Women (Extended Version)

There are many reasons why music by female composers should be more widely performed and appreciated—and perhaps the most powerful of these is particularly evident in Esther Abrami’s new album Women. “The music is so wonderful; we are missing out,” the French violinist tells Apple Music Classical. Her programme consists of largely unknown music from across 800 years, from a beautiful arrangement of music by Hildegard von Bingen, to a rarely performed concerto by early 20th-century Irish composer Ina Boyle and Miley Cyrus’ chart-topping song “Flowers”. The final track, Transmission, is by Abrami herself, its title referring to the passing of music down to future generations. “I’ve had little girls telling me that they’re bringing this music to their teachers, saying that they want to play it,” she adds. “And I think if we then manage to tell teachers to teach the students these pieces, and if at least the students want to learn them, that’s a fantastic way to go about it.” Given the countless scores from across periods, genres and countries still waiting to be discovered, how did Abrami settle on her 14 works? “I listened to many, many pieces by women composers. And there were certain melodies that really made me feel something. I fell in love with them as soon as I heard them.” Take Ina Boyle’s Violin Concerto, for instance, a timeless, rhapsodic work infused with folk song. “I love Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, and I felt some similarities in Boyle’s Concerto,” says Abrami. “It features beautiful, peaceful melodies and is linked to nature. I felt that it could be a concerto that people want to play and feature in programmes.” But Abrami had a sense that under the surface were great stories waiting to be told. Women is almost as much about their incredible personalities as it is about their work. “The women that I ended up including are ones whose stories I found really inspiring,” says Abrami. Take the late 19th-century Brazilian composer Chiquinha Gonzaga, for instance, whose beautiful song “Lua Branca” forms part of a larger stage work. Gonzaga, like many women of her generation, was discouraged from pursuing music. “Her husband forced her to choose between music and marriage,” says Abrami, “but unluckily for him she chose music, which at the time was a scandalous decision.” And there’s Pauline Viardot whose all-round musical talents, including singing and composing operas, placed her right at the centre of 19th-century cultural Paris and in the social circles of Chopin and his partner, the novelist George Sand, as well as Gounod and Berlioz. Viardot’s song “Haï luli” arranged here for violin, harp and string quintet, is proof of her fine melodic gifts. Abrami highlights, too, the poignant story of Ilse Weber, held at Theresienstadt during World War II before being taken to Auschwitz where she was murdered in 1944. “Weber composed all her music in Theresienstadt,” says Abrami. “Her husband buried her music in the ground and dug it up after the war.” It’s said that Weber sang her heart-rendingly beautiful lullaby “Wiegala” to her children as they all entered the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Through an evocative arrangement for violin and string quintet by Penelope Axtens, Abrami introduces us to the world of the 12th-century abbess, philosopher, medical practitioner, mystic and composer, Hildegard von Bingen. The piece “Solitude” is another discovery, composed by the late 19th-century French composer Rita Strohl who separated herself entirely from society to concentrate on her music. “When we talk about music that people don't know,” explains Abrami, “I think it really helps if there’s some storytelling involved. I hope this album brings new things to the violin repertoire.”