Hanns Eisler’S Anakreontische Fragmente and Hölderlin-Fragmente
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THE ART OF REMEMBERING: TEXT ADAPTATION AND SETTING IN HANNS EISLER’S ANAKREONTISCHE FRAGMENTE AND HÖLDERLIN-FRAGMENTE BY ALAN DUNBAR Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music, Indiana University August, 2014 Accepted by the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music. ___________________________________ Mary Ann Hart, Research Director __________________________________ Costanza Cuccaro, Chairperson __________________________________ Robert Harrison __________________________________ Lynn Hooker ii Copyright © 2014 Alan Dunbar iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people I must thank, for without their help, this project would not have seen completion. First, the members of my committee: Prof. Thomas Sparks, for the inspiration to continuously explore areas beyond the expected and familiar; Dr. Lynn Hooker, for her knowledge and guidance through scholarship on twentieth-century music and politics; Dr. Robert Harrison, for his refreshingly honest feedback and encouragement of my singing and scholarly work; Prof. Mary Ann Hart, for serving as my research director and for first introducing me to the songs of Hanns Eisler; and Chancellor’s Professor Costanza Cuccaro, not only for serving as the chair of my committee, but for teaching me more than I thought possible about what it means to be a singer. I would also like to thank Davis Hart, for his friendship and willingness to play anything I throw at him; Shawn M. H. Allison, for his composer/theorist perspective on Eisler’s harmonic language; Bailey McDaniel, for her insight into Brecht; Kelvin Chan, for sharing his own work on Eisler; Dr. Peter Burkholder, for guiding me through an independent study that, after quite a few twists and turns, pointed the way for this project; and Ken Griffiths and my Tanglewood Vocal Fellow colleagues, for their performance of the Hollywood Liederbuch in 2008 that opened my mind and ears to Eisler’s brilliance. Lastly, I must thank my family: my parents, Jane and Dwight Dunbar, and my in-laws, Phyllis and Ken Larson for their unwavering support; my sister, Lea-ann Dunbar, for helping with the wording of a few especially tricky translations; my children, Liam and Fiona, for reminding me that there is life outside of a dissertation; and my wife, Ann-Marie, whose skill as a reader and editor is only surpassed by her overwhelming love, support, and encouragement. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of musical examples .................................................................................................... vi List of appendices ............................................................................................................ viii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Hanns Eisler – Composer, Poet, Exile .............................................................. 5 Chapter 2: The Anakreontische Fragmente ...................................................................... 26 Chapter 3: Hope and Remembrance – The Hölderlin-Fragmente .................................... 55 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 94 Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 97 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 109 Discography .................................................................................................................... 113 v MUSICAL EXAMPLES All musical examples used with permission, Deutscher Verlag für Musik © 2008 From Hanns Eisler’s Anakreontische Fragmente 2.1 “Die Unwürde des Alterns,” mm. 21-24 ................................................................. 33 2.2 “Die Unwürde des Alterns,” mm. 1-5 ..................................................................... 33 2.3 [“Dir auch wurde Sehnsucht nach der Heimat tödlich”], accompaniment chord progression illustrating descending bass line, mm. 1-15 ....................................... 36 2.4 [“Dir auch wurde Sehnsucht nach der Heimat tödlich”], vocal line, mm. 4-7 ...... 36 2.5 [“Dir auch wurde Sehnsucht nach der Heimat tödlich”], mm. 12-15 .................... 37 2.6 “Geselligkeit betreffend,” vocal line, mm. 1-2 ....................................................... 40 2.7 “Geselligkeit betreffend,” vocal line, mm. 5-8 ....................................................... 40 2.8 “Geselligkeit betreffend,” vocal line, mm. 13-16 ................................................... 41 2.9 “Geselligkeit betreffend,” vocal line, mm. 23-25 ................................................... 42 2.10 “Geselligkeit betreffend,” mm. 25-27 ..................................................................... 42 2.11 “In der Frühe,” mm. 1-9 .......................................................................................... 46 2.12 “In der Frühe,” mm. 17-21 ...................................................................................... 47 2.13 “In der Frühe,” mm. 27-31 ...................................................................................... 48 2.14 “Später Triumph,” mm. 7-8 .................................................................................... 51 2.15 “Später Triumph,” mm. 1-4 .................................................................................... 52 2.16 “Später Triumph,” mm. 10-14 ................................................................................ 53 2.17 “Später Triumph,” mm. 23-27 ................................................................................ 54 From Hanns Eisler’s Hölderlin-Fragmente 3.1 “Elegie 1943,” mm. 18-25 ....................................................................................... 77 3.2 “Die Heimat,” mm. 10-15 ........................................................................................ 77 3.3 “An die Hoffnung,” mm. 1-4 ................................................................................... 78 3.4 “Elegie 1943,” mm. 12-15 ....................................................................................... 79 3.5 “Elegie 1943,” mm. 25-29 ....................................................................................... 79 3.6 “Elegie 1943,” mm. 39-43 ....................................................................................... 79 vi 3.7 “An eine Stadt,” mm. 1-2, 39-40, 62-63 .................................................................. 82 3.8 “Erinnerung,” mm. 28-29, 39-40 ............................................................................. 82 3.9 “An die Hoffnung,” vocal line, mm. 10-11 ............................................................. 83 3.10 “Andenken,” mm. 9-15 ........................................................................................... 83 3.11 “An die Hoffnung,” vocal line, m. 1 ....................................................................... 84 3.12 “Erinnerung,” vocal line, mm. 1-3 .......................................................................... 85 3.13 “An die Hoffnung,” mm. 18-21 .............................................................................. 87 3.14 “Andenken,” mm. 47-50 ......................................................................................... 88 3.15 “Elegie 1943,” mm. 63-64 ...................................................................................... 88 3.16 “Die Heimat,” mm. 21-24 ....................................................................................... 89 3.17 “Die Heimat,” mm. 25-27 ....................................................................................... 89 3.18 “An eine Stadt,” mm. 69-73 .................................................................................... 90 3.19 “An eine Stadt,” mm. 74-83 .................................................................................... 91 3.20 “Erinnerung,” mm. 49-56 ....................................................................................... 92 vii APPENDICES Appendix I: Side-by-side comparison of Anacreon/Mörike and Eisler texts ................... 97 Appendix II: Side-by-side comparison of Hölderlin and Eisler texts ............................... 99 Appendix III: English translations of Eisler song texts .................................................. 105 viii INTRODUCTION Hanns Eisler is considered by many scholars to be the epitome of the twentieth- century political musician. He did not shy away from politics; rather he made them an integral part of his compositional output, infusing the majority of his music with his strong belief in socialist principles. As the “first Marxist-inspired musician of talent and stature to succeed,”1 it is easy to see how this could become the defining characteristic of his career. Until very recently the majority of Eisler studies have focused on that intersection of politics and music: examining the ways in which Eisler attempted to incorporate his socialist ideals into his music; detailing the political difficulties he faced during his time in the United States, which culminated in his departure in 1948; and commenting on the remainder of his career as a state-supported composer in socialist East Germany. In addition to, or