Herminie a Performer's Guide to Hector Berlioz's Prix De Rome Cantata Rosella Lucille Ewing Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2009 Herminie a performer's guide to Hector Berlioz's Prix de Rome cantata Rosella Lucille Ewing Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Ewing, Rosella Lucille, "Herminie a performer's guide to Hector Berlioz's Prix de Rome cantata" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2043. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2043 This Dissertation 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 Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. HERMINIE A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO HECTOR BERLIOZ’S PRIX DE ROME CANTATA 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 and Dramatic Arts by Rosella Ewing B.A. The University of the South, 1997 M.M. Westminster Choir College of Rider University, 1999 December 2009 DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this document and my Lecture-Recital to my parents, Ward and Jenny. Without their unfailing love, support, and nagging, this degree and my career would never have been possible. I also wish to dedicate this document to my beloved teacher, Patricia O’Neill. You are my mentor, my guide, my Yoda; you are the voice in my head helping me be a better teacher and singer. I can never thank you enough for your patience, wisdom, and support. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge and thank the members of my doctoral committee for their help and support through this process. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Jan Herlinger and Professor Dennis Jesse who stepped in to replace other members so that I could finish my doctorate this semester. I would also like to acknowledge the members they replaced, Dr. Alison McFarland and Professor Robert Grayson, who began the process with me. I must acknowledge Dianne Frazer who accompanied the Lecture-Recital of this piece. Berlioz is never easy to play on the piano, even when he’s writing for a “little bourgeois orchestra,” and Dianne did a beautiful job. I also wish to thank Dr. Stephen Wilbur who assisted my rehearsals of this piece before the performance. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Professor Dugg McDonough, who inspired me to come to LSU for my doctorate in the first place. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................................................................vii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: BIOGRAPHICAL CONTENT....................................................................... 4 Early Education and Enrollment at the Conservatoire ...................................................................... 4 Musical and Extra-Musical Influences ........................................................................................... 10 Prix de Rome ................................................................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER TWO: THE TEXT OF HERMINIE ........................................................................ 24 Torquato Tasso, Author of the Source Material .............................................................................. 24 Gerusalemme Liberata, the Source Material ................................................................................... 27 Erminia’s Story .............................................................................................................................. 30 Pierre-Ange Vieillard, Librettist ..................................................................................................... 34 Text of the Cantata ......................................................................................................................... 35 Commentary on the Cantata Text and Comparison to Tasso’s Original ........................................... 38 CHAPTER THREE: THE MUSIC OF HERMINIE .................................................................. 46 Form .............................................................................................................................................. 46 Text Setting ................................................................................................................................... 54 Use of the “Tancrède” Theme ........................................................................................................ 65 Self Borrowings ............................................................................................................................. 69 CHAPTER FOUR: PERFORMER’S GUIDE........................................................................... 74 Publications and Recordings .......................................................................................................... 74 Technical Challenges ..................................................................................................................... 77 Stylistic Options ............................................................................................................................ 84 Metronome Markings ..................................................................................................................... 88 Soprano or Mezzo Soprano ............................................................................................................ 90 Emotional Journey ......................................................................................................................... 91 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 96 APPENDIX A: TRANSLATION AND IPA TRANSCRIPTION OF HERMINIE ................................. 99 APPENDIX B: DISCOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 105 iv APPENDIX C: TABLE OF OPTIONAL BREATHS .......................................................................... 106 APPENDIX D: LETTER OF PERMISSION ...................................................................................... 107 VITA ...................................................................................................................................... 108 v LIST OF TABLES TABLE 3.1: Text and Music Repetitions in Aria 3 .................................................................. 51 TABLE 4.1: Differences between Breitkopf & Härtel and Bärenreiter editions ........................ 75 TABLE 4.2: Comparisons of Tempi ........................................................................................ 89 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES 3.1: Orchestra introduction, bars 3-11 ...................................................................................... 47 3.2: Aria 2, bars 178-181 ......................................................................................................... 50 3.3: Recitative 1, bars 55-60 .................................................................................................... 56 3.4: Recitative 1, bars 62-63 .................................................................................................... 57 3.5: Recitative 1, bars 68-72 .................................................................................................... 57 3.6: Aria 1, bar 21 ................................................................................................................... 58 3.7: Aria 2, bars 30-40 ............................................................................................................. 58 3.8: Recitative 2, bars 86-87 .................................................................................................... 59 3.9: Recitative 2, bars 96-100 .................................................................................................. 60 3.10: Aria 2, bars 27-29 ........................................................................................................... 60 3.11: Aria 2, bars 44-47 ........................................................................................................... 61 3.12: Aria 2, bars 123-127 ....................................................................................................... 61 3.13: Aria 2, bars 178-181 ......................................................................................................