There's the story about the woman who died at 25. Another about an expectant mother who fled into the woods after her husband threatened to kill her and their unborn child. And the tale about the bride of a prominent physician 25 years her senior who shut down her career.
These three women not only had unbelievable lives, they also shared a profession: composing. But, because of the times they lived in, their classical music was hardly played or celebrated by the masses.
This month, operatic soprano Lambroula Maria Pappas hopes to shed a little light on the work of seven female writers: Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, Pauline Viardot, Germaine Tailleferre, Vítezslava Kaprálová, Rebecca Clarke and Jocelyn Morlock.
Pappas and pianist David Bergeron - a UBC PhD - will play a number of their songs as part of a faculty concert on Nov. 15 at Place des Arts in Coquitlam, where Pappas teaches voice (they will stage another show at UBC the following week for a lunch-hour music series).
The idea for Leider, She Wrote came after the pair played last year at the West Point Grey United Church in a show titled Songs My Mother Taught Me. "We just really enjoyed the woman aspect to it and I was a new mother," Pappas remembered. "Then we thought, no one ever sings this stuff so we searched for music that we really loved listening to and singing and playing."
Pappas said pieces by early female composers are under-performed as they were never promoted. In the 19th century, women were homemakers and although their musical talents were appreciated - as was the case for prodigy Clara Schumann, wife of Robert Schumann - their compositions were not taken seriously.
Pappas pays special tribute to Kaprálová, a Czech composer and conductor who passed away in 1940 at the age of 25. "The music she composed is the most amazing thing you have ever heard in your life," she said. "It's just a shame she died so young because she would have been one of the top, top composers."
In fact, Kaprálová has such a fan base today that the Kaprálová Society, a non-profit arts group in Toronto, asks performers to contact them so they can advertise a Canadian concert in which her work will be heard.
Also on the Nov. 15 program are: four nature-based songs from Schumann (Germany); Three Browning Songs by Beach (USA); Bonjour mon coeur by Viardot (France); four tunes from Six Chanson Francaises by Tailleferre (France), which are dedicated to women in tumultuous relationships; Clarke (England) songs based on poetry by W.B. Yeats; and Somewhere Along the Line by Morlock (Canada), currently a Vancouver Symphony Orchestra composer-in-residence.
Pappas said she will provide a backgrounder to the female composers and their pieces before she sings each set.
Tickets at $15/$13 for Leider, She Wrote on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. are available through Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam) by calling 604-664-1636 or visiting placedesarts.ca.
@jwarrenTC
