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FROM THE OTHER SIDE: FEMINIST AESTHETICS IN AUSTRALIAN MUSICOLOGY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2020

Talisha Goh
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Abstract

The rise of new musicology and feminist music criticism in the 1980s prompted a rethinking of gender in Australian art music spheres and resulted in over a decade of advocacy on behalf of women music makers. Local musicological publications began to cover feminist concerns from the late 1980s, with a focus on composing women. Catalysed by the proliferation of feminist musicology internationally in the 1990s, a series of women's music festivals were held around Australia from 1991–2001 and accompanied by conferences, symposia and special-issue publications. Aesthetic concerns were at the forefront of this debate as women musicologists and practitioners were divided on the existence of a gendered aesthetic and the implications this might have. This article examines the major feminist aesthetic contributions and debates at the time and how these considerations have impacted music-making practices, with particular reference to women composers of new music.

Type
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Information
Tempo , Volume 74 , Issue 292 , April 2020 , pp. 21 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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References

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2 In this article, I have used the term ‘women’ in order to remain consistent with the terminology used in the relevant literature; I acknowledge that this is problematic and that ‘women’ should be interpreted broadly here to refer to individuals who are non-men.

3 A few women composers were well-recognised at the time; however, they were more the exception than the rule.

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6 Also known as New Music Articles, this pathbreaking publication was originally acknowledged in Sally Macarthur, ‘The Woman Composer: Guest Editorial’, Sounds Australian: The Journal of the Australian Music Centre 21 (1988–1989), pp 8–9.

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21 Macarthur highlights the potential gender ambiguity of the Boyd's instrumentation in this work, particularly the use of the flute (a high-pitched phallic-shaped instrument), the cello (a low-pitched, femininely curvaceous instrument), and the countertenor, who sings the women's poems.

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27 Smith described her practice as ‘sonic writing’, a practice that involves ‘a semiotic exchange between words and sound’; see Smith, ‘Sonic Writings’, p. 129.

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