Music, Voice, Message
People who identify as women
WSF is an online forum devoted to women’s voices in song, to the many songs by women, and to the many female musicians working in and with song, who have yet to be given the attention they deserve. The Women’s Song Forum provides an opportunity to expand and enhance knowledge and understanding of this rich and significant area of musical practice and scholarship, and – as the name “forum” suggests – aims to encourage discussion and debate across different interest groups. The forum aims to highlight compositions and performances of music that deserve more recognition.
At the heart of the forum is our commitment to diverse approaches and subjects and access by a wide-ranging audience. We normally publish 2-3 posts each month by members of our team and guest bloggers.
In this concluding post, Julia Simon reads Memphis Minnie’s lyrics and probes why she is, seemingly, a self-consciously anomalous figure in the history of the blues.
Five friends return to discuss interpreting and programming Schumann’s Lieder, and to suggest that they encourage us to listen to songs in new ways.
Alexandra Apolloni tracks the turns of California-born P. P. Arnold’s British career, from a collaborator sought after for her remarkable voice to overlooked soloist to survivor.
Joe Davies organized this colloquy with Harald Krebs, Stephen Rodgers, Susan Wollenberg, and Susan Youens on the expressive worlds of Clara Schumann’s songs.
The dramatic monologue “The Enchantress” was one of several works by Ljubica Marić celebrated in art and music at an event curated by pianist Jasmina Raković.
From accounts of individual women or performances to historical essays, from interviews with songwriters and performers to discussions of gender, race and culture in and through song.
