Peter and Julian: An Analysis of Pears and Bream’s Tenor-Guitar Performances
by
James Renwick
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto
© Copyright by James Renwick 2020
Peter and Julian: An Analysis of Pears and Bream’s Tenor-Guitar Performances
James Renwick
Doctor of Musical Arts
Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto
2020 Abstract
This project seeks to understand the artistic renown of the Peter Pears (1910 – 1986) and Julian
Bream (b. 1933) duo by conducting a thorough analysis of their performance output as a tenor-guitar duo. Despite the acclaim they received during their lifetimes, the duo thus far has been unduly neglected in scholarly writings, and their performances, while widely celebrated, have never been analyzed. This problem is addressed primarily through the analysis of the duo’s album Music for
Voice and Guitar (1965) and the development of a performance-practice guide to their distinct musical style. The analysis employs a unique methodology that combines empirical and descriptive analytical tools in order to better understand the duo’s performances from a wide array of perspectives. The resulting performance-practice guide covers several interpretive techniques that are found throughout the body of performances. This guide not only reveals the musical depth and creative choices that two of the twentieth century’s most lauded performers employed, but it can also serve as inspiration for future musicians. Indeed, as I demonstrate near the end of my thesis, the duo’s interpretations are based on principles that can be applied to other musical ventures. The overarching goal of this thesis is that the duo’s creative interpretations may help to generate ideas for other musicians to create their own meaningful musical performances.
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Acknowledgments
I wish to express thanks to the people and organizations that supported me and my research over the course of this degree.
First, thank you to the University of Toronto and more specifically the Faculty of Music for providing a program during which research such as this thesis can be conducted. The facilities and funding provided by the school have been invaluable.
Second, I wish to thank my committee for helping me through the process of writing this thesis. Their willingness to give advice and to proofread my work is greatly appreciated.
Third, I have so much gratitude towards my supervisor and guitar teacher, Jeffrey McFadden. He has been a guide on multiple levels of my life over the past few years. Since initially encouraging me to pursue a DMA, he has supported me unwaveringly over the years and has been a primary reason for my growth as both a guitarist and an academic.
Finally, I express my extreme appreciation towards my parents. There is no doubt in my mind that without their constant encouragement and assistance I would not have made it to where I am now. Thanks to them I have been able to pursue my dreams.
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...... ii
Acknowledgments ...... iv
Table of Contents ...... v
List of Tables ...... ix
List of Figures ...... x
Chapter 1 Introduction ...... 1
Introduction ...... 1
Chapter 2 Literature Review ...... 3
Literature Review ...... 3
2.1 The Pears-Bream Duo ...... 3
2.1.1 Background ...... 3
2.1.2 Performances ...... 6
2.1.3 Recordings ...... 9
2.1.4 Repertoire and Its Significance ...... 10
2.1.5 Performance Style ...... 11
2.2 Performance Analysis ...... 13
2.2.1 Overview ...... 13
2.2.2 Theoretical Discussions on Performance Analysis ...... 13
2.2.3 Niche Performance Analysis Studies ...... 15
2.2.4 Descriptive Analysis ...... 16
2.2.5 Quantitative Analysis ...... 18
2.2.6 Performance Analysis and the Classical Guitar ...... 20
2.2.7 Performance Analysis and the Singer ...... 21
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2.2.8 Methodology in Performance Analysis ...... 22
Chapter 3 Performance Analysis ...... 25
Performance Analysis ...... 25
3.1 Overview ...... 25
3.1.1 Introduction ...... 25
3.1.2 Glossary ...... 26
3.1.3 Methodology ...... 27
3.2 Songs from the Chinese ...... 30
3.2.1 Background ...... 30
3.2.2 The Big Chariot ...... 30
3.2.3 The Old Lute ...... 36
3.2.4 The Autumn Wind...... 39
3.2.5 The Herd-Boy ...... 42
3.2.6 Depression ...... 46
3.2.7 Dance Song ...... 51
3.3 Six Folk Songs ...... 54
3.3.1 Background ...... 54
3.3.2 Master Kilby ...... 55
3.3.3 The Shooting of His Dear ...... 58
3.3.4 Sailor-Boy ...... 61
3.3.5 I Will Give My Love an Apple ...... 65
3.3.6 The Soldier and the Sailor ...... 67
3.4 The Second Lute Song of the Earl of Essex ...... 72
3.5 Anon in Love ...... 74
3.5.1 Background ...... 74
3.5.2 Fain Would I Change That Note ...... 75 vi
3.5.3 O Stay, Sweet Love ...... 83
3.5.4 Lady, When I Behold the Roses ...... 88
3.5.5 My Love in Her Attire ...... 92
3.5.6 I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale ...... 94
3.5.7 To Couple is a Custom ...... 97
3.6 Four French Folk Songs ...... 100
3.6.1 Background ...... 100
3.6.2 Réveillez-vous...... 100
3.6.3 J’ai descendu ...... 103
3.6.4 La Rossignol ...... 106
3.6.5 Marguerite, elle est malade ...... 111
3.7 O Mistress Mine ...... 114
Chapter 4 Compendium ...... 125
Compendium ...... 126
4.1 Tempo Alteration to Create Closure ...... 126
4.1.1 Application ...... 128
4.2 Two Groups of Interpretive Elements ...... 129
4.2.1 Application ...... 131
4.3 Temporal Constancy in Fast Movements/Inconstancy in Slow Movements ...... 133
4.3.1 Application ...... 133
4.4 Salient Moments Take More Time ...... 135
4.4.1 Application ...... 136
4.5 Tempo Manipulations to Highlight the Voice ...... 136
4.5.1 Application ...... 137
4.6 Word-Painting ...... 139
4.6.1 Application ...... 140 vii
4.7 Spoken Text ...... 141
4.7.1 Application ...... 142
Chapter 5 Summary and Conclusion ...... 142
Summary and Conclusion ...... 142
5.1 Discussion ...... 142
5.2 Future Research ...... 144
5.3 Closing ...... 145
Bibliography ...... 147
Appendix...... 152
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List of Tables
Table 1: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in The Big Chariot ...... 36
Table 2: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in The Herd-Boy ...... 46
Table 3: Glissando Chart for Peter Pears in Depression ...... 49
Table 4: Glissando Chart for Julian Bream in Depression ...... 51
Table 5: Musical Expression for Peter Pears and Julian Bream in Fain, Would I Change ...... 81
Table 6: Musical Expression Chart for O Stay, Sweet Love ...... 88
Table 7: Verse and Refrain Average BPMs in J'ai descendu ...... 104
Table 8: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in O Mistress Mine ...... 121
Table 9: Arpeggiation Chart for O Mistress Mine ...... 124
Table 10: Table of Distinct Groups of Interpretive Elements ...... 130
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Tempo Graph for The Big Chariot ...... 32
Figure 2: Tempo Graph for The Big Chariot's Opening Measures ...... 33
Figure 3: The Big Chariot mm. 1 – 5 ...... 34
Figure 4: Tempo Graph for The Old Lute...... 38
Figure 5: The Old Lute mm. 24 - 26 ...... 39
Figure 6: The Autumn Wind mm. 2-4 ...... 40
Figure 7: Tempo Graph for The Autumn Wind ...... 42
Figure 8: Tempo Graph for The Herd-Boy ...... 43
Figure 9: Tempo Graph for mm. 21-23 of The Herd-Boy ...... 44
Figure 10: Tempo Graph for mm. 10-16 of The Herd-Boy ...... 44
Figure 11: The Herd-Boy mm. 10-16 ...... 45
Figure 12: Tempo Graph for Depression ...... 48
Figure 13: Depression mm. 12-15 ...... 48
Figure 14: Tempo Graph for Dance Song ...... 53
Figure 15: Tempo Graph for Verse One of Dance Song ...... 53
Figure 16: Dance Song mm. 5-8 ...... 54
Figure 17: Master Kilby mm. 6-10 ...... 56
Figure 18: Tempo Graph for Master Kilby ...... 58
Figure 19: Tempo Graph for The Shooting of His Dear ...... 60
Figure 20: Tempo Graph for Verse Four of The Shooting of His Dear ...... 61 x
Figure 21: The Shooting of His Dear mm. 61-66 ...... 61
Figure 22: Tempo Graph for Sailor-Boy ...... 64
Figure 23: Tempo Graph for Sailor-Boy mm. 7-10, verse one ...... 64
Figure 24: Sailor-Boy mm. 7-10, verse one ...... 65
Figure 25: I Will Give My Love an Apple mm. 14-18 ...... 67
Figure 26: Tempo Graph for I Will Give My Love an Apple ...... 67
Figure 27: The Soldier and the Sailor mm. 53-58 ...... 70
Figure 28: Tempo Graph for The Soldier and the Sailor ...... 71
Figure 29: Tempo Graph for The Soldier and the Sailor mm. 1-18 (repeat)...... 71
Figure 30: Tempo Graph for The Second Lute Song ...... 74
Figure 31: Fain, Would I Change mm. 39-43 ...... 77
Figure 32: Tempo Graph for Fain Would I Change, mm. 37-39 ...... 78
Figure 33: Fain, Would I Change mm. 37-38 ...... 79
Figure 34: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change, mm. 1-5...... 81
Figure 35: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change, mm. 8-14 ...... 82
Figure 36: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change...... 82
Figure 37: Fain, Would I Change, mm. 44-46 ...... 83
Figure 38: O Stay, Sweet Love mm. 38-43 ...... 85
Figure 39: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love, mm. 17-30 ...... 85
Figure 40: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love, mm. 47-65 ...... 86
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Figure 41: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love ...... 86
Figure 42: Lady, When I Behold the Roses mm. 20-21 ...... 90
Figure 43: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses, mm. 7-13 ...... 90
Figure 44: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses, mm. 17-24 ...... 91
Figure 45: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses ...... 91
Figure 46: Tempo Graph for My Love in Her Attire ...... 93
Figure 47: My Love in her Attire mm. 26-32 ...... 94
Figure 48: Tempo Graph for I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale ...... 96
Figure 49: I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale mm. 29-30 ...... 97
Figure 50: Tempo Graph for To Couple is a Custom ...... 99
Figure 51: To Couple is a Custom mm. 84-87 ...... 99
Figure 52: Reveillez-vous mm. 1-2 ...... 102
Figure 53: Reveillez-vous mm. 39-41 ...... 102
Figure 54: Tempo Graph for Réveillez-vous ...... 103
Figure 55: Tempo Graph for J'ai descendu ...... 106
Figure 56: J'ai descendu mm. 1-4 ...... 106
Figure 57: Tempo Graph for La Rossignol ...... 109
Figure 58: La Rossignol verse one trendline ...... 110
Figure 59: La Rossignol verse two trendline ...... 110
Figure 60: La Rossignol verse three trendline ...... 111
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Figure 61: Tempo Graph for Marguerite, elle est malade ...... 114
Figure 62: Marguerite, elle est malade, mm. 12-13...... 114
Figure 63: Tempo Graph for O Mistress Mine ...... 116
Figure 64: Mm. 6 and 7 of O Mistress Mine ...... 117
Figure 65: Mm. 7-9 of O Mistress Mine ...... 117
Figure 66: Pity of Love, mvmt 1, mm. 30-33 ...... 129
Figure 67: All That's Past mm. 61-63 ...... 129
Figure 68: Across the Plain mm. 74-76...... 132
Figure 69: Across the Plain mm. 25-26...... 132
Figure 70: Pity of Love, mvmt 4, mm. 3-6 ...... 134
Figure 71: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 5, mm. 1-3 ...... 134
Figure 72: Full Moon mm. 9-10...... 136
Figure 73: The Bright Bird mm. 4-7 ...... 138
Figure 74: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 4, mm. 2-3 ...... 138
Figure 75: Sir Patrick Spens mm. 58-60 ...... 140
Figure 76: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 2, mm 25-26 ...... 140
Figure 77: Songs of Achilles, mvmt 2, mm. 90-91 ...... 142
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Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction
In 1954, two of the most important English musicians of the twentieth-century, Peter Pears (1910 – 1986) and Julian Bream (b. 1933), began a collaboration that would span more than two decades. As a duo, Pears and Bream performed extensively across several countries, performing a combination of Renaissance lute-song repertoire, and newly composed tenor and classical guitar music. Performances of the older repertoire played a significant part in the revival of the Renaissance lute-song, while the demand for new music resulted in several original compositions from celebrated composers such as Benjamin Britten, William Walton and Michael Tippett. (A complete list of these works is in the appendix.) Despite the high regard in which these performers and composers are held, this special body of works remains vastly under-performed and understudied by musicians and scholars.
This thesis will begin rectifying this paucity of scholarly attention by investigating the performances of this influential duo and will develop a performance-practice guide to their unique repertoire and performance style. This guide will be based on an analysis of the duo's performances from the album Music for Voice and Guitar;1 as this recording is the only commercially available album that features the duo performing the music that was written especially for them. The guide will then act as a compendium of recurring musical choices that the duo makes throughout the body of performances. Rather than providing a formula for future performances, the intention of this guide is to help better understand this oeuvre’s performance tradition and to serve as a launch point to generate new interpretations of the works. The validity of this guide will be demonstrated in a theoretical discussion about its application to the remaining body of repertoire that was written for but left unrecorded by the duo such as Shepherd's Warning by James Bernard and Lennox Berkeley's Songs of the Half-Light.
1 Peter Pears and Julian Bream, Music for Voice and Guitar, RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2718, 1965, 1993, compact disc.
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Ultimately, this thesis augments current literature across a number of dimensions; (1) it reveals the musical depth and choices of two of the most important twentieth-century performers, (2) it acts as a case study for developing performance practice guides for individuals or ensembles as opposed to typical performance practice guides that look at more general trends, (3) it serves as a starting place for discussion on the unique tenor and guitar repertoire written for the duo, and (4) by extension, it adds to the ongoing research in larger scholarly realm of vocal and guitar repertoire.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
The literature review covers biographical accounts of the duo, their performance style, the repertoire, the composers' musical styles and performance analysis literature.
Literature Review 2.1 The Pears-Bream Duo
2.1.1 Background
Research into Peter Pears and Julian Bream as a duo is quite sparse, and there have been no major publications dedicated to this subject. There are, of course, several biographies and shorter articles that look at Pears and Bream individually. For example, the leading biography on Peter Pears, Headington's Peter Pears: A Biography, covers his life in detail.2 Another significant resource on Pears is the collection of his travel diaries.3 Additionally, due to Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears’ close association, much information on Pears can be found in works on Benjamin Britten's life.4
Biographies on Julian Bream are quite diverse in their focus. Among the many scholarly works that cover Bream, some of the most thorough include Button's work that focuses on Bream's early life, and Palmer's work that looks at Bream's career as a touring and travelling performer.5 The most comprehensive and well-rounded source is Wade's The Art of Julian Bream which contains not only a biography of Bream, but also copies of programmes, reviews and anecdotes.6
2 Christopher Headington, Peter Pears: A Biography (London, England: Faber & Faber, 1992). 3 Peter Pears, and Philip Reed, The Travel Diaries of Peter Pears, 1936-1978 (Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Boydell Press, 1995). 4 Christopher Headington, Britten (New York, NY: Holmes & Meier, 1981); Humphrey Carpenter, Benjamin Britten: A Biography (London, England: Faber & Faber, 1992). 5 Tony Palmer, Julian Bream: A Life on the Road (London, England: Macdonald, 1982); Stewart Button, Julian Bream: The Foundations of a Musical Career (Aldershot, England: Scolar Press, 1997). 6 Graham Wade, The Art of Julian Bream (Blaydon-on-Tyne, England: Ashley Mark, 2008). 3
A documentary produced in 2006 features extensive interviews of Bream and others discussing his legacy.7
Despite the fairly large number of sources that cover both performers as individuals, no source focuses on the performers as a duo. Even in some of the more thorough biographies, such as Palmer and Headington, the collaboration is only mentioned briefly — covering only basic biographical details.8 The most in-depth source to date is Wade's work which contains many more details on the duo, including concert dates, tours and repertoire not covered anywhere else.9 None of these resources make reference to the full extent of the body of repertoire that was composed for Pears and Bream.
Rather than relying solely on the seemingly incomplete work on the duo by other scholars, I have consulted several primary sources in order to better piece together the repertoire. The most fruitful resources of this kind are the programmes for the Aldeburgh Festival and the Britten- Pears Foundation's website (http://www.bpfcatalogue.org/).
The programmes from the Aldeburgh Festival are especially useful because the duo tended to premiere new compositions at this festival. For example, at the 1960 Aldeburgh Festival, both William Walton's Anon in Love and Richard Rodney Bennett's Lament were premiered, while at Aldeburgh 1961, the duo premiered Sir Patrick Spens by Thea Musgrave and Songs for Achilles by Michael Tippett.10
The Britten-Pears Foundation's website is equally valuable. It is the most comprehensive resource on the duo's performances, (although it appears to be incomplete) and was particularly useful in providing background about the first piece the duo commissioned – Shepherd's
7 Paul Balmer, Julian Bream: My Life in Music, DVD (Avie), 2006. 8 Palmer, Julian Bream: A Life on the Road; Headington, Peter Pears: A Biography. 9 Wade, The Art of Julian Bream. 10 John Lewis, ed., Thirteenth Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 11-26 June 1960 (Colchester, England: Benham and Company Limited, 1960), Programme Book, 67; Mary Harrsion, ed., The Fourteenth Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 28 June – 9 July 1961 (Colchester, England: Benham and Company Limited, 1961), Programme Book, 62-63. 4
Warning by James Bernard.11 By compiling biographical information from the above resources I have been able to greatly augment my knowledge of Pears and Bream's work and have pieced together an account of the duo's collaboration.
The day that Bream and Pears first met was June 15th, 1952. At the age of 22, Bream was making his Aldeburgh Festival debut performing as part of a larger recital, with Britten and (possibly Pears) in attendance.12 At this concert he performed Villa-Lobos, Turina, arrangements of Bach, Purcell and Haydn, a flute and guitar piece and a Fantasia by John Dowland (one of Pears' favourite composers).13 In an interview, Bream describes the memorable experience of meeting Britten at the recital, “I was invited to Aldeburgh to play the guitar with an ensemble, [and during the concert] there was a huge draft and [my music] came off the music stand, and then suddenly somebody jumped up from the front row and sorted out my problem. And there it was – there he was, it was Benjamin Britten.”14
Following this encounter and his performance, Bream was invited to an Aldeburgh Festival party later that day. At the party, Pears approached Bream and asked Bream if he might accompany Pears in a performance of a few Renaissance lute-songs right then and there, to which Bream agreed. In a way, this was Bream's audition to serve as Pears' future collaborator – evidently, he passed the audition as they began their collaboration soon after.15
This quasi-audition was quite likely the event that sparked the idea of the two performing as a duo. To Pears, performing English lute songs with Bream was appealing for several reasons. For one, Peter Pears had a long-standing fascination with Renaissance music and is described as having “a great passion for lute songs, because he loved not only the songs themselves, but the poetry.”16 Additionally, prior to Pears' meeting with Bream, Britten was frequently Pears' accompanist for this repertoire, but could not perform as often as Pears would have liked due
11 Britten-Pears Foundation, “English Song Recital” (Britten-Pears Foundation), accessed November 16, 2016, http://brittaa1.memset.net/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Performance&dsqS earch=PerfCode==%27PERF7578%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl 12 The Fifth Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 14 – 22 June 1952, (1952), Programme Book, 22-24. 13 Ibid. 14 Paul Balmer, Julian Bream: My Life in Music, (Avie, 2006), DVD. 15 Headington, 173. 16 Headington, 173. 5
primarily to the fact that Britten was incessantly composing..17 Therefore, a substitute for Britten became a necessity if Pears wanted to continue pursuing this repertoire. Finally, the lute created an intimate atmosphere and allowed Pears to “add a very expressive nuance to the line.”18 For Bream, the benefits of the duo—such as working with a very established musician and opportunities to perform music of which he was fond—were obvious. Furthermore, Bream had an interest in collaboration throughout his entire career and was constantly drawn towards it. Up to that point in his life he had already encouraged composers such as Reginald Smith Brindle to write solo guitar works for him and, as mentioned, he had performed flute and guitar music. Later in life, he would collaborate frequently and with many composers, and would often perform with harpsichordist George Malcolm, guitarist John Williams and his own group, the Julian Bream Consort.19
2.1.2 Performances
There is some discrepancy as to the date on which they first performed as a duo. Christopher Headington—Pears' principal biographer—believes that 12th of November 1954 was that.20 However, the Britten-Pears foundation database lists a concert on the 28th of April 1953, a year and a half prior to Headington's date, that included Pears, Bream and unspecified music by Dowland, among a large number of other performers and repertoire.21 Unfortunately, due to the fact that the database merely lists all the performers in a concert with no additional details as to which of them worked together, it is unclear as to whether the Pears and Bream performed as a duo at this concert.
Regardless, the first full recital by the duo occurred in 1954 at London's Wigmore Hall, and featured Renaissance songs by John Dowland and Philip Rosseter.22 Despite the focus on
17 Eric Crozier, ed., The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: June 10 – June 19 1949 (1949), Programme Book, 45. 18 Headington, 173. 19 McCallie, 5. 20 Headington, 173. 21 Britten-Pears Foundation, “Music to Honour the Memory of Edmurd Horace Fellowes” (Britten -Pears Foundation), accessed November 16, 2016, http://brittaa1.memset.net/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Performance&dsqS earch=PerfCode==%27PERF7395%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl 22 Britten-Pears Foundation, “English Song Recital." 6
Renaissance songs, the concert also included their first premiere, which indicates that the duo were interested in performing new tenor and guitar repertoire from the genesis of the group. The piece, a song-cycle entitled Shepherd's Warning, was written by James Bernard, a composer primarily known for his work on film scores. According to letters between Bernard and Pears, Bernard was commissioned by Pears to write a piece for this concert in particular.23 The work and subsequent performance were received quite well as the Times called it “original in conception, imaginative in execution, and telling in performance.”24
Following this first (or perhaps second) performance, Pears and Bream began performing together relatively frequently. For instance, in 1957, they had a number of performances scattered throughout the year—most notably another recital at the Aldeburgh Festival on June 17th.25 Between 1957 and 1971, performances at the Aldeburgh Festival seemed to be an almost yearly occurrence for the duo—this seems to indicate that not only was the Aldeburgh Festival the reason for the duo's inception, but that it continued to be the collaboration's foundation for the span of its existence.
On June 17th, 1958, they performed again at the Aldeburgh Festival, this time with a somewhat different programme than the Renaissance-focused programs they had performed thus far. Instead, the programme was equally divided between lute songs by Dowland and newly- composed music by Benjamin Britten; three arrangements of folk-songs and Songs from the Chinese, op. 58.26 This concert seems to have opened the floodgates for the duo to begin commissioning and performing new repertoire for voice and guitar. Soon, after on August 27th, 1958, they performed, and plausibly premiered, Four French Songs by Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber.27 On November, 26th, 1958 they travelled to Hamburg to premiere Kammermusik
23 David Huckvale, James Bernard, Composer to Count Dracula: A Critical Biography (Jefferson, United States: Mcfarland, 2006), 41. 24 Ibid., 42. 25 Britten-Pears Foundation, “Quatercentenary Concert” (Britten-Pears Foundation), accessed November 16, 2016, http://brittaa1.memset.net/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Performance&dsqS earch=PerfCode==%27PERF7671%27&dsqCmd=Show.tcl 26 Donald Mitchell, ed., The Eleventh Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 13-22 June 1958 (1958), Programme Book, 49-50. 27 Graham Wade, The Art of Julian Bream (Blaydon-on-Tyne, England: Ashley Mark, 2008), 51. 7
1958 by Hans Werner Henze.2829 At the Aldeburgh Festival in 1960, the duo premiered two pieces from very prominent English composers; Anon in Love by William Walton and Lament by Richard Rodney Bennett.30 Aldeburgh 1961 was similar, as the duo again premiered two new works; Sir, Patrick Spens by Scottish composer Thea Musgrave and Songs for Achilles by Michael Tippett.31 By 1965, there were at least three more pieces written for the duo; Lennox Berkeley's Songs of the Half-light, O Mistress Mine by Peter Racine Fricker and Pity of Love by Raymond Warren. This brought the total number of works commissioned by the duo to twelve— a number of which were by composers of the highest rank.
In the second half of the 1960s, the duo stopped commissioning new works and began to standardize their programme. The format of their concerts remained the same as it had been since 1958 (the first half lute-songs and the second half modern compositions), but instead of constantly varying the content they settled on works by Thomas Morley and John Dowland for the lute-song portion, and Britten's Songs from the Chinese and Seiber's Four French Songs as their preferred modern compositions. The venues and locations in which the duo performed also seemed to have changed during this period. They performed less frequently at Aldeburgh and began to perform more abroad. For instance, they had at least one tour of Germany in 1964 and one tour of the United States in 1975.32
In the 1970s, performances by the duo became less frequent and soon after the aforementioned tour of the United States, Pears and Bream stopped performing as a duo altogether. The final performance that I have been able to verify took place on September 25th, 1976.33 It is unclear as to why a partnership that had spanned over twenty years would end after this performance, but it is likely that Britten's declining health and eventual death in December of that year had a large
28 Ibid., 59. 29 This piece is unique in that it comprises twelve movements grouped into four sets of three with each set featuring a different instrumental ensemble: winds and string, solo guitar, guitar and tenor, and full ensemble. 30 John Lewis, ed., Thirteenth Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 11-26 June 1960 (Colchester, England: Benham and Company Limited, 1960), Programme Book, 67. 31 Mary Harrsion, ed., The Fourteenth Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts: 28 June – 9 July 1961 (Colchester, England: Benham and Company Limited, 1961), Programme Book, 62-63. 32 Wade, 78, 122. 33 Headington, 271. 8
effect on Pears.34 Furthermore, Pears was winding down his career at this point (he was in his mid-60s) and after a stroke near the end of 1980, he would stop performing altogether.35 Bream's career on the other hand was extremely successful during this decade, with continuous performances, recordings and other collaborations.36 It is probable that for him the collaboration was no longer as high a priority as it was when they first began collaborating.
2.1.3 Recordings
During the years that Julian Bream and Peter Pears worked together, they released several recordings. In 1955—quite early into their collaboration—the duo released an album titled "An Anthology of English Song."37 Not only was this recording the first album they released as a duo, but it was Bream's first album of any kind (although it was definitely not the first for Pears, who was 23 years Bream’s senior). This album contained many songs by English Renaissance composers that served as the initial inspiration for the collaboration: John Dowland, Philip Rosseter, Thomas Morley and Thomas Ford. In the following years, they recorded two and a half more albums with music very similar to this; the 1958 recording “A Recital of Lute Songs”, the 1970 recording “Elizabethan Lute Songs” and the half of the album “Julian Bream in Concert” from 1963.38 None of these recordings stray from the Renaissance lute-song repertoire.
The duo recorded one other album; Music for Voice and Guitar.39 This recording is the only one of the duo's that is not comprised of Renaissance lute-songs. Rather, it contains a number of pieces composed for the duo: Songs from the Chinese and Folk Song Arrangements by Britten, Anon in Love by Walton, Four French Songs by Seiber and Peter Racine Fricker's O Mistress Mine.
34 Ibid., 274. 35 Ibid., 293. 36 MicCallie, 5. 37 Wade, 207. 38 Ibid., 208-210. 39 Ibid., 209. 9
The recording took place at Kenwood House, a large seventeenth-century English mansion, in the Adam Library.40 Bream described the room as “a very beautiful room with a sympathetic atmosphere for intimate music. Its acoustics are wonderful. The room is full of Sheraton and Chippendale, and the old woods reflect the sound with clarity and luster. Peter Pears and I have often given concerts in the Adam Library. Its grace and charm were ideally suited to our mood and our intention.”41
Almost all the songs were recorded in September of 1963 with only Fain Would I Change being recorded in March 1964.42 The reasons for this are unknown. The producer on the album was Christopher Raeburn, who worked with numerous notable singers over the course of his career such as Luciano Pavorotti and Joan Sutherland as well as notable conductors such as George Solti and Herbert von Karajan.43 Michael Mailes and Kenneth Wilkinson worked as recording engineers on the album.44
Although unlikely to surface, additional information as to certain details of the recording process could shape the understanding of this album. Details such as microphone quality and placement, ensemble configuration and reverberance of the room can alter the interpretive choices in a performance. For example, the variation of a room’s reverberance can affect tempo choices. This places some limitations on the ability to generalize the results of this study across the entire body of the duo’s performances. In any case, seeing that this album is the only official recording of the duo performing new tenor-guitar repertoire, it is the primary focus of the analysis portion of this thesis.
2.1.4 Repertoire and Its Significance
The significance of the repertoire composed for the duo and its penetration into the performance community varies considerably. For example, while Britten’s compositions are well-known by
40 Marcia Drennen, liner notes for Music for Voice and Guitar, Peter Pears, Julian Bream, RCA Victor Red Seal LSC-2718, 1965, 1993, compact disc. 41 Ibid. 42 William Chavéz, “Music for Voice and Guitar,” accessed June 17, 2019, http://www.julianbreamguitar.com/music-for-voice-and-guitar--with-peter-pears-.html 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 10
the classical guitar community, several works from the oeuvre—such as Shepherd’s Warning, Pity of Love and Lament—are currently unpublished.
The works that have found their way into the consciousness of the guitar community are held in high esteem for being some of the most artistically rewarding tenor-guitar compositions from the twentieth century. For example, in an interview, guitarist Eliot Fisk—who has performed several works from this oeuvre with Nicholas Phan—described Walton’s Anon in Love as “a much greater work than the [Walton Bagatelles].” 45
Recently, several important musicians have approached these works. For example, Songs from the Chinese has been recorded by two notable English tenors—Ian Bostridge and Ian Partridge— who worked with guitarists Xuefei Yang and Jukka Savijoki respectively. 46 Additionally, Guitar Foundation of America award-winner Marc Teicholz, along with soprano Laura Claycomb released an album in 2015 that included Anon in Love and Seiber’s Four French Folk Songs. 47
2.1.5 Performance Style
Although very little literature covers either member of the duo from a performance analysis perspective, commentaries on their individual performance styles are found in works that focus on other perspectives. For example, Thorpe’s Festschrift for Pears contains a collection of quotes from various musical figures praising his unique performance style. Among them, fellow singer Janet Baker makes note of his “great intelligence and musicality”48 as well as his “remarkable sensitivity for words, [and his equally remarkable] ability to colour them”.49 Donald Mitchell, too, notes Pears’s “sensitivity and supreme intelligence” and states that in Pears’s performances “words colour the music and music articulates the words.”50 Headington’s biography on Pears contains little concerning his performance style, but does contain one brief analysis of the
45 McCallie, 126. 46 Jukka Savijoki and Ian Partridge, “Britten/Berkeley: Complete Works for Voice and Guitar & Solo Guitar,” Ondine 779, 2008, compact disc; Ian Bostridge, Antonio Pappano and Xuefei Yang, “Britten: Songs,” EMI Classics 5099943343027, 2013, compact disc. 47 Laura Claycomb and Marc Teicholz, “Open Your Heart,” Delos #DE 3483, 2015, compact disc. 48 Marion Thorpe, ed., Peter Pears: A Tribute on His 75th Birthday (London, England: Faber & Faber, 1985), 4. 49 Ibid., 5. 50 Ibid., 68. 11
recording of the folk-song Come You Not From Newcastle. The summary of his analysis is that Pears manipulates the text and music in such a way that even though both stanzas in the recording are identical on the page they “emerge differently” to the point that “[one] may fail to notice that the words of both stanzas are identical.”51
The performance analysis literature on Bream is much the same. In the introduction to The Art of Julian Bream, John Mills states that
“When listening to a broadcast or a recording, even with no prior warning, one could recognize the “Bream sound” within seconds. His sense of rhythm combined with an uncanny ability and instinct for incorporating beautifully considered rubato into his playing were skills we envied immensely.”52
Graham Wade too remarks that Bream’s performances are distinctive when he writes that there is a “unique musical intelligence and sensibility [that shapes] each phrase and [defines] the identity of each piece”.53
It is possible that much of his unique approach to musical interpretation arises from his early guitar experiences. For example, Bream’s father played jazz guitar and as a result his early influences were jazz guitarists such as Django Reinhardt. 54 Bream’s learning of the guitar was also largely autodidactic which may have contributed to an interpretative style that falls outside contemporaneous approaches to musical interpretation. 55
Clearly there is much room for exploration of the areas that are only touched upon in the above comments. As a duo, Pears and Bream's performance style is largely unexplored and even as individuals there are large gaps in performance analysis that may be filled. The validity of pursuing this research is also quite evident—both performers have immense and lasting influence
51 Headington, Peter Pears: A Biography, 314. 52 Wade, The Art of Julian Bream, 9. 53 Graham Wade, "Reflections on Julian Bream's 60th Birthday," Guitar Review 96 (1994): 19. 54 Balmer. 55 Ibid. 12
on the musical world and are frequently described as intelligent, musical, and, above all, unique in their performances. This makes them ideal candidates for a performance-analysis study.
2.2 Performance Analysis
2.2.1 Overview
The central component of this thesis is a performance analysis of recordings of repertoire written for and played by Julian Bream and Peter Pears. With this in mind, it is important to understand the historical precedent and philosophy of performance analysis, as well as the possible methods and approaches that will be used. This section of the thesis aims to clarify those ideas as they relate to this project and, ultimately, leads to the creation of a formal research design.
2.2.2 Theoretical Discussions on Performance Analysis
Scholarly research into analyzing recordings dates back to as early as the 1930s. In 1936, Carl E. Seashore published a collection of essays on the subject titled Objective Analysis of Musical Performance.56 Seashore believed that in 1936 the tools for scientifically analyzing recordings were available.57 He also categorized musical sound into four aspects—pitch, time, intensity and timbre—and believed that they could all be objectively measured.58 The other essays in the collection act as examples of Seashore's ideas and demonstrate some basic methodologies for analyzing musical recordings.
Despite this relatively early interest in analyzing recordings, it was many years before performance analysis became more widely accepted and studied. For the majority of the twentieth-century musical research was dominated by traditional musicology and music theory, both of which value the composer and the score over the performer and the performance.59
56 Carl E. Seashore, ed., Objective Analysis of Musical Performance (Iowa City: The University Press, 1936). 57 Carl E. Seashore, "The Objective Recordings and Analysis of Musical Performance," in Objective Analysis of Musical Performance, ed. Carl E. Seashore, (Iowa City: The University Press, 1936), 5. 58 Ibid., 8. 59 Nicholas Cook, “Between Process and Product: Music and/as Performance,” Music Theory Online 7 2 (April 2001): 1, accessed November 13, 2017, http://mto.societymusictheory.org/issues/mto.01.7.2/mto/01.7.2.cook.html; Joel Lester, "Performance and 13
Beginning in the 1990s, several important scholars began to consider performance analysis a crucial aspect of music research.60 A number of writings discuss the philosophy as well as the implications of performance analysis in great detail. One of the most important is Joel Lester's (1995) article on the interaction between performance and analysis. Lester states that performance analysis is relevant to theoretical analysis and should be recognized as such. He goes on to say that the two are intrinsically tied together and, as a result, any scholar who dismisses performance analysis is missing a crucial element.61 Nicholas Cook's Between Process and Product: Music and/as Performance is an important document that details the evolving attitude about the relationship between the composer's vision and musical performance. Furthermore, Cook argues that the composition is a "script" rather than a "text" that the performer uses as a basis for a performance.62 Cook calls for scholars to look at the relationship between composer and performer through this lens and to focus more on performance analysis with this perspective in mind.63 Stan Godlovitch strongly agrees with Cook when he says that
"[musical] works massively underdetermine their performances"64 and he argues that musical performance deserves as much philosophical attention as any other area of music. 65 José A. Bowen expands on these ideas and demonstrates that performance analysis is important for furthering scholarly knowledge in a number of ways. 66 Bowen believes that it should not only
Analysis: Interaction and Interpretation," in The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation, ed. John Rink (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 197. 60 Cook, "Between Process and Product"; Lester, 197-216; José A. Bowen, “Performance Practice versus Performance Analysis: Why Should Performers Study Performance?” Performance Practice Review 9 1 (Spring 1996): 16-35; Dorottya Fabian, "Classical Sound Recordings and Live Performances: Artistic and Analytical Perspectives," in Recorded Music: Philosophical and Critical Reflections, ed. Mine Doğantan-Dack (London, United Kingdom: Middlesex University Press, 2008), 232-260; Stan Godlovitch, Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study (London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 1998); Daniel Leech-Wilkinson, "Using Recordings to Study Musical Performance," in Aural History: Essays on Recorded Sound, ed. Andy Linehan (London, England: The British Library, 2001), 1-12. 61 Lester, 199. 62 Cook, 16. 63 Ibid., 31. 64 Godlovitch, 3. 65 Ibid. 66 Bowen. 14
be used as a source for performance practice or as a method to convey a composer's vision, but also serve to open more options and possibilities for expressiveness in performances.67
Dorottya Fabian tackles a unique and important aspect of the practice of performance analysis. 68 Fabian looks at the difference between live performances and recordings to determine whether or not recordings should be used for performance analysis.69 In other words, despite the additional processes involved with a recording—such as editing and mastering—can the medium still be understood as a performer’s output? Fabian concludes that "sound recordings are valid documents because they are representative of particular artists' technique and interpretative approaches and thus can be regarded as 'performances,'"70 suggesting that the performer’s vision and artistic intent is present in the recordings, and thus can be an effective object of analysis for understanding their musical expression.
2.2.3 Niche Performance Analysis Studies
George Brock-Nannestad's work explores an uncommon but important topic related to performance analysis of recordings.71 He covers the technical aspects of recordings in an effort to make researchers aware of the natural biases and problems associated with studying recordings as a medium. Subjects he has covered include the limitations of recordings of which researchers should be aware and the ways in which various types of recording format deteriorate. His overall goal is for researchers to approach performance analysis with a more "source-critical approach to recordings"—i.e. the scholar should be cognizant of problems inherent in the medium.72
67 Ibid., 35. 68 Fabian. 69 Ibid, 232. 70 Ibid. 71 George Brock-Nannestad, "The Critical Approach to Sound Recordings as Musicological Sources," Musiikki 1-4 (1989): 423-35; George Brock-Nannestad, “Using Recordings for Documenting Performance,” Presentation at the Third Symposium of the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music CHARM April 20-22, 2006: Day two, accessed June November 13, 2017, http://www.charm.rhul.ac.uk. 72 Brock-Nannestad, "Using Recordings," 14. 15
Another niche but important topic that relates to performance analysis and recordings is "discography." According to Alessandri, discography—which consists of researching and understanding the collection of recordings one is analyzing—is an essential part of analysis.73 It should be done early in the process in order to provide a more well-rounded understanding of the context for any recording.74
2.2.4 Descriptive Analysis
Many performance analyses follow a relatively uncomplicated methodology that consists of listening closely to one or many recordings, writing down the expressive tools and choices that are used, and discussing the implications. Although some authors use names such as subjective analysis or qualitative analysis, I have designated this type of performance analysis as "descriptive analysis” because this title avoids the sometimes-divisive connotations associated with the other titles. This is best demonstrated in Judy Lochhead's work on performances of John Cage's music.75 Due to the avant-garde nature of Cage's works, any analysis of tempo, dynamics or other expressive techniques is rather futile. Instead, Lochhead simply creates a chronological timeline of each musical event that occurs in the performance, and then describes and categorizes each event.76 This is the essence of descriptive performance analysis—listening closely to a performance and then describing the important decisions a performer makes in terms of musical expression.
A relatively large body of scholarly work looks at several recordings over an extensive period of time in order to better understand the chronological development of performance practices. Works by Robert Philip, Michael Troy Murphy and Liza Kinzer are all examples of this type of study; Philip looks at general instrumental performance over a 50 year span, Murphy looks at
73 Elena Alessandri, "'The Discography' or What Analysts of Recordings Do Before Analyzing." in Five Perspectives on 'Body and Soul' and Other Contributions to Music Performance Studies, ed. Claudia Emmenegger and Olivier Senn (Zürich, Switzerland: Chronos, 2011), 121. 74 Ibid., 111. 75 Judy Lochhead, "Performance Practice in the Indeterminate Works of John Cage," Performance Practice Review 7 (1994): 233-41 76 Ibid., 239-240. 16
recordings of St. John's Passion over twenty-five years and Kinzer studies Brahms recordings over almost the entire course of the twentieth-century.77 These studies effectively demonstrate large performance trends over periods of time. Furthermore, Philip states that the "reasons for examining early twentieth-century performance are compelling" because it is the earliest period from which primary source material has survived.78 According to Philip this is important because "the recordings have preserved the general practice of the period in great details, and the detail includes habits which are scarcely mentioned, if at all, in written document" i.e. Recordings give more details about performance practice than any written document.79
There is also a trend to use performance analysis to uncover composers' original intentions. The tendency for these projects is to study early twentieth-century composers—such as Bartók, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Debussy—performing their own works on the piano.80 These performances are generally compared to scores, although sometimes they are compared to other performances. Analysis in these examples consists of listening for expressive devices that differ from the score—with a focus on tempo and rubato. One noteworthy example of this work is Ding's analysis of Rachmaninoff's recordings of his own work. Ding studies both the scores and the recordings of six works by the composer, and through a purely descriptive analysis approach is able to make conclusions about Rachmaninoff's compositional and performance style, how he interpreted his own pieces and insights that other performers of these works can take into their own performance.
77 Robert Philip, Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental Performance 1900-1950 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Liza B. Kinzer, "Performance Practices in Brahms's Klavierstücke, Op. 118: A Survey of Recordings from 1903-1997" (DMA diss., University of North Carolina, 1999); Michael Troy Murphy, "Performance Practice of Johann Sebastian Bach's Passio Secundem Johannem – A Study of 25 Years of Recorded History (1982-2007) as Influenced by Events Surrounding the Historically Informed Performance Movement" (Ph. D. diss., Florida State University, 2008). 78 Philip, 1. 79 Ibid. 80 Marilyn M. Garst, "How Bartók Performed His Own Compositions," Tempo 155 12 (1985), 15-21; Xiao-U Ding, "Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff" (DMA diss., Boston University, 1991); Sofia Moshevich, 'Tempo in Shostakovich's Performances of His Own Works," South African Journal of Musicology 7 (1987): 1-11; Shu- Yuan Yang, "An Interpretive Analysis of Béla Bartók's Performance of His Own Music" (DMA diss., City University of New York, 1997); Kyung-Ae Lee, "A Comparative Study of Claude Debussy's Piano Music Scores and His Own Piano Playing of Selections From His Welte-Mignon Piano Roll Recordings of 1912" (DMA diss., University of Texas, 2001); Justin Hoke, "The Guitar Recordings of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: An Analysis of Selected Works Performed by the Composer" (DMA diss., Florida State University, 2013). 17
These projects align closely with the goals of this thesis. Although Julian Bream and Peter Pears are not the composers for the body of repertoire that is the subject of this work, they are the driving force behind its existence, and this body of repertoire was composed with these two unique performers in mind. In some cases, they were also crucial in the creative process itself – offering advice or guidelines to the composers. For example, Bream's close work with William Walton is described in Walton's own letters.81 This means that although they are not the composers of the work, they are still "authors" of the work in some capacity. Comparing their recordings to the scores will result in similar conclusions to the aforementioned projects – a deeper understanding of the subject's performing tendencies as well as a better understanding of the connection between the scores and their intended realization.
2.2.5 Quantitative Analysis
Descriptive analysis is certainly not the only method that can be used to analyze musical performances. Quantitative analysis (also known as empirical or objective analysis) is another option. A number of authors advocate for an increased use of qualitative analysis in musicology and, more specifically, performance analysis.82 Eric Clarke and Nicholas Cook believe that musicology is a field that has potential to be data-rich, with many opportunities for large sets of data or methodologies that create quantitative results.83 According to Clarke, "measuring the timing, dynamic and even timbral properties of performances has produced a wealth of previously unknown information."84 José Bowen takes a special interest in measuring tempo
81 William Walton, Letter to Alan Frank, 16 Apr., 1960, The Selected Letters of William Walton, edited by Malcolm Hayes, (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2002), 317-318. 82 Elaine Chew, "About Time: Strategies of Performance Revealed in Graphs," Visions of Research in Music Education 20 (Janurary 2012); Eric Clarke and Nicholas Cook, introduction to Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods and Prospects, eds. Eric Clarke and Nicholas Cook (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 3-14; Stephen McAdams, Philippe Depalle and Eric Clarke, "Analyzing Musical Sound," in Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods and Prospects, eds. Eric Clarke and Nicholas Cook (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 157-196; Renee Timmers and Henkjan Honing, "On Music Performance, Theories, Measurement and Diversity," Cognitive Processing (International Quaterly of Cognitive Sciences) 1 2 (2002): 1-19; José A. Bowen, "Tempo, Duration, and Flexibility: Techniques in the Analysis of Performance," Journal of Musicological Research 16 2 (1996): 111-156; Leech-Wilkinson, The Changing Sound of Music; Eric Clarke, "Empirical Methods in the Study of Performance," in Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods and Prospects, eds. Eric Clarke and Nicholas Cook (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 77-102. 83 Clarke and Cook, introduction to Empirical Musicology, 6. 84 Clarke, "Empirical Methods," 91. 18
using computer tools and exploring the possibilities of these tools. To Bowen, tempo is an "especially important variable to study"85 and concludes that "[it] should be measured in the most accurate way possible and on the smallest level."86 Stephen McAdams, Philippe Depalle and Clarke complement Bowen's work by demonstrating several ways that sound can be represented in graphs. They show that it can be represented temporally as pitch over time, spectrally as amplitude versus frequency, or as a spectrogram—the most complex representation that shows both frequency and intensity over time.87
Elaine Chew also advocates for an increased use of graphs and computer tools in performance analysis.88 In her article, Chew displays the usefulness of these tools by using examples that demonstrate the ways that they can be used to answer performance analysis questions. For example, she is able to determine that one particular performance of the Moonlight Sonata that increases the tempo towards the middle of phrases and decreases it towards the end gives the impression of longer phrases than the other performances she studied.89
There are also some notable deficiencies and drawbacks to quantitative analysis of which one must be aware.90 Stephen McAdams, Phillipe Depalle and Clarke list a number of these drawbacks. For example: there can be too much data, which can make it difficult to pare down and extract meaningful information; it is unbiased and thus does not effectively capture individual or cultural experience (which in some cases may be desirable); and it does not consider the biological biases of the human ear.91
Despite these drawbacks, several primarily performance analysis studies that successfully employ quantitative analysis.92 Bruno Repp has done extensive studies on both timing and
85 Bowen, "Tempo, Duration, and Flexibility," 112. 86 Ibid., 146. 87 McAdams, Depalle and Clarke, 179. 88 Chew, 21. 89 Ibid., 12. 90 Clarke, "Empirical Methods," 91; McAdams, Depalle and Clarke, 195. 91 McAdams, Depalle and Clarke, 195. 92 Bruno Repp, "Patterns of Expressive Timing in Performances of a Beethoven Minuet by Nineteen Famous Pianists," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 88 2 (1990): 622-641; Bruno Repp, "A Microcosm of Musical Expression: I. Quantitative Analysis of Pianists’ Timing in the Initial Measures of Chopin’s Etude in E Major," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 104 2 (1998): 1085-1100; Bruno Repp, "A Microcosm of Musical Expression: II. Quantitative Analysis of Pianists’ Timing in the Initial Measures of Chopin’s Etude in E 19
dynamics in performances of early Romantic piano repertoire. In his three-part article on Chopin's Etude in E Major, he looks at the dynamics and timing of the first five measures using a total of 117 distinct performances.93 The third article in the series attempts to correlate performance tempo and dynamics with how highly selected musicians rated the performance.94 Repp found that no specific set of dynamics and timing were a good indication of a high rating; instead many varied dynamics and timing received high ratings from judges—ultimately suggesting that there are other less-quantifiable factors that play an important part in the aesthetic quality of a performance.95
Ju-Lee Hong conducted a very different study in order to better understand the cello performances of Bach and Prokofiev by Casals and Rostropovich respectively.96 Hong used an almost purely empirical approach to studying elements such as tempos, dynamics, vibrato and portamenti with a high level of detail.97 This was accomplished using the computer programs Sonic Visualiser and Audacity to create time-graphs and spectrographs.98
2.2.6 Performance Analysis and the Classical Guitar
The number of scholars who have studied the classical guitar from a performance analysis perspective is not large. Justin Hoke's work on Agustin Barrios is one of the few that looks at classical guitar recordings from this perspective.99 This work is in the same vein as the previously mentioned work by Ding on Rachmaninoff's performances of his own work. Hoke compares Barrios' playing to both the scores and the modern recordings of the works in order to draw conclusions about Barrios' personal playing style. This work also draws attention to several expressive techniques that are unique to the guitar (or at least not found across all instruments)
Major," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 105 3 (1999): 1972-1988; Bruno Repp, "A Microcosm of Musical Expression: III. Quantitative Analysis of Pianists’ Timing in the Initial Measures of Chopin’s Etude in E Major," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 106 1 (1999): 469-478; Ju-Lee Hong, "An Empircal Analysis of Musical Expression in Recordings by Selected Cellists" (M. Phil. diss., University of London, 2014). 93 Repp, "A Microcosm of Musical Expression: III." 94 Repp, "A Microcosm of Musical Expression: II," 471. 95 Ibid., 475-476. 96 Hong, 3. 97 Ibid., 41. 98 Ibid., 42. 99 Hoke, "The Guitar Recordings of Agustin Barrios Mangoré." 20
such as portamenti, rasgueado and rolled chords (i.e. chords that are very quickly arpeggiated). He concludes with several general trends found in Barrios' personal style and, based on these trends, he speculates about how Barrios would perform pieces that he had not recorded.100
Hoke's work strongly relates to my thesis, not only in the study of classical guitar, but also in the way in which he defines several Barrios tendencies and applies them to unrecorded pieces. The classical guitar connection provides a basis for the guitar-specific performance aspects, and Hoke's conclusions are in accord with later sections of my methodology.
2.2.7 Performance Analysis and the Singer
Several authors have discussed methodology for analyzing vocal performances. Of this group, Leech-Wilkinson's work is the most clear and effective. His book, The Changing Sound of Music, features a section on analyzing vocal performances.101 Leech-Wilkinson demonstrates two different approaches; the first is more in line with objective analysis, while the second is much more descriptive. The first begins by using a program to determine the length (across time) and the intervallic distance of the vocalist's portamenti or “swoops” (as Leech-Wilkinson calls them).102 This analysis is then tied into the meaning of the text to demonstrate how the length and distance of the portamenti are used by the performer for expressive purposes. This reveals the variety of ways that this particular singer uses portamenti as an expressive technique depending on the emotional content of the piece. The other, more descriptive, analysis breaks down the piece into short phrases and describes any and all expressive devices the vocalist uses.103 All this information is then tabulated to be further analyzed for overarching expressive
100 Ibid., 88-89. 101 Daniel Leech-Wilkinson, The Changing Sound of Music: Approaches to Studying Recorded Musical Performance (London: CHARM, 2009), accessed November 13, 2017, http://www.charm.rhul.ac.uk/studies/chapters/intro.html 102 Ibid., chapter 8, 80. 103 Ibid., chapter 8, 99. 21
trends.104 This method also successfully demonstrates the expressive choices that are made by the performer, although from a more general and arguably less precise perspective.
2.2.8 Methodology in Performance Analysis
One of the most thorough and complete pieces on the subject of performance analysis is the aforementioned The Changing Sound of Music by Daniel Leech-Wilkinson.105 Its self-described aim is "to set out some ideas about why music might be worth studying from performances rather than from scores, about how we might do it, and about how our view of music will change as a result."106 Leech-Wilkinson discusses a wide variety of performance analysis related topics such as the philosophy of performance analysis, 107 the history of recordings as well as numerous examples of performance analyses. The final chapter covers an extensive methodology that can be used for analyzing musical performances. In this methodology, descriptive analysis and quantitative analysis are combined so that the biases from each type of analysis are mitigated as much as possible. To start, he recommends listening closely for expressive gestures, changes in tempo and other potential variance in performance,108 and then, to supplement this using a program such as Sonic Visualiser in order to do tempo mapping and create spectrograms.109 As previously alluded to, Leech-Wilkinson also has many methods for organizing and interpreting the data that comes from listening and using Sonic Visualiser. One example already mentioned is a table that chronologizes the text in a song, describes the musical expression that the singer associates with that text, (ex. a crescendo or large vibrato) and then attempts to summarize the effect this musical expression has in conjunction with the text.110 Similarly, he recommends that after one has mapped out the tempo changes in a recording, it is possible to model the changes in
104 Leech-Wilkinson expands further upon this study in Daniel Leech-Wilkinson, "Performance Style in Elena Gerhardt's Schubert Song Recordings," Musicae Scientiae 14 2 (2010): 57-84. 105 Leech-Wilkinson, "The Changing Sound of Music." 106 Ibid., chapter 1, 4. 107 For example, Leech-Wilkinson addresses the question “what constitutes a musical performance?” 108 Ibid., chapter 8, 20. 109 Ibid., chapter 8, 43. 110 Ibid., chapter 8, 99. 22
character throughout a piece with the tempo changes as a guide.111 As a whole, this book serves as an extremely thorough guide for performance analysis methodologies and provides an excellent frame of reference.
"Measuring and Describing Music" by Matthias Arter is another excellent source that can be used as a guide for a performance analysis methodology.112 Arter’s article describes his own performance analysis project with the intent of demonstrating the exact sequence of steps he took to complete the project. He began by locating every recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (the subject of his analysis) that he could find, as well as all the available information on each recording.113 After completing his discography, he analyzed the performances using a combination of both quantitative and descriptive analysis. Quantitative analysis was primarily used for tempos.114 This was done using a computer program that measured the average tempo of each musical phrase. This allowed Arter to accurately measure tempo changes across each recording of the piece. For other expressive features Arter used more descriptive analysis.115 In order to explain this process, he used portamenti as an example. With portamenti, Arter began by numbering all the spots in which a portamento occurred in at least one of the recordings. He then went through each recording and listened for portamenti - taking note of the numbered spots to which they corresponded, evaluating the prominence of the portamento and briefly describing the style of the performance.116 This gave Arter an easy reference to how each recording used portamenti as an expressive tool. Both methods (descriptive and quantitative) essentially organized the data in such a way that allowed him to easily parse the information and make larger conclusions about the dataset.
111 Ibid., chapter 8, 39. 112 Matthias Arter, "Measuring and Describing Music," in Five Perspectives on 'Body and Soul' and Other Contributions to Music Performance Studies, ed. Claudia Emmenegger and Olivier Senn, (Zürich, Switzerland: Chronos, 2011), 127-144. 113 Ibid., 129. 114 Ibid., 132 115 Ibid., 139. 116 Ibid. 23
Evidently, much groundwork has been laid for scholars to further explore the relatively recent field of performance analysis. The philosophy, methodology and overall viability have all been discussed in-depth. Furthermore, many tools are available to researchers so that they may more easily conduct this type of analysis. In the following chapter I analyze the performances of the Peter Pears and Julian Bream duo, and, in doing so, utilize many of the methodologies and tools discussed here.
24
Chapter 3 Performance Analysis Performance Analysis 3.1 Overview
3.1.1 Introduction
This chapter consists of the performance analysis itself. I will begin the chapter by explaining my research design in-depth. Then follows the results of the analysis of the Pears-Bream duo's performances on the Music for Voice and Guitar album.
It is important to note the perspective from which this repertoire will be analyzed. My perspective is similar to Cook's idea of the score acting as a script117 and Godlovitch's idea that
“[musical] works massively underdetermine their performance.”118 This perspective helps clarify the focus of the analysis. Rather than analyzing everything that Bream and Pears do throughout the piece, it is more important to analyze active decisions they have made (i.e. the aspects of their performances that are not indicated on the score). This will allow for the most interesting and unique aspects of their performance to come to the forefront and will ultimately lead to more meaningful conclusions.
It is absolutely vital to note that the performer’s decision-making process is unknown, and that this analysis only studies the results of their performance. The details of any decision-making process for this set of recordings is not within the scope of this project and, furthermore, would be a difficult (perhaps impossible) task to complete.
117 Cook, 16. 118 Godlovitch, 3. 25
Occasionally, I use terminology that suggests the performer’s intention. For example, I use terminology such as the duo “decided” to play a passage a certain way. Of course, I do not know their true intention, rather this language is intentionally invoking Monahan’s “fictional composer.”119 The fictional composer is an agent created by the analyst who is in control of the music which is used to help understand the music. Although this agent is usually the work’s composer, it can manifest in different shapes known to Monahan as “avatars”.120 In this case, the fictional composer’s avatar is the fictional performer—an imagined version of Pears and Bream that has complete control over the musical results. Since this thesis is a study of performers, my decision to invoke the fictional performer stems from a desire to emphasize the performers’ contributions to the realization of musical works. Ascribing power to the performers reverses the traditional view of the composer having musical control and hands it to the performers.
3.1.2 Glossary
I will clarify some of the vocabulary for readers who may not be aware of some of the more guitar-centric terms that appear in the analysis.
Warm tone/tasto: these two terms are used almost interchangeably within the analysis. Tasto refers to a right-hand positioning close to the neck which results in sound that emphasizes more low overtones and is usually considered to be “warm”. A warm sound can also be achieved on the guitar by rotating the wrist so that the angle of attack is more parallel to the strings.
Bright tone/ponticello: these two terms are also used nearly interchangeably and are the inverse of the above terms. A ponticello position on the guitar is achieved with a positioning of the right- hand close to the bridge. A bright tone results from a ponticello position and emphasizes more of the higher overtones. This bright tone can also be created by an angle of attack that is perpendicular to the strings.
Neutral tone: A neutral tone is simple to infer from the above definitions. It is simply the tone that results from playing in between tasto and ponticello.
119 Seth Monahan, “Action and Agency Revisited,” Journal of Music Theory 57 2 (October 2013): 329. 120 Ibid., 351 26
Tambora: A technique that involves slapping the strings of the guitar (with fingers or thumb) in order to achieve a more percussive, but still pitched, sound.
Golpe: A technique that involves knocking on the body of the guitar with a part of either hand in order to achieve a percussive but unpitched sound.
Rasgueado: A strumming technique that is particularly rhythmic and is achieved with quick strokes that use the fingernail.
Pizzicato (also known as étouffé): This technique is created by placing the edge of the right-hand palm along the bridge and the plucking the strings. The sound that is created has less sustain and sounds dampened—similar in sound to the violin’s pizzicato.
Rest-stroke: A right-hand guitar technique where the fingers plucks the and comes to rest on the next lower string. The result is generally a fuller and heavier tone.
3.1.3 Methodology
The following step-by-step methodological guide that is used here draws heavily on the above literature and attempts to take the most relevant aspects of each article to create the strongest research design. The overall goal of this performance analysis is to answer the question “what expressive tools do the performers use?” and, eventually, the broader question "how do the performers interpret the music?"
1. The first step in this methodology is to find as many scores (manuscripts or publications) and recorded performances of the duo as possible. This is based on the work by Allesandri and Arter who both highlight the importance of discography.121 This has yielded scores of 11 of
the 12 known works written for the duo122 and the recording of Music for Voice and Guitar—featuring five of the works.
2. The following step is to perform a rudimentary score analysis. This includes an analysis of
121 Allesandri, 111; Arter, 129. 122 Found in the Appendix. 27
the form of the piece, the melodic themes and motives, harmonic and rhythmic structures, and the meaning and implementation of the text (when there is text). Although these sorts of analyses do not need to be exhaustive, it is important to have them as a context for performance analysis as being informed of these elements can provide insight into analytical results. 123
3. The next step is the core of this research design—analyzing the performances. In this thesis the analytical comparison is split into two parts—one is a primarily quantitative analysis of the change in tempo and the other is a qualitative analysis of the other expressive elements (dynamics, tone, articulation etc.)
Regarding the tempo analysis there are currently a few viable methods for measuring tempos.124 The most common one is to manually “tap-along” to the beat of the piece as a computer program records the taps. This method contains several problems. In order for a high degree of accuracy, it requires the “tapper” to have a familiarity with the recording (in order to match with each subsequent beat—especially in classical chamber music because of the typically unsteady tempos) and the “tap-along” must be performed multiple times in order to create an “average tap-along” that accurately captures the tempo changes. Instead of “tap- along”, a more accurate and less time-consuming alternative was used. This method consists of opening the sound file of the performance in Sonic Visualizer and manually adding “markers” that align with each beat in the piece. These markers each have precise timing information that are then exported as an “.svl” file and edited using a simple Python script into a format that is imported directly into Microsoft Excel. Once in Excel, simple calculations are performed that yield exact beat-per-minute information as it changes over the course of the piece. This information is then graphed in order to make the changes in beats- per-minute (BPM) over the course of a piece clear and precise. 125
123 For more information on basic strategies for analysis consult texts such as William E. Caplin, Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Oxford University Press, 1998) and Edward Aldwell & Carl Schachter, Harmony and Voice Leading (Thomas/Schirmer, 2003). 124 Leech-Wilkinson, "The Changing Sound of Music," Chapter 8, 41-42. 125 My use of the term BPM throughout the thesis is not employed to refer to it on a perceptual level. This thesis makes no judgements as to the BPM at which this music is perceived. Instead, BPM is used with reference to how it is derived via my methodology. During the process of marking the Sonic Visualizer file I determine a kind 28
In terms of the qualitative analysis, a variety of approaches have been used depending on the content of the performance. One possibility is creating a chronological account that describes all the notable moments of musical expression. In cases where this is practical, the piece is divided by phrases. For each phrase, I decipher the expressive tools and decisions that are used. Once that is complete, the results are placed in a table in chronological order – resulting in a “chronological account” of the devices the duo used in the piece (very similar to Leech- Wilkinson's chronological of a performance by Elena Gerhardt).126 Additionally, it is frequently practical to split this table into subsets or categories that make it easier to parse and interpret the information. For example, the table is sometimes divided into expressive choices by the guitarist and expressive choices by the vocalist; or it is split into even more specific categories of musical expression (i.e. one for guitar portamenti, one for arpeggiated chords etc.) The latter examples are similar to Arter's portamento table.127 When this process does not yield a particular amount of useful information it is more prudent to simply describe the affects that are used throughout the piece while noting any significant decisions. For example, in several performances Pears and Bream maintain the same affect throughout and, as such, a chart detailing phrase-to-phrase decision is repetitive and does not reveal any new information. In these cases, a simple description method is the most succinct and clear way to understand the performance.
4. Once all the information on the performer’s expressive choices and tempo changes are extracted from the recordings, the data is further analyzed in order to better understand any recurring trends in the performers’ musical decisions or general principles that the performers follow. Furthermore, any significant deviations from the score are noted. Finally, these decisions, principles and deviations are addressed in a discussion that attempts to understand the reasoning behind the unique choices that were implemented by the two performers.
5. After the aforementioned analysis is complete, it is possible to note significant trends that
of beat (i.e. half notes, quarters, eighths or sixteenths) that is found consistently throughout the work. The level of beat that I determined as most consistent is found on the y-axis label of tempo graphs throughout the thesis. 126 Leech-Wilkinson, "The Changing Sound of Music," chapter 8, 99. 127 Arter, 139. 29
occur across several performances. This next step involves documenting the trends and making a compendium of common performance techniques used by the duo. These trends should be useful as a point of inspiration for future performers, rather than as strict performance rules. Furthermore, the compendium’s trends are performance decisions that should be applicable to any similar repertoires. In order to demonstrate that these trends are indeed ideas that can be translated to other music, I give multiple examples of how each trend could theoretically be applied to the remaining body of unrecorded repertoire by the duo.
3.2 Songs from the Chinese
3.2.1 Background
Benjamin Britten's Songs from the Chinese, op. 58—written in the 1957—was one of the earliest compositions written for Peter Pears and Julian Bream. The set consists of six songs based on traditional Chinese poetry written between 800 B.C.E. and 1200 C.E and translated into English by Arthur Waley.128 They were first premiered by Pears and Bream June 17th, 1958 at the Aldeburgh Festival. The duo performed the set of songs at several recitals and recorded it in 1965 for Music for Voice and Guitar. The cycle was published by Boosey and Hawkes in 1959. Kyung Soo Moon suggests that one of the primary reasons that Britten chose the pairing of guitar music with Chinese texts is the parallels between the plucked-string nature of the guitar and the traditional Chinese lute.129 Indeed, these parallels become explicit in the second movement; The Old Lute. This song-cycle is likely the most popular entry in the Pears-Bream repertoire— undoubtedly a fitting opening to Music for Voice and Guitar.
3.2.2 The Big Chariot
The first song from Songs from the Chinese is The Big Chariot. Don't help on the big chariot; You will only make yourself dusty Don't think about the sorrows of the world;
128 Kyung Soo Moon, “Balinese Influences in Benjamin Britten's 'Songs from the Chinese', Op. 58” (DMA diss., University of Texas, 1993), 67. 129 Ibid., 2. 30
You will only make yourself wretched.
Don't help on the big chariot You won't be able to see for dust. Don't think about the sorrows of the world; Or you will never escape from your despair.
Don't help on the big chariot; You'll be stilled with dust Don't think about the sorrows of the world; You will only load yourself with care.
The text expresses the poet's intense dissatisfaction with the world while offerings warnings to those who become too attached to it. Each of the three stanzas is divided into two couplets. The first couplet in each stanza cautions against helping on the “big chariot” and the second (“sorrows of the world”) encourages the reader/listener to not think too hard about the negative parts of life.
Britten uses this as a basis for the musical form by creating three verses, each with nearly identical forms that feature two contrasting sections. Mm. 1-7, 14-20 and 27-34 correspond to the “big chariot” part of the text. They feature loud dynamics and long notes in the vocal part, while the guitar doubles the vocals with closed chords (i.e. chords that are spaced tightly) and plays sixteenth-note bass runs. The “sorrows of the world” correspond to mm. 8-13, 21-26 and 35-43. These sections contrast the antecedents with softer dynamics, a more florid vocal line in a lower register, and a guitar part with open chords (the opposition to closed chords—chords whose pitches are widely spaced). Additionally, the sixteenth-note runs that were in the bass are now featured in the high range of the guitar instead.
Figure 1 is a tempo graph of The Big Chariot. In all the tempo graphs, the x-axis is the tempo of the performance across time, so the left-most part of the graph is the beginning of the piece and the right-most is the end. The y-axis gives the beat-per-minute and the y-axis title specifies what type of rhythm is considered a beat (ex. in Figure 1 the quarter note-represents a beat).
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Figure 1: Tempo Graph for The Big Chariot
Studying the tempo graph of The Big Chariot, one can clearly observe reflections of Britten’s compositional form manifest in the graph. The graph shows that there are essentially two ritardandi for each half-verse—one that leads to Pears's last word (in the graph these are circled in red) and one that leads to the end of the half-verse (circled in green).
This observation draws attention to the last verse because the second half does not contain the usual severity of ritardando, and the tempo is the most consistent of any half-verse. For example, the first four bars of the last verse have an average change in tempo of 13.2 BPM, while the average change for the first four bars of the second-half of the verse are only 5.3 BPM.130
In terms of shaping phrases, the duo is very conscious of the text by way of taking more time when there is new text and less time when there is a held note. Figure 2 demonstrates how this occurs in the first verse, while Figure 3 shows the associated music. The first word of the verse
130 This is calculated simply by finding the absolute difference between successive pairs of beats and then take an average of those pairs. For example, if you had a bar for which the first beat was 100 BPM, the second was 110 BPM, the third 90 and the fourth 100 the absolute different for each pair would be 10, 20 and 10. Thus the average difference in BPM for that bar would be 13.33 BPM. 32
(“Don't”) is held for 3 beats and the beat on which it first occurs is 94.3 BPM, while the two other beats are much faster at 118.6 and 111.4 BPM (boxed in red in Figure 2). The subsequent text. “help on the,” is sung in shorter note-values and during which the BPM is 99.4 and 105.1 BPM. Similarly, the next long note on “big” (boxed in blue in Figure 2) begins at 103.6 BPM, while the other three beats are 114.9 (twice) and 131.3 BPM. This trend continues throughout the piece.
Figure 2: Tempo Graph for The Big Chariot's Opening Measures
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Figure 3: The Big Chariot mm. 1 – 5
Although Bream’s primary sound is quite dry (short, accented notes and a ponticello sound), he makes frequent use of a warmer sound for contrast—particularly during ritardandi. For example, the first five bars are entirely in the first aesthetic with no arpeggiation, heavy articulation, ponticello chords, rest-stroked sixteenth notes and a forte dynamic-level throughout. In m. 6, he plays increasingly elaborate arpeggiations on each chord, while slowly migrating towards a tasto, and less articulated sound as he approaches the end of m. 7. In the next phrase (an a tempo), he immediately returns to the drier sound.
Bream does something different in m. 25 (the second half of the second verse) in which another ritardando begins. Here, the chords become increasingly warm (just as the aforementioned example), but the sixteenths move towards the extremity of a ponticello sound—creating the impression of two competing instruments.
Table 1 shows the musical decisions that Pears makes throughout The Big Chariot. The right column of the table describes Pears's musical decisions throughout a phrase and the left column is the text of the corresponding phrase. This table reveals that Pears anticipates or is the instigator for Bream's change in affect at ritardandi. For example, in the first verse, Pears uses 34
accents and lots of space between notes—resulting in shorter and less legato phrases—until the “on-” of “only” is held through to the “-ly”. Creating this longer line anticipates the warmer and more legato articulation that Bream uses during the ensuing ritardando. This demonstrates synergy (whether through intense listening, planning or a combination) between the duo.
Pears also exaggerates the first note of each section to the extreme i.e. in the loud sections his first note is particularly loud and accented, while the first note in quiet sections is usually the quietest note of the section. This is effective, as the listener's attention is immediately drawn to the overly quiet or loud note of each section and creates a clarity as to the musical affect that Pears wishes to portray. This exaggeration is itself exaggerated in the last verse when not only does Pears make the first word even louder, he also cuts it quite short (even compared to the parallel moments in other verses). The result is that the affect remains clear while still differentiating the final verse from the previous verses. Phrase Musical Expression (Pears) Don't help on the big chariot Space between notes. Accents on most notes. Crescendo on long notes You will only make yourself "on-" of only is held through to "-ly". Decrescendo and less dusty forceful on "make yourself". "dusty" is quiet. Don't think about the Quiet, space between the sixteenth notes. Rhythmically quite sorrows of the world clear You will only make yourself Staccato on "you". Legato on "make yourself" wretched Don't help on the big chariot Suddenly louder and accented again, Space between notes You won't be able to see for "a-" of "able" is held through to the next syllable dust Don't think about the Onset of the long notes "don't" and "world" are very quiet with sorrows of the world a bit of a crescendo. Or you will never escape Warmer and a bit more legato, especially on "pair" of "despair" from your despair Don't help on the big chariot Loudest, most energy in this section. Staccato on "don't" You'll be stifled with dust Space and accent on the second iteration of this text. Don't think about the Again, the onset of "don't" is particularly quiet with a small sorrows of the world crescendo You will only load yourself Rhythmically precise, but also legato. Small decrescendo
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with care
Table 1: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in The Big Chariot
3.2.3 The Old Lute Of cord and cassia-wood is the lute compounded; Within it lie ancient melodies. Ancient melodies—weak and savourless, Not appealing to present men's taste. Light and color are faded from the jade stops: Dust has covered the rose-red strings. Decay and ruin came to it long ago, But the sound that is left is still cold and clear. I do not refuse to play it, if you want me to; But even if I play, people will not listen. How did it come to be neglected so? Because of the Ch'iang flute and the zithern of Ch'in.
The duo’s performance of The Old Lute is one of the most fascinating performances on this album because of the many creative ways their interpretation serves the text—to such a degree that oftentimes their musical ideas are shaped in ways that qualify as text-painting.
The poem expresses longing for ancient times, of which the Chinese lute is a metaphor. The lute is a traditional Chinese instrument that at the time of the poetry had been overtaken in popularity by new instruments (the Ch’iang flute and the zithern of Ch’in) from other cultures.131
Before discussing the duo’s interpretation, it is important to note that Britten’s compositional decisions also greatly serve of the text. Texturally, most of the piece is a slow, quiet and reflective affect that makes use of thick, polyphonic guitar harmonies. In the final nine bars, the affect drastically shifts to a much quicker tempo with arpeggios and harmonics in the guitar. The reasons for this are quite evident when studying the text—the polyphonic texture represents the “old lute,” while the harmonics and arpeggios represent the flute and the zithern respectively. This is clever because this reflects the instruments described in the text and also elucidates why
131 Moon, 79-81. 36
the lute fell into “neglect”—the lute music was slow and dense, while the flute and zithern were faster and more exciting.
Coming to Pears and Bream’s performance, their interpretation serves this textual and compositional intent and even heightens it. For example, they make excellent use of tempo to emphasize the contrast between the lute and the other instruments (Figure 4). In the slow section they average a tempo of 34.4 BPM, while in the section they average 107.9. When compared to Britten’s markings in the score (quarter equals 44 in the slow section and 104 in the fast) it is evident that the two are exaggerating even Britten’s intent.
The exaggerated difference in tempos is not the sole way the tempo is manipulated to emphasize the character shift. It is also achieved it progressively slowing the tempo in the first section of the piece. In Bream’s introduction, the tempo never dips below 35 BPM, but as the end of the section is approached the BPM dips below 30 frequently. The slowest moment occurs in m. 21 during which Pears sings “still cold and clear” with a pacing that draws out every word. This decline in tempo gives a feeling of decay that could be seen as mirroring the lute’s own decay in popularity.
In terms of musical affect, the bulk of the piece is performed quite statically. In the first section, Bream arpeggiates every chord and uses a tasto tone, while Pears sings quietly and creates long legato lines. In certain spots, Pears achieves an even more introspective sound by de- emphasizing words or pitches on the beat—making them a little softer and completely unaccented. For example, in the line “but the sound that is left is still cold and clear”, “left”, the last note of “cold” and the word “clear” are all on the beat but are sung the most quietly.
The peak dynamic in the "lute" section of the piece is in the last line ("people will not listen," Figure 5) on the word “people”, which is followed by a drastic decrescendo to almost nothing. This is a clear example of word-painting as Pears gives the illusion of his voice (and the lute) vanishing. This complements the text-painting that Britten has written into the score and the feeling of decay mentioned earlier.
At the recitative and into the "flute and zithern" section, Pears' style becomes much more declamatory with increased emphasis on strong beats and consonants, while Bream's tone in the
37
second section is neutral rather than tasto—further cementing the contrast between the two sections.
This performance is an excellent case study into ways in which performers can use their performance to serve the text. Pears and Bream use tempo, dynamics, phrasing and tone to better convey the meaning and spirit of the composition which ultimately leads to a unique and engaging performance.
Figure 4: Tempo Graph for The Old Lute
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Figure 5: The Old Lute mm. 24 - 26
3.2.4 The Autumn Wind Grass and trees wither: geese go south. Orchids, all in bloom: chrysanthemums smell sweet. I think of my lovely lady: I never can forget. Floating-pagoda boat crosses Fen River. Across the mid-stream white waves rise; Flute and drum keep time to sound of rowers' song; Amidst revel and feasting, sad thoughts come; Youth's years how few! Age how sure!
The third song from Songs from the Chinese is about a man who is separated from his love and journeys on a barge to a new life. Like The Old Lute, Britten sets this text with plenty of word- painting. Moon suggests that the ever-present sixteenth-note figures oscillate (Figure 6) in at way that suggests the wind from the first line of text and the repeated notes act as a “drum keeping time”.132 Over this texture the tenor sings a distinctly un-tuneful melody comprised of odd syncopations, unexpected accidentals and large leaps.
132 Moon, 87. 39
Figure 6: The Autumn Wind mm. 2-4
The stream of sixteenth notes is interrupted twice by rasgueado in the guitar and by the marking “freely.” These two interruptions correspond to the introspective lines in the text “I think of my lovely lady: I never can forget” and “Amidst revel and feasting, sad thoughts come.” This results in three sections of sixteenth-note texture separated by two “free” sections—an ABABA structure. Following “sad thoughts come,” the sixteenth-note texture returns, but the range and dynamics are lower (and continue to fall) and the tenor repeats the last line of the poem— emphasizing the last phrase “Age how sure.”
For Pears and Bream this piece seems to be one of the most difficult on the entire album. The challenging sixteenth notes in the guitar and the frequently obscured downbeats create issues for Pears and Bream in coordinating and maintaining their tempo. The result is that some of the tempos in the tempo graph (Figure 7: A sections are boxed in red and B in green) fluctuate more than one would assume Pears and Bream intended. Still, there are a few things of interest to be gleaned from the results. Most notably perhaps is that the B sections are not particularly free— they are simply taken at significantly slower tempos than the other sections of the piece. Much of the piece sits at around 138 BPM, while the B sections dip down to 70 BPM (i.e. the tempo is nearly halved). This certainly corresponds to the more introspective in B sections as compared to the descriptive texted A sections.
Additionally, Bream and Pears become more temporally consistent as the piece goes on. The first A section has several extreme fluctuations, the second only has one, and the last section is quite stable. I believe that this is not employed as a means of dramatic effect, rather it is a result of the 40
duo disagreeing with regards to timings in the initial iteration to which they react by adapting their timings over the course of the performance.
Despite the frantic nature of Bream’s performance, he does manage to use several expressive devices. For example, he consistently accents the bass notes which both provides additional stability to the tempo and emphasizes the allusion to drums. He also adjusts his tone throughout. In the first A section he uses a generally neutral sound, during the second he moves to a ponticello sound and in the final A section he moves to a warm, quiet sound.
On the final page of the score (the end of the second B section and the final A section), Pears makes several interesting decisions. Starting at “sad thoughts come,” he suddenly sings quietly (a subito piano) rather than singing the diminuendo that is present in the score. Bream complements this with a very quiet roll (his rolls up to this point have all been loud and accented). This immediately changes the character. Following that, Pears sings “youth's years how few” evenly and legato (a contrast from the other text in the previous sixteenth-note sections). This cements the idea that the poet is now in a quiet and introspective place. Following this, Pears is much more declamatory with “age how sure!” which parallels the accented bass notes in the guitar and, ultimately, draws attention to the last statement as a summation of the poet's feelings.
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Figure 7: Tempo Graph for The Autumn Wind
3.2.5 The Herd-Boy
The fourth movement in Songs from the Chinese—The Herd-Boy—is one of the shortest songs on the album and one of the few to be written in a through-composed style. The text is evocative of a rural scene, and depicts a young boy and his ox: In the southern village the boy who minds the ox With his naked feet stands on the ox's back. Through the hole in his coat the river wind blows; Through his broken hat the mountain rain pours. On the long dyke he seemed to be far away; In the narrow lane suddenly we were face to face. The boy is home and the ox is back in its stall; And a dark smoke oozes through the thatched roof.
Britten structures the song such that lines two through seven serve as the body while lines one and eight are book-ends. This is achieved by setting lines one and eight in recitative and setting the other lines to a rigid meter and tempo. The strong downbeats in the guitar and frequent syncopations serve to drive the middle section forward. Britten also instills a sense of growth as the piece moves forward due to an increasing range. The last words of lines 3, 4 and 6 (“Blows,” “pours,” and “face”) are each sung on a long note that gets higher with each iteration: first E, then F-sharp and finally, the climax of the piece, G on “face”. Following the climax, the range and dynamics settle until the piece transitions back to recitative.
Figure 8 shows the tempo-graph for The Herd-Boy, omitting the recitatives. (Note: the large jumps in tempo are not intended, rather they are rhythmic errors from the performers) A glance at this graph reveals that although there are some tempo fluctuations, the tempo is relatively consistent.
In the opening few bars of the middle section are at a slower tempo than the rest of the performance. Indeed, the first four beats average a tempo of 194.5 BPM, while the piece in its entirety averages 221.5. At the end of the section the inverse happens in the form of a ritardando.
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Both the slow start and the final ritardando act as bridges between the middle section and the outer recitatives.
Another fascinating part of this graph is that the duo takes extra time as they approach the moments that I previously noted as key spots—namely the long notes on “blows,” “pours” and “face”. Figure 9 and Figure 10 show the brief reduction in tempo as they relate to these moments. In each case, the reduction in tempo is quite subtle and lasts no longer than a beat.
In the case of the climax at “face”, the duo shifts affect. Throughout the middle section to that point, Bream emphasizes the bass note through accents, staccato and a ponticello tone. At m. 23 (“face”), the Bream changes the affect through the use of unaccented, warm bass notes.
Similarly, Pears sings with accents and in a detached manner on several words on the downbeat in the first half. (Table 2) Following the climax, Pears sings with more legato and fewer accents. Pears also emphasizes each of the climactic high notes by ensuring that they are a full, sustained sound—as opposed to the detached sound of the surrounding text.
400
350
300
250
200
BPM (Eighths) BPM 150
100
50
0
Figure 8: Tempo Graph for The Herd-Boy
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Figure 9: Tempo Graph for mm. 21-23 of The Herd-Boy
Figure 10: Tempo Graph for mm. 10-16 of The Herd-Boy
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Figure 11: The Herd-Boy mm. 10-16
Phrase Musical Expression (Pears) In the southern village the Slightly detached "in the" boy who minds the ox "Boy" really effective crescendo and then decrescendo and connects into "who minds the ox" With his naked feet stands Accents on downbeats "-na" "feet" "stands" "ox's" "back. on the ox's back Decrescendo/detachment after the accents. Lots of glissandos towards the downbeats Gives a bouncy feeling Through the hole in his coat "blows" has a full sound throughout which contrasts the the river wind blows bouncy feeling Through his broken hat the Big crescendo towards "rain pours". Rain has a large rolled mountain rain pours "r". "pours" also has the full sound On the long dyke he seemed More legato than bouncy. to be far away In the narrow lane suddenly On the second "face" the leap to the high G has a bit of a we were face to face glissando. Held long and decrescendos nicely The boy home and the ox is Continuing with the more legato affect. Relatively soft back in its stall And a dark smoke oozes Lots of consonants in this part. "thr-" of "through" and 45
through the thatched roof. "thatched"
Table 2: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in The Herd-Boy
3.2.6 Depression Turned to jade are the boy's rosy cheeks; To his sick temples the frost of winter clings. Do not wonder that my body sinks to decay; Though my limbs are old, my heart is older yet.
Depression tells of the poet's sickness, the results of which are a decaying body and, more so, an aging heart. Britten sets this poem with an appropriate tempo marking, “very slow and tired”. The setting uses the reoccurring rhythmic motive of a downbeat sixteenth note that is bridged to a lengthier note via portamento. In the poem’s last line, Britten extends the text by repeating “older” several times. During these repetitions, the guitar part grows from playing the motive with only a single note, to using all six strings. Furthermore, the distance of the guitar portamenti increases, with the final iteration of the portamento motive covering an entire octave. This is could be regarded as a form of text-paint as the portamenti literally become more burdensome for the guitarist in the same way that the poet's heart is more burdened as he gets “older” and “older.”
In the Pears-Bream performance, there are several micro tempo changes that are similar in nature to the ones in the Big Chariot—wherein the text is a bit slower, while held notes or guitar interludes are a little faster. In Figure 12, this is can be seen in the tempo-troughs that occur when Pears sings and the tempo peaks that occur when Bream plays133 At the end of the piece, there is a ritardando—when Pears sings his last word (“yet”) the tempo dips to 24.6 BPM. Immediately, Bream takes over and brings the tempo back to an average of 32.6 BPM for the remaining three bars.
Another interesting tempo-related moment occurs in m. 6 when the dynamic is marked forte. Here, the tempo is slightly increased for the duration of the forte (up to 39.5 BPM—the
133 Note for figure 10 that the large spike is most likely a rhythmic error. This occurs in bar 8 when Bream does not hold a dotted eighth note for the correct length. I have discounted this from analysis as I do not believe it was a musical choice. 46
highest in the piece excluding the rhythmic error in m. 8) and then significantly slows down to 23.4 BPM in conjunction with a diminuendo, lowering of pitch and the text “sinks to decay”.
Table 3 and Table 4 demonstrate how each member of the ensemble treats their respective iterations of the motive. Table 3 exhibits the text that corresponds to the motive, the dynamic and any noteworthy decisions that Pears has made. Table 4 shows the number of pitches in the chord, whether Bream arpeggiates the chord, the speed of the arpeggiation, his tone and the speed of the slide.
In Pears' case, one recurring musical expression is to take time at key moments. This is particularly obvious at the end of the first half of the text and the end of the poem in its entirety. In the first case, Pears' takes more time to glissando to the high E-flat of “clings”—resulting in a delayed closure of the first half of the song. In the second case, he again takes more time but rather than drawing out the portamento he lengthens the sixteenth note. Again, this delays the closure of the section and the entire piece. Table 3 also reveals that in the last section, Pears incrementally builds to the final syllable “yet”. Beginning in m. 11, each subsequent portamento is louder, and by the antepenultimate iteration of the portamento motive he begins to glissando with increased dramatic flair.
The chart of Bream’s performance reveals the extent of his arpeggiation. Bream’s arpeggiations tend to correlate to a more tasto tone—every warm chord is arpeggiated and only one ponticello chord is arpeggiated.134 Additionally Bream tends to lengthen the portamenti in cases of lengthened arpeggiations. This is particularly apparent in key spots such as the end of each half of the piece. Not surprisingly, Bream and Pears both identify their last notes of each half to be places of importance.
134 In that case, (m. 6) the arpeggiation is the least "arpeggio-like" in the entire piece. It is an extremely quick arpeggiation of a dyad. 47
70
60
50
40
30 BPM (Quarters) BPM 20
10
0
Figure 12: Tempo Graph for Depression
Figure 13: Depression mm. 12-15
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Word Observations Dynamic Turned Clean, not much slide piano Jade Small delay and slide on sixteenth notes piano Cheeks Long Slide piano Sick Quick piano Frost Quick piano Win Quick mezzo piano Clings Long Slide to high E-flat mezzo forte Do Quick, small interval mezzo forte Limbs Clean pianissimo Old (Beat 1 Clean, not much of a slide pianissimo Bar 10) Old (Beat 3 Quick, clean piano Bar 10) Heart Small delay on sixteenth note piano Old (Beat 3 Crescendo into the second note, then subito piano piano Bar 11) once it is reached Old (Beat 1 Crescendo into the second note, then subito piano mezzo piano Bar 12) once it is reached Old (Beat 2 Large slide, Crescendo into the second note, then mezzo forte Bar 12) decrescendo once it is reached Old (Beat 3 Large slide, Crescendo into the second note, then forte Bar 12) decrescendo once it is reached. Yet Delay on sixteenth note (not much slide because it's a forte small interval), Crescendo but volume is maintained for longer than the other previous examples.
Table 3: Glissando Chart for Peter Pears in Depression Measure, Number of Arpeggiation Speed of Arpeggiation Tone Colour Speed of Slide Beat Pitches In (Y/N) Chord 1, 3 3 N N/A Neutral Fast 1, 4 3 N N/A Neutral Fast 2, 3 3 N N/A Neutral Fast 2, 4 3 N N/A Neutral Fast
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3, 1 3 N N/A Neutral Medium Fast 4, 1 4 Y Medium Fast Warm Medium Fast 4, 2 4 Y Medium Fast Warm Fast 4, 3 and 4 Y Medium Fast Warm Fast a half 4, 4 and 4 Y Medium Fast Warm Medium Fast a half 5, 2 4 Y Medium Warm Medium Fast 5, 3 4 Y Medium Slow Warm Medium Fast 5, 4 4 Y Slow Warm Medium 6, 3 2 Y Extremely Fast Ponti Fast 7, 2 2 N N/A Ponti Medium 8, 2 2 N N/A Extreme Ponti Medium 8, 3 and 2 Y Medium Warm Medium a half 8, 4 2 Y Medium Fast Warm Medium 8, 4 and 2 Y Medium Warm Medium a half 10, 2 1 N/A N/A Extreme Warm Medium Slow (Flesh thumb?) 10, 4 2 Y Medium Fast Warm Medium 11, 2 3 Y Medium Fast Warm Medium 11, 4 4 Y Medium Warm Fast 12, 1 and 5 Y Medium Warm Fast a half 12, 2 and 5 Y Medium Neutral Fast a half 12, 3 and 5 Y Medium Neutral Fast a half 13, 2 6 Y Medium Neutral Medium Fast 13, 3 6 Y Medium Slow Neutral Fast 13, 4 6 Y Medium Slow Neutral Fast 14, 1 6 Y Medium Slow Neutral Fast 14, 2 6 Y Medium Slow Neutral Medium
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15, 1 6 Y Medium Slow Neutral Medium Slow
Table 4: Glissando Chart for Julian Bream in Depression
3.2.7 Dance Song The unicorn's hoofs! The duke's sons throng. Alas for the unicorn!
The unicorn's brow! The duke's kinsmen throng. Alas for the unicorn!
The unicorn's horn! The duke's clansmen throng. Alas for the unicorn!
Dance Song is the finale of Britten's Songs from the Chinese. The text is in reference to a celebration that includes the “unicorn-dance.”135 As the poem goes on, the dancing becomes more frantic as more groups join the revelry.
Britten's setting of this text is a highly energized 7/8. The first two verses are set identically, while the third verse builds upon motives established in the first two verses by repeating them in higher ranges. The guitar part is quite active throughout—frequently shifting between short, accented chords and quick, chromatically descending arpeggios. The vocal part matches these two textures respectively with loud, accented notes near the top of the range and drawn out downward glissandos.
In terms of performance, Figure 14 shows a highly variable tempo. This is primarily due to the way the pickups are dealt with by Pears and Bream. The time signature is 7/8, but Pears tends to take much more time on the pickups—sometimes so much time that it gives the impression of an 8/8 meter instead (this is the cause of the spikes downward in tempo in the middle of verses). The pickup and the downbeat in this piece frequently play crucial roles. For example, in mm. 5-
135 Moon, 105. 51
6, both the pick-up and the downbeat are at the top of the melody's range and are denoted by accents (Figure 16). In this case, Pears attempts to emphasize their importance by taking additional time, which as a by-product obscures the meter and tempo.
The spikes upwards in tempo found throughout Figure 15 are Bream's compensation for this extra time on the pickups. In mm. 5, 6 and 7, Bream greatly reduces the length of his eighth rest on the first beat. This gives the music a jolt of forward momentum that somewhat compensates for the extra time on the pickup to the bar, but still results in less rhythmic clarity.
Analysis shows that tempi increase as the piece progresses both within each verse and within the performance. For example, in the first verse the average tempo in the first bar is 215.2 BPM, but by the last bar of the verse it has climbed to 235.6 BPM. In the last verse, the comparable spots are 227.1 BPM and 245. 4 BPM. This faster tempo in the last verse coupled with the tenor's higher range gives a sense of excitement to the finale of Songs from the Chinese.
Bream's tone throughout the performance is markedly ponticello. This is particularly true for the accented and articulated chords. When he plays the descending chromatic arpeggios, his tone moves to a slightly more neutral space (such as m. 5). Bream also increase the drama of the piece by strumming several chords that are not indicated as such. For example, in m. 13 there are no strums indicated, but Bream strums several chords.
Pears' style plays into the established connection between the two musicians in each texture. Indeed, in chordal sections, Pears complements Bream's articulated playing with disconnected notes. Additionally, during the descending chromatic arpeggios, Pears' glissandi follow along with the rate of descent of Bream's descending arpeggio patterns.
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Figure 14: Tempo Graph for Dance Song
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300
250
200
150 BPM (Eighths) BPM 100
50
0
Figure 15: Tempo Graph for Verse One of Dance Song
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Figure 16: Dance Song mm. 5-8
3.3 Six Folk Songs
3.3.1 Background
The second song-cycle on Music for Voice and Guitar is Six Folk Songs by Benjamin Britten. It was premiered by Peter Pears and Julian Bream at the same recital as Songs from the Chinese - June 17th, 1958 at the Aldeburgh Festival. It is likely that these arrangements together with Songs from the Chinese were well thought of by the duo as they seem to have sparked an interest in the duo commissioning new repertoire for several years. The sources of the poetry are collections from early twentieth-century England such as “Folk Songs for Schools” collected by Cecil J. Sharp and “Six Folk Songs from Norfolk” collected by E. J. Morran. Of the six folk songs in this song-cycle, Pears and Bream only performed five for Music for Voice and Guitar. Bonny at Morn was left out for unknown reasons. Furthermore, the order of songs is different than in the publication. In the publication the order is as follows: I Will Give My Love an Apple Sailor-Boy Master Kilby 54
The Soldier and the Sailor Bonny at Morn The Shooting of His Dear
The order on the album is as follows: Master Kilby The Shooting of His Dear Sailor-Boy I Will Give My Love an Apple The Soldier and the Sailor
Although the reason for this change in order is uncertain, one possible explanation is that the second order provides a more traditional flow of movements, alternating between fast and slow, with fast movements at the beginning and end. In the original order, the slow movements (I Will Give My Love an Apple and The Shooting of His Dear) are the book-ends and the fast movements (Master Kilby, Sailor-Boy and The Soldier and the Sailor) are all in the middle, while these are almost reversed in the album order.
3.3.2 Master Kilby In the heat of the day When the sun shines so freely, There I met Master Kilby, So fine and so gay.
Then I pull'd off my hat And I bowed to the ground And I said: "Master Kilby, Pray where are you bound?"
"I am bound for the West, There in hopes to find rest, And in Nancy's soft bosom I will build a new nest.
"And if I were the master Of ten thousand pounds All in gay gold and silver Or in King William's crowns.
"I would part with it all With my own heart so freely, But it's all for the sake Of my charming Nancy. 55
"She's the fairest of girls, She's the choice of my own heart, She is painted like waxwork In every part".
The performance of the first folksong, Master Kilby, is centered around two structural aspects of the piece. On the smaller scale Pears and Bream bring out the phrase and melodic structure in each verse, while on the larger scale they are aware of the six-verse structure, and work to create narrative and growth throughout the piece.
On the small scale, each verse is set similarly. They each use essentially the same melody, harmony and phrase structure throughout. Four phrases comprise each verse with a clear climax occurring in the third phrase and a denouement in the final phrase. The seventh measure of the melody (a.k.a. the second measure of the third phrase) is a particularly key moment and Britten writes it as such using several different elements; it is the only 4/4 bar in the 3/4 piece, it features the highest note of the melody (an F-sharp), and the harmony is quite important (Figure 17: Master Kilby mm. 6-10). The measure begins with a B dominant-seventh chord that implies movement to E—midway through, the tenor sings a D-natural that shatters the illusion o movement to E and signals a return to the home key of A major.
Figure 17: Master Kilby mm. 6-10
At this structurally salient moment in every verse, Pears and Bream perform a ritardando (each one is circled in Figure 18). This is a powerful ritardando because it emphasizes all the noteworthy compositional features: the F-sharp is held for additional length, the elongated 4/4 bar is even more drawn out than its written form and the D-natural is delayed which allows the 56
surprise or perhaps anticipation of the note to be more effective. While the duo performs this ritardando on every verse, they never use significant rubato or ritardandi anywhere else. In fact, they do not even perform a ritardando at the end of verses.
In terms of larger structure, each verse is set similarly, except for registral changes in the guitar. The guitar begins in the middle range during verses one and two, plays low, closed versions of the chord in verses three and four, returns to a middle range for verse five, and finally enters a high range in the sixth verse. The guitar's coda takes this trend of increasing range and simply continues to rise to the near top of the guitar range. This rising guitar range in the coda is complemented by a dramatic decrescendo to pianissimo—as if the guitar part simply floats away into nothingness.
As previously mentioned, throughout Pears and Bream’s performance of Master Kilby (Figure 18) there are no ritardandi at the end of verse and very little rubato (outside of the climax mentioned above). Furthermore, there are no drastic tempo shifts between verses as they generally maintain an average between 230 and 260 BPM (per eighth note). As such they do not make great use of tempo to create growth in the piece, aside from ritardando that is associated with the climactic moment. In the first five verses, the ritardando is of a similar shape and magnitude, and drops to around 170 or 180 BPM. In the final verse, the effect is greatly exaggerated and the ritardando drops the tempo to 105 BPM. This, of course, has a powerful effect in that the now expected (after five previous instances of the same structure) F-sharp, 4/4 bar and D-natural are even more lengthened and delayed.
Besides this example of development, the duo create growth using three different affects. The first affect is the “neutral” affect and is found in verses one and two. In these two verses, Bream uses a relatively neutral tone, the overall dynamics could be characterized as mezzo forte and Pears has some small articulations. The second affect is present in verses three and four when the guitar’s range is lowest. Bream uses a ponticello sound, the dynamics are louder, and Pears uses accents and staccatos quite liberally. The third affect is found in the final two verses in which the guitar’s range is highest. This affect is tasto, Pears sings longer legato lines and the dynamics are a little quieter. The overall result is contrast, interest, and perhaps progression through the six verses.
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Figure 18: Tempo Graph for Master Kilby
3.3.3 The Shooting of His Dear O come all you young fellows that carry a gun, I'd have you get home by the light of the sun, For young Jimmy was a fowler and a-fowling alone, When he shot his own true love in the room of a swan.
Then home went young Jimmy with his dog and his gun, Saying, "Uncle, dear uncle, have you heard what I've done? Cursed be that old gunsmith that made my old gun, For I've shot my own true love in the room of a swan."
Then out came bold Uncle with his locks hanging grey, Saying, "Jimmy, dear Jimmy, don't you go away. Don't you leave your own country till the trial come on, For you never will be hanged for the shooting a swan".
So the trial came on and pretty Polly did appear, Saying, "Uncle, dear uncle, let Jimmy go clear, For my apron was bound round me and he took me for a swan. And his poor heart lay bleeding for Polly his own."
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The Shooting of His Dear tells the tragic story of a young man, Jimmy, accidentally shooting his love after mistaking her for a swan. The aftermath of the shooting results in Jimmy standing trial and a vision of Polly appearing to confirm Jimmy's story. The title makes use of a pun between dear and deer.
Just like Master Kilby, Britten sets this song using the same melody and similar harmonies across all four verses but varies the guitar textures. The textures, in order, are strummed chords, arpeggiated eighth-notes, arpeggiated triplets and, finally, tremolo. Additionally, the fourth verse is more complex that the other verses as the guitar texture briefly returns to the strumming texture before shifting to tremolo when Polly speaks as a spirit—creating an ethereal effect.
Referring to the tempo-graph (Figure 19), the first three verses are similar in tempo with small decreases in tempo as the piece unfolds (121.9 BPM, 115.7 and 111.2 respectively). The last verse is significantly slower than the others at an average tempo of 78.8 BPM. This is expected based on the explicit marking of "slower" in the score, but the difference is further accentuated by the tempo of the material that precedes the last verse's tremolo section (Figure 21). Leading up to the last verse the tempo spikes as high as 149.9, and in the first phrase of the last verse (the phrase that returns to the strummed chord accompaniment) the average tempo is 119.9.
Bream and Pears take significant liberties at key spots in each verse. For example, in the third line of the first verse the duo slows down substantially over three beats and then instantly return to the tempo (once in m. 15 and once in m. 17). This occurs consistently across the first three verses. In the fourth verse, this rallentando in the third phrase is written in by Britten via elongation of the bars. i.e. The two parallel moments to the ones in mm. 15 and 17 now are written as 5/4 bars instead of 4/4 bars. As a result, and perhaps due also to the slower tempo of the fourth verse, Bream and Pears maintain their tempo rather than slowing down at these spots.
In the final verse, Bream and Pears use rubato in a new way. They slightly relax the tempo for many of the pick-ups in the tremolo section, i.e. they delay the downbeat. For example, the pickup to the third phrase of the verse (the text is "for my"), dips down to 56.2 BPM from the 87. 6 that immediately precedes it. Two bars later, the pick-up "and he" follows a similar shape. This phenomenon can be observed in Figure 20. Pears and Bream's decision to take more time on these upbeats allows for clearer and more precise placement of text. This additional clarity is 59
particularly important in these moments because the second syllable is on a sixteenth note. Furthermore, slowing down the tempo allows for coordination between the two performers. Lining up the vocal part’s dotted-eighth and sixteenth notes with the guitarists thirty-second note tremolo is challenging and slowing down allows for increased precision.
Pears's reflects the accompaniment in his stylistic changes throughout the piece. In the opening Pears complements the strummed chords with a declamatory style that makes use of heavy accents and articulation As the piece proceeds, this effect decreases, so that by the third verse, in which the guitar uses the smooth texture of arpeggiated triplets, Pears is quite subtle with his articulation. At the start of the fourth verse, he reverts to heavy accents and articulation to again match the strummed chords. Finally, during the tremolo section, Pears completely embraces a legato sound with long phrases. This demonstrates the way in which the duo is conscious of each other's sound and interpretation and work together to create a synergistic affect.
Figure 19: Tempo Graph for The Shooting of His Dear
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Figure 20: Tempo Graph for Verse Four of The Shooting of His Dear
Figure 21: The Shooting of His Dear mm. 61-66
3.3.4 Sailor-Boy We go walking on the green grass 61
Thus, thus, thus,
Come all you pretty fair maids, Come walk along with us. So pretty and so fair As you take yourself to be, I'll choose you for a partner, Come walk along with me.
We go walking on the green grass Thus, thus, thus.
I would not be a blacksmith That smuts his nose and chin, I'd rather be a sailor-boy That sails thro' the wind. Sailor-boy, sailor-boy, Sailor-boy for me, If ever I get married A sailor's wife she'll be.
We go walking on the green grass Thus, thus, thus.
Britten sets this folk-song into two verses that are preceded by a five-measure introduction in the guitar and are followed by a guitar coda. The music is fast with dotted rhythms featured throughout. The guitar part is largely monophonic and features a significant number of dotted notes and large leaps. Furthermore, the part seems to be generally disconnected from functioning as a harmonic basis for the melody. Rather, they seem to be two separate entities. For example, in m. 8, the voice sings a B and the guitar plays a downbeat A, and similarly in m. 9 the guitar plays a C-sharp against another B in the voice (Figure 24).
The incessant moving lines and repetition of rhythms in the guitar give this piece a moto perpetuo feel. Bream and Pears certainly embrace this sentiment as their performance contains no drastic tempo changes, ritardandi or significant rubato (Figure 22). The most significant change is that the solo guitar sections of the piece are consistently faster than the sung parts. The guitar sections have average tempos of 214.1, 217.8 and 218.3 BPM, while the verses are 203.4 and 210.6 BPM. This data also demonstrates that the tempo slightly increases as the piece progresses.
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Bream and Pears tend to take more time on downbeats (1 and 3 of the bar) than on beats 2 and 4. This is particularly true when Pears sings half-notes on strong beats such as in Figure 23 and Figure 24. In these few bars, every downbeat takes a little more time than the offbeat, apart from one downbeat: the downbeat over which Pears is holding a long note (m. 9, beat 3).
The general affect of the performance is energetic and buoyant. This is not only created by the dotted rhythm, but also the articulation. Pears frequently does not hold pitches for their full amount according to the score. Indeed, in his first line both the words “we” and “go” are significantly shortened. Bream's sound throughout is quite articulated as well, in addition to favouring a ponticello sound.
In the introduction, Bream creates contrast by using a loud, ponticello sound in the first bar, then following it by two bars of a quieter tasto sound. Due to the repetition of similar motives within these three bars, the result is an “echo” feeling. In m. 4, Bream reverts to the loud, ponticello sound which re-energizes the introduction and leads into the verse. This contrast returns in the coda in which the first three bars of the introduction become elongated by way of rests in between iterations of the motives. Again, the first bar is very loud and ponticello. From there, the second and third bar (the same material as the second bar of the introduction) use a more neutral sound, and the fifth bar (equivalent to the third bar from the introduction) is tasto. From there, Bream reverts to ponticello for the cadenza-like run of triplets from the bottom E of the guitar range to the high B (five ledger-lines) harmonic. The return to ponticello gives an energy that makes the ending particularly exciting. Interestingly, Britten gives the option to play dotted notes rather than triplets in the final run, but Bream opts to perform the triplets. Although the dotted notes are more in line with the overall motivic feel perhaps Bream felt the new triplet rhythm created more excitement.
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Figure 22: Tempo Graph for Sailor-Boy
Figure 23: Tempo Graph for Sailor-Boy mm. 7-10, verse one
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Figure 24: Sailor-Boy mm. 7-10, verse one
3.3.5 I Will Give My Love an Apple I will give my love an apple without e'er a core, I will give my love a house without e'er a door, I will give my love a palace wherein she may be, And she may unlock it without any key.
My head is the apple without e'er a core, My mind is the house without e'er a door, My heart is the palace wherein she may be, And she may unlock it without any key.
This folksong is a proclamation of love from the narrator—making use of a variety of metaphors to express that “she” owns the narrator's heart. Britten sets the two verses of this song strophically, only altering the final chord from A minor to A major. The simple melody that Pears sings is accompanied by groups of ascending eighth notes in the guitar. Rhythmically, these strings of ascending notes vary in length and ignore the conventional beat structure of the song’s 3/4 time. For example, the first three groups each consist of five notes, the fourth is six notes and the fifth is seven notes. This results in the bass notes of each set (i.e. the note that will most likely give a sense of downbeat) appearing on (in order) beat 1, the “and” of beat 3, beat 3, the “and” of beat 2 (twice) and then beat 3. This disorients the listener from the strict 3/4 meter in the melody.
In the performance of I Will Give My Love an Apple, there are two spots in each verse during which the duo slows down dramatically (Figure 26). The first is obvious—the end of each verse (with the second verse’s ritardando being larger than the first). The second instance of a dramatic ritardando is located before the pickup into the last phrase (Figure 25). The ritardandi in the 65
second verse are more dramatic than the first verse, but more importantly the tempo never recovers in the second verse. In other words, the ritardando does not return to the tempo and instead creates a meno mosso feeling during the final phrase.
The first verse reflects the oft-repeated idea that rubato constitutes a “push and pull.” Comparing the average BPM from the section of the performance that appears to have little rubato (m. 4, beat 3 to m. 7, beat 1), with one of the parts that has much more rubato (m. 7, beat 2 to m. 12 beat 1) they are nearly identical—128.9 BPM and 129.2 BPM respectively. When observing the variation in BPM (i.e. The beat-to-beat change in speed) they are substantially different—6.2 BPM and 11.0 BPM. This shows that between these two groupings of bars, the first has much less rubato than the second, even though the average BPM is almost identical—lending credence to the idea that rubato uses a “push and pull.”
Bream changes his tone between the two verses. In the first verse, Bream remains tasto throughout—creating a lush and still affect—while in the second verse he breaks this sentiment by immediately shifting to ponticello. In the middle phrase of the second verse (which functions as a climax), Bream moves away from the ponticello sound to a neutral sound, and eventually (during the meno mosso especially) returns to tasto. In the ponticello section, Bream accents important bass notes, while in the tasto sections every note is even and no inner melodies are emphasized.
Pears maintains an extreme legato affect throughout as nearly every note and phrase is held to its full value. The exception is in the last phrase of both verses, during which he shortens the word “it” —creating a break before “without any key” (the last thought). Pears also uses a simple sound and little vibrato which results in a still and delicate mood.
In terms of dynamic shaping, the first verse is the quieter of the two verses. Additionally, there is an arc to each verse's dynamics—peaking at the climax in the middle. In the second verse, the final meno mosso phrase is quieter than any other phrase, and from that quiet spot continually decrescendos to the end. This is interesting because not only is the tempo vary more in the second verse (larger ritardando and a meno mosso), but the dynamics are also the most drastic— going from the loudest dynamic in the climax to the quietest dynamic at the end.
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Figure 25: I Will Give My Love an Apple mm. 14-18
Figure 26: Tempo Graph for I Will Give My Love an Apple
3.3.6 The Soldier and the Sailor
As the soldier and the sailor Was a-walking one day, Said the soldier to the sailor: "I've a mind for to pray". "Pray on then", said the sailor, 67
"Pray on once again, And whatever you do pray for, I will answer "Amen'".
"Now the first thing I'll pray for, I'll pray for the Queen, That she have peace and plenty All the days of her reign, And where she got one man I wish she had ten; And never want for an army". Said the sailor, "Amen".
"Now the next thing I'll pray for, I'll pray for the Queen, That she have peace and plenty All the days of her reign, And where she got one ship I wish she had ten; And never want for a navy". Said the sailor, "Amen".
"Now the next thing I'll pray for, Is a pot of good beer, For good liquor were sent us Our spirits to cheer, And where we got one pot, I wish we had ten, And never want for liquor". Said the sailor, "Amen".
The final song in this recording of the Folk Songs relays the story of a soldier praying and a sailor expressing his agreement. This is played for comedic effect as they first pray for a successful queen and country, while the final prayer is for plenty of alcohol. Britten emphasizes this gag in his arrangement. In the initial verses, Britten's “Amen” is simple, the tenor sings “Amen” on a G3, over E minor and G major chords (vi – I) in the guitar. In the final verse, the “Amen” is sung three times—the second and third of which are long notes in a section marked “freely”. Additionally, the chord progression used for the final verse's “Amen” is more elaborate than the previous verses (Figure 27). It begins similarly with E minor to G major, but it is followed by the second Amen over an F major to C major progression (IV – I in the sub- dominant of G major). The third Amen moves to a distant harmonic space as the progression
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moves from an Ab major seventh to A minor seventh. This elaborate three-fold Amen elucidates the final “amen” as the sailor's most enthusiastic.
Britten sets the four verses of the song in a similar manner to how he set the other brisk movements in the cycle. Each verse uses the same melody and harmony, but with small alterations in the accompaniment. In verses one and two, the guitar range is low, in verse three it is an octave higher (above the tenor) and in the fourth verse ornaments are added.
A comparison of the recording of The Soldier and the Sailor to the 1961 publication yields a different number of verses. The publication contains four verses, while the recording only three (the second is skipped). Inspecting Britten's manuscript adds further intrigue to the situation as it only contains three verses. This adds to the supposition that the intention for the song is three verses and the publication erred. A small detail in the recording further obfuscates the situation. In between the recording's verses one and two (one and three if we follow the publication), there is a blip in the audio that sounds like it corresponds to a audio edit. It is conceivable that this edit was a removal of the second verse that was recorded during the production process but was removed. In any case, the final recording contains only three verses, so one can assume that the duo preferred that way.
A tempo analysis of the performance reveals several interesting aspects. For example, the duo consistently has a small tempo-arc for nearly every phrase. Figure 29 is the tempo graph for verse two and demonstrates an example of these tempo-arcs. In this graph there are four dips in tempo—each one corresponding to the end of one of four phrases (the final words of which are “queen,” “reign,” “ten,” and “amen”). This tempo-graph also shows that there are ritardandi at the end of each verse and into the “Amen.”
In the larger tempo graph (Figure 28) the final verse’s tempo-dips at the end of each phrase are more drastic—creating greater tempo-arcs. Indeed, in the second verse the first three phrases dip to 106.6, 116.2 and 121.7 BPM, while in the third verse they dip to 85.5, 86.9 and 104.5 BPM.
The section of the song with the most fluctuations is the “freely” section. Indeed, the “freely” is taken quite literally by Pears and Bream as they are extremely liberal with the rhythms indicated in the score—to the point that if one were to transcribe the recording by ear, the result would be
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nothing like the score. Following the “freely” section is the small guitar coda marked with “In Time.” Rather than returning to the tempo of the performance, Bream begins the coda at 110 BPM and immediately begins an accelerando over the next three bars up to 215.5 BPM (essentially doubling the tempo). From there Bream slows down, even though no ritardando is indicated and there is already a rhythmic slowing down in the score (eighths become quarters in the second last bar). This is represented by the last rise and fall in Figure 28.
Bream's dry sound throughout is achieved by a ponticello tone, frequent staccatos and several accented bass notes. This is contrasted by the sound at the “Amen” sections during which he creates a lush sound by moving towards a more tasto sound and rolling the chords. Pears also shortens many notes—particularly quarters notes, while his eighth notes are more connected. Throughout, Pears sings in a somewhat boisterous tone with many accents and a loud dynamic- level (even during the “Amens”). The only quiet dynamic in the performance is the final Amen.
Figure 27: The Soldier and the Sailor mm. 53-58
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Figure 28: Tempo Graph for The Soldier and the Sailor
Figure 29: Tempo Graph for The Soldier and the Sailor mm. 1-18 (repeat)
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3.4 The Second Lute Song of the Earl of Essex Happy were he
Could finish forth his fate In some unhaunted desert Where obscure from all society From love and hate of worldly folk Then might he sleep, sleep secure
Then wake again and Give God ever praise Content with hips and haws and brambleberry
In contemplation spending all his days And change of holy thoughts to make him merry When he dies his tomb might be a bush Where harmless robin dwells with gentle thrush
Happy were he!
The Second Lute Song of the Earl of Essex is an aria, originally from Britten's 1953 opera Gloriana. Bream arranged this aria in 1957 for himself and Pears to perform as a work outside of the original opera.
Bream's arrangement opens with a solo guitar section that makes use of arpeggiated and ornamented chords to simulate the rolled chords of the lute. In m. 8, the voice enters with the first line of text “happy were he”, which is elongated with melismatic runs. Following that, the text-setting becomes syllabic with a somber but steady guitar accompaniment until the text “sleep secure.” This somber mood is interrupted by the next set of text (“then wake again”) which is more uplifting with loud dynamics, playful dotted-rhythms, the key of C major and an “animated” marking. At “in contemplation” the somber mood returns, and at the reprise of “happy were he” the text-setting again becomes melismatic. This creates a palindromic form of ABCBA.
The duo’s performance emphasizes this palindromic structure—particularly in the use of tempo and dynamics. The temporal element is notably unique in that not only is structure emphasize by the tempos of each section, but also the deviation of tempo. In other words, the degree of rubato varies by section.
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The tempo graph (Figure 30) clearly reflects this palindromic form.136 The left-most section that features numerous large peaks and valleys is the A1 section, the more consistent (but still slow) section that follows is the B1, the increased tempo in the middle is the C section, and the two sections at the end are reflections of the initial A and B sections (A2 and B2).
Calculating the average BPM and the average change in BPM for each section further demonstrates the distinctions between them. The average BPMs are 41.5, 37.7, 63.4, 34.5 and 37.0, while the average changes in BPM are 10.6, 4.9, 8.6, 4.9 and 11.1. The first measurement shows that the C section stands alone at a notably higher average tempo than the rest of the piece, while the other sections are quite similar in tempo (hovering around 37 BPM). The change in tempo demonstrates the differences between the A and B sections. Despite the similar average tempos between A and B, the A sections contain dramatic shifts in tempo, while the B sections are much more stable. Thus, not only do the duo distinguish structural areas by tempo, but also its steadiness.
Pears and Bream also use tempo to create distinction between parallel sections. Both the “1” sections (i.e. A1 and B1) are faster than their “2” counterparts. Furthermore, the beat-to-beat change in tempo in A2 is larger than that of A1. The beat-to-beat change is even more dramatic when considering that with a slower tempo the same beat-to-beat change in tempo is more impactful.137 Altogether, the slower tempo and the more dramatic tempo shifts create a sense of closure as the work concludes.
The duo’s dynamic shaping also follows this palindromic structure. The A1 section begins quite quietly and certainly encapsulates a piano sound; B1 is quite quiet but has moments of growth throughout that distinguish it from the A1 section; the C section is begins immediately at a forte dynamic; B2 goes back to the piano dynamic before growing to a mezzo forte that serves as a contrast to the soon to follow piano A2 section.
136 The guitar's introduction was left out of this graph due to the extremely free nature of Bream's tempo. Its inclusion simply distorts the picture. 137 The average change in tempo of a section is dependent on the average tempo for its significance. If one section is 100 BPM and another is 50 BPM, but they both have an average change in tempo of 10, the 50 BPM section has larger tempo shifts. This can be represented as percentages – as 10 BPM is 10% of 100 BPM, while it is 20% of 50 BPM. In the relevant case, 10.6 is 25.6% of 41.4 BPM, and 11.1 is 30% of 37. 73
Figure 30: Tempo Graph for The Second Lute Song
3.5 Anon in Love
3.5.1 Background
The third song-cycle on Music for Voice and Guitar is William Walton's Anon in Love. This cycle was premiered by Peter Pears and Julian Bream on June 21st, 1960 at the Aldeburgh Festival. In the same year Oxford University Press published the score. As the title implies, the six songs from the cycle reflect the common theme of a man in love, all of which are texts from anonymous poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Both the vocal and guitar parts in this set are quite challenging. The tenor part frequently features disjunct and atonal melodies, while the guitar part often features uncommon guitar sonorities that frequently require awkward left-hand maneuvers. In order to compose this sophisticated guitar part, Walton (who had no prior experience with the guitar) worked closely with Bream. Before the compositional process, Bream drew a finger-board and played a wide variety of repertoire and extended techniques for
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Walton.138 Walton's letters mention that Bream came to visit for an extended period of time in order to edit drafts of Anon in Love.139 The care taken in the process was certainly worth it as Anon in Love is arguably one of the most beautifully and intricately-composed work from the Pears-Bream oeuvre.
3.5.2 Fain Would I Change That Note
Fain would I change that note To which fond Love hath charm'd me Long, long to sing by rote, Fancying that that harm'd me:
Yet when this thought doth come 'Love is the perfect sum Of all delight!' I have no other choice Either for pen or voice To sing or write.
O Love! they wrong thee much That say thy fruit is bitter, When thy rich fruit is such As nothing can be sweeter.
Fair house of joy and bliss, Where truest pleasure is, I do adore thee: I know thee what thou art, I serve thee with my heart, And fall before thee.
The Pears-Bream duo’s performance of Fain Would I Change That Note showcases the variety of affects the duo utilize and the frequency with which they can shift mood. It is also an excellent example of the duo employing rubato to better convey text and structure. This colourful four- stanza poem describes both the excitement and anxiety that comes with being in love. The
138 Stephen Lloyd, William Walton: Muse of Fire (Woodbridge, England: Boydell & Brewer, 2001), 236. 139 William Walton, Letter to Alan Frank, 16 Apr., 1960, The Selected Letters of William Walton, edited by Malcolm Hayes, (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2002), 317-318. 75
juxtaposition between the positive and negative aspects of love is the perfect setup for the duo to display musical creativity.
Walton's setting of the text implies two verses to the poem in which stanzas one and two make up the first verse, and the latter two stanzas comprise the second verse. Although many elements change between the two verses, there are several elements that carry from the first verse to the second. For example, the opening harmony and melodic contour are the same in both verses, and the ending of each verse features rising sixteenth-note gestures in the guitar.
Throughout, Bream uses a wide variety of colour—altering his tone in nearly every phrase (Table 5). The shifting colour is not implemented haphazardly, rather it is always done for a greater musical purpose. For example, the performance begins with a neutral sound, but in m. 15, when the harmony moves to an unexpected chord, (from G major to B major) the tone shifts to ponticello—complementing the sudden harmonic deviation. Two other highlights are found in m. 39, during which Bream suddenly goes to extreme ponticello for the text "bitter", and in m. 43, when he moves to extreme tasto to emphasize the word "sweeter" (Figure 31) Together, these two moments use contrasting guitar colours to juxtapose these vivid words.
Bream also brings out important bass lines throughout the performance. For example, between mm. 21 and 25, the bass line descends by step to D2—an unheard range in the piece thus far. Here, Bream ensures that the bass notes are the most prominent by employing accents. The same accentuation occurs in crucial bars leading to the climax in m. 51 as the bassline begins to move stepwise.
Pears too uses a wide variety of colours to bring out textual and structural elements. At "bitter" he crescendos into the word and accents the text, while he approaches "sweeter" gently with no crescendo or accents and then relaxes on the second syllable with a decrescendo to pianissimo. The entry at the beginning of the performance is also of note because Pears' entry is delicate and soft as if the voice comes from nowhere.
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Figure 31: Fain, Would I Change mm. 39-43
Pears is also aware of the harmonic and textual shaping throughout. This is best demonstrated in his effective use of "tension and release" in many appropriate spots such as "harm'd me", "sweeter" and every instance of "adore thee" and "before thee" (frequently the same stepwise descending gesture in Figure 37). This consistent use of the same tension and release shape from the beginning makes the build up to climactic instance of this shape in m. 51 that much more powerful. There are many more examples of Pears’ shifting musical affect in Table 5.
This movement is an ideal example of a sophisticated use of rubato. At the top, Bream manipulates the timing of the repeated eighth-note chords—beginning with an accelerando and then a small ritardando when Pears enters (Figure 34). The tempo continues to be quite high as Pears holds “fain”, but whenever Pears leaps to a new pitch the tempo temporarily slows down.
In Figure 35, the tempos in mm. 8 to 14 are shown. In this graph, each bar has a significant accelerando and ritardando until mm. 13 and 14 during which the tempo is maintained and instead pushes to m. 15. These tempo shapes are present throughout the remainder of the first verse—showing a consistent adherence to metrical structures.
In the second verse—particularly as the climax is approached—rubato is no longer determined by metrical beats, rather by melodic contour. For example, in Figure 32 and Figure 33 there are
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two examples of brief ritardandi that correspond to large vocal leaps—a major 7th leap down to a E3 in m. 37 and a perfect fourth leap to a A4 in m. 38. Another interesting choice in the second verse has to do with the recurring downbeat high note that then falls by step (excerpt no. 3 contains three examples of this gesture; "pleasure", and both "dore thee"s). For each occurrence of this gesture (seven in all), Bream and Pears utilize the same temporal shaping. The duo anticipates the gesture by lengthening both the pick-up and the downbeat before returning to tempo.
Figure 32: Tempo Graph for Fain Would I Change, mm. 37-39
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Figure 33: Fain, Would I Change mm. 37-38
A look at the overall tempo (Figure 36) reveals some interesting structures such as the temporal differences between the first and second verse. The first maintains a consistent tempo throughout until its conclusion during which there is a significant ritardando. In the second verse there is a long accelerando that pushes towards the climax. After the climax, the tempo begins to relax again. Furthermore, leading up to the climax the variation between the high and low tempo is the largest (i.e. the most severe rubato).
Overall, this performance demonstrates the vast variety of colours and temporal alterations employed by Pears and Bream. Table 5 shows the drastic changes in affect that occur throughout and Figure 36 displays the significant shifts in tempo.
Phrase Musical Expression (Pears) Musical Expression (Bream) Delicate entry on Fain. No Arpeggiates and takes time on the first Fain would I accent but crescendos into the chord and when the chord changes at change that note note. note Small slide to the high A. Neutral sound throughout, but To which fond Charm'd each note of the continues by taking time and Love hath charm'd ornament is placed. Not slid arpeggiating chord changes me Long, long to sing Lots of "r" on rote. Delaying the The unexpected B major chord are by rote, pitch "rote" is played more ponticello Fancying that that Tension and release on "harm'd Tasto used for the ascending melody harm'd me: me". Beginning is a little louder line in the guitar at bar 18
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than the previous phrase. Yet when this A little less legato Continue with tasto , using the ossia thought doth come (higher pitches generally in the ossia) 'Love is the perfect Tenuto/accent on Love and lots Descending bass line is brought out sum of vibrato Of all delight!' Maintains the volume on Bass line eventually leads to the D "delight" even though it jumps minor chord in bar 25 that Bream down a major sixth strums with a sforzando effect I have no other Forceful character. More Quieter for this bar and tasto choice accented on each pitch and slightly less legato Either for pen or Same as above Similar affect, with emphasis placed voice on the chord in bar 28 To sing or write. Slides to the high G Slides at takes time to his high E. Vibrato on it as well. In the guitar interlude, the forte arpeggio is done ponticello, while the diminuendo corresponds to a more tasto sound O Love! they Clear on the low ornaments and Tasto sound. Same as the opening wrong thee much quiet as he leaps to the C-sharp. essentially Quite legato That say thy fruit Legato until bitter. Accent on all On Bitter – Bream goes to extreme is bitter, the pitches in Bitter and forceful ponticello character When thy rich Revert back to legato character Ponticello throughout. Emphasis on fruit is such bass notes As nothing can be Very warm sound throughout the Progressively more tasto as "sweeter" sweeter. phrase. Tension and release on is approached "sweeter" Fair house of joy Legato and warm sound as Extreme tasto on the parallel sixths and bliss, above Where truest Push towards "pleasure" Neutral sound. Arpeggiated chords. pleasure is, I do adore thee: Accents on the first run to Essentially the same as above "adore thee". The second is slightly more restrained I know thee what Quiet intensity and then Progressively getting louder and thou art, crescendo pushing the tempo
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I serve thee with Continuing the crescendo Emphasis on the bass notes leading up my heart, to bar 51 (where the important low E bass note is played in the climax) And fall before Lots of vibrato on the high A in Ponticello on the low C minor chord thee. bar 51. Not overly loud bar 53
I do adore thee: Quiet but anticipation of the Very quiet, warm sound. high E-flat on "dore". After the high note significant decrescendo
Table 5: Musical Expression for Peter Pears and Julian Bream in Fain, Would I Change
Figure 34: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change, mm. 1-5
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Figure 35: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change, mm. 8-14
Figure 36: Tempo Graph for Fain, Would I Change
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Figure 37: Fain, Would I Change, mm. 44-46
3.5.3 O Stay, Sweet Love O stay, sweet love; see here the place of sporting; These gentle flowers smile sweetly to invite us, And chirping birds are hitherward resorting, Warbling sweet notes only to delight us: Then stay, dear love, for, tho' thou run from me, Run ne'er so fast, yet I will follow thee.
I thought, my love, that I should overtake you; Sweet heart, sit down under this shadow'd tree, And I will promise never to forsake you, So you will grant to me a lover's fee. Whereat she smiled, and kindly to me said - I never meant to live and die a maid.
In this song, the narrator attempts to convince the girl with whom he is in love to stay and sleep with him. Between the two verses, much of the material from the first verse is carried to the next, although Walton makes some alterations between the two to complement the text. For example, the fourth line of the first verse contains several light runs to the emphasize the "warbling sweet notes", while the corresponding line in the second verse is more languid.
Analysis of the performance reveals that the duo’s temporal strategies do not align with those indicated in the score. In both verses, there is a meno mosso in the penultimate phrase and an a tempo in the final phrase. While the duo somewhat follows this scheme, the two musicians stray from it in several ways. Figure 39 shows the change in tempo for the second half of verse one and each phrase’s average tempo, while Figure 40 does the same for verse two. The two figures 83
reveal the order of average tempo in ascending order is phrases five, four, then six—contrary to expectations implied by the “a tempo” markings in the score. Further observation reveals differences in average tempi are larger in the second verse. The meno mosso and the a tempo in the first verse are performed at an average tempo of 159.7 and 223.3, whereas in the second verse they span 116.8 to 229.3 BPM.
This movement also showcases several distinct affects. Table 6 takes each phrase in and describes the musical devices. For example, the first phrase is mostly neutral from both performers, with subtle shortening of notes. This chart reveals the shifting affect the duo employs, and the thoughtfulness with regards to it. For example, the second phrase suits the “gentle flowers” with a legato sound and a quiet dynamic. The following phrase is performed with more articulation, ponticello and volume. This affect, and the articulation in particular, aligns well with “chirping”. The eighth phrase features a significant affectual change as it begins with an articulated and ponticello characters, but Bream plays a warm and arpeggiated chord before “under the shadow'd tree” that begins an affectual switch for both performers to a warm, legato sound (Figure 38).
This chart reveals that certain tools frequently correlate. For example, Pears’s heavy articulation is often coupled with Bream’s ponticello sound. Similarly, legato lines are paired with a tasto sound and chordal arpeggiation. One could, go as far as to categorize each phrase into one of three groups—legato, staccato and neutral. Phrases 1, 7, 9 and 10 are neutral; phrases 2, 4, 5, second half of 8 and 11 are legato; and phrases 3, 6, first half of 8, and 12 are staccato.
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Figure 38: O Stay, Sweet Love mm. 38-43
Figure 39: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love, mm. 17-30
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Figure 40: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love, mm. 47-65
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250
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BPM (Eighths) BPM 150
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Figure 41: Tempo Graph for O Stay, Sweet Love
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Phrase Musical Expression (Pears) Musical Expression (Bream) O stay, sweet love; Small breaks for punctuation, Generally Unarticulated and neutral see here the place light and small staccato on playing. Occasional staccato for sporting "sporting" These gentle Legato singing. On the quieter Warm sound, soft playing flowers smile side of singing. No extra push to sweetly to invite the high note, just floats it us And chirping birds Bit of an accent on "and chirp". Staccato and very pointed bass notes. are hitherward Slightly more staccato on the Ponti playing. Louder resorting pickups. Warbling sweet Extremely warm and legato on Immediately plays more tasto notes only to "warbling" delight us Then stay, dear Tenuto on each note of "run Non arpeggiation until the last chord, love, for, tho' from me". Bringing out a lot which is heavily arpeggiated though run from more consonants throughout like me the "l" in "love" and the "r" in "run" Run ne'er so fast, Big accent on the high F-sharp Suddenly louder and clear on the run yet I will follow "ne'er". Immediate forte, but to bring out the new tempo and feel. thee backs off after the effect is Slightly more ponticello Strummed achieved chord for intensity I thought, my love, A bit more connected over the Reverts back to original feel that I should commas compared to the first overtake you verse Sweet heart, sit Staccato "sweet heart, sit down", Use of different tones to quickly down under the very legato "under the shadow'd switch the affect. Extreme ponticello shadow'd tree tree" preceding "sweet heart" and extreme tasto on "under the shadow'd" And I will promise Energetic and buoyant feel. Original feel essentially never to forsake Shortened notes and the run is you very light So you will grant Floats but does not push the high All chords are played with a relatively me a lover's fee notes. Very relaxed and lush neutral sound and no arpeggiation sound Whereat she Tenuto on "to me said" Extreme warm, small arpeggiation on smiled, and kindly each chord. to me said I never meant to Staccato and somewhat Forte and slightly more ponticello
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live and die a maid increasing tempo on the very last during "I never meant", but phrase. Pears delays the final immediately changes both the colour "maid" slightly and then holds and dynamic at "to live" on to the vowel longer than the preceding words.
Table 6: Musical Expression Chart for O Stay, Sweet Love
3.5.4 Lady, When I Behold the Roses
Lady, when I behold the roses sprouting, Which clad in damask mantles deck the arbours, And then behold your lips, where sweet Love harbours, My eyes present me with a double doubting. For, viewing both alike, hardly my mind supposes Whether the roses be your lips or your lips the roses.
Although the text is not in multiple stanzas, Walton's setting divides the song into two sections; the first section is composed of the first four lines, while the second section begins at the fifth line. The first section sets up several musical elements that are developed in the second section. For example, starting in m. 8 and intensification occurs through chromatic ascension as the highest pitch in each succeeding phrase rises by a semi-tone—from D4 to E♭4 and then arriving at E4 in m. 12. Beginning in m. 18, this chromatic ascension is elaborated as the high F#4 rises by semi-tones to the A4 (the highest pitch in the entire piece) in m. 21 (Figure 42). This chromatic succession of pitches on the upper bound of the tenor range act as a focal point for the duo’s performance as they seek to bring out these moments.
The duo treats the above moments temporally by delaying the high notes, although the magnitude of the delay varies. In the first section (Figure 43), the delays are significant, slowing all the way to 66.6, 45.1 and 68.7 BPM (D4, Eb4 and E4 respectively) compared to an average tempo of 101.6 BPM across the first section. In the second section (Figure 44), the delays are as follows: 84.5, 78.2, 87.6 and 53.1 BPM, while the average tempo of the section is 99.2 BPM. From this information, the delays in the first section are greater in magnitude than the second. In the second section, the delays are quite minimal until the climactic leap to the A4 with a 53.1 BPM delay. Coupled with the fact that the point of highest BPM in the entire second section (122.6 BPM) occurs only a few beats prior, this makes the delay to the A4 feel significant in
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context. Although one might expect to have the delays be more significant in the second section that the first section, Bream and Pears instead chose to highlight the climactic moment.
The tempo map (Figure 45) also shows the significant change in tempo at the end. As previously mentioned, the first section has an average tempo of 101.6 BPM, and the second section (except for the ending) is similar at 99.2 BPM. Starting from the A4 in m. 21, the tempo slows significantly to an average BPM of 70.4. The creates a meno mosso effect clarifying that the piece has reached its apex and is headed for the end. This tempo change is not notated in the score. Again, Pears and Bream's tempo decision emphasizes the importance of the climax, as it acts as a turning point after which the song begins to unwind.
In terms of dynamics, the first half of the piece is performed quietly. At the beginning of the second section, the guitar's texture changes from eighth notes to sixteenths, from which the volume begins to rise. At this point the duo incrementally build the dynamic to a forte that coincides with the A4—drawing attention to the climax. Immediately following, the duo begins to bring the dynamic back down to a piano level in conjunction with the closing meno mosso gesture.
Throughout much of the performance Bream uses a tasto sound. The exception is again in the approach to the climax during which he brings out the bassline with accents and a ponticello sound. Like with other elements, Bream’s colour revers to tasto following the climax.
Pears sings in a legato style throughout. One nice touch that he employs is to lightly approach the high notes. In order to do this, he begins by singing them softly and crescendos through the note. Pears also makes very effective use of consonants leading up to these important high notes. For example, in mm. 19 and 20 he elongates the “r” of “roses” and the “l” of “lips”—delaying the arrival of the vowel. In the climax, he slides using the “l” of “lips” from C#4 to the arrival on A4—adding more drama to this moment.
The overall interpretation from the duo is fascinating because rubato, dynamics, colour, glissando and consonants are all used to highlight the structural climax. The duo employs a vast number of interpretive techniques and makes them work together to augment this significant moment.
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Figure 42: Lady, When I Behold the Roses mm. 20-21
Figure 43: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses, mm. 7-13
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Figure 44: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses, mm. 17-24
Figure 45: Tempo Graph for Lady, When I Behold the Roses
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3.5.5 My Love in Her Attire
My love in her attire doth show her wit, It doth so well become her: For every season she hath dressings fit, For winter, spring, and summer. No beauty she doth miss, When all her robes are on; But Beauty's self she is, When all her robes are gone.
The duo’s performance of My Love in Her Attire is unique within this body of repertoire as it contrasts with several other performances as there is little sectional contrast. Due to the short length of the performance (38 seconds), there is little room for the duo to highlight the work’s structural elements. Instead, much of their interpretive efforts are focused on clarifying the song’s punchline.
Indeed, this song is a playful joke. The first six lines describe how the poet's love looks beautiful in anything she wears; the last two lines say that she looks even better naked. Walton sets this text in a way that allows for the punchline to land clearly by text-painting the last two lines. When the piece arrives at “but Beauty self she is”, it is highlighted with a vocal melisma rising o G4 followed by a second one to A4 (Figure 47). “When all her robes are gone” is then set in the low range of the voice with simple quarter notes marked staccato. This draws attention to the meaning of the text as "beauty's self" is emphasized by luxurious melismas and the nakedness of “all her robes are gone” is represented by simple lines.
In Pears and Bream's performance, the tempo remains consistent with only a few moments of significant rubato such as the notable ritardandi in the first half (Figure 46). The first occurs in the pick-up to m. 7, when Pears takes extra time to reach F#4, and the second occurs at the pick- up to m. 12 when Pears leaps to G4 (both are indicated in Figure 46). After this second instance, rather than recovering the tempo, Pears and Bream briefly maintain the slower tempo—invoking a momentary meno mosso. Once the tempo has been regained, it does not relent until the end.
Pears makes extensive use of short articulations throughout. Besides the articulations indicated in the score, he frequently shortens the ends of phrases. For example, in m. 4 he shortens the dotted-quarter note to a length that approximates an eighth note. Pears’s primary interpretive
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objective is to ensure the clarity of the "joke's" punchline. For example, at “beauty’s self” his singing exemplifies beauty with a warm, connected tone. At “robes are gone” he sings with crisp consonants and shortens every note, which clarifies the text and emphasizes the “nakedness” respectively.
Figure 46: Tempo Graph for My Love in Her Attire
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Figure 47: My Love in her Attire mm. 26-32
3.5.6 I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale I gave her Cakes and I gave her Ale, I gave her Sack and Sherry; I kist her once and I kist her twice, And we were wondrous merry.
I gave her Beads and Bracelets fine, I gave her Gold down derry. I thought she was afear'd till she stroaked my Beard And we were wondrous merry.
Merry my Hearts, merry my Cocks, Merry merry merry my Sprights. Merry merry merry my hey down derry. I kist her once and I kist her twice, And we were wondrous merry.
Walton sets this song about love and merry-making in such a way that gives it a dance-like quality. The 6/8 time, dotted rhythms and heavy downbeats all contribute to this quality. The first two verses are set quite similarly and are restrained, while Walton allows the "merry-making" of the third verse to get somewhat out of control. This is achieved by expanding the last two phrases, adding more rhythmic intensity to the guitar part via tambora and allowing the tenor to
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sing at the top of his range.
In performance, the duo employs several subtle examples of rubato. For example, the first half of each verse is pushed in tempo a little bit. This can be observed in Figure 48 as the start of each verse (mm. 5, 16 and 27) manifest as the bumps that appear periodically. Conversely there are ritardandi that are used at the end of each verse (mm. 11 and 22).
Another tempo alteration is that the third verse is slightly quicker. This is felt first in the guitar’s introduction to the verse, which has an average BPM of 57.4 compared to the other guitar introductions (54.5 and 55.3 BPM). This complements the increased energy that Walton has written into the third verse. Similarly, the anticipation of this increased energy is drawn upon when Pears takes extra time in the leap to E4 in m. 29. From here, Pears and Bream maintain this slightly quicker tempo until the poco allargando and fermata in m. 36 wherein they slow down as Pears takes time in leaping to each high note. After this measure, the tempo never fully returns to a tempo.
Another equally effective change in tempo occurs in m. 19 in which Pears and Bream quite liberally slow down the tempo. This will be further elaborated upon in the next paragraph.
There are several other musical choices that are also of interest in this performance. Many of these are related to the treatment of melismas that occasionally appear. These melismas are important to the piece as they rhythmically contrast the syncopated and dotted rhythms that permeate the song. One of these melismas occurs in the aforementioned m. 19. In this measure, the duo employs a meno mosso and Pears draws out the line with an extreme legato. This results in a contrasting affect from the rest of the piece—emphasizing Walton's intent in setting the measure apart. Walton writes another melisma in m. 37. Again, the duo slows down during this melisma and bring out every individual note by way of tenuto.
Another melismatic moment in the piece is m. 29, which is marked with an ossia that gives the option for the performer to utilize a sixteenth-note melisma, while the expected version is syncopated and rhythmically driven in the spirit of the rest of the piece (Figure 49). In the recording, Pears chooses to perform the ossia. The reasoning behind this choice is not entirely clear. It is possible that it was a technical challenge to achieve the "normal" version as there is a
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large leap to a downbeat B♭4, but on the other hand, it is also conceivable that the duo wanted to draw parallels between it and the other examples of the sixteenth-note melismas that appear throughout the piece.
In the first two verses, the third phrase is soft and gentle in character (and somewhat legato), while the other phrases are articulated, louder and boisterous. In the third verse this change in character does not occur. Rather, there is an increase in "boisterousness" not only due to the high tenor range and the guitar’s tamboras, but because of Pears and Bream's musical decisions. Indeed, these decisions include louder dynamics, glissandos from Pears and a ponticello tone from Bream. Thus, not only does Walton's writing subvert expectation in the final verse by increasing the "merry-making", but so do Bream and Pears by excluding the soft and gentle character from the final verse.
One final point of interest occurs on the very last word where Pears says the word “merry” rather than sings. This effective technique emphasizes the word and acts as an indication of closure— particularly when coupled with strums in the guitar.
Figure 48: Tempo Graph for I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale
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Figure 49: I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale mm. 29-30
3.5.7 To Couple is a Custom To couple is a custom: All things thereto agree. Why should not I then love, Since love to all is free?
But I'll have one that's pretty, Her cheeks of scarlet dye, For to breed my delight When that I lig her by.
Tho' virtue be a dowry, Yet I'll chuse money store: If my love prove untrue, With that I can get more.
The fair is oft unconstant, The black is often proud, I'll chuse a lovely brown: Come fiddler scrape thy crowd.
Come fiddler scrape thy crowd, For Peggy the brown is she; She must be my bride; God guide that Peggy and I agree.
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Although five verses comprise the poem To Couple is a Custom, Walton does not follow that form. Rather, he takes advantage of dual appearance of the text “come fiddler scrape thy crowd,” in the fourth verse’s last line and the fifth verse’s first line to combine the two into one large verse. Additionally, Walton expands the musical content from the first three verses to create a raucous and exciting fourth verse. This allows the fourth verse to act as a grande finale to the entirety of Anon in Love.
In their performance, Pears and Bream work to ensure that the grande finale’s sense of increasing excitement is achieved through their use of tempo, tone, articulation and dynamics.
To begin, the duo give To Couple is a Custom a keen sense of moto perpetuo as they never allow the tempo to relent (Figure 50). Unlike many of their performances they do not employ ritardandi, meno mossos, or significant rubato, rather they maintain a tempo centered around 145 BPM. The only large tempo adjustment is an accelerando in the fourth verse. The first three verses feature similar average tempos of 144.5, 146.0 and 144.0 BPM respectively. In the fourth verse, between its beginning (m. 51) and “god guide” in m. 81, the average tempo creeps to the highest yet at 147.1 BPM. After, the accelerando becomes more dramatic as the average tempo between m. 81 to the end (the coda) is 152.9 BPM. The result is an accelerando that increases in magnitude towards the end—augmenting the conclusion’s intensity.
There are several other musical decisions used to achieve intensity. For example, they avoid the warm sound found in other movements of the cycle. Indeed, Pears makes heavy use of accents and articulation, while Bream employs a ponticello sound almost exclusively throughout the song. Rather than using a tasto sound and arpeggiated chords for contrast as is Bream’s custom throughout this body of performances, he strums and pizzicatos to punctuate contrasting affects.
The duo chooses to ignore many dynamics found in the score for the sake of an unrelenting intensity. Walton indicates several fortepianos, pianos and diminuendos throughout, but the duo rarely follows those directions. Instead, they opt to follow two principles: as the melodic line rises the dynamic rises, and as the piece moves towards the end the dynamic level increases.
One final point of interest occurs at the end of the performance when Pears speaks (not sings) “that” in m. 86 (Figure 51). This is an important moment as it comes at the end of a brief reprise
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from the guitar’s oppressively driven texture and precludes the end of the piece in which melody is completely forsaken because the driving rhythms take over entirely. By saying “that” Pears punctuates this moment of reprise and draws attention to it—ultimately leading to a heightened anticipation of what will come next.
Figure 50: Tempo Graph for To Couple is a Custom
Figure 51: To Couple is a Custom mm. 84-87
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3.6 Four French Folk Songs
3.6.1 Background
Four French Folk Songs is a set of traditional songs Matyas Seiber set for Pears and Bream in the late 1950s. As the title implies, the text is French and is therefore the only song-cycle on Music for Voice and Guitar not in English. Indeed, of the entire body of repertoire composed for Peter Pears and Julian Bream there is only one other song-cycle that is not in English (Hans Werner Henze's Fragments from Hölderlin). This cycle was first performed by the duo on August 27th, 1958140 and was published by Schott the following year. Prior to writing the folk songs for Pears and Bream, Seiber set this song-cycle for high voice and piano in 1945, as well as soprano and orchestra in 1948.141 The fact that this arrangement derives from piano and orchestral music explains the dense and challenging guitar parts throughout the cycle. For example, the first movement—Réveillez-vous—contains passages of parallel seventh chords and the third movement—Le Rossignol—features several passages with elaborate inner-voice melodies.
3.6.2 Réveillez-vous Réveillez-vous, belle endormie Réveillez-vous, car il est jour mettez la tête à la fenêtre vous entendrez parler de nous
La belle a mis le pied à terre tout doucement s'en est allée d'une main elle ouvre la porte entrez galant si vous m'aimez
Mais la belle s'est endormie entre les bras de son amant et celui-ci qui la regarde en lui voyant ces yeux mourants
140 Graham Wade, The Art of Julian Bream (Blaydon-on-Tyne, England: Ashley Mark, 2008), 51. 141 Seiber Mátyás Trust, “Index of Complete Works,” (Seiber Mátyás Trust) accessed November 1, 2019, http://seibermusic.org.uk/?page_id=14
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Que les étoiles sont brillantes et le soleil est éclatant mais les beaux yeux de ma maîtresse en sont encore les plus charmants
The first stanza in Reveillez-vous is the narrator asking his love to wake up, the second is her going to him, the third is her falling asleep in his arms and the fourth is the narrator reflecting on how the eyes of his love are more beautiful than the stars or sun. Seiber’s setting of this text is quite somber and gentle. This created by the slow pacing, mixolydian melody and lush guitar chords.
Pears and Bream's tempos for this piece reveal several musical decisions of note (Figure 54). For example, the ritardandi and fermatas that are marked at the end of each verse are ignored by the duo. Rather, the most drastic change in tempo each verse is a ritardando that occurs in the third phrase (these are circled in Figure 54). In the final verse, this ritardando on the third phrase is the most drastic of them all—going down to 16.5 BPM compared to 18.6, 20.0 and 19.2 BPM in the previous verses. Additionally, this verse is differentiated tempo-wise by the ritardando at the very end.
The tempo-graph reveals another interesting musical choice—the beginning of each verse is faster than the ending. In the first verse, for example, the tempo sits at around 38 BPM for the first three bars but lurks at around 32 BPM for the remainder of the verse. This remains true for each verse.
Throughout, Bream warmly arpeggiates most chord, which creates a lush sound that matches the piece’s somber affect. However, there are a few key moments that are exceptions. First, in the introduction, he plays solid chords until the second half of the second measure, after which he arpeggiates chord—emphasizing the highest melodic content in the opening (G-sharp to A in Figure 52). Second, Bream uses solid chords with a progressively more ponticello tone at “Et celui-ci qui le regarde.” Then, suddenly, at the a tempo two bars later, he arpeggiates the chord with an extreme warm tone—creating a moment of contrast. Finally, Bream does not arpeggiate the oscillating chords at the end of verses, possibly to emphasize the rhythm energy of these passages and therefore maintain momentum. The idea of keeping the piece moving certainly corresponds to the aforementioned lack of ritardandi at the end of verses. The final set of
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oscillating chords prove to be an exception as Bream plays the first three chords solidly and arpeggiates the last two—creating a sense of closure.
Figure 52: Reveillez-vous mm. 1-2
Figure 53: Reveillez-vous mm. 39-41
Pears’ style throughout is extreme legato with minimal vibrato. This results in exceptionally long, connected phrases. Although he maintains the same general affect throughout, he makes subtle changes. For example, the text “entrez galant, si vous m’aimez” is said by a character in the poem (rather than the poet themselves), which Pears emphasizes with shortened articulations and exaggerated consonants.
In terms of dynamics, the most extreme verses are the penultimate and the final. The penultimate is the loudest, except for sudden change to piano for the text “en lui voyant ces yeux mourants.” The final verse is the quietest and as a result, gives the impression of the most contemplative— matching the introspective nature of the verse. 102
Figure 54: Tempo Graph for Réveillez-vous
3.6.3 J’ai descendu
J'ai descendu dans mon jardin Pour y cueillir du romarin Gentil coquelicot, Mesdames Gentil coquelicot nouveau
J'n'en avais pas cueilli trois brins Qu'un rossignol vint sur ma main Gentil coquelicot, Mesdames Gentil coquelicot nouveau
Il me dit trois mots en latin Que les hommes ne valent rien Gentil coquelicot Mesdames Gentil coquelicot nouveau
Que les hommes ne valent rien Et les garçons encore moins bien Gentil coquelicot Mesdames Gentil coquelicot nouveau
Des dames, il ne me dit rien Mais des d'moiselles beaucoup de bien Gentil coquelicot Mesdames 103
Gentil coquelicot nouveau
The performance of J’ai descendu is one of the most explicit in the duo’s interpretation. The performance is centered around creating contrast between verse and refrain—a contrast that intensifies as the performance approaches the end.
The text tells a folk story of a man going into his garden and meeting a nightingale who tells the poet its thoughts on men and women. It says that men are worth nothing and boys even less, while for older women it says nothing, but speaks highly of young ladies. The refrain "sweet poppy, my ladies/ sweet new poppy" is repeated at the end of every stanza.
In Seiber’s setting of J’ai descendu, there is a guitar introduction, five verses and a refrain that follows each verse. Seiber varies each verse not only in the text, but by altering the guitar textures. The result is similar to a theme and variations structure—particularly because each variation is more ornate than the last.
The large-scale tempo graph of the Pears-Bream performance (Figure 55) demonstrates that there are significant differences in tempos between the verses and refrains—despite no indication of such in the score. For example, the first verse has an average tempo of 94.9 BPM, while the first refrain averages 126.5 BPM—a substantial difference. This difference is magnified throughout due to the verses progressively slowing down. The average tempos for the verses (in order) are as follows: 94.9, 92.7, 83.7, 79.1 and 68.6 BPM. Meanwhile, the refrains stay at essentially the same tempos, with the final refrain being slightly faster than the others. The average tempos for the refrains are as follows: 126.5, 127.0, 124.7, 126.6 and 130.4 BPM (to easily compare verses and refrains see Table 7. The difference between the first set of verse and refrain (94.9 to 126.5) and the last (68.6 to 130.4) is significant.
Table 7: Verse and Refrain Average BPMs in J'ai descendu 1 2 3 4 5 Verse (Average BPM) 94.9 92.7 83.7 79.1 68.6 Refrain (Average BPM) 126.5 127.0 124.7 126.6 130.4
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Bream’s introduction sits in between the two sets of tempos—at about 116 BPM—before beginning his ritardando. Perhaps this is because the melodic content in his introduction is that of the refrain, but the section that follows his introduction is a verse. As a result, the introduction’s tempo does not feel out of character once the verse begins.
The introduction also foreshadows several other interpretive dimensions that are juxtaposed throughout the performance. In the introduction, there are two iterations of the motive, the first of which Bream plays tasto and with legato and the second of which is ponticello and more articulated (Figure 56). This contrast then becomes drawn out in the remainder of the performance. In every verse he plays with a warm, legato sound and is liberal with his arpeggiation of the chords. In particular, he exaggerates this sound at the end of verses with excessive arpeggiation and warm vibrato on the countermelodies. In the refrains, he does the opposite—using more articulation and ponticello. For example, the bass notes in the first chorus are accented, staccato, thumb rest-strokes.
Pears creates contrast between the verses and refrains most significantly by the length of his phrases. In the verses, he makes long phrases by way of legato and long dynamic-arcs. Meanwhile, he accents every other downbeat in the choruses—creating shorter two-bar phrases.
Finally, an extra layer of contrast is added through the dynamics. Just as they approached tempo changes, the dynamic changes do not shift drastically between the verses and refrains towards the beginning, but as the performance continues the dynamic contrast grows. By the time the duo arrives at the last verse-refrain pair the difference is substantial. Indeed, the last verse is the quietest section of the entire performance while the final refrain is the loudest.
The overall intent that Pears and Bream bring to this performance is contrast and, even more so, an increasing contrast as the ending is approached. This is achieved seemingly through every possible dimension of music over which they have control. The verses become slower, softer and use a more legato affect, while the refrains become increasingly loud and articulated. The increasing differentiation between verse and refrain is effective and adds a layer of drama not present in the score.
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Figure 56: J'ai descendu mm. 1-4
Figure 55: Tempo Graph for J'ai descendu
3.6.4 La Rossignol Rossignolet du bois Rossignolet sauvage Apprends-moi ton langage Apprends-moi-z à parler Apprends-moi la manìère
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Comment il faut aimer
La belle, on dit partout Que vous avez des pommes Des pommes de reinettes Qui sont dans vot' jardin Permettez-moi la belle Que j'y porte la main
Non je ne permets pas Que l’on touche a mes pommes Apportez-moi la lune Le soleil à la main Vous toucherez les pommes Qui sont dans mon jardin
The performance of La Rossignol displays a sophisticated partitioning of sections, while simultaneously creating a global trajectory for the piece. This is primarily established through the duo’s use of tempo, although other interpretive dimensions do play a part. In this analysis I use a novel approach that incorporates linear regression algorithms to help better understand temporal adjustments.
La Rossignol is the third song and the second slow movement of the Four French Folk Songs. Seiber’s compositional structure in this song shares several similarities to previous songs in the cycle; namely that the melody is the same for each verse, but variation is created through textural and harmonic alterations in the guitar accompaniment. The song is structured into three verses with a guitar introduction and coda, and short interludes between verses.
The duo employs dynamics that are generally quite soft, with mild crescendos towards the middle section of each verse and decrescendos at the end. The biggest contrast of dynamics exists in the final verse, which features an especially quiet beginning and ending with the dynamic summit of the piece occurring in the middle of the verse.
The duo’s use of colour in La Rossignol is generally centered around warm, legato sounds. Bream’s tone is tasto almost exclusively throughout, except for the more ponticello sound at the beginning of verses two and three. Pears’ approach to this song is a legato sound with subtle vibrato. The phrases he creates are strikingly long, to the point that he will occasionally ignore
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the breath marks in the score. For example, "apportez-moi la lune, le soleil à la main" is performed in a single breath, even though there is a breath marked between “lune” and “le.”
La Rossignol’s tempo graph (Figure 57) reveals an interesting characteristic in the duo’s performance; each section (verses, coda, introduction and interludes) is divided from those that surround it by ritardandi. Specifically, there is a ritardando at the end of each section and a feeling of a new refreshed tempo at the beginning of each section. For example, after the ritardando at the end of the introduction (falls to 28.5 BPM), verse one’s first three beats immediately establish a tempo of 41.7 BPM. Similarly, the end of the first verse slows to 25.0 BPM, while the succeeding guitar interlude reestablishes the tempo in the next beat at 43.5 BPM before it too slows to 30.2 BPM. This constant interaction of ritardando and reinstatement of a faster tempo is a gesture that firmly distinguishes each section from others.
This ritardando gesture also appears on a larger scale in the performance; over the course of each verse. In other words, not only is there a small scale ritardando that occurs at the end of each section, but the larger sections also progressively slow down. For example, the first verse establishes a tempo of 41.7 BPM, but by the mid-point it slows to 34.0 BPM, and by the end falls to 25.0 BPM. Figures Figure 58, Figure 59 and Figure 60 provide an empirical demonstration of this phenomenon. In order to create each graph, the corresponding verse was isolated, and a linear regression was performed on the tempo points. The results show that each verse does indeed slow down. For the first verse, it slows by 0.38 BPM (the first number in the regression formula) per beat, the second by 0.47 BPM and the final by 0.75 BPM. This data also demonstrates that each verse decelerates more than the last, to the point that the final verse reduces tempo at nearly twice the rate of the first verse.
The second number in each formula also reveals another point of interest—each subsequent verse’s initial tempo is higher. According to the regression, the tempo for verse one begins at 40.0 BPM, the second at 42.2 BPM and the third at 45.4 BPM. This also occurs in the guitar interludes as the peak of the introduction is 40.6 BPM, the first interlude’s peak is 43.5 BPM and the second interlude peaks at 47.7 BPM. This is fascinating as, on a small-scale, each section slows, but the peak tempos of each section increase (i.e. there is some sense of a large-scale increase in tempo). This is an excellent example of a sophisticated use of tempo that acts on
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distinct structural levels.
Figure 57: Tempo Graph for La Rossignol
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Figure 58: La Rossignol verse one trendline
Figure 59: La Rossignol verse two trendline
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Figure 60: La Rossignol verse three trendline
3.6.5 Marguerite, elle est malade Marguerite, elle est malade, il lui faut (ho! ho!) le médecin!
Médecin par sa visite Lui a de(he he)fendu le vin
Médecin, va-t'en au diable puisque tu(hu hu) défend le vin
J'en ai bu toute ma vie J'en boirai (he he) jusqu'à la fin.
The final song in Seiber's set uses a humourous text set to fast and highly energetic music. The four verses of the text tell the tale of the sick Marguerite’s visit to the doctor. The doctor tells her to stop drinking wine to get better, to which Marguerite responds by saying that she's been drinking wine her whole life and will keep drinking until the end.
Seiber's setting of the text is in 6/8 time and is given a spirited quality by the staccato quarter and eighth pairs that are present throughout. This rhythm is interrupted in the second phrase of each 111
verse when the guitar strums dotted-quarter note chords during which the singer re-articulates the vowel in the text. This is followed by a beat of rest before returning to the principal rhythmic pattern." Like the other Seiber folk songs, each verse has the same melody and structure, while the guitar part is varied. For example, in verse two the guitar plays a bass countermelody, while the third verse contains a challenging series of portamenti.
Due to the demanding guitar part and the relentlessly fast tempo throughout, Bream simplifies his part compared to the written score. Furthermore, the difficulty seems to prevent him from making significant musical choices throughout and so the bulk of interpretive differentiation comes from Pears.
Throughout the performance, the piece feels as if it is in perpetual motion. The tempo is consistent with little rubato and no ritardandi (Figure 61). It averages around 140 BPM in each verse and almost exclusively stays between 130 and 160 BPM (i.e. there is little tempo fluctuation).
Due to the relentless pace of the performance, Bream’s performance is significantly simplified compared to the published score. He cuts notes from some large chords and discards several chords altogether. For example, anytime Pears re-articulates vowel (ex.“faut ho ho” in the first verse) Bream only plays the first of three chords (Figure 62). At the very end, rather than strumming the full six-note C-sharp minor chord, he only plays the bass and the top three notes. The reduction in notes and chords is almost certainly due to technical challenges. For instance, the chords that accompany the first “ho ho” have virtually no guide fingers between them, require shifts and make use of all four fingers. Coupled with the fast tempo, playing this passage cleanly is simply not feasible for most guitarists.
This difficulty also affects Bream’s interpretation. In strophic music, Bream frequently alters some dimensions of his playing. However, in Marguerite, elle est malade he does not. Alternatively, (and perhaps because Bream is unable to contribute substantially) Pears works quite hard in this performance to contrast the character of each verse. The first verse is standard with moderate articulation and at a high volume, while the second verse downplays articulation and is the quietest. The third is marked “faché” (angry); this is achieved by Pears increasing the volume and bringing out more consonants (for example, the “m” of “Médecin” is used as a small 112
glissando to the first note of the melody). The third verse’s “faché” character is further enhanced by the guitars portamenti which create a feeling of being out of control and less refined. The fourth and final verse is marked “triomphante” (triumphant) which is achieved with a full, round sound from Pears. In this concluding verse Bream makes a substantial contribution to the affectual change as he substitutes several chords in the final verse with golpe on the guitar. These added knocks are clever as they ramp up the energy by adding a new layer to the ending. Combined with an increase dynamic level and Pears’ triumphant character the duo creates a rising excitement as the ending approaches.
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140
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60 BPM (DottedQuarters) BPM 40
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Figure 61: Tempo Graph for Marguerite, elle est malade
Figure 62: Marguerite, elle est malade, mm. 12-13
3.7 O Mistress Mine
The final song on Music for Voice and Guitar is a short one-movement piece by English composer Peter Racine Fricker. He composed O Mistress Mine for Peter Pears and Julian Bream
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in August of 1961.142 The premiere of this work was July 31st, 1962 at the Summer Music School in Darlington.
It is conceivable that Fricker was introduced to the duo by his former teacher Mátyás Seiber who wrote the previously discussed Four French Folk Songs for them in 1958. Both Bream and Pears must have appreciated O Mistress Mine because they would each work with Fricker later; Pears asked Fricker to compose Cantata for Tenor and Chamber Ensemble in 1961 and Fricker wrote Paseo for Bream in 1970.143
The text for O Mistress Mine is from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The two stanzas call for a “seizing of the day” and to embrace the present by making love.
O mistress mine, where are you roaming? O, stay and hear! your true-love’s coming, That can sing both high and low. Trip no further, pretty sweeting, Journeys end in lovers meeting— Every wise man’s son doth know.
What is love? ’Tis not hereafter; Present mirth hath present laughter; What’s to come is still unsure: In delay there lies no plenty; Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty, Youth’s a stuff will not endure.
After a short introduction, the two stanzas are set to nearly identical music resulting in a strophic form. The only significant difference is that the ending of the second stanza is intensified due to the featuring of the tenor in a higher register and a more active guitar part.
The duo’s performance of this work contrasts four different sections; the introduction, verse one, verse two and the concluding phrase. In each one, several elements are varied such as tempo and colour.
142 USCB Library, “Peter Racine Fricker Chronological Catalog of Works” (USCB Library), accessed July 11, 2018. https://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections/performing-arts/pamss17c 143 Ibid. 115
demonstrates the temporal distinctions between sections. These sections and their average tempo are as follows: the guitar introduction is 41.4 BPM; the first verse is 51.2; the second verse (except for the final phrase) is 56.7; and the final phrase is 41.6. These numbers point to several noteworthy observations. First, the second stanza is noticeably quicker than the first stanza. Secondly, there are drastically different tempos for the short subsections compared to the larger verses. Thirdly, the guitar introduction’s tempo and the final phrase’s tempo are virtually identical. The implications of these observations will be further discussed in a later paragraph.
Figure 63: Tempo Graph for O Mistress Mine
The graph also shows that there is a large amount of variability in the tempo. There are two reasons for this—the first is that the precise onset of each beat is not always clear and the second is the presence of micro-rubato within each phrase. The lack of clarity in the onset of beats is mostly due to Bream's tendency to arpeggiate chords, which blurs the onset of the beat (i.e. it is unclear which voice determines the onset of the beat—the top, bottom or most prominent). The little nuances in rubato throughout are an even larger factor in the tempo variability. For example, consider the line “that can sing both high and low.” For most of the line the tempo hovers around 53 BPM, while the final beat of the line (on the word “low”) the tempo is 43.8 BPM (Figure 64). This is a clear example of “relaxing” the tempo at the end of a phrase. A
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contrasting example that shows the nuanced use of rubato throughout the performance is found in the subsequent phrase (“trip no further, pretty sweeting”). In this phrase, the final two beats (“sweeting”) increase the tempo at the end of the phrase from approximately 56 BPM to 63 BPM. The guitar interlude immediately after then takes a large amount of rubato to bring the tempo down to 49 BPM before returning to 56 BPM for the subsequent phrase (Figure 65).
Figure 64: Mm. 6 and 7 of O Mistress Mine
Figure 65: Mm. 7-9 of O Mistress Mine
Table 9 shows Bream’s treatment of each individual chord in the performance. This includes the colour, the speed, the number of pitches and whether is it arpeggiated.
This data quite clearly demonstrates that Bream performs nearly all the written-in arpeggiations—with one exception—m. 12, beat 3. On the other hand, Bream quite liberally arpeggiates chords that are not indicated as such in the score. In fact, nearly every tetrad and triad in the piece is arpeggiated, and even some unindicated dyads are arpeggiated.
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The default tone quality that Bream uses for this piece is on the warmer side; he tends to save a brighter sound for places where he is not arpeggiating, such as mm. 7 and 8. Additionally, a bright sound is used in certain cases to create contrast and emphasize a chord. For example, the first beat of m. 10 has a bright and loud chord that contrasts the following phrases that consist of soft, warm sounds. Bream also uses this extreme contrast in reverse. This is seen in mm. 7 and 8 in which a series of bright-sounding dyads are contrasted by a much quieter and very warm chord on the third beat of m. 8.
There are also several spots where Bream emphasizes a note, such as the third beats of mm. 6 and 11. For the former, the top voice is brought out and for the latter the middle voice is emphasized. Bream manages to bring out voices by making use of two separate expressive strategies. The first and most obvious is to make the other voices softer than the favoured voice and the second is to add large amounts of vibrato to that voice. The favoured voice is also never chosen arbitrarily—it always corresponds to a melodic line that is rhythmically distinct from the other voice. Using the m. 6 example, the favoured top voice leads into a sixteenth-note run and ornamentation and using the m. 11 example, the middle voice is a non-chord note that resolves the following beat.
There are also several chords Bream chooses to arpeggiate more slowly. Bream tends to save these medium-paced arpeggiations for key moments in the piece such as the beginning and ending of each verse (ex. M. 11, beat 3 is the final chord of verse one), and moments when he wants to bring attention to a voice. For example, in bar 8, beat 3 he slowly rolls the chord in order to focus on the top voice which is immediately followed by a sixteenth-note run.
Table 8 displays the wide variety of ways in which Pears approaches different phrases throughout O Mistress Mine. For example, the onsets of the first stanza and the second stanza (“O mistress mine” and “what is love” respectively) are treated quite differently. The first phrase is legato, each word is evenly stated at a medium dynamic, and the end of the phrase connects into the subsequent phrase. Conversely, in the case of “what is love”, the “what” is brought out by way of articulation, the dynamic level is higher, and there is no connection to the following phrase. Pears also effectively maintains consistency within individual sections of the piece. This is seen with each pair of phrases that begins each stanza: “O mistress mine” and “O stay and
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hear”; and “What is love” and “Present mirth.” The first pair ignore the eighth rest in the music in order to connect to the following phrases, while the second pair both adhere to the rest
Gathering all information together reveals some instances of excellent ensemble. One such instance is the third beat of the third bar—Bream rolls a notably loud chord that complements the rolled “r” that Pears emphasizes. These two gestures match up extremely well because the roll of the chord sounds like the rolled “r.” Another example is the end of the song’s penultimate phrase. Pears has a dramatic diminuendo and a small ritardando on the last syllable of the phrase (“ty”). In order to make Pears' decision more dramatic, Bream crescendos and gets slightly faster towards the second note of his triplet (which immediately precedes Pears' “ty”) and then follows Pears' lead by slowing down and playing the final note of his triplet more quietly. In other words, Bream gives the impression that Pears will make “ty” louder, which allows for a subversion of this expectation when Pears sings it more quietly. The result is compelling and makes the duo’s musical decision more effective.
The data also reveals a larger conceptualization of the piece that is shared by the duo. The first piece of data to demonstrate this overarching structure is the variability in tempos. As previously mentioned, grouping the piece by tempos creates four distinct sections; the guitar introduction, the first verse, the second verse and the final phrase. In order, the average tempo for each of these sections in BPM is 41.4, 51.2, 56.7 and 41.6. Firstly, the difference between the tempos of the two verses shows that within the duo's musical interpretation there is a distinct character between the two. This is supported by the way that Pears connects the pairs of phrases in the first half of each verse. In the first verse, the endings of the first and third phrases slightly crescendo and ignore the rests that divides them from the second and fourth phrases. In the second verse, the equivalent rest is deliberately followed. Similarly, in the first verse Pears sings with more legato throughout, whereas in the second verse he uses more accented syllables and staccatos. Bream also makes changes between the two verses. In the first two bars of verse one, Bream arpeggiates each chord with a tasto sound (one of which is extremely tasto), while in the corresponding two bars of the second verse he plays three of the four chords ponticello and only arpeggiates two of them. Together the change in tempo, connection between phrases, articulation and guitar colour result in very different effects or “moods” for each verse—the first being
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calmer and smoother while the second is more pointed and excited. This clearly demonstrates that Pears and Bream have some larger architecture to their interpretation.
The remaining two sections of the piece (the introduction and the final phrase) also have their own moods. In fact, due to the nearly identical tempos between these two sections (41.4 and 41.6 respectively), it is reasonable to say that they are the same mood or carry the same emotional content. The slower tempos and soft dynamic-level in both sections give them a feeling of introspection compared to the verses. The connection between these sections lends itself to the overarching structure of the piece by creating two introspective sections that bookend the bulk of the piece. The final phrase becomes emotionally effective as it contrasts the aggressive second verse by recalling the quietness and calmness with which the piece began. Overall, this analysis demonstrates that Bream and Pears performed this piece with great consideration for overall structure and that they thought about it in at least two ways—contrast between the two verses and a way to return to the original mood.
Phrase Musical Expression O mistress mine Ignores the rest at the end (i.e. Connects into the subsequent phrase). Relaxes a bit on the push to high note. Does not emphasize any word. Vibrato grows a bit on both high notes Where are you Pushes towards "roaming" using rubato and slight crescendo. Large rolled roaming "r" on roaming. Relaxes on "ing" by singing it piano and by diminuendo so that it almost sounds like it comes off early O stay and hear Small emphasis on "O". High notes have growing vibrato again. Again ignores the rest to connect the phrases Your true love's Relaxes on "ing" with a piano dynamic and diminuendo again coming That can sing both Slight articulation on "That can sing both". Extreme legato on "high and high and low low". Crescendo to "both" decrescendo afterwards Trip no further Pushes through the phrase with no dim. Even though the range makes it difficult (low C). Connects into the subsequent phrase Pretty sweeting Pushes to "sweet" and lets go on "ing" Journeys end in Micro crescendo on "jour". Pushes through with no dim. Again. Connects into the subsequent phrase.
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Lover's meeting Pushes to "meet" lets go on "ing" Every wise man's Crescendos and accels on "every wise". On the high note of "man's" the son doth know note is delayed, takes more time and is quieter than the cresc would expect. Rit and descresc for the remainder of the phrase What is love Articulation on "what". Dynamic level is a step up from everything that came before. Fades out the final pitch of the phrase – does not connect into the next phrase. Faint "V" at the beginning of the next bar shows that the eighth rest is acknowledged 'tis not hereafter Strong and slight staccato on "'tis". Strong push through to "aft" which has a bit of dim. "er" is quiet Present mirth Big "r" on "present". Again fades out the final pitch of the phrase and acknowledges the rest Hath present Strong and slight staccato on "hath". Cresc to "laugh". Extreme dim on "ter" laughter What's to come is Emphasis on the all the syllables on the beat; "what's", "come", "still", "un" still unsure In delay there Keeps the low D of "there" at the same volume. Connects into the next phrase. Lies no plenty Dim a tiny bit on on "ty" Then come and Loud throughout the phrase, particularly on the high note of "then" and kiss me "come". Many consonants are brought out quite forcefully. "K" of "come" and "s" of "kiss" Sweet and twenty "sw" of "sweet" is brought out. Dramatic dim on "ty" Youth's a stuff Notably quieter and slower than the previous phrases. Very legato will not endure
Table 8: Musical Expression Chart for Peter Pears in O Mistress Mine
Measure, Number Indicated in the Arpeggiation Speed Tone Colour Expressive Beat of Score as (Y/N) Quality Pitches Arpeggiated in Chord (Y/N) 2, 1 4 Y Y Medium Warm Soft, tender. End of a bit of a Ritardando. 2, 3 3 Y Y Quick Somewhat Warm
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3, 1 3 Y Y Quick Somewhat warm 3, 3 3 N Y Quick Really warm Emphasized bass note. Generally more volume 4, 1 4 Y Y Medium Warm 4, 3 3 Y Y Quick Somewhat bright 5, 1 3 Y Y Quick Very bright 5, 3 3 Y Y Quick Warm 6, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm 6, 2 2 N Y Very Warm Quick 6, 3 3 N Y Quick Warm Emphasis on top note. (also some vibrato helps that) 7, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm Emphasis again on top note 7, 3 2 N N N/A Bright Played dryly 7, 5 and 2 N N N/A Bright Played dryly a half 8, 1 2 N N N/A Bright Played dryly 8, 3 3 N Y Medium Very warm Quieter. Emphasis on top note. 9, 1 2 N Y Quick Somewhat warm 9, 3 and 2 N N N/A Bright a half 9, 4 2 N N N/A Bright 10, 2 3 N Y Medium Warm Emphasis on bass 10, 3 3 N Y Quick Very Warm 10, 4 3 N Y Quick Somewhat Warm 11, 1 3 N Y Quick Somewhat (top note not
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bright audible) 11, 3 3 N Y Medium Warm Top note quiet – emphasizes middle voice 12, 1 4 Y Y Medium Warm 12, 3 3 Y N N/A Bright 13, 1 3 Y Y Quick Bright 13, 3 3 N N N/A Bright 14, 1 4 Y Y Quick Bright 14, 3 3 Y Y Quick Warm 15, 1 3 Y Y Quick Warm 15, 3 3 Y Y Quick Warm 16, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm 16, 2 2 N N N/A Bright 16, 3 3 N Y Medium Warm Emphasis on top note 17, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm Emphasis on top note 17, 3 3 N Y Quick Warm 17, 5 3 N Y Very Warm Extremely quick. Quick Might be more of an attempt to not arpeggiate 18, 1 2 N N N/A Fleshy Barely audible (Rather than top voice. using the Emphasis on nail as is bottom voice typical, the flesh of the thumb plucks the string) 18, 3 3 N Y Quick Warm Emphasis on top voice. 19, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm 19, 3 3 N Y Quick Warm 19, 4 2 N Y Very Warm Louder
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quick 20, 1 3 N Y Quick bright Quite strong. 20, 3 3 Y Y Quick Warm Quiet. 20, 4 3 N Y Quick Warm Quiet. 21, 1 3 N Y Quick Warm Quiet 21, 3 3 N Y Medium Warm Quiet
Table 9: Arpeggiation Chart for O Mistress Mine
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Chapter 4 Compendium
Using the results from chapter three, I created a compendium of recurring expressive decisions that the duo utilizes throughout their recordings. Each entry is discussed and specific examples from their performances are cited. Furthermore, I explore possible applications of this compendium to the remainder of the Pears-Bream repertoire.
I will also clarify the meaning of the compendium and its applications. The compendium, in some sense, does act as a performance practice guide to performing in a “Pears-Bream” style. In a similar fashion to a historical treatise, this compendium covers general trends found in original performances of a specific repertoire. However, there is a necessity for caution with regards to this line of thinking, particularly when it begins to intersect with notions of authenticity. The idea that historically-informed performance is authentic (and therefore non-historically-informed performance is inauthentic) is decidedly modern.144 Authenticity, if there is such a thing in music, is a tradition of ever-evolving musical approaches.145 Taruskin addresses these issues beautifully with “what is usually called ‘modern performance’ is in fact an ancient style, and what is usually called ‘historically authentic performance’ is in fact a modern style.”146 With that in mind, I would greatly prefer if this compendium found use as a source of inspiration with which people meld their own notions of interpretation, rather than as a rigid rulebook that is followed dogmatically. In essence, I hope this helps the range of interpretations to expand, not diminish.
144 Richard Taruskin, "Tradition and Authority," Early Music 20, 2 (1992): 311-25. 145 Ibid. 146 Ibid. 125
Compendium 4.1 Tempo Alteration to Create Closure
Across this body of performances, Peter Pears and Julian Bream consistently dramatize a piece’s ending by way of tempo alterations. This temporally induced increase in intensity is found in nearly every performance on Music for Voice and Guitar. Furthermore, this expressive decision can be broken down into five sub-categories.147 They are as follows: tempo expansion, closing meno mosso, acceleration of moto perpetuo, selective lengthening and compositionally indicated.
The first category, tempo expansion, is a wider range of tempi in the final section—or, in other words, more contrast. This is found in The Old Lute, Fain, Would I Change, O Sing, Sweet Love, J'ai descendu, O Mistress Mine, The Second Lute Song and La Rossignol. For example, in J'ai descendu—of the five verses and refrains—the fifth verse is the slowest and the fifth refrain is the fastest. Thus, the performance’s final verse-refrain pair has the widest tempo range.
Closing meno mosso is the implementation of a meno mosso in the final phrase of the performance. This occurs in four discrete performances; O Mistress Mine, Lady When I Behold the Roses, Fain, Would I Change, and I Will Give My Love an Apple. Interestingly, all four pieces feature languid tempi, which suggests that this category applies most strongly to slower music. O Mistress Mine exemplifies this use of meno mosso (in addition to the tempo contrast found in the first category). Throughout the second and final verse, the tempo is mildly increased compared to the first. As the duo begins the last phrase, the tempo slows down dramatically, creating both a meno mosso and the largest range of tempi in the piece.
Acceleration of moto perpetuo, the third category, applies primarily to pieces featuring perpetual motion as a more dramatic ending is created by accelerating towards the conclusion. This is found in Dance Song, Sailor Boy, I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale and To Couple is a
147 Occasionally, performances fit into multiple categories or combine several categories. 126
Custom. Taking To Couple is a Custom as an example, the average tempo sits around 145 BPM for the majority of the piece but by the end the tempo climbs to 152 BPM.
Selective lengthening is a lengthening of salient moments towards the end of a piece. Two examples from this collection of performances that help to clarify this category are Master Kilby and Reveillez-vous. In Master Kilby, the reader may recall the highly important structural moment in the penultimate phrase of every verse—involving the highest note in the melody (F4) and the most tense harmony (B7 – E7). While Pears and Bream slow down for this moment in every verse, the final verse is significantly more drawn out. Reveillez-vous is similar, as the last verse’s penultimate phrase—another moment of significant harmonic tension—has an especially large ritardando.
The final category, compositionally indicated, is when a closing tempo alteration is inherent to the work’s structure. Since this category is primarily governed by the composer’s discretion, I shall explain my reasoning as to why it is included under this performer’s compendium. First, I wish to demonstrate that there is a near-universality to the duo’s expression of closure by way of tempo alteration; neglecting to include this category would prevent me from doing so. Second, within this final category, the duo still has some agency as they could choose to ignore the composer’s indications. Additionally, within the composer’s indications there are still temporal decisions that the duo make to reinforce closure. The Old Lute, for example, is marked with a slow tempo throughout until the end which is marked with a drastic tempo increase. Pears and Bream go beyond the tempo markings in their performance; they perform slower than indicated and conclude at an even greater tempo than the score. This certainly makes a case for the inclusion of this fifth and final category. Other performances in this category include The Herd- boy, The Shooting of His Dear and The Soldier and the Sailor.
There are only a few examples of performances on Music for Voice and Guitar that do not fall into one of these five categories. Marguerite and Autumn Wind are two fast pieces (marked Molto Vivace and “Very Quick” respectively) that one might think could fit easily into the third category but do not. It may well be these exclusions stem from the fact that such pieces are too technically challenging for the duo to incorporate a further increase in tempo as the piece concludes. Depression and My Love in Her Attire also have no clear tempo alteration at the
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close. This may well be due to the length of these pieces (they are undoubtedly the shortest of the collection). In order for strong temporal contrast between the end and the rest of a piece, the two sections must be clearly distinguishable—which is not easy within 35 seconds of music. The only remaining case is The Big Chariot, in which the performance not only fails to exaggerate an aspect of the tempo in the final section but also features the least tempo contrast. Of course, this in itself is a method of altering the tempo at the closing of a piece, but it certainly seems strange when compared to the five categories that each focus on exaggeration. One possible explanation is that because there are many tempo variations in the early sections of the piece, the only meaningful strategy is to maintain the existing tempo.
4.1.1 Application
There are numerous ways in which this tempo alteration may be applied to the unrecorded repertoire written for Pears and Bream. The fourth movement of Raymond Warren's Pity of Love has the potential to fit quite nicely within the acceleration of moto perpetuo category. It is a fast movement (quarter note equals 116) exhibiting a perpetual motion of consistent eighth notes in the guitar. The form is ABA with the A section being more energetic—marked “with humour, a little rough”—than the B section, marked “gentle, naive”. Therefore, at the return of A it would be effective to slightly increase the tempo to contrast the “gentle” section while also increasing the energy (and potentially the “roughness”) towards the close.
In the first movement of Pity of Love, the ending is the ideal moment for a closing meno mosso. This is a slow song (40 BPM), with a lush melody and beautiful text by William Yeats. At the end of the main body of text there is a ritardando and a fermata. Afterwards, the beginning of the song is reprised with the same text (“A Pity beyond all telling/Is his in the heart of love”) and music, but with the two parts reversing (i.e. The tenor sings the guitar's melody from the beginning, while the guitar plays the tenor melody). (Figure 66) This reprise sung at a slightly slower tempo would be quite effective as the audience will recognize the music and text, but in a transformed, more languid presentation.
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Figure 66: Pity of Love, mvmt 1, mm. 30-33
All That's Past, the third movement from Lennox Berkeley's Songs of the Half-Light, is another appropriate piece in which to make use of a closing meno mosso (Figure 67). This song is not as slow as Pity of Love's first movement, but the ending text makes for an effective meno mosso. In the penultimate phrase the guitar part thickens and the dynamic increases. Then, as the phrase ends, there is a sudden loud strum from the guitar. The tenor enters alone subito piano with the text “silence and sleep like fields of amaranth lie.” A meno mosso would not only be an effective temporal effect to create closure, but it would also complement the calm affect of the text. Indeed, this is a quintessential example of the application of a closing meno mosso.
Figure 67: All That's Past mm. 61-63
4.2 Two Groups of Interpretive Elements
In developing artistic performance, one has occasion to interpret and modify each variable independently—variables are dynamics, timbre, articulation etc. However, in the Pears-Bream 129
duo’s performances the variables are rarely treated independently. In other words, there are correlations between variables. For example, if one were to think of two variables and the two extremes of each variable—say dynamics (piano and forte) and guitar tone (tasto and ponticello)—there are four possible combinations. In cases where the two variables express independence, each of the four combinations would be found with relatively equal frequency. This is not the case for Pears and Bream. The two most common combinations are piano and tasto, and forte and ponticello, while piano and ponticello, and forte and tasto are uncommon (in fact they do not appear together at all in the entirety of the recording). Other variables can also fit into this dichotomy; articulation (legato vs. staccato), arpeggiations of chords, and tempo to an extent. Legato articulation, arpeggiated chords and a slower tempo are more likely to be grouped with piano and tasto playing. Conversely, short or marked articulation, solid (aka unarpeggiated) chords and faster tempos are more likely to be grouped with forte and ponticello. This results in two distinct groups of interpretive elements; ponticello, forte, solid chord and marked articulation versus tasto, piano, arpeggiated chords and legato articulations (Table 10). Interestingly, these two groups seem to reflect the commonly cited dichotomy of song and dance, or alternatively rhythm versus melody. Several examples from the duo’s performances illustrate the two distinct groups.
Table 10: Table of Distinct Groups of Interpretive Elements
Interpretive variables “Song” or Melody “Dance” or Rhythm
Dynamics Piano Forte
Guitar Tone Tasto Ponticello
Articulation Legato Staccato
Chords Arpeggiated Solid
Tempo (less commonly) Slow Fast
The first example, Master Kilby, displays these groupings explicitly. In the first two verses, most elements are in a “neutral” position—the guitar colour is normal, the dynamic centres on mezzo
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forte and there are occasional articulations. In verses three and four, the elements shift to the “rhythmic” side of the spectrum as Bream plays ponticello, the dynamics are loud, and both musicians employ heavy articulation. In the last two verses (and particularly the very last one) the affect shifts to the melodic side; Bream plays tasto, the dynamics are quieter and Pears sings with a legato shape and long lines.
J'ai descendu is an excellent example of tempo's place in this phenomenon. It will be recalled that the song is structured in a verse and refrain form, between which Pears and Bream contrast significantly. The verses are slower, quieter, legato (Pears creates lengthy phrases), arpeggiation of chords, and a warm sound. In counterpoise, the refrains are fast, loud, staccato, employ short two-bar phrases, lack chordal arpeggiation and feature a ponticello guitar sound. Furthermore, the differences become more pronounced as the piece goes on—each successive verse is slower and softer. This is indeed a locus classicus of the duo distinguishing between the rhythm and melody groups.
The final example, O Mistress Mine demonstrates this trend on a more minute and detailed scale. At the end of Chapter 3, Table 9 clarified Bream's employment of chordal arpeggiation throughout O Mistress Mine. Using this table (pg. 124), it becomes apparent that every solid chord is also played with a bright tone (for example the chords in mm. 7 and 8). Additionally, every chord that is arpeggiated at a medium speed or slower is played with a warm sound. In essence, even on a moment-to-moment basis there is a distinction between the groups of extremes.
4.2.1 Application
This trend of using two contrasting groups of interpretive elements, when applied to the remainder of the Pears-Bream repertoire, acts as an overarching principle that may be considered throughout. Even so, I will briefly illustrate how this principle can be applied to specific examples.
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Across the Plain, Movement 2 of Songs for Achilles by Michael Tippett begins with a quick tempo and clearly calls for a declamatory affect due to the text (Achilles is shouting a war cry) while marcato and even barbaro marcatissimo markings are found throughout (Figure 69). It would be appropriate here to use a ponticello sound, heavy articulation and other elements on the rhythmic side of the scale. After several war cries, Achilles begins to realize his friend Patroclus is dead—signaling a change in musical character (Figure 68). Here, the melodic elements can be applied—legato phrasing, tasto tone and a quiet dynamic level. This shift would effectively accentuate the change in mood and reinforce the movement’s drama.
Figure 69: Across the Plain mm. 25-26
Figure 68: Across the Plain mm. 74-76
Again, the fifth movement of Pity of Love is a most suitable instance in which this can apply. Three musically similar verses, each divided into two halves comprise the movement. The first half of each verse is marked “with severity” and the second is marked “gracefully.” Employing several “rhythmic” elements in the first half of each verse—particularly forte, accents and perhaps even a faster tempo—is quite fitting, while the second half is well-suited to the employment of effects from the melodic group. 132
4.3 Temporal Constancy in Fast Movements/Inconstancy in Slow Movements
Temporally, there is a clear distinction between the duo’s handling of slow and fast movements. This manifests primarily in the treatment of rubato. Fast movements tend to have steadier tempos, while slow movements feature greater temporal variety. Many examples of this are verifiable by observing the tempo graphs in Chapter 3.
Fast movements that encapsulate this idea include The Herd-Boy, Sailor Boy, To Couple is a Custom, and Marguerite. Each of these performances is devoid of significant temporal deviations. Marguerite, for example, maintains BPMs around 145, with only a few moments that narrowly fall far from that number. Similarly, Sailor-Boy’s BPMs primarily lie around 205. Of course, there are moderate variations in tempo in all these performances due to the imperfections of human performance and other mild moments of musically considerate temporal manipulations. However, in these fast movements, there are no tempo adjustments that highlight the design or expression—particularly when placed next to the slow ones.
Slow movements frequently feature many drastic deviations in tempo. I Will Give My Love an Apple, for example, features two significant ritardandi per verse in addition to considerable use of rubato, none of which is indicated in the score. Another salient example is Fain, Would I Change. In Figure 36 (pg. 82), the shifting tempo is visible on both a large and a small scale. With regards to the large scale, there is a lengthy ritardando (over seven measures) at the end of the first verse, followed by a gradual increase of tempo to the climax (over fourteen measures), which is succeeded by another gradual tempo reduction to the end. Meanwhile, there is almost continual small-scale rubato throughout. Prior to the closing of the performance there is a drastic temporal shift that goes from 100 BPM and 250 in less than a measure. Other pieces that reflect an equally high level of tempo inconstancy include Reveillez-vous, La Rossignol and O Mistress Mine.
4.3.1 Application
Several songs in the unrecorded Pears-Bream oeuvre could fit into the category of fast movement with tempo constancy. Pity of Love, movement four is marked “fleetly” with quarter note equals 116 (Figure 70). It lacks indications of tempo change and features a rhythmic consistency 133
(strings of eighth notes throughout)—a combination of traits that suggest the style of perpetual motion. Therefore, this piece fits well into the category. The first movement from Songs of the Half-Light also fits the checklist of attributes required for this category; a fast tempo marking, no indications of serious tempo changes in the score and unrelenting eighth notes. Finally, Songs for Achilles movement two is well-suited for the same reasons.
Figure 70: Pity of Love, mvmt 4, mm. 3-6
There are several slow movements in the remaining repertoire that fit in the second category of slow movements with tempo inconstancy. Songs of the Half-Light movement five, for example, is marked with a slow tempo and contains numerous opportunities for minute tempo manipulations. For instance, the guitar’s opening includes several thirty-second note scales—a formation that generally lends itself to an arching rubato (Figure 71). Additionally, a number of places imply character changes. In these spots, temporal shaping via anticipatory ritardandi and tempo changes is ideal. Other examples include Sir Patrick Spens and Songs for Achilles movement one, both of which are in a slow tempo and contains several shifts in affect.
Figure 71: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 5, mm. 1-3
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4.4 Salient Moments Take More Time
Throughout this collection of performances, Peter Pears and Julian Bream are considerate about approaching important moments with intention—a task that is accomplished via temporal accentuation. By slowing down in anticipation of any given moment, they draw attention to it and reinforce anticipation.
These salient moments take several forms, of which the two most frequent cases are places of structural importance and melodic pitches that access a new range. Oftentimes, both cases occur simultaneously, as they frequently do in strong compositions.
One example that encapsulates both cases is Master Kilby. Previously, I identified the penultimate bar of each verse as being a structurally significant moment for several reasons; the melody's range is at its highest point, the final bar is four beats rather than three, and the harmony begins moving back towards the home key. In accordance with the principle outlined above, in each verse Pears and Bream slow down in anticipation of this penultimate measure. Furthermore, on a larger scale, the sixth and final verse’s “structurally significant moment” is preceded by a particularly large anticipatory ritardando. One other dimension that adds to the power of this example is that these six ritardandi (one in each verse) are the only major tempo alterations in the performance—marking the moments as especially significant.
Lady When I Behold the Roses is a wonderful example of this trend. In the analysis of the piece (pg. 88), I explained how the expertly crafted melody uses a leap-motive to create a climax in each half. Each instance of the leap motive is higher than the last. The first three are D4, E♭4 and E4—with E4 being the climax of the first half. Likewise, in the second half the leapt-to notes are F#4, G4, G#4 and A4 (as the climax). As expected, based on the above principle, the duo take time in the approach to each of these leaps, and so emphasize the motive. Furthermore, within the context of the already emphasized leap-motives, the climactic A is highlighted not only by using a more drastic anticipatory ritardando, but also by decreasing the ritardando associated with the immediately preceding leaps (the F#4, G4 and G#4). By lessening the ritardando for these three leaps, the A4 feels even more significant in its context.
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Other notable examples of this principle in action include Depression, which due to the prevalence of glissandi, allows the duo to highlight salient moments not only by temporal manipulation but also by lengthening the glissandi; and Fain, Would I Change, in which the duo highlight outer reaches of the vocal range and meaningful harmonies with this principle.
4.4.1 Application
A movement that is certainly well-suited to using this trend of salient moments taking more time is Full Moon, the second movement from Songs of the Half-Light. Four phrases comprise each of the song’s two verses. In each instance, the last phrase features a leap from a D4 to G4, the highest note of the piece, on the downbeat (Figure 72). This moment is ideally suited to a small ritardando as it is both structurally significant—leading to the last cadence of the verse—and a high note.
Figure 72: Full Moon mm. 9-10
The Vine on the Hill from Shepherd's Warning is one other short example. The movement builds over four pages in terms of dynamics to a climactic downbeat as a decrease in dynamics and vocal range immediately follow this downbeat. Taking extra time in approaching the A4 is suitable use of the above principle.
4.5 Tempo Manipulations to Highlight the Voice
Throughout this body of performances, Peter Pears and Julian Bream ensure that the voice is the focal point. Of course, this focus is quite logical as the voice has the text and oftentimes the
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melody—two elements that are normally at the forefront of musical texture. The duo mainly creates this focal point in two ways. The first is obvious and is simply that the voice is nearly always louder than the accompaniment. This is present throughout the entirety of the performances studied in this dissertation and seems to be such a sustained principle across music-making that it seems unnecessary to expand on it further. The other way that voice is highlighted is in subtle manipulations of tempo, and this is the principle that will be discussed in this section. This principle manifests in two ways. The first is that whenever the voice has motion, the tempo dips, and, conversely, when the voice holds a long note (while the guitar continues to play new pitches) the tempo increases. The second occurs in solo guitar sections, such as introductions or interludes, in which the tempo is increased.
The first manifestation of this principle is found in several examples. Here are a few: at the beginning of The Big Chariot, whenever Pears has movement the duo take a bit more time, and whenever Pears holds a note and Bream has movement the tempo increases by 10 or 20 BPM; in Sailor Boy, whenever Pears sings a half note its second beat is a little shorter; finally at the beginning of Fain, Would I Change, Pears sings a series of held notes during which Bream eases the tempo anytime Pears changes pitch and returns to the original tempo as the pitch is held.
The second manifestation is also easily found in several examples. La Rossignol is an excellent one because it contains a number of interludes throughout, each of which Bream plays much more quickly than the verses. Depression is another example because: it ends with a guitar solo that Bream plays at a significantly faster than the rest of the piece (despite it being the ending which usually carries expectations of tempo reduction).
4.5.1 Application
This principle should be applied to the repertoire with caution, as too much can resort in an impression of tempo inconsistency. Nonetheless, here are a few effective examples. The Bright Bird, the second movement in Shepherd's Warning, has a similarly textured accompaniment to Fain, Would I Change, with repeated eighth-note chords while the tenor sings a melodic line (Figure 73). It is simple to apply the principle to this case by subtly increasing the speed of the eighth-note chords during the longer notes.
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Figure 73: The Bright Bird mm. 4-7
Similarly, in Songs of the Half-Light movement four, the guitar plays a tremolo accompaniment while the tenor sings a lyrical melody (Figure 74). Slightly increasing the tempo during the interludes between verses or during long notes effectively draws the attention of the listener towards the following verse.
Figure 74: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 4, mm. 2-3
Finally, Songs for Achilles movements 1 and 3 each feature several extended solo guitar sections. Following this principle would lead the guitarist to play the interludes at a mildly faster tempo than the sections with tenor.
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4.6 Word-Painting
Throughout this body of performances, Peter Pears and Julian Bream not only attempt to convey the compositional intentions that are immediately present in the score, but they seek to bring to light deeper implied intentions. This frequently takes the form of word-painting. Traditionally, word-painting is thought of as a creation of the composer, for which the performers are a vehicle, but this is not always the case. Indeed, Pears and Bream frequently word-paint in innovative ways that augment the composition and its meaning. The following are a few examples found in this set of recordings.
One of the best examples is The Old Lute. The Old Lute’s text, in a nostalgic remembrance of the past, imparts the story of the old lute’s decay as the newer flute and zithern surpass its popularity. Throughout the movement, Britten ensures the spirit of the text is captured. This is primarily accomplished by contrasting both the tempi and textures between the “old lute” section and the “flute and zithern” section. The old lute is characterized with a ponderous tempo and a polyphonic texture, while arpeggiation and a quick tempo represent the flute and zithern. In their recording of the work, Pears and Bream further emphasize the meaning of the text using several different techniques. Firstly, the difference in tempi between the two sections is more exaggerated than in the score. Secondly, the tempo of the “old lute” becomes slower as the piece progresses, which conveys a feeling of decay that reflects the state of the lute. Thirdly, during the phrase “people will not listen,” Pears fades to almost nothing—capturing the inaudible intention of the text. Together, these three techniques help to paint the picture of the text beyond even the original realization of the composer—or at least the realization of the score.
In Fain, Would I Change, the duo paints the text particularly effectively in two spots. The first is with regards to the word “bitter” (measure 39). Here, Bream suddenly switches to an extremely ponticello sound and Pears shifts his character from warm and legato to forceful and articulated. The second—measure 43—occurs on the word “sweeter.” In this spot, the duo reverses the effect they used for “bitter”; Bream plays tasto and Pears shifts to a light, legato tone. These two instances play off one another and create a contrast that “paints” each word.
Of course, these short examples are not the only ways in which the duo augments the text’s conveyance through word-painting, but they demonstrate several of the methods by which this 139
word-painting is achieved.
4.6.1 Application
There are many small moments throughout the remaining repertoire that are appropriate for a additional performance-driven word-painting. Here are some examples:
In m. 59 of Sir Patrick Spens the text “a loud laugh, laughed he” can be sung through a genuine laugh (Figure 75).
Figure 75: Sir Patrick Spens mm. 58-60
In the second movement of Songs from the Half-Light, m. 26, the text is “she vanished and was gone” and the guitar is eliminated from the texture (Figure 76). If the tenor were to fade to nothing on “gone” the effect would be even more dramatic. Alternatively, or additionally, the tempo could be increased to word-paint “vanish”.
Figure 76: Songs of the Half-Light, mvmt 2, mm 25-26
A comparable situation occurs on page of 17 of Songs from the Half-Light. Where the text “fade
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to naught” appears, the guitar stops playing. By incorporating a dramatic decrescendo, the tenor further enhances the word-painting.
4.7 Spoken Text
The most infrequently occurring trend in this compendium is Pears' occasional use of spoken word. Rather than singing at the scored pitch, Pears will revert to the range of his speaking voice. Since this trend occurs only twice in the Music for Voice and Guitar album its inclusion in the compendium may seem odd. Its admittance stems from the belief that it expands the expressive toolbox. In other words, serves as a good reminder of the wealth of interpretive devices that stems as a good reminder that text offers performers.
The first occurrence of spoken text is “merry”, the very last word in I Gave Her Cakes and I Gave Her Ale. Pears’ decision to speak this text is effective for two reasons. The first is that the movement ends with a rhythmically striking triplet rasgueado in the guitar, which means that speaking “merry” (particularly when performed with a strong attack as Pears does) complements the rhythmic intensity of the ending. In other words, the pitches are less important than the rhythm at this moment in the piece and avoiding any clear sense of pitches focusses attention on the rhythm. The guitar’s use of all open strings (i.e. an harmonically-ambiguous sonority meant for vibrant, clear attacks) further supports the idea that rhythm is the center of attention. The second reason is that any word that is spoken draws particular attention to itself; thus “merry”— and by extension merriment on which the movement’s central theme rests—is highlighted.
The second occurrence is in To Couple is a Custom. Here, the spoken word occurs on the pick- up to the final phrase. Up to this point, the song intensifies by way of strong syncopations, growing range and increasing dynamics. The penultimate phrase stops this intensification in its tracks as the voice’s range falls and the guitar cuts out completely. After a short pause, the tenor sings—or in Pears’ performance speaks— “that” and the intensity begins to gather again until the climactic ending. By speaking “that” rather than singing it, Pears signals that this moment navigates between the pause and the final push is special—adding one more layer of drama and anticipation to the conclusion.
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4.7.1 Application
There are two moments in the remaining repertoire at which it is appropriate to use spoken word. The first is at the end of Songs for Achilles, movement two (Figure 77). As previously mentioned, the tenor sings Achilles' war cry twice—at the beginning and at the end with more fervour after realizing Patroclus is dead. This final iteration is a good spot to emphasize the mixture of the anger and sadness saying or perhaps shouting parts of the text.
Figure 77: Songs of Achilles, mvmt 2, mm. 90-91
The other appropriate moment was also mentioned under 4.6; the end of Songs of the Half-Light, movement two (Figure 76). With the text “she vanished and was gone,” quietly whispering “gone” results in a chilling moment and adds a further dimension to the word-painting.
Chapter 5 Summary and Conclusion
This final chapter summarizes the results and discusses their implications. It also includes a discussion of future directions for this research.
Summary and Conclusion 5.1 Discussion
The compendium contains seven clear trends across the Pears-Bream recordings that can be applied to similar repertoire. These results help us to more clearly understand this duo’s performances and their celebrated musical intelligence.
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Additionally, these results provide insight into the repertoire for any musician who performs from this body of work. The distinct interpretive trends have the potential to illuminate performance possibilities that are not explicit in the scores as seen in the application sections of Chapter 4, beginning on page 128. Hopefully, this will allow future performers to choose from a wider interpretive toolbox. 148
Not only do these results help performers interested in this repertoire, they also provide a new perspective on performance practice. Traditionally, historically informed performance practice is derived from treatises of a specific era that helps to inform musicians concerning traditional interpretations. This project breaks away from those specifications and reveals two new facets of performance practice. Firstly, performance practice does not need to be solely informed by writings, rather it can be derived from analyzing recordings. Secondly, the breadth of a historically informed performance practice can vary. In other words, performance practice may be as general as an era (ex. The baroque era) or as specific as twelve works from mid-twentieth century Britain (the Pears-Bream oeuvre). This revelation opens wide the doors of performance practice analysis as any individual performer can now be studied and used as a basis for stylistic ideals. Naturally, it is hoped that individuals that represent the highest achievements in musical artistry will receive a great deal of this attention (although it would be perhaps equally instructive to study less-celebrated performances).
This project also stands as a demonstration of the effectiveness of its unique research design. This style of performance analysis uses a combination of descriptive and empirical methods to cast a wide net. Additionally, the tempo analysis elicits a high degree of accuracy and specificity in comparison with other methods. Furthermore, several empirical tests were performed throughout the project such as linear regressions (in La Rossignol), or measures of change in
148 It is also worth discussing spontaneity in performance and its interaction with the idea of an interpretive toolbox. An interpretive toolbox contains a series of strategies that a performer understands and can implement into their own performances to figure out ways of successfully interpreting a piece of music. Although these strategies are useful, they do not preclude acts of spontaneity in performance. There will always be aspects of performance that have the potential for variety, therefore allowing inspiration to grab a musician at any moment and create an entirely new interpretation.
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BPM (in The Second Lute Song). This unique combination of methods allows for both general and specific features to be captured. I believe that future performance analyses projects should consider this research design as a possible option.
5.2 Future Research
The possibilities for future research related to this project are vast, particularly in deference to the larger field of performance analysis. Nonetheless, I will discuss several projects directly related to Pears and Bream that I intend to pursue.
The first project is a recording that features several pieces that were excluded in the Music for Voice and Guitar album. The CD will include the following: • Pity of Love by Raymond Warren • Shepherd’s Warning by James Bernard • Songs of the Half-Light by Lennox Berkeley • Sir Patricks Spens by Thea Musgrave • Songs for Achilles by Michael Tippett
The purpose of this CD is twofold; to bring these underperformed works to light (notably Bernard’s and Warren’s as they currently only exist in manuscript) and to apply some of the theoretical discussions contained in chapter four.
Another tangential project is to create critical editions of this body of repertoire. Not only do several songs only exist in manuscript, but a number lack critical markings such as fingerings. Furthermore, it would be a significant tribute to publish these pieces as a collection under a “Pears-Bream repertoire” label. This would help to group this repertoire for guitar-tenor ensembles who need substantial twentieth-century repertoire. Additionally, these critical editions could be accompanied by a theoretical analysis—further adding to the growing understanding of this repertoire.
Another project that is long overdue is a thorough history of the duo. Indeed, several important aspects of the duo’s history are already included in Chapter 2 of this dissertation. Thus, a full account of the duo’s history could and should be completed in the future.
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The results of this project reflect a few limitations and lingering questions that could be solved or at least approached in future projects. First, the results are currently unclear as to whether they are unique to the duo or they represent wider stylistic trends. Although a full answer to this question requires a much greater body of performances to be analyzed than has been studied by the wider music scholar community, this limitation can begin to be addressed in ways that look at performances in the vicinity of Music for Voice and Guitar. For example, it may be useful to study recordings that may have influenced the duo such as performances of older arrangements of Seiber’s cycle of folksongs or Pears’s performance of the operatic version of the Second Lute- Song of the Earl of Essex from Gloriana. Studying later recordings of the same works, such as Ian Bostridge and Xuefei Yang’s recording of Songs from the Chinese, is another possible direction to help place the duo’s performances in a larger context.
Second, there is a question regarding the placement of this recording within the duo’s own body of performances. Does this accurately represent the whole body or is there an aspect of spontaneity that results in greater variation across their performances? One way to work through this problem would be to expand the analyzed body of performances, which could be achieved by looking at either the lute-song recordings or bootlegs of their live performances. An alternative route would be to take performances in which Pears and Bream feature individually and analyze them. This would lead to a broader understanding of where these trends might be placed with respect to the individual members of the duo.
Finally, while I believe the research-design used in this thesis is a good step towards more comprehensive performance analyses, there is still much work to be done with regards to expressive detail. Indeed, the analysis of elements such as dynamics and colour could be expanded to include more subtle and precise variations. Furthermore, analyses that seek to better understand the interaction between various combinations of interpretative elements could help to contribute to even more meaningful performance analyses.
5.3 Closing
This study has presented findings on the performance style and practices of the Peter Pears and Julian Bream duo. In the process the Music for Voice and Guitar album has been analyzed,
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several important trends discovered, and the viability of those trends further extrapolated by theoretical application to the remaining body of Pears and Bream's repertoire.
As discussed above, the implications of these findings are significant. Not only have the results deciphered in large measure the performance-practice style of Pears and Bream, they have also demonstrated the possibility of future performance-practice guides based on performance analysis, and the noteworthiness of the unique analysis used for this study. Furthermore, the branches of possible research that could grow from this project span many fields and approaches. It is my hope that this project will contribute to a developing interest in these two unique performers and the profound repertoire with which they are associated.
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Appendix
List of Works Written for Peter Pears and Julian Bream: • Shepherd's Warning by James Bernard. Premiered November 12th, 1954. Only available as a manuscript • Songs from the Chinese by Benjamin Britten. Premiered June 17th, 1958. Published by Boosey and Hawkes in 1959 • Six Folk Song Arrangements by Benjamin Britten. Published by Boosey and Hawkes • Four French Folk Songs by Mátyás Seiber. Premiered August 27th, 1958? Published by Schott • Fragments from Hölderlin (three movements from Kammermusik 1958) by Hans Werner Henze. Premiered November 26th, 1958. Published by Schott • Anon in Love by William Walton. Premiered June 21st, 1960. Published by Oxford University Press, 1960. • Lament by Richard Rodney Bennet. Premiered June 21st, 1960? Owned by Universal Music Publishing but unavailable for purchase in any form at the moment. • Songs for Achilles by Michael Tippett. Premiered July 7th, 1961. Published by Schott Music. • Sir Patrick Spens, by Thea Musgrave. Premiered July 7th, 1961. Published by Novello and Co. • O Mistress Mine by Peter Racine Fricker. Premiered 1961? Published by Schott. • Pity of Love by Raymond Warren. Premiered Autumn 1965? Unpublished, available as manuscript • Songs of the Half-Light by Lennox Berkeley. Premiered June 22nd, 1965. Published by Boosey and Hawkes.
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