Mabel Daniels: An American Composer in Transition

Composer Mabel Daniels wrote fresh-sounding works performed by renowned orchestras and ensembles during her lifetime, but her works have only recently begun to be performed today. Assessing the rich context of American art music of the first half of the twentieth century, this book accounts for why works by American women composers fell out of favour and why they should be performed more today. Daniels' life and works evidence transition in women's roles in composition, the professionalization of American women composers, and the role that Daniels played in the institutionalization of American art music. Daniels' unique dual role as a patron-composer is indicative of her transitional status.

List of contents

1. Introduction


2. Daniels's Life


3. A Composer in the Making: Radcliffe


4. A Composer in the Making: Munich


5. Composing in a Changing World


6. Some Characteristics of Daniels's Work


7. Beginnings


8. Daniels's Mature Works


9. The Song of Jael: A Synthesis


10. Mabel Daniels's Place in American Composition

About the author

Maryann McCabe (PhD in musicology, New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) investigates issues in American music and current practices in art and music education. She is especially interested in the relationship among words, music, and the visual arts. An artist and singer, she has taught a range of courses in music and the humanities at colleges and universities in New York and New Jersey, and currently teaches at the Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn. The author was inspired, in part, to focus on Mabel Daniels because she and Daniels were born and studied in the Boston area.

Product details

• Authors: Maryann McCabe, McCabe Maryann
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 10.10.2017
• EAN: 9781472424518
• ISBN: 978-1-4724-2451-8
• No. of pages: 300
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Music > General, dictionaries; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups, MUSIC / Individual Composer & Musician, MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Classical, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Composers and songwriters, 20th Century & Contemporary Classical Music, Art music, orchestral and formal music