About the work

A final set shines the spotlight on female composers whose names have been largely forgotten by the canon, one of whom, Raffaella Aleotti, spent her life in an Italian convent in the 17th century, while the other two are from the 20th century. Undine Smith Moore was an American composer and professor of music; much of her work was inspired by black spirituals and folk music, and she was known during her lifetime as the Dean of Black Women Composers. The British/American composer and violist Rebecca Clarke was internationally renowned as a viola virtuoso, and became one of the first female professional orchestral players in London. Although her compositional output was not large, her work was recognised for its compositional skill and artistic power, and interest in her has revived, belatedly, in recent decades.