LibGuides: Women in Classical Music: Research

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General Resources

Books (selections)

Five Lives in Music by Cecelia Hopkins Porter
Call Number: ML82 P67 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2012
Brings to light five women performers and composers from the Baroque to the 20th century, finding common threads that extend to a discussion of female musicians throughout centuries of music history.
Women in Music by Karin Pendle; Melinda Boyd
Call Number: ML128 W8 P39 2010 [Allen reference]
Annotated bibliography covering the variety of published writings on women, their work, and the important roles feminist outlooks have played in scholarship and journalism.
Women, Music, Culture by Julie C. Dunbar
Call Number: ML82 D85 2021 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2021
Covers the history and contributions of women in a variety of musical genres and professions. Includes a website with videos and Spotify playlists.

Find more books about women in music

Search subjects in the catalog:
Feminism and music
Gender identity in music
Music by women composers > Analysis, appreciation
Music by women composers > History and criticism
Sex role in music
Women composers
Women music patrons
Women musicians

Music Reference Databases

A Distaff Brass Band Bibliography
List of 271 books, articles, and more related to female brass players and their ensembles. Selected from the larger Brass Band Bibliography.

Grove/Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Music encyclopedia with works lists and citations. Search a particular person's name or terms such as "women." See especially entries on Women in Music or Women in American Music
Oxford Bibliographies - Music This link opens in a new window
Citation lists on many music subjects and people. See especially entries on Women in Music or Gender and Sexuality in Music.

Journals (selections)

Journals are a great place to learn from experts about the most recent developments in a particular field.
Search articles online or browse the Allen Library current periodicals (near the Allen entrance). See especially:

GEMS (Gender, Education, Music, and Society) by Gender Research in Music Education (GRIME)
An open-access online journal.
Women & Music
Current issues available online only.

Journal Article Databases

Library databases provide citations for articles, book chapters, and more. Most articles/chapters focus on a narrow and specific topic, so they are great for deeper research. To get started:

Choose a database.
Search for keywords such as genres, topics, names of people, etc.
Limit your results by date, language, and more with the the left-hand menu on the results page.

Need more help?

See our Article help page for step-by-step instructions and videos to help you search databases and find full-text articles. And you can always ask a librarian for individual help.

Music Article Databases

Music Index Online This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 700 music journals.
Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Article citations from over 400 music journals.
RILM This link opens in a new window
Citations for scholarly music and dance books, articles, dissertations, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from almost 100 scholarly music, dance, and theatre journals, plus other subjects. Excludes recent years.

Composers

Books in the Allen Library (selections)

Alma Mahler and Her Contemporaries by Susan M. Filler
Call Number: ML134 M20 F55 2018 [Allen reference]
Publication Date: 2018
Uncovers the wealth of resources on Mahler, Florence Price, Yuliya Lazarevna Veysberg, and Maria Teresa Prieto, the first generation of active female composers in the 20th century.
Analytical Essays on Music by Women Composers by Laurel Parsons, Brenda Ravenscroft (Editors)
Call Number: MT90 A523 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2016-2022
Essays on women's compositions from the mid-12th to the 20th centuries, linked with sociohistorical context.
Volume 4 yet to be published.
From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and their Music by Helen Walker-Hill
Call Number: ML390 W35 F76 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2002
Examination of the history and scope of musical composition by African-American women, focusing on the implications of race, gender, and class for their musical creativity.
In Her Own Words by Jennifer Kelly
Call Number: ML390 K45 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2013
Interviews with 25 accomplished female U.S. composers from the mid-20th century into the 21st, opening new perspectives on the prospects and possibilities of making music in a changing world.
Sounds and Sweet Airs by Anna Beer
Call Number: ML390 B44 2016 [Allen shelves]
Tells the stories of eight female composers, from Renaissance Florence to 20th-century London.

Find more books about women composers

Search subjects in the catalog...
Music by women composers > Analysis, appreciation
Music by women composers > History and criticism
Women composers

...or search for specific composers, for example:
Beach, Amy
Hensel, Fanny Mendelssohn
Hildegard of Bingen
Price, Florence
Schumann, Clara
Seeger, Ruth Crawford

Don't know what names to search? See the Repertoire page.

Performers

Books in the Allen Library (selections)

And So I Sing: African-American Divas of Opera and Concert by Rosalyn M. Story
Call Number: ML400 S86 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 1993
Profiles 32 singers. Includes biographies of Marion Anderson, Leontyne Price, Martina Arroya, and Grace Bumbry.
Five Centuries of Women Singers by Isabelle Emerson
Call Number: ML400 E43 F58 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2005
Explores the careers of 20 singers from the late 16th century to the middle of the 20th. Reveals much about the business of music and the perseverance that was and is crucial for a successful career.
Black Women in American Bands and Orchestras by D. Antoinette Handy
Call Number: ML128 W8 H 1998 [Allen reference]
Profiles of Black women who performed or were affiliated with orchestras and bands in the United States.
Women Performing Music by Beth Abelson Macleod
Call Number: ML82 M33 W65 [Allen shelves]
Publication Date: 2000
Explores the experiences of women from the late 19th and early 20th centuries who pursued careers as public performers, charting a new course for women in this era.

Find more books about women musicians

Search subjects in the catalog...
Women musicians

...or search for specific musicians, for example:
Anderson, Marian
Clarke, Rebecca
Levy, Sara
Schumann, Clara

Suggest a Resource

Know of a resource you think should be added to this guide? Let us know!

Want to suggest we purchase something new? Contact Tracey Rudnick (rudnick@hartford.edu).

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