“‘This work is property of the authoress’: biographical spaces and authorship and self-representation strategies of women composers in 20th century Chile”

_{(Übersetzung des vorläufigen spanischen Titels: “‘Esta obra es propiedad de la autora’: espacios biográficos y estrategias de autoría y autorrepresentación de mujeres compositoras en el siglo XX chileno”).}

“Why aren’t they known within the academy? Where is the work of Leni Alexander, Ida Vivado, Iris Sangüesa, Cecilia Cordero, Carmela Mackenna, to name a few composers, in the bibliography of the composition chairs? What is the musical or cultural reason for their works not to be in the concert programs, in the orchestration studies and in the history of music?” These questions posed by Chilean academic and composer Valeria Valle (2019) served as inspiration for my doctoral research, which is (for now) called “‘This work is property of the authoress’: biographical spaces and authorship and self-representation strategies of women composers in 20th century Chile” (“‘Esta obra es propiedad de la autora’: espacios biográficos y estrategias de autoría y autorrepresentación de mujeres compositoras en el siglo XX chileno”). The absence of classical composers such as Carmela Mackenna (1879–1962), Marta Canales (1895–1986) and María Luisa Sepúlveda (1898–1958) in the literature and the public scene cannot be explained by the lack of a qualitative body of work, as Valle (2019) stresses, but rather by an intentional “historical silence”. Various factors came together between the late 1920s and the 1940s to give shape to what Vera et al. describe as a “patriarchal musical institutionality” (2020, p. 61). In twentieth-century Chile, this silence was part of a discursive and, therefore, institutional effort (Nochlin, 2021, p. 41). Critical in this sense has been the in-depth study of the mechanisms, primarily discursive, that contributed to the formation of a narrowly defined and predominantly masculine musical canon (e.g., Citron, 2007) in the country. From the late 1920s onwards, writing about music and music criticism (often exercised by male composers on themselves and their own peers) became one of the main tools to shape (and delimit) a ‘new’ national repertoire and what can be described as a new musical code of conduct (e.g., Bergeron, 1992, pp. 1-2) .The latter also entails the study of the role played by processes such as self-referential writing and “self-canonisation” (González, 2010), and the monopole of the public discourse.

In this context, access to well preserved primary sources (e.g., manuscript scores and letters) is not only vital for historiographical purposes, but also presents us a chance to explore new perspectives in music research, such as those of the biographical space (Arfuch, 2002, 2013, 2020) and genetic criticism (e.g., Appel, 2003; Collins, 2016): Why do (women’s) musical works end up sometimes being “orphans”? What does this tell us about the lives of their authors and the conditions surrounding production? How do these labels affect not only the chances of a musical piece to enter into (musical) history, but also the scientific work on it?

The dissertation is also seen as an opportunity to produce knowledge that can be practically applied, contributing to a “transformation of gendered injustice and subordination” (Ramazanoglu & Holland, 2002, p. 147). This cannot happen without delving into the strategies of authorship and (self-)representation of the female composers of the period to cope with the scenario described above. What differentiates them from the strategies of their male peers? Where should one look for material traces of female authorship and self-representation? What were the spaces in which composition could develop? In this sense, my proposal seeks to go beyond “compensatory history” (Citron, 1990, p. 103) and to delve into some of the questions posed by Marcia J. Citron, with a view to the future of women’s music composition: “The how and why must be addressed, not just the what and the how many” (p. 210).

 

Practice phase         

The variety of sources and media available to researchers makes the Centro de Documentación e Investigación Musical (hereinafter referred to as CEDIM) a valuable repository for the study of musical practice in Chile. Unlike other collections, it contains not only an account of musical practice in an academic context, but also a large number of documents and records relating to the practice of popular and vernacular music, which explains its importance for the field of music research from a historical, musicological, ethnographic and cultural perspective in general. The documentary collections and the objects in its care are closely related to various current research projects on classical, popular, folk and traditional music, as well as on the intangible cultural heritage of Chile and Latin America.

In the last years, the team has decided to work on the materials with a critical gender perspective. This means, not only highlighting the legacy of women composers, but also analysing from a historical perspective the patriarchal structures that were established in 20th century Chilean music and its teaching.

The main milestone of the practical phase was the visit and work in this documentation centre between the months of March and June (2024). A first essential task was to familiarise myself with the treatment of cultural objects (which also included training in handling, cleaning and conservation) and the basic criteria for their recording, documentation and subsequent cataloguing. The aim of my work at the CEDIM was to search for, document and catalogue the preserved materials relating to a specific 20th century composer, María Luisa Sepúlveda Maira (1883 - 1958). This included, for example, going through the entire score collection as well as the photo archive of the CEDIM. A concrete result of my stay was a (digital) catalogue of the materials, which included a detailed description and photographies.

Another milestone in the practical phase was the organisation of an event open to the public (12.6.2024), at which I also presented my findings (see 3.4) from the practical phase. Around 50 people took part in this event, which was also broadcast on YouTube.

The work at the documentacion center and the daily contact with its researchers gave me the opportunity to deal with questions that were of crucial importance for the development of the dissertation, both in theoretical terms and in relation to aspects that are more practical: What makes a work ‘canonical’? Who decided that in the case of Chile?, but also: How can the preservation and dissemination of women's documentary heritage be promoted and improved?, What gender gap exists in music education today, especially in the field of composition?  

 

Short biography      
Paulina Andrade Schnettler (1986, Ovalle, Chile) holds a degree in Journalism (Universidad de Chile) and a master’s degree in International Media Studies (Deutsche Welle Akademie, Universität Bonn and Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg). She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the University of Cologne (2020-2023) under the supervision of  Prof.in Dr.in Gesine Müller (Romanisches Seminar) and Prof. Assoc. Ximena Poó Figueroa (Universidad de Chile), with a focus on gender and cultural representations in the field of classical music. Since 2021 she is a collegiate member of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School and holder of a Practice- and Profession-Oriented Doctorate in the Humanities awarded by the Mercator Stiftung (2023–2024). Between September 2017 and August 2018, she was also awarded with a scholarship from DAAD for financing her master studies in Bonn. In Chile, she has worked at different educational and cultural institutions (Universidad de Chile, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes). 

 

Professional Experience

Paulina ’s interest in questions about the dynamics between gender and the cultural sphere comes from her experience as press and communications officer in institutions such as the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts (both located in Santiago, Chile). Based on her observations and experiences there, she decided to dedicate her master’s studies to the specific challenges women face in Chile’s cultural sector.

In her PhD research, she would like to take an in-depth look at the sector of classical music, from the perspective of gender and cultural studies. She aims not only to understand the reasons explaining current gendered occupational segregation in the field of composition, but also to challenge inequalities at their historical and cultural roots.

In parallel to her doctoral studies, she works as scientific associate at the Institut für philosophische und ästhetische Bildung at the Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, where she also serves as Gleichstellungsbeauftragte.

In recent years she has also worked as a freelance journalist for various Chilean media (newspaper La Tercera, Radio Universidad de Chile, Súbela Radio), reporting on different cultural events in Germany and in neighboring countries.
 

Contact: pandrad1(at)smail.uni-koeln.de  
 

Presentations (selection)

October 2022

“‘We are the Music’: Endogamic writing and the artificial creation of a male canon in Chilean classical field” (Presentation in the context of the conference “A doctoral seminar on the cultural study of music”, organised by the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology and the Nordic branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM-Norden) together with the Seinäjoki unit of the University of Arts Helsinki)

 

June 2022

“‘She has never sought neither applause nor praise’: The symbolic limits to female composition in the Chilean classical field”. Vortrag zur Tagung „Musikalische Schrift und Gender. Praktiken – Diskurse – Perspektiven“. Institut für Historische Musikwissenschaft, Universität Hamburg.  

 

November 2021

“Of monsters, heroes and champions: Classical music and a male gaze as the standard of creation and performance.” Presentation at “The Realm of Possibilities: A Gender & Queer Studies Symposium” (organized by the Institut für Bildung und gesellschaftliche Innovation der Alanus Hochschule, Bonn).

 

November 2020

“What Happened to the Director? Occupational Gender Segregation in Film, Music and Creative Industries from the Perspective of Feminist Cultural Studies”. Presentation at “The Realm of Possibilities: A Gender & Queer Studies Symposium” (organized by the Institut für Bildung und gesellschaftliche Innovation der Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Bonn).

 

February 2019 

“Gender equality within Chilean creative industries. Challenges & opportunities faced by female cultural workers”. Presentation at the Seminar “Thinking Chile: Sharing Ideas in Edinburgh 2019”. University of Edinburgh. 

 

Publications

2023: “Canon, Gender, Power: On the creation of a male canon and female strategies of authorship and self-representation in Chilean classical music of the 20^th century” (Essay). In: Musikalische Schrift und Gender (eds. Dr. Gesa Finke and Dr. Julia

Freund, transcript Verlag, Winter Semester 2023/24.

2019: “Labor afectiva, techos y murallas de cristal: experiencias de las trabajadoras de la cultura en Chile” (Article). In: Revista de Historia del Arte y Cultura Visual del Centro Argentino de Investigadores de Arte (N° 14, ISSN 2313-9242). 

URL: http://caiana.caia.org.ar/resources/uploads/14-pdf/Caiana14R_Andrade.pdf 

 

Teaching activities

Sommersemester 2023: 

Blockseminar “Situatedness and situated knowledges: Methods and practices for situated and intersectional research” 

Aufbauseminar für das Zertifikat Gender Studies, Gender Studies Institut an der Universität zu Köln (GeStIK)

 

Sommersemester 2023, 2022: 

Seminar „Hands on. Erkundung der praktischen Projektarbeit im PhASE-Studiengang”

Modul PV: Praxisvorbereitung - In dieser Veranstaltung werden wir uns auf die Planung und Durchführung eines „Mini“-Projekts konzentrieren, das als Inspiration, Erfahrungsraum und Austauschmöglichkeit für die Entwicklung eines zukünftigen Praxisprojekts dienen kann.

 

Wintersemester 2022-2023: 

Seminar „Situatedness & situated knowledges. Approaching research from a situated, gender and decolonial perspective”. 

Studium Generale und B.A. Philosophie, Kunst und gemeinwohlorientierte Gesellschaftsgestaltung, Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Bonn.

 

Wintersemester 2021-2022

Seminar “Das Zeitalter von Instagram und #Metoo: Zusammenspiele zwischen Gender, neuen Medien und Intimität”. Studium Generale und B. A. Philosophy, Arts and Social Entrepreneurship, Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Bonn.

 

Sommersemester 2021, 2020

Seminaristische Übung “Deconstruct to reconstruct: building our participative gender conceptual kit”. Studium Generale und B. A. Philosophy, Arts and Social Entrepreneurship, Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Bonn.

 

Wintersemester 2020-2021

Projektentwicklungsseminar “PhASE Journey” - B. A. Philosophy, Arts and Social Entrepreneurship, Alanus Hochschule für Kunst und Gesellschaft, Bonn.