Benjamin Britten: Art Song, a Synthesis of Words and Music — Issues and Approaches to Text-Setting
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Mozart Magic Philharmoniker
THE T A R S Mass, in C minor, K 427 (Grosse Messe) Barbara Hendricks, Janet Perry, sopranos; Peter Schreier, tenor; Benjamin Luxon, bass; David Bell, organ; Wiener Singverein; Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Berliner Mozart magic Philharmoniker. Mass, in C major, K 317 (Kronungsmesse) (Coronation) Edith Mathis, soprano; Norma Procter, contralto...[et al.]; Rafael Kubelik, Bernhard Klee, conductors; Symphonie-Orchester des on CD Bayerischen Rundfunks. Vocal: Opera Così fan tutte. Complete Montserrat Caballé, Ileana Cotrubas, so- DALENA LE ROUX pranos; Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; Nicolai Librarian, Central Reference Vocal: Vespers Vesparae solennes de confessore, K 339 Gedda, tenor; Wladimiro Ganzarolli, baritone; Kiri te Kanawa, soprano; Elizabeth Bainbridge, Richard van Allan, bass; Sir Colin Davis, con- or a composer whose life was as contralto; Ryland Davies, tenor; Gwynne ductor; Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal pathetically brief as Mozart’s, it is Howell, bass; Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Opera House, Covent Garden. astonishing what a colossal legacy F London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Idomeneo, K 366. Complete of musical art he has produced in a fever Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Anne of unremitting work. So much music was Sofie von Otter, contralto; Sylvia McNair, crowded into his young life that, dead at just Vocal: Masses/requiem Requiem mass, K 626 soprano...[et al.]; Monteverdi Choir; John less than thirty-six, he has bequeathed an Barbara Bonney, soprano; Anne Sofie von Eliot Gardiner, conductor; English Baroque eternal legacy, the full wealth of which the Otter, contralto; Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor; soloists. world has yet to assess. Willard White, bass; Monteverdi Choir; John Le nozze di Figaro (The marriage of Figaro). -
An Approach to the Pedagogy of Beginning Music Composition: Teaching Understanding and Realization of the First Steps in Composing Music
AN APPROACH TO THE PEDAGOGY OF BEGINNING MUSIC COMPOSITION: TEACHING UNDERSTANDING AND REALIZATION OF THE FIRST STEPS IN COMPOSING MUSIC DOCUMENT Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Vera D. Stanojevic, Graduate Diploma, Tchaikovsky Conservatory ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved By Professor Donald Harris, Adviser __________________________ Professor Patricia Flowers Adviser Professor Edward Adelson School of Music Copyright by Vera D. Stanojevic 2004 ABSTRACT Conducting a first course in music composition in a classroom setting is one of the most difficult tasks a composer/teacher faces. Such a course is much more effective when the basic elements of compositional technique are shown, as much as possible, to be universally applicable, regardless of style. When students begin to see these topics in a broader perspective and understand the roots, dynamic behaviors, and the general nature of the different elements and functions in music, they begin to treat them as open models for individual interpretation, and become much more free in dealing with them expressively. This document is not designed as a textbook, but rather as a resource for the teacher of a beginning college undergraduate course in composition. The Introduction offers some perspectives on teaching composition in the contemporary musical setting influenced by fast access to information, popular culture, and globalization. In terms of breadth, the text reflects the author’s general methodology in leading students from basic exercises in which they learn to think compositionally, to the writing of a first composition for solo instrument. -
Music and the English Lyric Poem: Explorations in Conceptual Blending Qualification: Mmus
Access to Electronic Thesis Author: Dr Keith Green Thesis title: Music and the English Lyric Poem: Explorations in Conceptual Blending Qualification: MMus This electronic thesis is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No reproduction is permitted without consent of the author. It is also protected by the Creative Commons Licence allowing Attributions-Non-commercial-No derivatives. If this electronic thesis has been edited by the author it will be indicated as such on the title page and in the text. Music and the English Lyric Poem: Explorations in Conceptual Blending Keith Michael Charles Green Thesis submitted for the award of Master of Music Department of Music May 2011 Music and the English Lyric Poem: Explorations in Conceptual Blending CONTENTS Chapter One: Preliminaries and Theory 1. The Nature of The Problem 1 2. Research on Poetry and Music 4 3. Saussure’s Contribution 9 4. The Nature of Poetry and Jacobson’s Theory 21 Chapter Two: The Music of Poetry and the Poetry of Music 1. Prosody of English 33 2. The Musicality of Poetry 36 3. The English Lyric Poem 39 4. English Song and the Problem of Irony 41 Chapter Three: Songs, Settings and Blended Spaces 1. Semantics and Syntax of Music 49 2. Music, Poetry and Conceptual Blending 55 3. Conceptual Blending in Butterworth’s Setting of ‘Loveliest of Trees’ 61 Bibliography 69 Chapter One: Preliminaries and Theory Of one thing we can be certain; what Hanslick called ‘the morganatic marriage of words and music’ is the least destructible of all musical elements (Gerald Finzi, Crees Lecture, 1954). -
Classical Music Service Program Report
CLASSICAL MUSIC SERVICE PROGRAM REPORT April 1 through June 30, 2004 April 6 Music@Menlo series is broadcast each Tuesday night in April. The four programs showcase performances from last summer's inaugural season of the Music@Menlo chamber music festival. April 9 Bach: St. John Passion … Monteverdi Choir; English Baroque Solists/John Eliot Gardiner, conductor, and soloists Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Stephen Varcoe, Cornelius Hauptmann, Nancy Argenta and Ruth Holton (Archiv 419324, from the MPR library). April 24 Metropolitan Opera final season performance. May 5 Dale Warland Singers Farewell Series: 30th Anniversary Concert. Recorded April 2003. Each Wednesday evening in May, we present special programs by the Dale Warland Singers in honor of the 30 years of music they've brought to the community. May12 Dale Warland Singers Farewell Series: 2003 Cathedral Classics May 19 Dale Warland Singers Farewell Series: 2004 Cathedral Classics May 26 Dale Warland Singers Farewell Series: A River Journey May 28 Final Broadcast of the Minnesota Orchestra season May 30 Dale Warland Singers: live broadcast of their final concert (repeated on June 20) May 30 Minnesota Opera: Verdi’s Rigoletto (Recorded and produced by MPR) June 2 VocalEssence: broadcast of 35th anniversary concert, and of the world premiere of Tina Davidson’s Hymn of the Universe June 3 and 4 Live broadcast of the final concerto round of the International Piano-e-Competition from Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis June 4 The series of three Schubert Club Performances begins, replacing the Friday evening Minnesota Orchestra broadcasts during June. June 6 Minnesota Opera: Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia (Recorded and produced by MPR) June 13 Minnesota Opera: Stephen Sondheim’s Passion (Recorded and produced by MPR) June 27 Minnesota Opera: Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Recorded and produced by MPR) CLASSICAL MUSIC SERVICE PROGRAM REPORT January 1 through March 31, 2004 January 12 The St Paul’s Cathedral Choir, London, concert at the Cathedral of St Paul, MN, recorded by Minnesota Public Radio in October 2003. -
Britten Connections a Guide for Performers and Programmers
Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Britten –Pears Foundation Telephone 01728 451 700 The Red House, Golf Lane, [email protected] Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5PZ www.brittenpears.org Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Contents The twentieth century’s Programming tips for 03 consummate musician 07 13 selected Britten works Britten connected 20 26 Timeline CD sampler tracks The Britten-Pears Foundation is grateful to Orchestra, Naxos, Nimbus Records, NMC the following for permission to use the Recordings, Onyx Classics. EMI recordings recordings featured on the CD sampler: BBC, are licensed courtesy of EMI Classics, Decca Classics, EMI Classics, Hyperion Records, www.emiclassics.com For full track details, 28 Lammas Records, London Philharmonic and all label websites, see pages 26-27. Index of featured works Front cover : Britten in 1938. Photo: Howard Coster © National Portrait Gallery, London. Above: Britten in his composition studio at The Red House, c1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton . 29 Further information Opposite left : Conducting a rehearsal, early 1950s. Opposite right : Demonstrating how to make 'slung mugs' sound like raindrops for Noye's Fludde , 1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton. Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers 03 The twentieth century's consummate musician In his tweed jackets and woollen ties, and When asked as a boy what he planned to be He had, of course, a great guide and mentor. with his plummy accent, country houses and when he grew up, Britten confidently The English composer Frank Bridge began royal connections, Benjamin Britten looked replied: ‘A composer.’ ‘But what else ?’ was the teaching composition to the teenage Britten every inch the English gentleman. -
KING FM SEATTLE OPERA CHANNEL Featured Full-Length Operas
KING FM SEATTLE OPERA CHANNEL Featured Full-Length Operas GEORGES BIZET EMI 63633 Carmen Maria Stuarda Paris Opera National Theatre Orchestra; René Bologna Community Theater Orchestra and Duclos Chorus; Jean Pesneaud Childrens Chorus Chorus Georges Prêtre, conductor Richard Bonynge, conductor Maria Callas as Carmen (soprano) Joan Sutherland as Maria Stuarda (soprano) Nicolai Gedda as Don José (tenor) Luciano Pavarotti as Roberto the Earl of Andréa Guiot as Micaëla (soprano) Leicester (tenor) Robert Massard as Escamillo (baritone) Roger Soyer as Giorgio Tolbot (bass) James Morris as Guglielmo Cecil (baritone) EMI 54368 Margreta Elkins as Anna Kennedy (mezzo- GAETANO DONIZETTI soprano) Huguette Tourangeau as Queen Elizabeth Anna Bolena (soprano) London Symphony Orchestra; John Alldis Choir Julius Rudel, conductor DECCA 425 410 Beverly Sills as Anne Boleyn (soprano) Roberto Devereux Paul Plishka as Henry VIII (bass) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Ambrosian Shirley Verrett as Jane Seymour (mezzo- Opera Chorus soprano) Charles Mackerras, conductor Robert Lloyd as Lord Rochefort (bass) Beverly Sills as Queen Elizabeth (soprano) Stuart Burrows as Lord Percy (tenor) Robert Ilosfalvy as roberto Devereux, the Earl of Patricia Kern as Smeaton (contralto) Essex (tenor) Robert Tear as Harvey (tenor) Peter Glossop as the Duke of Nottingham BRILLIANT 93924 (baritone) Beverly Wolff as Sara, the Duchess of Lucia di Lammermoor Nottingham (mezzo-soprano) RIAS Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Theater Milan DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 465 964 Herbert von -
When We Listen to a Piece of Music Performed by an Orchestra We
hen we listen to a piece of music performed by an orchestra we hear the melody, accompaniment, countermelodies and a whole W range of sounds that add richness and depth to the piece. But to understand the essence of a musical composition, we would start with the SING TO THE melody. The melody is the starting point for understanding the entire com- position. LORD: This article is like the melody line of a musical piece. In this case the full musical composition is the document, Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine MUSIC IN Worship. This document, which is a revision of the 1972 document, Music in Catholic Worship, was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on November 14, 2007. It provides current guidelines for DMNE those who prepare the liturgy. Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship should be read in its entirety to WORSHIP be fully appreciated. Yet how many liturgical documents, books, magazines, and other publications sit on desks and coffee tables waiting to be read by A SUMMARY OF THE USCCB people with good intentions but with little time? DOCUMENT ON MUSIC This article is a summary of what is contained in Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship. It is hoped that "hearing" the melody will give the reader the basic information found in the full composition. The numbers refer- Rev. ThomasB. lwanowski enced and the headings in this article correspond to the actual document. Capitalizations follow the style used in the document. Pastor I. WHY WE SING Our Lady of Czestochowa Liturgy uses words, gestures, signs, and symbols to proclaim the action of Jersey City, New Jersey God in our life and to give worship and praise to God. -
Constructing the Archive: an Annotated Catalogue of the Deon Van Der Walt
(De)constructing the archive: An annotated catalogue of the Deon van der Walt Collection in the NMMU Library Frederick Jacobus Buys January 2014 Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Music (Performing Arts) at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Supervisor: Prof Zelda Potgieter TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION i ABSTRACT ii OPSOMMING iii KEY WORDS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO THIS STUDY 1 1. Aim of the research 1 2. Context & Rationale 2 3. Outlay of Chapters 4 CHAPTER 2 - (DE)CONSTRUCTING THE ARCHIVE: A BRIEF LITERATURE REVIEW 5 CHAPTER 3 - DEON VAN DER WALT: A LIFE CUT SHORT 9 CHAPTER 4 - THE DEON VAN DER WALT COLLECTION: AN ANNOTATED CATALOGUE 12 CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 18 1. The current state of the Deon van der Walt Collection 18 2. Suggestions and recommendations for the future of the Deon van der Walt Collection 21 SOURCES 24 APPENDIX A PERFORMANCE AND RECORDING LIST 29 APPEDIX B ANNOTED CATALOGUE OF THE DEON VAN DER WALT COLLECTION 41 APPENDIX C NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSTITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES (NMMU LIS) - CIRCULATION OF THE DEON VAN DER WALT (DVW) COLLECTION (DONATION) 280 APPENDIX D PAPER DELIVERED BY ZELDA POTGIETER AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE DEON VAN DER WALT COLLECTION, SOUTH CAMPUS LIBRARY, NMMU, ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2007 282 i DECLARATION I, Frederick Jacobus Buys (student no. 211267325), hereby declare that this treatise, in partial fulfilment for the degree M.Mus (Performing Arts), is my own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment or completion of any postgraduate qualification to another University or for another qualification. -
A Listening Guide for the Indispensable Composers by Anthony Tommasini
A Listening Guide for The Indispensable Composers by Anthony Tommasini 1 The Indispensable Composers: A Personal Guide Anthony Tommasini A listening guide INTRODUCTION: The Greatness Complex Bach, Mass in B Minor I: Kyrie I begin the book with my recollection of being about thirteen and putting on a recording of Bach’s Mass in B Minor for the first time. I remember being immediately struck by the austere intensity of the opening choral singing of the word “Kyrie.” But I also remember feeling surprised by a melodic/harmonic shift in the opening moments that didn’t do what I thought it would. I guess I was already a musician wanting to know more, to know why the music was the way it was. Here’s the grave, stirring performance of the Kyrie from the 1952 recording I listened to, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Though, as I grew to realize, it’s a very old-school approach to Bach. Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Vienna Philharmonic (12:17) Today I much prefer more vibrant and transparent accounts, like this great performance from Philippe Herreweghe’s 1996 recording with the chorus and orchestra of the Collegium Vocale, which is almost three minutes shorter. Philippe Herreweghe, conductor; Collegium Vocale Gent (9:29) Grieg, “Shepherd Boy” Arthur Rubinstein, piano Album: “Rubinstein Plays Grieg” (3:26) As a child I loved “Rubinstein Plays Grieg,” an album featuring the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein playing piano works by Grieg, including several selections from the composer’s volumes of short, imaginative “Lyrical Pieces.” My favorite was “The Shepherd Boy,” a wistful piece with an intense middle section. -
Newsletter • Bulletin
NATIONAL CAPITAL OPERA SOCIETY • SOCIETE D'OPERA DE LA CAPITALE NATIONALE Newsletter • Bulletin Summer 2000 L’Été A WINTER OPERA BREAK IN NEW YORK by Shelagh Williams The Sunday afternoon programme at Alice Tully Having seen their ads and talked to Helen Glover, their Hall was a remarkable collaboration of poetry and words new Ottawa representative, we were eager participants and music combining the poetry of Emily Dickinson in the February “Musical Treasures of New York” ar- recited by Julie Harris and seventeen songs by ten dif- ranged by Pro Musica Tours. ferent composers, sung by Renee Fleming. A lecture We left Ottawa early Saturday morning in our bright preceded the concert and it was followed by having most pink (and easily spotted!) 417 Line Bus and had a safe of the composers, including Andre Previn, join the per- and swift trip to the Belvedere Hotel on 48th St. Greeted formers on stage for the applause. An unusual and en- by Larry Edelson, owner/director and tour leader, we joyable afternoon. met our fellow opera-lovers (six from Ottawa, one from Monday evening was the Met’s block-buster pre- Toronto, five Americans and three ladies from Japan) at miere production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow, with a welcoming wine and cheese party. Frederica von Stade and Placido Domingo, under Sir Saturday evening the opera was Offenbach’s Tales Andrew Davis, in a new English translation. The oper- of Hoffmann. This was a lavish (though not new) pro- etta was, understandably, sold out, and so the only tick- duction with sumptuous costumes, sets descending to ets available were seats in the Family Circle (at the very reappear later, and magical special effects. -
Understanding Music Past and Present
Understanding Music Past and Present N. Alan Clark, PhD Thomas Heflin, DMA Jeffrey Kluball, EdD Elizabeth Kramer, PhD Understanding Music Past and Present N. Alan Clark, PhD Thomas Heflin, DMA Jeffrey Kluball, EdD Elizabeth Kramer, PhD Dahlonega, GA Understanding Music: Past and Present is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- tion-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This license allows you to remix, tweak, and build upon this work, even commercially, as long as you credit this original source for the creation and license the new creation under identical terms. If you reuse this content elsewhere, in order to comply with the attribution requirements of the license please attribute the original source to the University System of Georgia. NOTE: The above copyright license which University System of Georgia uses for their original content does not extend to or include content which was accessed and incorpo- rated, and which is licensed under various other CC Licenses, such as ND licenses. Nor does it extend to or include any Special Permissions which were granted to us by the rightsholders for our use of their content. Image Disclaimer: All images and figures in this book are believed to be (after a rea- sonable investigation) either public domain or carry a compatible Creative Commons license. If you are the copyright owner of images in this book and you have not authorized the use of your work under these terms, please contact the University of North Georgia Press at [email protected] to have the content removed. ISBN: 978-1-940771-33-5 Produced by: University System of Georgia Published by: University of North Georgia Press Dahlonega, Georgia Cover Design and Layout Design: Corey Parson For more information, please visit http://ung.edu/university-press Or email [email protected] TABLE OF C ONTENTS MUSIC FUNDAMENTALS 1 N. -
Setting Text in English to Music by Matthew C
Setting Text in English to Music by Matthew C. Saunders All Rights Reserved © 2008 Permission to Duplicate Granted for Personal and Educational Uses www.martiandances.com Setting an English text to music is a crucial skill for many composers, arrangers and songwriters. A few basic considerations exist that will help you to communicate your chosen text more clearly. Many of these considerations will also prove helpful in languages other than English. I. Patterns of Stress and Meter A. Pronunciation of any multisyllabic English word includes both stressed and unstressed syllables. Unlike other languages, for example, Spanish, there are no hard and fast rules about the placement of stress in spoken English, but each word has a “correct” pattern of stress. Consider: a-poth -e-car-y ho-mo-gen -e-ous ho-mo -ge-nize While in some languages, such as German, the lexical root is nearly always a stressed syllable, this is clearly not the case in English as shown above. The musical implication of this fact is that setting an English text requires a very clear understanding of both the stress patterns of the text and the metrical patterns of the music. These should generally occur in such a way as to reinforce each other. Stressed syllables should be musically accented in some way, if not in multiple ways. When developing the melody for your text, consider the following types of accent: 1. Metric accent—the most common and most clearly understood in tonal music. By placing a word or syllable on the strong beat of a measure in relation to other words, we highlight its importance.