Music of Empowerment: Featuring the American Premiere of Elfrida Andrée's Suffrage Cantata
Whitman Orchestra and Choirs
Dr. Jonathan Spatola-Knoll, Conductor
Dr. Laney Armstrong, Conductor
Dr. Feng Kang, Collaborative Pianist
Laura Loge, guest soprano soloist
Repertoire Conducted:
Elfrida Andrée: Cantata for the Sixth Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (1911)
First Performance Outside of Sweden
Scholarly performance edition of the music produced by Jonathan Spatola-Knoll
In addition, the Whitman choirs, under the direction of Dr. Laney Armstrong, will perform music by Hildegard von Bingen, Melissa Dunphy, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Joni Mitchell.
FREE Admission. Livestream available at live.whitman.edu
About the Cantata:
Andrée composed her Suffrage Cantata for the Sixth Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA), held in Stockholm in 1911. It was quickly hailed in the Swedish feminist press as “an expression of what a burning human heart felt over a very long life, the deepest and strongest compassion for those thousands and thousands [of women] who had struggled and hoped through the centuries as [the composer] has." Its five movements, performed without pause, consider the historical status of women in Sweden, followed by a spirited call to action. The cantata references specifically Swedish figures like the medieval Saint Birgitta of Sweden and 19th-century writer Fredrika Bremer, who inspires women to "wake up" to their power as voting citizens. Nevertheless, it promotes a universal message of standing together in the face of injustice to work toward a brighter future.