数 ) | |
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exhume
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| v.掘出，挖掘 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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baton
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| n.乐队用指挥杖 | |
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conservatories
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| n.（培植植物的）温室，暖房( conservatory的名词复数 ) | |
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format
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| n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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posthumous
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| adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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gender
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| n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性 | |
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genders
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| n.性某些语言的（阳性、阴性和中性，不同的性有不同的词尾等）( gender的名词复数 )；性别；某些语言的（名词、代词和形容词）性的区分 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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acclaim
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| v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞 | |
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virtuoso
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| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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conservatory
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| n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的 | |
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spotlighted
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| v.聚光照明( spotlight的过去式和过去分词 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目 | |
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nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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tunes
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| n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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