The Voice of Children in Art Song: A Study of Six Cycles Involving a Child’s Perspective A document submitted to the Graduate Thesis and Research Committee of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in VOICE in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music by Rachelle M. Woolston BA, Brigham Young University, 2002 MM, University of Cincinnati, 2004 Committee Chair: Dr. Stephanie Schlagel, PhD Abstract This document explores the often overlooked and undervalued song cycle repertory containing children’s themes. This genre includes music written and performed by adults that offers elements of a child’s world within the poetry. Various modes of communication are possible in songs with children’s themes, depending on whether the poet is an adult or child, whether the poet acts as an adult or child, and whether the intended audience consists of adults or children. The document compares six song cycles using each of these modes of communication. Poems written by children are set in A Garland for Marjory Fleming by Richard Rodney Bennett and Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann, Op. 104 by Robert Schumann, while adult poets act as children in Theodore Chanler’s The Children and Leonard Bernstein’s I Hate Music! A Cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano, and children are the poetic audience in La courte paille by Francis Poulenc and A Charm of Lullabies by Benjamin Britten. This document uses these three modes of communication as an analytical lens through which to view the poetic and musical techniques used in creating a child’s world in song. The analysis searches for specific messages conveyed by the poets and composers and gives suggestions to performers in highlighting these childlike aspects on stage. ii iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the incredible faculty and family members who made this document possible. First and foremost, my advisor Dr. Stephanie Schlagel has seen me through this process from the very beginning. She helped me to develop this project from its origins as a lecture recital in Cincinnati, and patiently worked with me through a cross-country move and the birth of my second, third, and fourth children. She has been an invaluable resource, guiding my research, helping me to organize and present my thoughts in a meaningful way, and providing excellent feedback on numerous drafts. I am extremely grateful for her expertise, encouragement, and support. I am also indebted to my readers, Professors Mary Henderson Stucky and Barbara Paver for their time they spent reviewing my document and their willingness to provide suggestions for how to improve it. I am also thankful to my wonderful family for their unwavering support. My husband helped me find the motivation to see this project through to its completion, and spent countless hours fulfilling the household responsibilities and care of our growing family so I could make the time to research and write. I want to acknowledge my four children for serving as the inspiration for this topic of study, and for challenging me to become a better person every day. They give my life fullness and richness that I never before dreamed of obtaining. I hope to be an example to them of finishing what you start, no matter how long or difficult the process. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................................1 Purpose .......................................................................................................................3 Literature Review.......................................................................................................4 Methodology ..............................................................................................................7 Scope ..........................................................................................................................10 Chapter 1: Child Poets ...........................................................................................................12 A Garland for Marjory Fleming ................................................................................12 Marjory Fleming ............................................................................................13 Richard Rodney Bennett ................................................................................17 Analysis of A Garland for Marjory Fleming .................................................19 For Performers ...............................................................................................31 Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann, Op. 104 ........................................................31 Elisabeth Kulmann .........................................................................................32 Robert Schumann ...........................................................................................36 Analysis of Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann, Op. 104 .........................43 For Performers ...............................................................................................58 Conclusions ................................................................................................................58 Chapter 2: Adult Poet Acting as a Child ................................................................................60 The Children ..............................................................................................................60 Leonard Feeney ..............................................................................................61 Theodore Chanler...........................................................................................65 Analysis of The Children ...............................................................................71 v For Performers ...............................................................................................90 I Hate Music! A Cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano ..............................................91 Leonard Bernstein ..........................................................................................91 Analysis of I Hate Music! A Cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano ...............97 For Performers ...............................................................................................107 Conclusions ................................................................................................................108 Chapter 3: Adult Poet Addressing a Child .............................................................................110 La courte paille ..........................................................................................................110 Maurice Carême .............................................................................................111 Francis Poulenc ..............................................................................................113 Analysis of La courte paille ...........................................................................119 For Performers ...............................................................................................130 A Charm of Lullabies .................................................................................................131 Benjamin Britten ............................................................................................132 Analysis of A Charm of Lullabies ..................................................................138 For Performers ...............................................................................................154 Conclusions ................................................................................................................154 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................156 Textual Characteristics...............................................................................................156 Musical Characteristics ..............................................................................................158 Modes of Communication..........................................................................................160 Messages ....................................................................................................................161 Legitimacy .................................................................................................................165 vi Summary ....................................................................................................................166 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................................168 Secondary Literature ..................................................................................................168 Poetry and Scores .......................................................................................................175 vii Introduction: Children’s Themes in Art Song Most scholarly criticism of song cycles focuses on “serious” works that are usually earnest in nature, meriting the label of “art music.” According to Shirlee Emmons and Stanley Sonntag, authors of the standard singers’ reference book, The Art of the Song Recital, “Musicians tend to view the song cycle as possessing certain requisite attributes—lengthiness, solemnity, and gravity.”1 However, every performing musician