Songs & Lieder

A concert series by Music Director Eric Lamm Songs & Lieder part two March 1st, 2014 Contents 1 02 Program & Artist Biographies 03 Program Notes 06 Libretto/Translation 18 Acknowledgements 19 Future Programming The pre-concert talk is given by Eric Lamm, Director of Music at Moskowitz Gallery. Moskowitz Gallery 743 N. La Brea Los Angeles, CA 90038 moskowitzgallery.com Program & Artist Biographies 2 Schubert, Franz (1797 - 1828) Die Schöne Müllerin, D.795 Text by Wilhelm Müller Robert May, Tenor Martha Mingle, Piano Robert May National finalist in the Mondavi Young Artists Competition and first place winner in the Brooklyn International Music competition, tenor Robert May is in his fourth year at the Juilliard School studying classical voice with Marlena Malas. In December of 2013, he performed his original compositions in Alice Tully Hall with the Wednesdays@1 series, and is an avid proponent of new music, having performed and recorded works of his own and of upcoming composers in the New York area. He is also deeply interested in language study, and has studied abroad in Italy, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, and has taken language classes at Columbia University since his first year. Martha Mingle Pianist Martha Mingle has performed in a wide variety of venues throughout the Phila- delphia, Cincinnati, and New York regions, including Alice Tully Hall, Steinway Hall, and Weill Recital Hall. As a solo pianist and an avid collaborator, she has performed as concerto soloist with three different orchestras, as an orchestral keyboardist, and in chamber ensembles. Martha is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Con- servatory of Music and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano at The Juilliard School, with teachers Margo Garrett and Jonathan Feldman. Program Notes 3 Songs and Lieder In Songs and Lieder, we examine the relationship between music and poetry. The Song, which is by far the most popular genre of music written today (so much so that people often use the term “song” to refer to any piece of music), is a subset of vocal music, typically consisting of one leading melodic voice and some form of instrumental accompaniment. The German word for song, Lied, is used when referring specifically to the songs of the canon of Classical music. If a song has lyrics, and most do, then it is important to consider that the song is not a purely musical form. Instead it is a compound art form, a synthesis of two: music and the spoken word. It is logical to assume that music was developed from the voice. One can imagine some ancient public speaker raising his voice to be heard, and realizing that by varying the cadence of his speech he could hold an audience captivated. Eventually music was divorced from spoken language in order to be developed on its own, but one cannot deny the close relationship between music and communication. For example, in English we raise our voice at the end of a sentence to make it known that we are asking a question. In fact, the qualities of sound which are considered “musical,” pitch and rhythm, each play an important part in communicative language. Music on its own, divorced from language, was only developed with the dis- covery of communicative structures in sound. Humanity realized that certain patterns of sound, which are now loosely called tonality, hold intuitive meaning. The development of these patterns essentially allowed music to become its own language, capable of ex- pressing what only it can express: things intuitive and based in the realm of pure sound. It is by combining the language of music with the language of the spoken word that we arrive at the composite art form of the song. Thus, no analysis of a song can be complete without first examining the relationship between the meaning of the lyrics and the “meaning” of the music. Throughout the development of vocal music there have been different ways of effectively combining the language of music and spoken word: The first and most elementary way of combining music and text is simply to use music as a backdrop for the mood of the lyrics. For example, it would be rather strange to set lyrics about dancing to a slow, somber tune. Most popular music works in this fashion, as it allows for the most liberties in music and lyrics, each unfolding in a relatively independent way. Program Notes 4 Additionally, the songwriter or composer may utilize what is called “text painting.” This is achieved by attempting to transcribe, practically word for word, the literal meaning of the lyrics into music. The effect is something like musical onomatopoeia. For example, the word “raindrops” might be set to short notes in a rapidly falling pattern. Another example of this would be singing the word “stop” when the music stops. The effect of text painting is rather shallow, and it rarely amounts to anything profound. Addi- tionally, highlighting certain words often takes away from the intelligibility of the deeper meaning of the lyrics. Occasionally, composers and songwriters may calculate musical climaxes to coincide with textual ones. This heightens the effect of both. Richard Wagner was a master of this, and the music of his operas grow so organically from his text that the his later operas exhibit a singularity point, where music and drama climax together in a catharsis so arrestingly intense that conductors have actually died (that is not a joke!) during per- formances. The music of Franz Schubert is evident of a much higher form of this synthesis. He does not aim to translate the words themselves, nor the tone of the lyrics, but rather, when he is at his best, manages to portray both the meaning of the lyrics as well as the “inner drama” of the lyrics. His music manages to elucidate both the text and the psychology behind the text. It is a sort of mirror which reflects the emotional states of the characters in the lyrics. The spinning piano figurations of “Gretchen am Spin- nrade,” which at first suggest just the spinning of Gretchen’s sewing machine, seem to become the spinning of her wild thoughts as she falls hopelessly in love with Faust. The wild figurations of his famous “Der Erlkönig,” suggestive of wild gusts of wind, become simultaneously indicative of the inner turmoil of the father as he watches his son fall to winter’s grasp. Program Notes 5 Franz Schubert In Vienna’s Zentralfriedhof, Franz Schubert lies buried next to his hero Ludvig van Beethoven. On his gravestone is written the moving epitaph, “Herein music has buried a treasure, but even fairer hopes,” especially poignant considering Schubert passed away at the age of 31. By all accounts his short life was a tragic one - he spent nearly all of it in destitute poverty. He was unsuccessful in his professional life; his operas were com- mercial flubs; his songs, now considered the very height of songwriting, sometimes sold for barely more money then the paper was worth. Yet in his thirty-one years, he managed to write more music than most people do in twice that amount of time: over six hundred songs, seven complete symphonies, something close to one thousand cataloged works. Even more impressive is the remarkable consistency of his genius; nearly every song we still have is performed, and he is held in as high of a regard as any other composer of the canon. If Schubert was unappreciated by the music businessmen of his day, he at least was beloved by his circle of friends, and until his last illness he was known in the artistic circles of Vienna as a warm-hearted, passionate young man. He was fond of whittling away his nights in Viennese bars before retiring to sleep - with his glasses on - so that he wouldn’t have to waste a moment before he could resume his remarkable outpouring of musical thought. His friends tended to come through for him, and not one could help but acknowledge his incredible gift for music, even if they were at times bewildered by the shockingly progressive, expressionist tendencies of his songs. While he failed to ever make a successful arrangement with the leading publishing houses of his day, his friends arranged gatherings in the salons of Vienna’s high society, where Schubert could exhibit his music. These gatherings, which came to be known as Schubertiades, were to bring Schubert the most public acceptance he was to have in his life. Indeed, the Schubertiades were to become a popular subject for depiction by visual artists, where we can see the five-foot-naught Schubert accompanying his good friend, the six-foot-six singer Johann Vogel, captivating the nobility of Vienna with the incredible depth of his art. In the decades after his death, Schubert would come to be seen as practically a martyr of artistic and personal integrity. Libretto/Translation 6 Die Schöne Müllerin Text by Wilhelm Müller 1 Music by Franz Schubert Translation by Eric Lamm 1. Das Wandern / To Wander Our protagonist, a young mill-worker, walks through the forest, meditating on the joys of travel. Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust, To wander is the miller’s joy, Das Wandern! To wander! Das muß ein schlechter Müller sein, He must be a wretched miller, Dem niemals fiel das Wandern ein, who never cares to wander throughout the world, Das Wandern! To wander! Vom Wasser haben wir’s gelernt, The water has taught us to travel. Vom Wasser! The water! Das hat nicht Rast bei Tag und Nacht, It knows no rest, day or night, Ist stets auf Wanderschaft bedacht, in traveling always takes delight, Das Wasser! The water! Das sehn wir auch den Rädern ab, We see it in

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