Coming 22nd November, 2017:
- an ever-growing catalogue of works by women composers, suitable for use in churches
- weekly recommendations of church music composed by women
- interviews with composers
Cecilia’s List is a new website to promote sacred music composed by women and members of other under-represented communities. The project is conceived and run by Kathryn Rose, a PhD student in choral composition at the University of Aberdeen and organist at St Andrew’s Leytonstone in East London from 2010 to 2016.
Named for St Cecilia, the patron saint of music and church musicians, the site will launch on her feast day on 22nd November 2017 with a catalogue of works by a selection of women composers, organised seasonally. Over time it will expand to include week-by-week recommendations matched to the lectionary.
Music by women is often sidelined in the English sacred choral tradition because of practical barriers to introducing new music and the administrative challenge of finding pieces suitable for particular occasions. It’s possible to attend church weekly for months without hearing any work by women composers. Cecilia’s List will mean that from 22nd November, people who want to include music by women in church services will find it easier to do so.