songCIRCLE

Inspired by the sewing circle, an intimate and creative space occupied by women working towards a common goal, and 18th- and 19th-century salon gatherings, the songCIRCLE is a new Sparks initiative for women creatives to curate, produce, and create in the realm of art song. Critical funding from the Sorel Organization will ‘spark’ two foundational Claudette Sorel songCIRCLE projects, each funded by grants of $20,000.

The songCIRCLE will lean powerfully into stories of women, created and curated by women through song. To honor the legacy and life’s work of pianist and educator Claudette Sorel, Sparks envisions a particular spotlight on women creatives, collaborators who have historically enjoyed fewer professional opportunities though they make up the vast majority of student and teaching musicians. To effect lasting change, all curators will be women.

An initial cohort of two Claudette Sorel songCIRCLE founding projects will catalyze new works of art to join an ever-widening songCIRCLE at Sparks & Wiry Cries.

The history of the sewing circle:

Traditionally run by women and often associated with a charitable mission such as supporting the Allied war effort in World Wars I and II, the abolitionist movement, the women’s suffragist movement, and also notably the “code word” for a society of LGBTQIA+ in Hollywood, sewing circles are a symbolic safe space for women to gather, work on their craft, and tell stories. 

The history of musical salons:

Art song, Lieder, and mélodie have a long association with salon culture, dating back to the Schubertiade and moving forward through the internationally cultivated gatherings led by extraordinary women artist-composers (salonnières) including Pauline Viardot, Alma Mahler, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and Cécile Chaminade. Salon culture has the power to lift up a community of diverse voices within a shared and safe space. It can invest over time in the development of ideas and styles, by prioritizing process over product and reflection over review in a socially engaging atmosphere of collegiality. 

Modern-day salons run by art song creatives continue the tradition, and one creative in particular has been a deep inspiration to Sparks & Wiry Cries: pianist and Professor Rena Sharon, whose use of the term "song circle" is reflected in this initiative's title.

Sparks & Wiry Cries is thrilled to announce that our Inaugural songCIRCLE partner is mezzo-soprano, storyteller and Métis maker Rebecca Hass!

In Rebecca’s project, The Song Blanket, she brings forward the quilt as a holder of traditional teachings given to her.

An ordinary item, familiar to many cultures, the quilt lives in the world of ‘craft’ and ‘folk art’ and is often identified as ‘women’s work’.  I see the quilt as part of our collective memory and I place it in the centre of this project. Through these teachings, held in the quilts my grannie made, I will be curating a program that actively engages with the land/place and that is community based. I view this as a grass roots movement that unites the classical musician with their work and community music making.

-Rebecca Hass

Rebecca Hass’ project will meld the curation of place-oriented musical programming, fiber arts practice, and community participation. She will engage local singers, their unique stories and repertoires to co-create a series of performances reflecting the site and community of each iteration of the concert, blurring the boundaries between audience and performer.

Rebecca will begin the workshopping process for The Song Blanket at the Bard Conservatory of Music in October 2024 on the invitation of Sparks co-founder Erika Switzer.