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Rethinking Jeanne and the Theme of the Supernatural

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Rethinking Jeanne and the Theme of the Supernatural RETHINKING JEANNE AND THE THEME OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN DIE TEUFEL VON LOUDUN by JINKYUNG LEE (Under the Direction of David Haas) ABSTRACT Krzysztof Penderecki’s (b. 1933) Die Teufel von Loudun is an adaptation of a play by John Whiting that tells a story of demonic possession and exorcism based on a historical event in Loudun. Previous scholars have neglected the supernatural element, despite the clear evidence that Penderecki changed texts and reordered the plot to make Jeanne’s supernatural experiences more convincing and more significant to the plot. Through strange shifts in vocal range and timbre, evocative orchestration, and unusual uses of the chorus, Penderecki revealed the coexistence of two realms: one natural and one supernatural. At times, he blurred the border between the realms through ambiguous musical effects involving oddly mismatched timbres. Elsewhere he made structural links between scenes in order to reveal previously hidden supernatural elements. Penderecki’s multiple evocations of the supernatural through music add an important dimension to the opera and make the character Jeanne central to understanding it. INDEX WORDS: Krysztof Penderecki, Die Teufel von Loudun, Jeanne, Demonic Possession, Exorcism, Supernatural RETHINKING JEANNE AND THE THEME OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN DIE TEUFEL VON LOUDUN by JINKYUNG LEE B.M., Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, 2006 M.M., Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, 2010 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2017 © 2017 JinKyung Lee All Rights Reserved RETHINKING JEANNE AND THE THEME OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN DIE TEUFEL VON LOUDUN by JINKYUNG LEE Major Professor: David Hass Committee: Dorothea Link Rebecca Simpson-Litke Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deep gratitude goes first to my advisor, Dr. David Haas. I am truly indebted to his patience, unwavering support and encouragement, and fastidious editing. I also would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Dorothea Link and Dr. Rebecca Simpson-Litke. They offered truly helpful suggestions. My appreciation also extends to my first reader, Dr. Joanna Smolko, and second reader, Mr. Gregory Timmons. Their deep reading helped me to write precise and understandable arguments and descriptions of music. Also, I am grateful to European American Music Distributors Company (Agent for Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG) for permission to reproduce the excerpts from the original and revised editions of Die Teufel von Loudun. A special thank goes to my parent, Kapheon Lee and Heangryun Cho. They always support and encourage me in my endeavors. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .............................................................................................. viii CHAPTERS 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Purpose .....................................................................................................................3 Literature Review.....................................................................................................5 Score Editions ........................................................................................................11 Methodology and Chapter Organization ................................................................13 2 Penderecki’s Adaptation of The Devils and Its Significance for the Theme of the Supernatural .................................................................................................................15 Penderecki’s Reorganization in his Libretto ..........................................................18 Supernatural Elements in the Libretto ...................................................................30 Act 1, scene i ..........................................................................................................30 Act 1, scene vi ........................................................................................................33 Act 1, scene xiii......................................................................................................35 Act 2, scene i ..........................................................................................................37 Act 2, scene iii........................................................................................................40 Act 2, scene ix ........................................................................................................40 v Act 2, scene x .........................................................................................................43 Conclusion .............................................................................................................47 3 Penderecki’s Musical Devices for the Theme of the Supernatural ..............................50 The Role of Timbre and Texture in Act 1, scene i .................................................52 The Role of Range and Timbral Changes in Jeanne’s Voice ................................58 The Role of the Chorus ..........................................................................................65 The Role of the Women’s Chorus in Evoking the Supernatural ...........................67 The Role of Bass Voices ........................................................................................72 Musical Parallels between Act 1, scene i and Act 2, scene x ................................77 Conclusion .............................................................................................................81 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................85 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Zofia Helman’s Structural Analysis ................................................................................16 Table 2: Structure and Plot Comparison between The Devils and Die Teufel von Loudun ...........19 Table 3: Parallel Structures in Act 1, scene i and Act 2, scene x ...................................................80 vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Page Musical Example 1: R8-1 – R8, Act 1, scene i ..............................................................................56 Musical Example 2: Jeanne and Asmodues, R4+1 – R4+6, Act 2, scene i ...................................62 Musical Example 3: Jeanne, Leviathan, and the Sisters, R29 – R30+2, Act 2, scene ix ...............63 Musical Example 4: Jeanne and the SA Chorus, R27+16 – R27+23, Act 2, scene ix ..................69 Musical Example 5: R37-1 – R37, Act 1, scene vi ........................................................................73 Musical Example 6: Bass Chorus, R40 – R40+1, Act 2, scene x ..................................................77 Musical Example 7: Two Basses and Timpani, R35+5 – R35+14, Act 2, scene x .......................78 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Best known for his sonoristic Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) for 52 strings, Krzysztof Penderecki in fact has explored a wide variety of compositional techniques (serial, electronic, and aleatory), notations, styles, and genres. He has also responded to a wide range of subject material. His Passio et mors domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam or St. Luke Passion (1965-7)1 sets Latin scriptures, psalms, Latin hymns, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the Improperia for Good Friday and the Marian sequence of the Stabat Mater. It is scored for a large orchestra, speaker, chorus, and soloists. The work features thick clusters and microtones. Penderecki used 12-tone rows for the musical structure, borrowing the four-note motif, B♭-A-C- B, Bach set in his St. Luke Passion. Penderecki’s oratorio Dies irae (1967)2, dedicated to the victims of Auschwitz, for three soloists, mixed choir, and an orchestra3 sets extracts from the Bible, classical Greek tragedy, and contemporary Polish and French lyric poetry4 instead of employing the traditional Dies irae. It features musical themes with minor seconds and leaps of ninths and sevenths, aleatory, microtones, various singing styles, and clusters. 1 St. Luke Passion was commissioned by West German Radio to celebrate the seven hundredth anniversary of the founding of Münster Cathedral and was first performed in Münster on March 30, 1966. Penderecki was awarded Westphalia and Italia Prizes in 1966 and 1967 for the St. Luke Passion. 2 Dies irae was composed for an international ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp and was first performed on April 16, 1967 at the unveiling of a cenotaph. 3 The orchestra of Dies irae excludes clarinets, violins, and violas. 4 Penderecki uses Psalm 116, the Book of Revelation, St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, Aeschylus’s Eumenides, and poems by Władisław Broniewski, Louis Aragon, Tadeusz Póżewicz, and Paul Valéry. 1 Perhaps his boldest project of all is the German-language opera Die Teufel von Loudon (1969), which explores issues of religious-politico history, ecstatic religious visions, demonic possession, and exorcism. To set this complex narrative, Penderecki
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