CWU's Musica Antiqua Celebrates Women Musicians of the 18th Century

Musica Antiqua, the Music Departments series of early music concerts on period instruments, will celebrate "Musica Femina? ? music written by 18th century female composers ? on Saturday, Jan. 10 in the second of this year's series of early music performances. CWU faculty members Heather Netz, Margret Gries, Mia Spencer and Tim Betts, along with guest cellist Jen Yonge, will present seldom-heard compositions by women musicians of the 18th century. Included will be string quartets by Maddelena Lombardi Sirmen, violin/harpsichord works by Amalie Auguste, Princess of Bavaria and Queen of Saxony and songs by Anne Boleyn and Isabella Leonarda. The program will be presented in the Recital Hall of the Music Building at 7 p.m. In searching for repertoire for this program, Musica Antiqua director Margret Gries says, "It is difficult to retrieve the actual music written and played by women of this period since these composers were not part of any professional circle where music was published for distribution. In the later 18th century, most of our documentation of women's activities as musicians is provided from literary materials. Descriptions of performances in the courts of Italy and the salons of France document women both as skilled performers and as patrons of music. For earlier periods the only extant music comes from the archives of convents," Gries says. Musica Antiqua's "Musica Femina" program will include examples of music from both of these traditions. Persons of disability may make arrangements for reasonable accommodation by calling (509) 963-1216 or (for hearing impaired) TDD (509) 963-2143. Media contact: Peter Gries, CWU Music Department, (509) 963-1216, griesp@cwu.edu