Student researchers reveal unknown composers

Music students Abigail Roscoe and Will Wiand participated in the Office of Undergraduate Research Summer Research Scholars program to expand public information about 24 practically unknown composers from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

The seniors’ research, under the guidance of Jay Grymes, professor of musicology, resulted from his class “Western Classical Music: Antiquity-Baroque,” in which he requires students to write about a marginalized composer from the course period.

“Who’s out there that I’ve never heard of?” Grymes wondered.

He and the students scoured musicological resources, such as Grove Music Online, the International Music Score Library Project, and the Choral Public Domain Library, and developed a database of some 500 composers who lived between 1400 and 1750. Most were from Spain/the Iberian Peninsula, and many were women. From that vast list, they chose 24 for whom there were enough available records (including music and recordings) that a student in the music history class would be able to complete a successful assignment.

Wiand said discovering these unknown musicians has been exciting.

Both students particularly enjoyed learning about women composers — a group grossly underrepresented in repertoire and curricula.

Roscoe, for example, was impressed by Bianca Maria Meda, an Italian nun and vocal music composer in the Baroque period.

“At the time, it was not typical for female composers to have their work published, making her collection of motets a huge achievement,” Roscoe said. “Her work was both complex as well as artistic. What stood out the most, however, was the text of her music. It is written in the feminine first person of a cloistered nun and uses descriptive imagery to highlight themes of spiritual love and desire.”

Wiand was delighted to discover 400-year-old piano music by a girl of 14, Lady Margaret Wemyss, who died in 1649 at the age of 19.

“It shows you that we leave legacies and touch peoples’ lives in very unexpected ways, even centuries after we’re gone,” he said.

The students created Wikipedia articles on Juan de Espinosa, Bertrandus Vaqueras, Alonso Pérez de Alba, Gonzalo de Baena, Antonio de Ribera, Pedro Valenzuela and Severo De Luca. A quick Google search locates those articles, laying the groundwork for further exploration.

“These composers have created a variety of meaningful works,” said Roscoe. “It’s incredibly rewarding to know that you are adding visibility to these composers and inspiring other musicians to learn about their work.”