In celebration of International Women’s Day, we would like to cast a spotlight on female composers who have expressed their viewpoints through groundbreaking new music on PARMA labels. As the world continues to welcome, understand, and embrace women’s voices and perspectives, we’re proud to showcase and share their artistic contributions to music with listeners. Here’s more on the stories behind some of the noteworthy works by women that we’ve had the pleasure of releasing.
Listen to the full playlist on your favorite streaming platform today.
No-Man’s-Land Lullaby
Eleanor Alberga
An original composition by Alberga featuring violinist Thomas Bowes, No-Man’s-Land Lullaby expresses the emotions conjured in visiting Europe’s World War battlegrounds through a soothingly eerie soundscape. Chaotic conversations between the piano and violin interject throughout the piece’s solemn passages, symbolizing the scars of war left on the landscape that have yet to rest.
Dawn
Stacy Garrop
Based on the poetry of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, composer Stacy Garrop’s arrangement of Dawn is dedicated to its two performers, soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg and cellist Jean Hatmaker. In the cello, Garrop captures the stillness of pre-dawn, with time marked by recurring plucked chords and yawning slides, against which the soprano’s vocal line rises to and falls from celestially high levels.
Balancing on the Edge of Shadows
Rain Worthington
Completed by composer Rain Worthington at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Balancing on the Edge of Shadows foreshadows the collective fragility the world would soon experience as a result of this devastating and prolonged event, as well as widespread social and political upheaval. The piano and violin climb steadily to their highest dynamics at the end of the piece, creating a sense of courage and determination before fading back into the shadows.
Les langueurs: Nocturne à deux voix
Sophie Gail
JOYS ABIDING exclusively features the vocal duets of historical female composers, aiming to elevate the important work of those who have historically been excluded from the male-dominated classical duet canon. Les Langueurs from the French singer and composer Sophie Gail receives a moving performance from baritone Oliver Worthington, soprano Dana Zenobi, and pianist Chuck Dillard, capturing the soothing characteristics of Nocturne with poetic lyrics and a deeply relaxing atmosphere.
Floating Bones: III. Return to the Water
Olivia Kieffer
“Return to the Water” is the third and final movement of Floating Bones by composer Olivia Kieffer, a composition for solo saxophone that highlights the dexterity of saxophonist Nicki Roman. Intense syncopation amidst barline-breaking ostinatos are traversed with ease in this composition, showcasing Roman’s technical chops without sacrificing musicality.
“I didn’t have a ton of saxophone albums to listen to growing up that were recorded by women. Knowing that I have been able to contribute to that discography is very important.”
Nicki Roman
