Women composers and their lieder long eked out a shadowy existence in music research and practice, though ever since the early 19th century, the lied had become a central female compositional genre, softening gender-related restrictions and opening up new artistic spheres of action. It is true that names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel are now far more established in the program guides. Nevertheless, there is still an abundance of forgotten female composers whose works have not been edited and, as a result, are mostly not (or cannot be) performed or even recorded.
Alongside now more established names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel, however, there is still an abundance of forgotten female composers whose works are hardly ever performed. This Urtext edition gives them a voice: 15 lieder by 15 female composers draw a panorama of the multifaceted female lied creation from the early 19th century to the turn of the century. The spectrum ranges from folksong-like songs, such as Julie Wilhelmine von Tschirschky’s Sehnsucht, Isidore von Bülow’s Die Nacht, and Johanna Kinkel’s Gondellied, to more expressive songs, such as Nanny Bochkoltzʼ Abendlied, Maria Arndtsʼ Abendrot, and Clara Schumann’s Mein Stern.