A Voice of Her Own – Composing with and for female voices

The human voice is considered the oldest and first musical instrument of humankind. Looking back into music history, we see that the hottest debates, most radical developments or crucial innovations have been circling around the voice, its meaning and use in music. In this edition of Radio Schallfeld, we take a feminist look at that topic, following the path of the female voice in contemporary music, from the mid-20th century up until today. Composers use the voice as a powerful tool to express their identity in a playful and versatile way, its embodied character makes it possible to play with roles of gender and society and its richness offers also a playground for performers to bring in their own qualities and ideas.

Music (in order of appearance):

W.A. Mozart – Aria from The Magic Flute

Cathy Berberian – Stripsody

Joan la Barbara – Twelvesong

Anahita Abbasi – Seven Impressions

Adriana Hölszky – Vampirabile / Lichtverfall