Old Prejudices,New Perceptions

Ammer, Christine. UNSUNG: A History of Women in American Music. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980. A history of the roles played by women as performers, composers, and teachers in American music. The book is quite strong in historical content regarding early American female musicians.

Block, Adrienne F. , and Carol Neuls-Bates . Women in American Music: Bibliography of Music and Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979. Contains a wide variety of source materials, including sections on reference materials, collected works, and historical studies and chapters describing historical eras (e.g., Colonial to 1820). Each of the era chapters is subdivided into eight categories ranging from “literature about women in vernacular music” to “art music by women.”

Bowers, Jane , and Judith Tick , eds. Women Making Music. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987. A set of historical studies of women in Western art music. It is the first written by musicologists from different specializations. It contains chapters that document the achievements of outstanding individuals such as Barbara Strozzi, Clara Wieck Schumann, and Dame Ethel Smyth as well as more general chapters that summarize current knowledge regarding women in several eras and geographic locations.

Briscoe, James R. “Integrating Music by Women into the Music History Sequence.” College Music Symposium 25 (1988): 21–27. This article contains short descriptions of seven composers, titles of their compositions, and sources of recordings and publishers.

Cohen, Aaron I. International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Vols. 1 and 2, 2d ed., revised and enlarged. New York: Books and Music, 1988. Contains 6,196 brief entries. Each entry contains information regarding the composer's education, achievements, and compositions.

Dahl, Linda. Stormy Weather. New York: Pantheon Books, 1984. The subtitle of this book is “The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen.” While all of us recognize the names of many jazz singers such as Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday or pianists such as Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland, how many of us are familiar with the Melodears, The Harlem Playgirls, or Ivy Benson? The book contains numerous first-person narratives that reinforce the interesting text.

Green, M. D. Black Women Composers: A Genesis. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1983. Brief biographies of five Black women composers. Includes analysis of their music, influences on their compositions, and a catalog of works.

Handy, D. A. Black Women in American Bands and Orchestras. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1981. Fascinating history of Black women in bands and orchestras. The book also includes brief biographies of influential Black female orchestra conductors and performers and a descriptive survey of Black students in youth orchestras.

Hinely, Mary Brown. “The Uphill Climb of Women in American Music.” Parts 1, 2. Music Educators Journal 70, nos. 8, 9 (April, May 1984): 31–35, 42–45.

Jezic, Diane Peacock. Women Composers: The Lost Tradition Found. New York: The Feminist Press at The City University of New York, 1988. A guide to the lives and works of twenty-five women composers from the eleventh century to the Present. One can also purchase, from Leonarda Productions, Inc., two cassettes that contain recordings of all the musical works discussed.

Koskoff, Ellen , ed. Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Contains fifteen essays that trace the connection between women's music making and their particular culture. European, Muslim, Asian, and South American cultures are explored, as well as that of the United States.

Lepage, Jane Weiner. Women Composers, Conductors, and Musicians of the Twentieth Century, 2 vols. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1980, 1983. Each volume contains seventeen extensive biographies and lists of compositions. All but one of the subjects was interviewed personally by the author, and there is extensive reference to significant reviews.

Music Educators Journal 65, no. 5 (January 1979). This issue contains five articles on women in music.

Neuls-Bates, Carol , ed. Women in Music. New York: Harper & Row, 1982. The subtitle of this book tells the reader just what the contents are: “An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle Ages to the Present.” Many of these source readings are written by the women musicians themselves. In addition, the text includes some examples of writings in which women were advised, in earlier times, about their role in music.

Olivier, A. , and K. Weingartz-Perschel . Komponistinnen von A–Z. Dusseldorf, Germany: TOKKATA Verlag fur Frauenforschung, 1988. Short biographies and listings of recorded works, printed music, and books of 268 contemporary and non-contemporary women composers from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Although written in German, much information can be understood without extensive knowledge of the language. Excellent reference.

Porter, Lewis. “Jazzwomen.” Parts 1, 2. Music Educators Journal 71, nos. 1, 2 (September, October 1984): 42–52, 42–51.

Reich, Nancy B., Adrienne Fried Block, James R. Briscoe, Barbara English Maris, and Karen Pendle. “Women's Studies/Women's Status.” CMS Report no. 5. Boulder: College Music Society, 1988. This report contains an annotated bibliography of recent writings on women in music and a report comparing the status of women in college music in 1976 and 1986.

Vagts, P. “Introducing Students to Music by Women Composers.” American Music Teacher 39, no. 1: 10–13. Well-written rationale for inclusion of women composers in music classes and practical suggestions. Useful annotated bibliography and resources section.

Vander, Judith. Songprints. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988. The subtitle of this book is “The Musical Experience of Five Shoshone Women.” The contents are the result of the author's role as a participant observer with each of the women during a five-year span during which she recorded their songs and their thoughts about music. The youngest subject was in her twenties; the oldest in her seventies. The book contains an in-depth discussion of each individual's background and numerous examples of transcribed songs from each participant.

Ward, K. , C. Brinkley-Carter , and J. Morrison . Curriculum Integration Workbook. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Department of Women's Studies, 1990. Resources and suggestions for integrating race, gender, and class into college courses. Addresses theoretical and practical aspects of curriculum integration and transformation.

Zaimont, Judith Lang , ed. The Musical Woman. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. Contains a gazette section that lists recent and current data regarding women's worldwide musical activities and a section of essays. In addition to essays on outstanding women musicians, there are essays on women critics, women's music festivals and concert series, and women in the recording and publishing business.