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Fantasy on a Theme of Luther Dma Document FANTASY ON A THEME OF LUTHER DMA DOCUMENT Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Doctor of Music Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By John D. Proodian, MM The Ohio State University 2005 Document Committee: Approved by Professor Marc Ainger, Advisor Professor Russel Mikkelson _______________________ Advisor Professor Donald Harris Graduate Program in Music Copyright by John D. Proodian 2005 ABSTRACT “Fantasy on a Theme of Luther” is a music composition for Wind Symphony based on Martin Luther’s famous hymn, Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress is Our God). This document will serve as a retrievable supplement to the actual composition. It will provide insight into my composition by studying how various composers have used the hymn in their works, specifically in regard to their treatment of rhythm. This famous hymn has been sung in churches all over the world for nearly five hundred years and has inspired many composers to incorporate the theme into their own works. Among those many composers who have used Luther’s, Fortress as inspiration are Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Warren Benson. They have been chosen in order to observe how composers through the years have dealt with the rhythmic complexity of Luther’s original hymn theme, the aspect that was the most interesting to me in my own work. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my sovereign Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him I am nothing but a lost soul. To Him I owe everything. I wish to thank my wife, Janet Proodian, for emotional support, encouragement, patience, enthusiasm, and always being there no matter what. I am grateful to Marc Ainger who guided me through the entire process and never stopped believing in my abilities and me. He has been there every step of the way for me. I thank Donald Harris who aided me greatly in support, guidance and passion. I wish to thank Russel Mikkelson who inspired me to compose for Wind Symphony and for campaigning for new works to be heard. He has helped my conducting a great deal and his attitude has always been one of support and service in any way. Many thanks to Caroline Hong who supported my piano study and worked with me countless hours to put a piano recital together. She never stopped believing in me. iii VITA January 19, 1973……….......Born – Arcadia, California 1995…………………………..BA Music Composition, University of California Santa Barbara 2002…………………………..MM Music Composition, The Ohio State University 2000-present…………………Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………….……..ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………….…….iii Vita………………………………………………………………………………….....…iv List of Figures…………………………………………..…………………………….....vi Chapters: 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………..…………....1 2. Luther and his inspiration……………………………………………………..…....8 3. Bach and Luther………..……………....………………………………………….12 4. Mendelssohn’s symphony number five…….......….…………..………………..17 5. Benson’s rhythmic treatment of Luther………...….………………………........21 6. Fantasy on a Theme of Luther…………………......……………………….…...26 7. Summary…………………..……………………........……...…………………….32 Notes............................................................................................................…....36 Bibliography………………………………………...………………………………….39 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure…………………….………………………………………………………….Page 1.1 Luther’s original hymn………………………………………………..…………2 1.2 Luther’s original hymn transcribed……………………………………….……3 1.3 Bach Reformation Cantata BWV 80 chorale excerpt……..…………………4 1.4 Mendelssohn excerpt from symphony number 5………………...……….…5 1.5 Warren Benson excerpt from The Leaves are Falling………...…………….6 1.6 Excerpt from Proodian’s Fantasy on a Theme of Luther………..………….7 2.1 Luther’s original hymn…………………………………………………….…..10 2.2 Luther’s original hymn forced into 4/4 time………………………...….……11 3.1 Bach’s Chorale without fermatas………………………………………….…14 3.2 Bach without fermatas in 4/4…….…………………………………..……….15 4.1 Mendelssohn excerpt from Symphony Number 5……………...…………..18 5.1 Benson excerpt from ‘The Leaves are Falling”…………………………..…22 5.2 Bach Reformation Cantata BWV 80 chorale excerpt………….…………..23 5.3 Benson’s syncopated excerpt from Leaves........................................…...24 6.1 Proodian excerpt from Fantasy on a Theme of Luther…………..……..…29 6.2 Proodian syncopated excerpt from Fantasy……………...………..…….…30 vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Ein’ feste Burg, (A Mighty Fortress) the hymn, was composed by Martin Luther in 1529. It is universally regarded as his most famous hymn, and is still sung in churches throughout the world. The version that is presently sung retains much of the melodic structure of the original; however, the rhythmic structure has changed considerably. Figure 1.1 shows the original composition of Luther without bar lines, which was customary for that day and age. 1 Figure 1.1: Luther’s original hymn If this original score were to be re-notated using today’s notation, without bar-lines, it would appear as follows in figure 1.2.1 2 Figure 1.2: Luther’s original hymn transcribed Notice the irregular rhythmic structure of Luther’s highly syncopated original version of the hymn. The note durations often correspond to the text syllables as the theme itself is tied to the words of the Luther hymn. For example the opening short rhythmic quarter note is sung to the word, Ein’, from Ein’ feste Burg. The shorter word therefore receives the shorter duration. There are no bar-lines present in the original; the C with a line through it in figure 1.1 indicates the basic pulse as alla breve. These rhythms are typical in Renaissance music, which date from the early years of the Reformation. These chorales were typically sung without accompaniment in a relatively fast tempo. The version that is common today stems from the eighteenth-century metric version passed down from J.S. Bach in which the theme is fit into a certain 3 meter, this one being 4/4. See figure 1.3. Figure 1.3: Bach Reformation Cantata BWV 80 chorale excerpt2 This example was taken from the final chorale movement of Bach’s ‘Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott’ Reformation Cantata BWV 80. Bach’s version as well as Luther’s is text based, therefore the durations of notes fit properly with the German text. Bach however, must deal with the implications of the bar-line and its associated metric accents. Since Luther’s theme is pre bar-line, Bach must make major decisions regarding the parts of Luther’s theme which should be accented and which words of the text should receive rhythmic emphasis. 4 Felix Mendelssohn’s version of Fortress comes from the fourth and final movement of his fifth symphony titled Reformation Symphony. See figure 1.4.3 Figure 1.4: Mendelssohn excerpt from Symphony Number 5 Mendelssohn’s version as well as the Benson and my Fantasy are purely instrumental works. There are no words accompanying the theme that would force certain words of the text to fall on strong beats. This results in the melody being free from textual limitations. Certain notes of the melody therefore need not receive special rhythmic stress, based on the text. The words of Luther’s original hymn serve as the inspiration and guiding program of these works, even 5 though no text is present in the actual compositions. The Mendelssohn example will provide insight into a nineteenth-century composers rhythmic approach of the theme as well as reveal the celebratory nature of the subject of the hymn. Next I will examine Warren Benson’s, The Leaves are Falling for full band composed in 1964. This twentieth-century composition is centered on Luther’s theme; figure 1.5 shows an example from bar 102 of the work. Figure 1.5: Warren Benson excerpt from The Leaves are Falling 6 The rhythmic treatment of the theme will be explored to get a twentieth- century composers perspective. This perspective comes nearly four hundred years after the shift from mensural practices to modern metered music. Finally I will end with a twenty-first century composer’s rhythmic approach to the theme in my Fantasy on a theme of Luther for Wind Symphony. Figure 1.6 shows an excerpt from the final movement of bar 413 of the piece. Figure 1.6: Excerpt from Proodian’s Fantasy on a Theme of Luther By examining each of these composers’ works, we will gain an understanding into how the rhythmic complexities of Luther’s original theme have been addressed over nearly five centuries. This theme has had to adapt to a changing notational system and to the constantly changing perception of composers through the ages 7 CHAPTER 2 LUTHER AND HIS INSPIRATION Martin Luther was born in 1483, the son of a Thuringian miner.4 Leaving law school behind, he became a monk and in 1507 was ordained a priest. After obtaining his doctorate in theology in 1512, he became a professor of sacred scripture at the University of Wittenberg in Germany.5 In contrast to the traditions of the catholic church, Luther’s theology was based on the scriptures. Luther believed that according to the scriptures, people are justified by faith alone. His passion was in assuring people they could have direct access to God, and he worked diligently to provide people with the necessary tools to accomplish this. Among those tools were Luther’s complete translation of the Bible into German and his use of German hymns and chorales in all worship services.6 The result of this would mean that a German no longer had to depend on professional clergy to teach and translate Latin. Luther expounds on the scriptural truth that God’s word was accessible to everyone, and not just a select few.7 His thoughts on music stem directly from this concept of accessibility. 8 Luther’s German hymns allowed people to sing in their native tongue to worship God, producing a new style of evangelical worship. No longer would professional clergy or highly trained singers be the only ones who could worship the Lord in song.8 The church practice of selling indulgences came under direct fire from Luther, who adhered to the scriptural principle of justification by faith.
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