Leduc Marie-Pier 2015 Memoire
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Nietzsche, Debussy, and the Shadow of Wagner
NIETZSCHE, DEBUSSY, AND THE SHADOW OF WAGNER A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Tekla B. Babyak May 2014 ©2014 Tekla B. Babyak ii ABSTRACT NIETZSCHE, DEBUSSY, AND THE SHADOW OF WAGNER Tekla B. Babyak, Ph.D. Cornell University 2014 Debussy was an ardent nationalist who sought to purge all German (especially Wagnerian) stylistic features from his music. He claimed that he wanted his music to express his French identity. Much of his music, however, is saturated with markers of exoticism. My dissertation explores the relationship between his interest in musical exoticism and his anti-Wagnerian nationalism. I argue that he used exotic markers as a nationalistic reaction against Wagner. He perceived these markers as symbols of French identity. By the time that he started writing exotic music, in the 1890’s, exoticism was a deeply entrenched tradition in French musical culture. Many 19th-century French composers, including Felicien David, Bizet, Massenet, and Saint-Saëns, founded this tradition of musical exoticism and established a lexicon of exotic markers, such as modality, static harmonies, descending chromatic lines and pentatonicism. Through incorporating these markers into his musical style, Debussy gives his music a French nationalistic stamp. I argue that the German philosopher Nietzsche shaped Debussy’s nationalistic attitude toward musical exoticism. In 1888, Nietzsche asserted that Bizet’s musical exoticism was an effective antidote to Wagner. Nietzsche wrote that music should be “Mediterranized,” a dictum that became extremely famous in fin-de-siècle France. -
Pénélope in the Press, 1913: the Early Critical Reception of Gabriel Fauré’S Only Opera
ABSTRACT Title of Document: PÉNÉLOPE IN THE PRESS, 1913: THE EARLY CRITICAL RECEPTION OF GABRIEL FAURÉ’S ONLY OPERA Jenny Marie Houghton, MA 2012 Directed By: Professor Olga Haldey, School of Music Gabriel Fauré’s single full-scale opera, Pénélope, has been virtually forgotten since it premiered in 1913. This thesis provides the first detailed account of Pénélope’s critical reception during the year of its premiere. Given that the opera was received enthusiastically by the press, many Fauré scholars have blamed the opera’s demise on poor timing. Close examination of the 1913 reviews reveals, however, a deep-seeded bias on the part of the press. By the time Pénélope premiered, Fauré was an influential and beloved member of the French musical community. Thus, we find that the reviews are as much a tribute to his personal character as they are an assessment of his opera. By properly contextualizing the reviews, we gain a clearer understanding of Pénélope’s true merits and weaknesses, which may help guide a future for the work in the twenty-first century. PÉNÉLOPE IN THE PRESS: 1913 THE EARLY CRITICAL RECEPTION OF GABRIEL FAURÉ’S ONLY OPERA By Jenny Marie Houghton Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2012 Advisory Committee: Professor Olga Haldey, Chair Professor Barbara Haggh-Huglo Professor Richard King ii Acknowledgments Without the love and support of my family, this thesis never would have seen the light of day. -
Ensemble Forms in the Operas of Jules Massenet
RECONSTRUCTING CONVEN TION: ENSEMBLE FORMS IN THE OPERAS OF JULES MASSENET Gregory Straughn, B.A., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2004 APPROVED: Lester Brothers, Major Professor Frank Heidlberger, Minor Professor Margaret Notley, Committee Member James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Straughn, Gregory, Reconstructing Convention: Ensemble Forms in the Operas of Jules Massenet. Doctor of Philosophy (Musicology), December 2004, 265 pp., 41 musical examples, 9 figures, 24 tables, references, 177 titles. Over the last quarter-century, scholars have taken a unified approach in discussing form in Italian and French opera of the nineteenth century. This approach centers around the four-part aria and duet form begun by Bellini, codified by Rossini, modified by Verdi, and dissolved by Puccini. A similar trajectory can be seen in French opera in the works of Meyerbeer, Gounod, and Massenet; however, only Meyerbeer and Gounod have received significant critical attention. This is in part due to Massenet’s reception as a “composer for the people,” a title ill fitting and ripe for reconsideration. This dissertation will examine duet forms in Massenet’s oeuvre and will focus on the gradual change in style manifest in his twenty-five operas. Massenet’s output can be divided into three distinct periods delineated by his approach to form. Representative works from each period will show how he inherited, interpreted, thwarted, and ultimately rewrote the standard formal conventions of his time and in doing so, created a dramaturgical approach to opera that unified the formerly separate number-based elements. -
English in 1916
Introduction to: Doris Pyee-Cohen, La Revue musicale (1901-1912) Copyright © 2002 RIPM Consortium Ltd Répertoire international de la presse musicale (www.ripm.org) La Revue musicale (1901-1912) The first French journal intended for music historians, La Revue musicale1 [REM] was published from January 1901 to January 1912. Its first eighteen issues (January 1901- June 1902) were published as La Revue d’histoire et de critique musicales; however, beginning with number 19 (October 1902) the title changed to La Revue musicale (histoire et critique).2 On 15 January 1912 the REM joined with the S.I.M. Revue musicale mensuelle to become La Revue musicale S.I.M. Initially appearing monthly, the REM began bi-monthly publication in June 1903. The journal’s periodicity however was not regular, and certain numbers were combined to form double issues. About the REM Arthur Pougin wrote: “In 1901, after the Congress of music history held the preceding year at the [1900 universal] Exhibition, Jules Combarieu3 created the Revue musicale ... The aim of the publication ... without neglecting contemporary activities, was to offer the opportunity to publish historical studies by French and foreign scholars.”4 Indeed, the erudition of its contributors5 assured the exceptional quality of the REM. Its importance moreover was underscored in the Grand Larousse encyclopédique: “The Revue musicale can be considered as one of the best journals in music history and criticism.”6 The journal itself does not mention an editor, rather issue no. 1 (January 1901) contains a reference to an Editorial Board including Jules Combarieu (director), Pierre Aubry (administrator), Maurice Emmanuel, Louis Laloy and Romain Rolland. -
Eighteenth-Century Opera and the Construction of National Identity in France, 1875–1918
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY OPERA AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN FRANCE, 1875–1918 William Gibbons A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by: Annegret Fauser, Chair Mark Evan Bonds Tim Carter Jon Finson Lloyd Kramer © 2010 William Gibbons ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT WILLIAM GIBBONS: Eighteenth-Century Opera and the Construction of National Identity in France, 1875–1918 (Under the direction of Annegret Fauser) In the wake of the disastrous Franco-Prussian war, French musicians and audiences sought ways to reaffirm the greatness of their nation. One strategy was to look to the glories of the past as evidence of continued French superiority. In this dissertation, I will examine the role of eighteenth-century opera in constructing a compelling musical past. In particular, I will focus on three composers with vastly differing reception histories in France: Mozart, Gluck, and Rameau, all of whose works received attention both on and off the operatic stages of Paris during the time period of this study. The Austrian Mozart was a favorite throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, serving to present Paris as the cosmopolitan capital of civilization. By 1900, however, performances of his operas ground almost to a halt in favor of revivals of Gluck’s works, a composer who could be adopted by the French and made into a source of national pride. Rameau, finally, represented the apex of the purely French tragédie lyrique—an important dramatic genre for establishing a nationalist rhetoric of music history, but one that also encountered difficulty in gaining popular success at the fin-de-siècle given its musical style. -
Umi-Umd-3310.Pdf (2.110Mb)
ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: CHAMBER MUSIC IN FRANCE FEATURING FLUTE AND SOPRANO, 1850-1950, AND A STUDY OF THE INTERACTIONS AMONG THE LEADING FLUTISTS, SOPRANOS, COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND LITERARY FIGURES OF THE TIME Susan Nanette Hayes, Doctor of Musical Arts 2006 Dissertation directed by: Professor William L. Montgomery School of Music This dissertation, together with the accompanying recital recordings, constitute an examination of chamber music for flute, soprano, and piano and for flute, soprano, and chamber ensemble written by French composers between 1850 and 1950. This examination includes an annotated bibliography of the music, a written document studying the interactions of the leading flutists, sopranos, composers, artists, and literary figures of the time, and two recitals of representative works from the repertoire of about 120 minutes, which were recorded during performances at University of Maryland in March of 2004. The text examines the various types of chamber works written during this period for flute and soprano, with and without additional accompaniment. The amount of repertoire written for flute and voice during this period by composers of a single nationality is exceptional in the history of music. The annotated bibliography lists about 100 pieces in the genre, a truly substantial repertoire. As a performer, I was intrigued by the possibility that several generations of highly gifted, individualistic performers may have inspired these composers to produce this tremendous outpouring of repertoire. With the proximity of so many great singers and flutists in Paris at the time, it can hardly be coincidental that so many composers, both the most well-known and some who are quite obscure today, produced so many exceptional works for these combinations of instruments with voice.