University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Echoes of Venice The Origins of the Barcarolle for Solo Piano DMA Document submitted to the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music and to the Office of Graduate Studies in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance by James Anor Margetts 910 Morehead Street Chadron, Nebraska 69337-2548 B.M., Brigham Young University M.M., University of Cincinnati August 15, 2008 Committee Chair: Dr. Robert Zierolf ABSTRACT This document traces the development of the solo keyboard barcarolle from its origins in late seventeenth-century opera through its establishment as a popular vehicle for wordless musical expression at the dawn of the Romantic era. Opera composers that were initially inspired by romantic notions of Venice and its surrounding waterways eventually widened the dramatic scope of the barcarolle by adapting the form to a variety of other situations and locales. Felix Mendelssohn drew upon both the vocal origins and the Venetian roots of the genre in crafting his four textless “Gondellieder” for solo piano. At approximately the same time, Frederic Chopin issued a more extended and complex Barcarolle, still regarded as the highest standard in barcarolle composition. The models provided by these two masters ultimately inspired the creation of well over four hundred additional works, many of which are listed in the concluding chapter and appendix. iii iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my wonderful wife, Colleen, whose patience and understanding have miraculously never reached exhaustion despite the many sacrifices and long absences required to complete this document. I love you more than I can ever express! I still pinch myself when I think that you picked me. To our four children, Spencer, Claire, Jameson, and Wesley, who were each born subsequent to the beginning of my doctoral studies, and who continue to immeasurably enrich my life. I have never once regretted the order of events that brought you into my world prior to the completion of this long project. To my parents, Wayne and Liz, who kept believing in me when it would have been much easier to quit, and whose incredible commitment to my musical education has continued right up to the end of this document—an amazing thirty-five years! I am so proud to be your son, and thankful beyond words for the blessing of your continued guidance, friendship, and example. To Paul Pollei, who inspired me to love piano literature and continually piqued my curiosity by teaching obscure works to his students in his remarkable studio over twenty-five years. I wish I had taken better notes during all of our lessons so that I could begin to be half the teacher that you are. I will be forever in your debt. To Frank Weinstock, who more than once agreed to take on a less-than-perfect situation to help a rapidly aging, overcommitted doctoral piano student. Your grace, professionalism, and humanity are perhaps even superior to your supreme musical talents. I am truly grateful. To Warren George, who elicited a promise as we worked together over several summers in the CCM College Office that I would not become one of the “dead files” that we discarded after years of inactivity. I have never forgotten. To my valued colleagues at Chadron State College, for your generous and constant support in completing the requirements of my degree. It is an honor to work alongside you. To Adam Lambert, who “raised the bar” once again by completing his doctoral requirements first. Thanks for always making me feel wiser, better, and more capable than I am. Although I’ll never be as young or as fast (among other things), I hope you’ll still slow down occasionally to allow me to see what I should be trying to do next. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. And to a loving and merciful Heavenly Father, to whom I owe everything, who has granted and preserved my life, for the great and unspeakable gift of music, and for the opportunity to develop and share it. I am continually humbled by the trust He places in me, and grateful for the gifts of daily renewal and second chances. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: The Barcarolle for Solo Piano: Origins of a Genre........................................................3 Chapter 2: Mendelssohn’s Prototype: The Character Barcarolle ..................................................14 Chapter 3: Frederic Chopin and the Concert Barcarolle................................................................35 Chapter 4: The Barcarolle after Chopin: A Selected Listing.........................................................48 Appendix: Barcarolles for Solo Keyboard.....................................................................................60 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................75 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1–1: David Brentel (ca. 1556–1615), Der Venediger Lust Bracht und Heiligkeit...............4 Figure 1–2: Jost Amman (1539–1591), Gondola mit Sförmigen Steven und Rundspanten ............4 Table 1–1: Locales of Selected Operas Containing Barcarolles Composed between 1740-1890...6 Figure 2–1: Das Basler Familienkonzert (1849) by Sebastian Gutzwiller....................................15 Figure 2–2: Left-hand accompaniment patterns in Felix Mendelssohn’s “Gondellieder” ............32 Figure 3–1: Similar Motivic Motion in Barcarolles by Mendelssohn and Chopin........................41 Figure 3–2: Different Metric Groupings of Left-hand Accompaniment in Chopin’s Barcarolle .42 Figure 3–3: Thematic Similarities within Chopin’s Barcarolle ....................................................43 Figure 3–4: Use of Melodic Thirds by Mendelssohn and Chopin.................................................44 vii INTRODUCTION If a pianist today were asked to state the word that first comes to mind upon hearing the term “barcarolle,” the immediate response would most likely be “Chopin.” Frederic Chopin’s Barcarolle, Op. 60, in F-sharp major, is regarded as a masterpiece of Romantic piano music by both historians and performers. Musicologist Maurice Hinson unapologetically labels Chopin’s Barcarolle “the greatest barcarolle ever written.”1 While Hinson, author of the mammoth compendium Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, possesses the scholarly background and experience to make such an assertion, most pianists would be powerless to challenge his claim. In fact, a modern pianist might legitimately wonder whether Chopin’s Barcarolle was, to paraphrase Hinson, the only barcarolle ever written. Aside from Chopin’s famous opus, barcarolles are seldom performed by today’s professional concert pianists. Yet hundreds of keyboard barcarolles were composed and performed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many by composers whose names are still familiar to contemporary audiences. The major purposes of this study are: to investigate the origins of the keyboard barcarolle, highlighting its historical connections to vocal music and to Venice; to identify early works that provided models for subsequent barcarolle composers; to describe the climate in which barcarolle composition apparently thrived during the nineteenth century; and, finally, to create a listing, as accurately as possible, of the collective body of keyboard barcarolle literature 1 Maurice Hinson, Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, 3rd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000), 203. 1 produced from the nineteenth century forward. Along the way, another intended outcome of this research is to single out a number of forgotten barcarolles that may be worthy of rediscovery by modern pianists. It is hoped that the resulting document will fill a void in the existing scholarship on piano literature and provide a helpful resource for pianists and teachers. 2 Chapter 1 The Barcarolle for Solo Piano: Origins of a Genre The term “barcarolle” first appears in print on some late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century opera scores. The music to which this title is affixed accompanies dramatic activity taking place on or near water, often while at least one individual is riding in some sort of seafaring vessel. Its meaning is derived from the Latin “barca,” meaning “small boat or barge,” and “ruolo,” the Italian term for “rower.” By extension, a song intoned by one of these “barcaruolo” while in transit became known as a “barcaruola” (later “barcarola”) in Italy and a “barquerolle” (later “barcarolle”) in France. Enterprising librettists and composers of the late seventeenth century quickly recognized a natural connection between the new barcarolle song type and the city of Venice. The collective European imagination was already ripe with romantic images of life in that grand Italian republic and its magical waterways.1 Over the course of the previous century, the act of making music while gliding along Venetian canals had been glamorously depicted by European artists such as David Brentel and Jost Amman (Figures 1-1 and 1-2). Likewise, the iconic

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