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Viewing Rare Documents RULES FOR SETTING OF FRENCH TEXT IN THE WRITINGS OF ALEXANDRE ETIENNE CHORON (1771-1834) AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Geraldine Metcalf Rosser, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Burdette Green, Adviser Professor Lora Gingerich Dobos ___________________________ Adviser Professor Lois Rosow School of Music i ABSTRACT Alexandre Étienne Choron (1771-1834), a French music historian, theorist, and pedagogue, included sections on text-setting in two of his large treatises, Principes de composition des écoles d’Italie (1808) and Manuel complet de musique (1836-39), the latter edited and completed by his student and colleague, Adrien de La Fage (1801-1862). It appears that Choron’s rules were intended for students to apply in the setting of French texts. Both of Choron’s documents are examined for their text-setting rules; these rules are then codified into a comprehensive list of rules, the more objective of which are used to create an analytical method that graphically portrays poetic and musical considerations in one display on the score. The analytical method is applied to songs written by Choron and to songs by other composers that he included for examination in Principes de compo- sition. The analyses seek to determine if the rules set down in these treatises are indeed followed in Choron’s compositional practice and in that of his contemporaries. A useful feature of Manuel complet de musique is its inclusion of a topical bibli- ography. Two of the bibliography’s topics are Composition vocale and Union de la musique avec la poésie et le langage. The entries provided in each section are examined to clarify their relevance to the rules for text-setting provided in Choron’s treatises. The text-setting rules delineated by Choron and La Fage provide a glimpse into the special nature of French versification and the difficulties of setting French texts to ii music. Syllable durations are the primary consideration in Choron’s text-setting rules, and this approach makes the transition from the poetry to its musical setting a fairly fluid process. The method for analyzing French settings developed in this study could be usefully applied to music of different periods and to poetry in other European languages. iii Dedicated to the glory of God, without Whom this task would never have been completed. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Burdette Green, for his patient and wise counsel over the years it has taken me to complete this dissertation. His steady support and ability to bring focus in the middle of numerous distractions kept the work moving ahead and is most appreciated. His multiple and careful edits to the paper ensured its readability and cogency. Thanks go to my committee members, Lora Gingerich Dobos and Lois Rosow, for their numerous contributions to the paper and especially for their willingness to sit on the committee during the summer. Many thanks to Hinda Majri for her work on translation of the original treatises. I am also indebted to David Peter Coppen at the Sibley Music Library of Eastman School of Music for his help in securing and viewing rare documents. I am grateful to my husband, Greg, for his support and encouragement, and his willingness to sacrifice his own time and needs for my own in this process. Special thanks to Marcia Clay Sweet and Lisa Diem, whose edits of the disserta- tion sped the process along. My family and friends who have supported me in word and prayer are also to be thanked. The project would not have been completed without their ministry on my behalf. Thanks also to my church, Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, for giving me the grace to relinquish my duties for over a year and a half to devote myself to the comple- tion of this dissertation. v VITA February 11, 1957 ......................................... Born—Erie, Pennsylvania 1980 .............................................................. B.S., Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, Massachusetts 1980-1984 ..................................................... Educational Placement Office Assistant, Syracuse University, Syracuse New York 1984-1987 ..................................................... Private Piano and Voice Teacher, Gahanna, Ohio 1987-1989 ..................................................... Part-time Instructor, Circleville Bible College Circleville, Ohio 1992-1998 ..................................................... Graduate Teaching Assistant The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1994 .............................................................. M.A., The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1998-1998 ..................................................... Private piano and Voice Teacher Gahanna, Ohio 1999-Present ................................................. Coordinator of Worship, Adjunct Instructor, Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music Theory Studies in Music Education, Vocal Pedagogy, and Piano vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication.........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................v Vita....................................................................................................................................vi List of Examples ...............................................................................................................ix List of Tables .....................................................................................................................x List of Figures................................................................................................................. xii Chapters: 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 2. The text-setting rules of Principes de composition .............................................23 3. The text-setting rules of Manuel complet de musique vocale et instrumental ....41 4. Comparison and consolidation of text-setting rules ............................................76 A brief history of French versification as it relates to Choron’s stated rules.......86 Phrasing and Discourse in the two treatises ........................................................93 Remaining rules in both treatises.......................................................................100 5. Analytical method and application .................................................................... 114 The method ........................................................................................................ 114 The analyses ......................................................................................................124 vii 6. Examination of bibliographical sources found in Manuel complet de musique ..................................................................179 7. Conclusion .........................................................................................................231 Appendix .......................................................................................................................239 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................251 viii LIST OF EXAMPLES Example Page 1 Gender Endings Example from Book 6, Chapitre Premier, §4, “De la Phrase et de la Période musicales,” of Choron’s Principes de composition, p. 6. ....................................30 2 Example from Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, Act 3, Scene 1 (found in both treatises). Diplomatic transcription.....................33 2a Example from Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, Act 3, Scene 1 (found in both treatises). Diplomatic transcription.....................53 3 Phrasing Example from Manuel complet de composition, from Didon, by Picccinni. Diplomatic transcription ...........................58 4 Phrase Analysis of Piccinni’s Didon, as revised in Manuel complet de musique. Diplomatic transcription ...........................61 5 Debussy Phrase Group ..........................................................................120 6 L’amour dans la rose ..................................................................... 240-242 7 Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment......................................... 243-246 8 Comment gouter quelque repos .............................................................247 9 Vaudeville de l’écu de six francs.................................................... 248-250 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Principes/Manuel Rules Comparison, Introductory Comments ....... 77-78 2 Principes/Manuel Rules Comparison, Grammatical Rules ............... 80-81 3 Principes/Manuel Rules Comparison, Phrases........................................94 4 Principes/Manuel Rules Comparison, Music and Discourse ............ 96-98 5 Principes’ Remaining Rules ............................................................ 99-100 6 Manuel’s Remaining Rules, Choosing Poetry .......................................101 7 Manuel’s Remaining Rules, General .....................................................103
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