A Performer's Interpretation of David Del Tredici's Chana's Story
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Major Papers Graduate School 2011 A performer's interpretation of David Del Tredici's Chana's Story: a cycle of six songs on texts of Chana Bloch Shelly Lenn Buchanan-Garlotte Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_majorpapers Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Buchanan-Garlotte, Shelly Lenn, "A performer's interpretation of David Del Tredici's Chana's Story: a cycle of six songs on texts of Chana Bloch" (2011). LSU Major Papers. 34. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_majorpapers/34 This Major Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Major Papers by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A PERFORMER’S INTERPRETATION OF DAVID DEL TREDICI’S CHANA’S STORY: A CYCLE OF SIX SONGS ON TEXTS OF CHANA BLOCH A Written Document Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in The School of Music By Shelly Lenn Buchanan-Garlotte B.M., Louisiana State University, 1990 M.M., Indiana University, 1997 December 2011 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the past, when asked whether I planned to pursue my doctorate, my first reaction was typically some recollection of observing my mother go through this process. My unwavering response was always, “Never!” Since beginning this degree, however, I have amended my response. I now jokingly add, “And that was when God started laughing.” It is to God that I give my greatest and humblest thanks, for without His plan and His presence in my life, through the encouragement and support of family and friends and answers to many prayers, I would not have accomplished this goal. It has been a great pleasure to have been able to work with my committee. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the chair of my committee and major professor, Robert Grayson. Your encouragement and support have been invaluable, and I consider myself blessed and extremely fortunate to have been a recipient of your musical gifts and life wisdom. They have indeed enhanced my own life in so many ways. I am certainly indebted to David Del Tredici and Chana Bloch, without whose mutual talents this project would have never been realized. I appreciate your time, your thoughts, and your patience throughout this process. I extend my thanks as well to Miriam Abramowitsch for her insight and information. To Professor Patricia O’Neill, I extend my gratitude for your time, energy, and insight, all of which make me a better musician, teacher, and person. My thanks are also extended to Dr. Loraine Sims who always made time for questions, enriched my knowledge of music and teaching, and never failed to make me laugh. Dr. Hugh Buckingham, I am thoroughly grateful for your guidance and assistance. Your insight and approach to linguistics led me to a new appreciation and sincere passion for the subtle intricacies that make up the study of language. To Dr. Michelynn McKnight, thank you for your ii presence, support, and energy. I also extend my humble appreciation and gratitude to Dianne Frazer for her talent and skill. My parents, Mary Lenn and H. Duncan Buchanan, have supported and encouraged me every step of the way. To my mother and father, who were my first musical mentors, thank you so very much for the foundation of your constant love. I would never have accomplished this goal without it. Expressing my appreciation to cherished friends and family would not be complete without extending it as well to Sandy Buchanan and Kimberly Broadwater for their encouragement, love, support, and assistance. To my husband, Harvey, I offer my loving thanks and appreciation for enduring this process with and for me. You have been by my side every moment of this degree, and you have been strong for me when I found it impossible. I love you, and I continue to be grateful that you are in my life. God is good. Also, I am ever-grateful for the many friends whom God shared with me along the way, especially Christie, Jami, Rosella, and Laurie. Thank you for making me laugh, keeping me grounded and focused, encouraging me, kicking my tail, and all the other stuff friends do for each other that helps us feel “normal.” I love and appreciate you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................v INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: THE COMPOSER.......................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: THE POET ................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 3: THE SONGS .............................................................................................28 Background..........................................................................................28 Del Tredici’s Style Characteristics......................................................31 The Fever of Love ................................................................................50 Eating Babies .......................................................................................52 Tired Sex ..............................................................................................59 The Stutter ............................................................................................62 Clear and Cold .....................................................................................68 Alone on the Mountain .........................................................................74 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ..................................................................................85 BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................87 APPENDIX A: DAVID DEL TREDICI’S VOCAL WORKS.........................................90 APPENDIX B: LETTER OF PERMISSION ...................................................................96 VITA..................................................................................................................................97 iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this document is to reveal a performer’s perspective on David Del Tredici’s Chana’s Story . This six-song cycle for mezzo-soprano chronicles the marriage of poet and translator, Chana Bloch, and is based on her translations and poetry. The first chapter of this document provides biographical data about David Del Tredici, which presents a view of his compositional development, and includes events and individuals of influence in the composer’s life, such as teachers and poets. The second chapter includes biographical data about the poet, Chana Bloch, which is provided to enhance the interpretation of the poetry and to facilitate the portrayal of the character of the cycle. The third chapter discusses the text and music from a performer’s perspective, examines challenging aspects of the music, and provides interpretive and musical suggestions for performance. The appendices include a complete list of vocal works by the composer. v INTRODUCTION Often referred to as the “father of neo-romanticism,” 1 Del Tredici was the focus of accolades and criticism as a result of his more tonal style of writing. His departure from the prevalent atonal and dissonant writing style of his peers evolved primarily during the composition of his “Alice pieces” based on the writings of Lewis Carroll. Tonality has continued to figure prominently and to evolve since his “Alice pieces.” One of the song cycles composed shortly after this development is Chana’s Story , the subject of this document. Chana’s Story is a six-song cycle for mezzo-soprano. It chronicles the marriage and family life of poet and translator, Chana Bloch, and is based on her translations and poetry. The poems follow a woman from the initial excitement of love and marriage, through the arrival and care of an infant, the erosion of a dysfunctional marriage, the death of a parent, to divorce, and finally, solitude. The first chapter of this document provides biographical data about David Del Tredici, it presents a view of his compositional development, and cites events and individuals of influence in the composer’s life, such as teachers and poets. The second chapter includes biographical data about the poet, Chana Bloch, which is provided to enhance the interpretation of the poetry and to facilitate the portrayal of the character of the cycle. The third chapter discusses the text and music from a performer’s perspective, examines challenging aspects of the music, and provides interpretive and musical suggestions for performing the cycle. Each song of the cycle is also examined for vocal range, tessitura, form, and tonality for the consideration of potential performers. The appendices provide a complete list of vocal works of the composer and a collection of the translation and poetry used in the cycle. 1 Though the term “father of neo-romanticism” is widely associated with David Del Tredici and his