BENGALURU: Like every disciple, art has seen incredible contributions by women achievers since time immemorial. Yet, history is replete with examples of women artistes being routinely overshadowed. In the world of music, male composers, both historical and contemporary, are celebrated, while female composers and musicians – however influential their contributions might have been – are not given the same recognition.
In an effort to bring a change to such attitudes, city-based multi-genre musical group The Harmony Chorus is staging a performance titled For You, M’Lady at Bangalore International Centre on Monday, highlighting impressive compositions from some of the best women composers and songwriters, both from the past and the present.
“It’s an attempt to bring unheard voices to the fore, creating a space where women composers are appreciated, just as much, if not more than their male counterparts,” says Sandra Oberoi, city-based music educator, singer and founder of the music school The Harmony, who also curated the concert For You, M’Lady. Often celebrated as one of the greatest and prolific composers from the classical period,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, continues to be a celebrated figure today. Yet, his equally-impressive sister, Maria Anna Mozart is almost a forgotten figure. Similarly, Oberoi adds, “When you hear the name Schumann, you think of Robert Shcumann, not his wife Clara, who was also a fantastic composer. The same with Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Mendelssohn. So, it’s important for audiences to also learn about these oft-forgotten composers and appreciate their music.”
The roughly 90-minute-long concert will feature western classical music, spanning several hundred years. It also features works by contemporary pop songwriters such as Faouzia, Alicia Keys and more, along with two original acappella choral compositions. “We’re also doing a bit of musical theatre. It spans a couple hundred years, and different genres of music. It’s very diverse, because no single genre is more important than the other. However, everyone will have their own likes and dislikes. The idea behind it is to really bring out the essence of what women are capable of. We’re also doing two original pieces written by the members of The Harmony Chorus,” says Oberoi.
The concert is carefully curated to bring out the lesser-known works of female composers. “Whenever we do concerts, we choose material that isn’t common and create a way to make it both accessible and relevant to the audiences. This event also features a bit of storytelling,” says Oberoi, who is hoping the event will not only entertain music lovers but also leave them inspired. “The women in the audience will, perhaps, decide to write their own music, or even undertake their own research and encourage more voices. Similarly, I hope the men will be inspired to support and encourage women’s voices to come out,” she adds.
(For You, M’Lady will be staged on Aug 21, 7.30 pm. More details at bangaloreinternationalcentre.org)
While Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart continues to be a celebrated figure, his equally-impressive sister Maria Anna Mozart is almost forgotten. At a concert this evening, a city-based music group will bring alive the works of such overlooked musicians