A Performer's Guide to the Theresienstadt Compositions of Viktor Ullmann for the Me
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“HALLO, HALLO! ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG!...”: A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO THE THERESIENSTADT COMPOSITIONS OF VIKTOR ULLMANN FOR THE MEZZO-SOPRANO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF ARTS BY CYNTHIA L. SMITH DR. KATHLEEN MAURER – CO-CHAIRPERSON DR. LINDA POHLY – CO-CHAIRPERSON BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA DECEMBER 2014 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………….... iv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….... vi LIST OF MUSICAL FIGURES………………………………………………………. viii Chapter One Introduction……………………………………………………………………... 1 Primary Source Documents and Manuscripts…………………………………... 3 Published Research and Musical Scores………………………………………... 4 Issues of Fach and Printed Scores………………………………………………. 6 Methodology……………………………………………………………………. 8 Format According to the Kimball Model……………………………………….. 8 Chapter Two The Early Years…………………………………………………………………. 11 Collegiate Education and Early Career…………………………………………. 13 Prelude to Deportation………………………………………………………….. 21 The Theresienstadt Ghetto ……………………………………………………… 25 Life in the Ghetto……………………………………………………….. 27 Composing in Theresienstadt…………………………………………… 31 Compositional Style of and Influences on Ullmann…………...……………….. 35 Ullmann’s Vocal Music…………………………………………………………. 42 Chapter Three – Pieces for Voice and Piano…………………………………..………... 45 Drei jiddische Lieder (Březulinka) (Three Yiddish Songs (Birch)), op. 53…….. 46 “Berjoskele” (Little Birch Tree)……………………………….……....... 49 “Margarithelech” (Daisies)……………………………………………… 55 “A Mejdel in die Johren” (A Girl Who Is No Longer Young)…………. 60 Drei chinesische Lieder (Three Chinese Songs)................................................... 64 “Wanderer erwacht in der Herberge” (A Traveler Awakes in a Hostel)............................................................... 66 “Der müde Soldat” (The Tired Solider)……………………………........ 73 Immer inmitten, Solo-Kantate nach Gedichten von Hans Günther Adler (Always in the Midst, Solo Cantata with Poetry by Hans Günther Adler)……... 78 “Immer inmitten” (Always in the Midst)……………………………...... 80 “Vor der Ewigkeit” (In the Face of Eternity)…………………………… 88 Ullmann as a Song Composer…………………………………………………... 94 Chapter Four – Pieces Originally Orchestrated for String Trio or Full Orchestra……… 95 The Mezzo-Soprano and the String Trio………………………………………... 96 ii Lieder der Tröstung (Songs of Consolation)…………………………............... 97 “Tote wollen nicht verweilen…” (The Dead Do Not Wish to Linger…)……………………..….............. 99 “Erwachen zu Weihnachten” (Awakening at Christmas)....................... 106 “Herbst” (Autumn)................................................................................. 111 Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod Verweigerung (The Emperor of Atlantis or Death’s Refusal), op. 49…………………………. 120 “Arie des Trommlers” (The Drummer’s Aria)………………………… 134 Chapter Five Conclusion …………………………………………….……………………..... 145 Suggestions for Further Study…………………………………………………. 147 Appendix I Texts, International Phonetic Alphabet Transcriptions, and Translations……... 151 Appendix II Translations for Relevant Poetry and Texts……………………………………. 177 Appendix III – Suggestions for Pieces to Pair with Ullmann Works in Recital……….. 182 Pieces by Fellow Holocaust Composers……………………………………….. 182 Pieces by Contemporaries and Mentors of Ullmann…………………………... 183 Pieces that Share Themes or Similar Instrumentation with Ullmann’s Works... 186 Pieces by Ullmann Composed before 1942……………………………………. 189 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………… 190 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I extend my sincere gratitude to my doctoral committee co-chairpersons, Dr. Kathleen Maurer and Dr. Linda Pohly, for their feedback and encouragement. I truly appreciate the interest and support of my doctoral committee members: Mr. Scott Anderson, Dr. Keith Kothman, and Dr. Meryl Mantione. I would like to acknowledge those who supported me or my work during my time at Ball State University, especially Maria Alexeeva, Shellie Beeman, Dorene Chen, Dr. Frank Felsenstein, and the members of the Sanctuary Choir at First Baptist Church, Muncie, IN. I would also like to thank Dr. Dom Caristi, the Fulbright Program Advisor at Ball State University, for encouraging me to pursue a Fulbright U.S. Student Award, and therefore, making the research for this dissertation thorough, and indeed, an absolute adventure. The majority of my international research took place at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. I am grateful to the staff of the Foundation, especially Johanna Blask and Tina Kilvio Tüscher, for being helpful and accommodating. I would like to thank Dr. Heidi Zimmermann, curator of the Viktor Ullmann collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation, for her assistance, specifically with the Yiddish translations. Furthermore, I truly appreciate Dr. Jacques Picard, my University of Basel Fulbright sponsor, for his assistance with my transition researching in Switzerland. I am blessed to have performed all of the pieces discussed in this guide at Ball State University with the talented Dr. Galit Gertsenzon Fromm, piano; Snow Shen, violin; Grace Eun Hey Park, cello; Jeremy Jones, viola; and Ed Mellen, percussion. During my time in Basel, Switzerland, I collaborated with the accomplished pianist iv Oliwia Grabowska in the performance of Drei jiddische Lieder (Brezulinka) (Three Yiddish Songs (Birch)), op. 53, and Drei chinesische Lieder (Three Chinese Songs). I would like to thank Amador Buda, piano; Debora Büttner, mezzo-soprano; Alena Sojer, piano; Flurina Stucki, soprano; and Faristamo Susi, piano, for assisting me in bringing exposure to Ullmann’s works through performing in the June 2014 lecture recital Kammermusik von Viktor Ullmann Mit Musikern der Musikhochschule Basel-Stadt (Chamber Music of Viktor Ullmann with Musicians from the Music Academy Basel) at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. I thank Dr. Jeremy Adler for allowing me to view his father’s archive collection at the German Literature Archive in Marbach am Necker, Germany. I am indebted to Mira Zakai for cheerfully giving of her time and experience to assist with the translation of Ullmann’s Yiddish cycle and for her guidance in creating a list of works that pair well with Ullmann’s works in recital. Finally, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to my family. I am beholden to my great-uncle, E. Woodrow Woods, who posthumously inspired my interest in Holocaust studies through his chronicled experiences as a World War II US Army liberator of the Dachau concentration camp. I especially thank my parents for their unconditional love and support. I am forever thankful for my longsuffering husband, Aaron, whose selflessness throughout this journey has been truly admirable. v ABSTRACT Viktor Ullmann’s vocal compositions are exceptional works of art that were forgotten for decades and are infrequently performed in North America. Ullmann (1898- 1944) developed his mature compositional style during his two-year imprisonment in the Nazi ghetto of Theresienstadt. A student of Arnold Schoenberg’s Second Viennese School and Alois Hába at the Prague Conservatory, Ullmann developed his own compositional style that featured a prolific use of motivic material, a balance of tonality and atonality, the importance of the natural-harmonic-series, careful prosody settings, the use of dynamics to increase tension, overlapping phrase structure, the use of polyphonic texture including imitation and canonic techniques, and equality between the vocal line and the accompaniment. As a composer of vocal music, Ullmann’s understanding of the potential difficulties experienced by singers of twentieth-century compositions is clear. He composed quality pieces that deserve to be performed and are excellent additions to the classical canon regardless of their compositional circumstances. The quality of these works is demonstrated in Ullmann’s choice of setting lauded poets and poems, the performance of his works by noted singers and opera companies, and the wide acceptance of these pieces by international audiences. Ullmann’s oeuvre is an important link in the chain of western art music tradition. This guide provides singers and teachers of singing with the necessary information for the successful performance of Ullmann’s Theresienstadt-period works (1942-44) that are appropriate for a mezzo-soprano. Chapter 1 provides an explanation of the research, analytical methods, and processes for this guide. A short biography of vi Ullmann, in chapter 2, follows his growth as composer, conductor, music critic and journalist, pianist, and teacher, including his imprisonment in Theresienstadt. Chapters 3 and 4 of this guide provide specific information for the successful performance of Drei jiddische Lieder (Březulinka) (Three Yiddish Songs (Birch)), op. 53; Drei chinesische Lieder (Three Chinese Songs); Immer inmitten, Solo-Kantate nach Gedichten von Hans Günther Adler (Always in the Midst, Solo Cantata with Poetry by Hans Günther Adler); Lieder der Tröstung (Songs of Consolation); “Herbst” (Autumn); and “Arie des Trommlers” (The Drummer’s Aria) from Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod Verweigerung (The Emperor of Atlantis or Death’s Refusal), op. 49. The final chapter presents suggestions for further research and concludes the guide. The appendices contain International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, English translations, and a list of works that pair well in recital with the compositions discussed in this guide. The availability of Ullmann’s scores by Schott make his works