Shining a light on our favourite songs by female composers
It’s a tricky reality of the musicals we know and love that the repertoire has been dominated by male composers and lyricists. This is due to a whole world of political and cultural reasons that we’re not going to delve into right now. Instead, we’d like to point you towards some truly stunning songs by female composers and lyricists. Add them to your repertoire and shine a light on this excellent music!
Betty Comden
A true trailblazer for women writing for the theatre, Betty Comden created lyrics that continue to delight and amaze. Witty and wise-cracking at one turn, then at the next heartbreakingly beautiful. She was one of the writing team for Singing In The Rain and had many theatrical hits as well. Here are a few of her songs definitely worth exploring:
One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man.
These clever lyrics still stand the test of time. Here’s Rosalind Russell showing us how it's done:
You can find the sheet music here.
A Little Bit In Love
from Wonderful Town. Here’s Audra McDonald singing this beautiful and happy ballad
Sheet music is here.
Lonely Town
A sentimental Comden lyric accompanied by a Bernstein melody is a perfect match so here’s another, this time paired with the glorious voice of Dawn Upshaw.
Sheet music can be found here
Dorothy Fields
Another of the pioneers, Dorothy Fields collaborated with many Broadway composers and gave us a catalogue of wonderful songs for both the stage and screen. She was nominated for numerous Tony Awards and also won an Oscar for “The Way You Look Tonight”. Here are a few songs that show how versatile she was:
Nobody Does It Like Me
from Seesaw. This is a number for those with a great self-deprecating sense of humour.
Here’s Goldie Hawn at her hysterical best:
Sheet music is here.
I Got Lost in His Arms
This beautiful ballad from Annie get Your Gun is performed here by the wonderful Jonathan Groff with friend of Warm Me Up, Mary-Mitchell Campbell on piano. We’ve become a little obsessed with this performance!
Sheet music is here.
Jeanine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori’s work crosses a number of musical styles. She has many successful Broadway credits and has a Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home which she shares with lyricist Lisa Kron: the first all-female team to take home this award.
Alongside that stunning work, she composed the scores for Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek, and Caroline, Or Change to name a few. Her songs are richly rewarding to perform: make sure you get one into your repertoire! Here are a few to pick from:
Lot’s Wife
from Caroline, or Change. Enjoy this powerhouse performance from Sharon D Clarke.
Sheet music here
Changing My Major
from Fun Home. What a great song of joy and discovery! Here’s Emily Skeggs who was in the original Broadway production.
Sheet music here.
The Girl in 14G
A repertoire staple for those singers up for a challenge. It was specially written for Kristin Chenoweth so here she is!
Here's the sheet music.
Georgia Stitt
Georgia Stitt writes prolifically: musicals, oratorios and choral works. You name it, she writes it! Her songs are moving, powerful and nuanced. Her songs thankfully appear on a number of recordings - so find your favourite song and get practising!
Prepared
Here’s the incredible Jeremy Jordan (what a voice!)
Sheet music is here.
My Lifelong Love
This song works really well as a stand alone number. Here's Elena Shadow but also check out the version from Jesse Tyler Ferguson for another take.
Sheet music is here.
Almost Everything I Need
from the great song cycle Alphabet City Cycle -check it out! Here’s the dexterous and wonderful Kate Baldwin again
Sheet music is here
Zina Goldrich & Marcy Heisler
Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich have written shows that have been produced Off-Broadway, at Goodspeed and the Kennedy Centre. They’re clever, fun songs that you’ll have a ball learning.
Taylor the Latte Boy
What’s better than a blog with Kristen Chenoweth? Well - it’s Kristen Chenoweth twice in one blog!
Sheet music is found here.
Alto’s Lament
A fun pastiche of what it takes to hold the alto line in the chorus. Here’s the wonderful Soara-Joye Ross:
Who Needs Love?
Here’s the incredible Sierra Boggess singing this hilarious piece from the upcoming musical Ever After based on the movie starring Drew Barrymore
Sheet music here
Kait Kerrigan
Both playwright and lyricist, Kerrigan won the 2016 Emerging Artist Awards for lyric writing from the Theatre Hall of Fame. With her writing partner Brian Lowdermilk, Kerrigan has created songs with unique characters and contemporary points of view. Their YouTube channel is packed with their content - and their website helpfully has their songs in a variety of keys.
Run Away With Me
Here’s Michael Arden demonstrating beautifully simple story telling:
Party Dress
Here’s the tour de force Jennifer Cody singing this funny song:
But wait.. there’s more! We highly recommend you check out the works of Lucy Moss, Anais Mitchell, Nell Benjamin, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Lynn Ahrens (whose songs we’ll feature soon in another blog)
Want to find out about more female composers? Head over to maestramusic.org - this organisation keeps contact lists and information about all the wonderful female composers, conductors and musicians.