Gender & Choral Music

Over the many years I have spent as a choral director and teacher, I have noticed that certain repertoire inspires and excites my choirs. Teaching in a school for girls the last thirteen years, I have begun to question how society’s approach to women affects choral music. I believe that there is a greater impact on girls from music that is composed for or by women. These compositions can express an experience of the world from a distinctly feminine perspective, and this may serve to empower young women and help them find their individual voices.

How does one empower girls and help them to flourish in a patriarchal world? How does a woman develop a healthy self image amidst the myriad negative, objectifying, or limiting images of women in contemporary culture? Finding one’s voice as a girl or as a woman is a necessary step in achieving parity with men.

There are many ways by which a person can find their own power or voice, and singing is a means of doing so. Using one’s voice with confidence and authority aids in the process of achieving this goal. Through a comparison of the music of Hildegard von Bingen and Antonio Vivaldi, I propose that vocal music may provide a vehicle toward this end. These great musicians lived during periods when deviating from societal norms would have prompted dire consequences for their own well being and/or their authority as teachers and musicians. In her essay, Sonorous Voice and Feminist Teaching: Lessons from Cavarero, Michelle Forrest proposes that there is a certain bias against the sonorous quality of female voices, and that the female voice is discounted or devalued in Western philosophy. There is a devocalization of females in history that affects a bias against the sonorous quality of that voice in authority positions (Forrest 2015, 587-602).

The sound of one’s voice is an essential part of his or her identity. With regard to singing, finding one’s voice through repertoire helps the singer to learn more about their instrument and the power they wield through it. Music composed for and/or by women, has the potential to help the singer to discover her voice and its value. Once discovered, the music can become a vehicle of self-knowledge and awareness. For the singer, it can foster a greater confidence and strength. I have observed this during the many years of teaching voice and choral music to girls. As they grow more comfortable with their own voice and explore its capabilities, their fears begin to fall away. Confidence gained through performing in a choir or as a soloist infuses all that they do. Many young performers are more able to give presentations and speak eloquently in the classroom or in public. They are more likely to take risks in order to achieve their goals due to the fact that have been taking significant risks by singing and making themselves vulnerable before an audience. Given the patriarchal world of Hildegard and Vivaldi, such a sense of value for a woman would have been quite significant. I would argue that this is just as relevant for girls and women today.

Finding one’s voice is a metaphor for gaining power in the socio-political arena, for recognition in the artistic world, and for equality in a relational realm. Finding one’s voice as a woman in music can also be taken literally. Discovering compositions that capitalize upon one’s range and abilities can transform the performer. Composers who understand women’s voices can further the cause by elevating women within individual works and within the artistic sphere. A song that is properly placed in a woman’s voice is pleasing to the performer and audience alike. Vivaldi was a master of composition for women. His time at the Ospedalle della Pietà generated a great deal of outstanding music for women.

Understanding the perspective of the composer can also color the response of both the performer and the audience. Not only the melodies and harmonies have an impact upon the performer, but the lyrics, as well, can capture the mind and hearts of individuals such that the performance is touched by emotion or by the message delivered. Lyric imagery that a young woman understands and relates to can help her to find her voice through the poetry that is sung. Hildegard von Bingen composed beautiful poetry through which her female imagery sings. Her antiphons and responsories are true statements of faith from a female perspective.

Comparing the girls and women at the Ospedale della Pietà with the women in Hildegard’s monastic community warrants further discussion. In many ways, the residents of the Pietà were powerless women and girls that were lifted up and given opportunities that few others would ever have. For many, their lives were transformed, and they were respected and admired. Once the music program became a financial advantage, the system lifted these women up and empowered them. However, there was a very different perspective of empowerment for Hildegard’s nuns, as she helped them to recognize the power within themselves as women. The voice that they found was celebrated because of who they were as women of faith. For Vivaldi’s women at the Pietà, the affirmation was external. The power that these women gained resulted from how they were regarded by society and the men who courted them. Though the music produced by both composers accentuates the gift of their musical talent, the difference in approach can give pause. How does one find their voice? Is it more powerful if the performer is emboldened and affirmed from within? Does working within the patriarchal system diminish the accomplishments of strong or talented women?

The powerful feminine imagery that Hildegard uses in her music, artwork, and poetry is unique in the church writings of her time. Although she never challenges the role of women in church or society, she communicates the great strength and importance of the feminine. The artwork produced uses imagery that emphasizes the Divine Feminine and the fecundity of the earth.

Through her musical compositions, Hildegard empowered the women of her community by exalting the Divine Feminine through the example of Mary. However, she did this while working within the established order. There was no challenge to Church authorities regarding doctrine or practice. She was able to give voice to women through her compositions because she worked within the system. For Hildegard, her authority came through her own voice and the voice of the Church, through which she was able to expand upon established feminine symbols of Mary to strengthen and affirm the Divine Feminine. She did this as a woman, and from her experience as a woman in a patriarchal society and church. Her position, as a powerful woman in a male dominated the world, imbues her visions and musical compositions with greater meaning for women.

Most notable for our discussion of the music of Hildegard, is her depiction of the Divine Feminine. Both in her artwork and her lyrics, women are seen as powerful and central figures within salvation and the image of God. The Mater Ecclesia, an illumination in Hildegard’s De Operazione Dei, Book of Divine Works, presents the Church as a powerful woman. Hildegard uses the image of a woman as the personification of Divine love holding the Lamb of God, while the male God-head bursts from the head of the female figure. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a female figure from which the male divinity emanates implying that the male divinity derives from the female intellect (Storey 1998, 17). The image of the Divine Feminine is central to her teaching for her own community.

Antonio Vivaldi spent most of his life teaching and composing working at the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for orphaned children, those who were illegitimate, or adult women who were abandoned through divorce or other misfortune. In most of the western world during seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many women and those who were ill were left destitute. The Pietà filled a need that lifted up and cared for women and girls who had no other recourse. The girls were taught skills that would help in domestic circumstances. They were also given a musical education so that they could  sing for daily prayers and masses. 

The choir of the Pietà was renowned throughout Europe and prided itself on the quality of its musical education as well as the excellence of its choir and orchestra. Venice, with its great wealth and history as a major power in Europe, was a major destination for visitors. (Eanes 2009, 73). Many traveled from all over the Western world to hear the choir and orchestra perform. As visitors flocked to hear the girls sing at the Pietà, donations increased (Eanes 2009, 72). Noble families of Venice would endow or bequeath the Pietà with substantial sums upon their deaths because of the beautiful music.

Through the years, girls with great musical talent were recruited to fill the musical needs of the program. In addition, some noble families would send their daughters to the Pietà for the formal musical education that it offered (Constable 1984, 191). As a result, Vivaldi would have had great talent at his avail that included girls and women of various ages to play in the orchestra or sing in the choir.

Finding One’s Voice Through Music

As music educators, it is important to foster a sense confidence and providing an environment in which young singers can discover their own strength and power. Through the preparation and performance of a concert featuring the music of Hildegard von Bingen and Antonio Vivaldi, my goal was to help my high school girls find their individual and communal voices through two major composers of music for women.

Though reticent to tackle the challenging solos in the Vivaldi Gloria, the girls worked diligently to master them. In spite of some frustration during the learning of more challenging sections of the repertoire, each one of them gained a sense of accomplishment. Each surpassed what they previously perceived as their level of skill, to find their individual and choral musical voice. In choosing repertoire specifically written for women, I believed that each singer would come to appreciate its substance, and their ability to perform it well. I witnessed a clear transformation of the singers as they struggled with, worked through, and finally mastered each movement or song. The fear or lack of enthusiasm for some movements of the Gloria or for Hildegard’s chants, visibly dissipated as they approached them in rehearsals and performances. Their music had become a part of each performer and gave the girls a sense of confidence not previously demonstrated. There was a visible change in the way the singers carried themselves after the performance as they spoke of the sense of accomplishment they felt and the greater level of skill they achieved through the study of Hildegard and Vivaldi.

The leadership and influence of Hildegard von Bingen was an inspiration to the girls in my choir. The mission statement of the school states that it strives to empower young women to “challenge, shape, and change the world; to question, risk, and grow” (Mission Statement). Hildegard provided a strong role model for them as they seek to find their voices in the world in which they live. Because Hildegard’s music is not as enticing to many adolescents as other classical music, it required them to push beyond personal opinions to gain an appreciation for how Hildegard’s music changed the established order. Placing her music in context of her world furthered their understanding of it. Hildegard’s place in the history of music and women’s history is significant to all people. There is a great deal to be gleaned from the way she navigated the politics of the Medieval Period and the Church. Her prolific writings and compositions speak to her power and productivity in spite of all the limitations of her time in history. Hildegard von Bingen challenged her world beyond what most women could imagine; this alone is reason to teach her music to the young women in our contemporary world. Hildegard is a strong role model for girls as they continue to find their voice in a male dominated culture.

Though not written by a woman, the Gloria had a poignant affect upon my SSAA choir. Vivaldi knew women’s voices well, and each of the voice parts enjoyed comfort in their range as well as a share of melody or counter melody. The Gloria is a magnificent work, and the fact that it was written for the women of the Ospedale gives it great significance for women’s choirs. Due to the fact that the original score is arranged for SATB choirs, it is rarely viewed as a work for women. The fact that such a masterpiece was composed for girls in a residence for orphans and abandoned women had a profound impact upon my choir. The girls perceived it as empowering to the figlie di coro (daughters of the choir) as well for themselves. Throughout the learning process, and the culminating performance, the girls found their voices within the Gloria.

Singing the Gloria inspired the singers through the masterfully composed music as well as the fact that it was intended for women alone. This fact raises a number of questions. Does music composed by women have a greater impact upon the performer or on the audience than music composed for women by a male composer? Is Vivaldi’s library of music from his time at the Pietà less significant for women to sing than repertoire composed by women?

The imagery that Hildegard uses in her lyrics is drawn from a uniquely female perspective. Her poetry is rich with descriptions of the Divine Feminine. Though her female imagery for God and Mary was not the norm for the Catholic Church in Medieval Period, it did have an historical basis. Powerful female Deities predate the Christian era by centuries. The cult of virginity was active in Greek and Roman times as is demonstrated by the temple of the Vestal Virgins, the gods Hestia, Artemis, and Athena. Did the rise in the devotion to Mary spring from the need to connect with the Divine Feminine? I believe that there is an archetypal pursuit of the Divine Feminine, and that it is necessary and natural for both the male and female to co-exist in images of the Divine. I propose that discovering both the feminine and masculine aspects of ourselves is a significant step towards a healthy self image.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and father of analytic psychology, proposes that it is in our human nature to access both the anima and animus, our feminine and masculine spirits in order to become fully functioning persons (Stupak 1990 267-276). Jung’s theory states that both the anima and animus co-exist within each individual. In order to become a healthy and fully functioning individual, each person must integrate the feminine and masculine aspects of themselves in a way that is authentic to the individual. Perhaps this integration is a way to establish a positive sense of self and thereby discover one’s voice.

Given Jung’s theory, did Vivaldi’s music access the feminine spirit by drawing upon his anima? As a male teacher in a female educational environment, I must access and integrate both the anima and animus within myself in order to create the most productive learning environment for my students. Men can be, and are effective teachers and allies for their female students, just as female teachers can be the same for their male students. I believe that it is a matter of awareness and sensitivity. When teaching girls or women, one must take care to present the historical and musical aspects of the repertoire in a way that could speak to their feminine experience. Teachers must become aware of their own approach to the composers and their impact on the process of finding their own voices. Teaching from an integrated perspective, blending both the anima and animus, requires self-awareness and reflection.

Vivaldi taught at the Ospedale della Pietà for over thirty-five years. It would be highly unlikely that he would not have had some affinity for the experiences and abilities of his students. From the vast musical literature that he generated for the women of the Pietà, it is clear that his choirs and orchestras could achieve great musical heights. Vivaldi composed music for the women of the Ospedale that empowered them to succeed in a patriarchal world. For many of lower status, opportunities for success grew because of his music. Some went on to pursue musical careers, others married beyond their class level, and others continued at the Pietà as music instructors (Arnold 35). Vivaldi’s hand in this was significant; his support and musical admiration for numerous women was evidenced by the music he composed for particular soloists, both vocal and instrumental. Vivaldi helped to develop strong female musicians who could go on to have careers as musicians. An example of this is Anna Maria della Pietà who was a celebrated violinist. Vivaldi and numerous other musicians composed over thirty-two concerti with her in mind (McGeary 1998, 148).

Acknowledging the effectiveness of male teachers and composers is not to deny

that a unique perspective does not exist for female composers and teachers. One teaches and generates music from one’s own life experience. This is why the music and poetry of Hildegard has such a great impact in the twenty-first century, just as it did during the Middle Ages. This is part of the reason that many consider her to be a feminist from our twenty-first century perspective. Her imagery of the divine is uniquely female and almost certainly was drawn from the experience of her womanhood.

Hildegard’s power and impact upon women came naturally; it was void of the agenda to further a feminist objective. However, it is because of her effective female perspective that her music and lyrics can have such a strong and impact in the twenty-first century. Though not intended to be feminist, from the perspective of a contemporary adolescent girl, Hildegard’s message was received as such and helped to empower each of them through the lyrics, and the place she holds in women’s history. By teaching about Hildegard and having my choir sing her music, the singers participated in her feminine imagery of the Divine. They could understand the uniquely feminine perspective of Hildegard and relate it to their own. In this way, the music of Hildegard von Bingen may help girls find their own voices through hers.

In order to examine how gender affects music students, one would need a more extensive study that is beyond the scope of this article. A scientific study would necessarily compare the musical experience of both male and female musicians or students. One would have to identify differences between male and female students with regard to musical experiences in training, composition, and performance style (McGeary 1998, 144). Absent of such a study, educators rely upon the combined experience of music teachers and professionals. When one teaches from their own experiences, the impact upon the student can be profound. When a composer or performer draws from his/her experience as a member of a marginalized group, a unique perspective is communicated. This may come from one’s experience as a woman, as a gay or lesbian person, an ethnically or religiously persecuted individual, or numerous other unique individual or communal experiences. Teaching from these unique experiences is drawing from one’s own voice, and can provide an invaluable experience for the student.

One’s individual experiences affect expression in music, and those experiences are a part of the unique creative force in each person. As musicians, we must be sensitive to, and draw upon this force within us, when teaching, composing, or performing. I would argue that in doing so, we are communicating by using our own discovered voices. I strongly believe that gender plays a role in how music is performed and received. As a group that continues to strive for equality, an awareness of the unique experience of female composers and performers is necessary for the advancement of equality between genders. At the same time, one must not overlook the vast repertoire of music composed by men for women, which offers yet another perspective and can also further the empowerment of women.

Through careful consideration of music composed for women, one can help to advance the singers in finding their voices. Choosing repertoire that uplifts and affirms the artistry and strength of girls and women can have a significant impact upon their future and the quest for equality. The music world is not void of gender politics, so it behooves us all to be aware of it and work towards creative parity as we foster the discovery of each individual voice in music.

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