Meet Harriett Abrams! She studied with Thomas Arne, who composed an opera specifically for her. She participated in festivals of Handel's music, and Haydn accompanied her on the piano! She also composed her own pieces, and appeared in concerts organized by Johann Peter Salomon.
Test your composer knowledge
What a fun way to test your knowledge of composers! Some early, some not, but all worth knowing/programming! Take the 10-question test here!
Sulpitia Cesis
While reading about music in convents in Italy I came across someone new! Meet Sulpitia Cesis!
Misconceptions about nuns
What was the best way to be a female musician in 16th-17th-century Italy? What would give you stability, an education, and ensure your compositions and performances could be heard by the world? Become a nun! Early Music Sources explores what life was really like for musician-nuns in this great video!
Carlo G manuscript
If women *were* making music at a high level but men of the time didn't know about it, did it make a sound? In all seriousness, though, check out the amazing Carlo G manuscript in this video from Early Music Sources!
Women Composers by Time Period
Want to include more women on your concert programs? Check out this listing by time period!
Louise Farrenc
First woman professor at the Paris Conservatoire, paid at the same level as her male colleagues, won praise for her compositions and dipped her toes into the Early Music world... Meet Louise Farrenc!
Women of French Baroque Opera
We spend a lot of time talking about composers of early music, but what about performers (and especially the women)? Their stories are equally as fascinating and mysterious!
Map of Women Composers
Check out this incredible resource of women composers throughout history!
Queen Christina of Sweden
A woman who defied social and cultural norms, gave up the religion of her family and her people, abdicated her throne, moved to Rome (one of only three women buried in the Vatican), and became a patron of philosophers, mathematicians, artists, and musicians (including Stradella, Pasquini, Carissimi, and Corelli).
Meet Queen Christina of Sweden!