The Victoria Mendelssohn Choir is named for composer Felix Mendelssohn, but an upcoming concert in Sidney will feature another F. Mendelssohn: his sister, Fanny, along with many overlooked female composers.

Maestro Simon Leung said he had always been interested in the work of female composers, but he said until the late 19th century, very few were ever published. If they were published, their work was attributed to men. Leung began researching two years ago, and was helped by the choirB次元官网网址檚 accompanist, Michael Gaudet, who is a researcher at UVicB次元官网网址檚 music and media library.

B次元官网网址淲e discovered there is so much material,B次元官网网址� said Leung.

He wanted to provide a cross-section of choral music from female composers, so from hundreds of works he chose 15 from late Baroque period to the 20th century, focusing on Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, FelixB次元官网网址檚 older sister. The selection will treat audiences on Jan. 26 in Victoria and Jan. 28 in Sidney.

Unlike many well-known choral works like HandelB次元官网网址檚 Messiah, the choristers had never seen this music before.

B次元官网网址淭hey didnB次元官网网址檛 know what to expect until the music was presented to them,B次元官网网址� said Leung. B次元官网网址淎nd when they sang it for the first time, they thought it was really fresh. The sound is incredible. It truly is.B次元官网网址�

Leung said many popular songs were written by women, but they were often attributed to men either because publishers would not publish women or because of scholarly errors. In the case of Fanny Mendelssohn, her Easter Sonata was attributed to B次元官网网址淔. Mendelssohn,B次元官网网址� so scholars assumed it was her brotherB次元官网网址檚 work. But in 2010, an American historian, Angela Mace Christian, analyzed the handwriting and proved it was Fanny, not Felix, who wrote the work.

Katie Pirquet, an alto in the choir, said Fanny was a very serious composer until her marriage when B次元官网网址渢he convention of the time was that a married lady would not go out and perform for money or anything like that.B次元官网网址� She mostly disappeared from the public eye, but she continued to compose at the encouragement of her husband. The choir is performing one of FannyB次元官网网址檚 masses, dedicated to Saint Cecilia (the patron saint of music) which Leung said she wrote in a matter of hours.

B次元官网网址淵ou can see the constraints these women were under. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a pattern of pushing against the boundaries,B次元官网网址� said Pirquet.

Amy Beach, who died in 1944, is the most modern composer on the program. Leung said BeachB次元官网网址檚 music carries a B次元官网网址渘ew American soundB次元官网网址� that subverts certain European traditions.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 harsh, in a way, but silky smooth in another,B次元官网网址� said Leung.

Pirquet said that unlike Vittoria Aleotti, a 15th-century nun whose music is also featured, Beach was not operating under similar constraints.

B次元官网网址淸Beach] was a professional musician, and remarkably well-known in America.B次元官网网址�

Like Leung, Pirquet is also excited by the variety of time period and subject matter.

B次元官网网址淥ne is this religious piece to St. Cecilia and there are several that are paeans to nature. ThereB次元官网网址檚 one about the forest and the evening,B次元官网网址� said Pirquet. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e just these beautiful, romantic pieces about nature, and of course the Romantics always wanted their music to go with the words. TheyB次元官网网址檙e incredibly evocative.B次元官网网址�

The 25-member choir is also looking for new members, and holding auditions in January.

The choir performs Fri. Jan. 26 at the Chapel of the New Jerusalem at Christ Church Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. and Sun. Jan. 28 at the SHOAL Centre (10030 Resthaven Drive) at 3 p.m.