A Performer's Guide to the Songs of David P. Rossow on the Texts of William Shakespeare and A
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 Bells in tower at evening toll : a performer's guide to the songs of David P. Rossow on the texts of William Shakespeare and A. E. Housman for baritone voice and piano Matthew oJ seph Daniels Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Daniels, Matthew Joseph, "Bells in tower at evening toll : a performer's guide to the songs of David P. Rossow on the texts of William Shakespeare and A. E. Housman for baritone voice and piano" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 872. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/872 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]. BELLS IN TOWER AT EVENING TOLL: A PERFORMER’S GUIDE TO THE SONGS OF DAVID P. ROSSOW ON THE TEXTS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND A. E. HOUSMAN FOR BARITONE VOICE AND PIANO A Dissertation 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 by, Matthew J. Daniels B.Mus., Florida Atlantic University, 2003 M.A., Florida Atlantic University, 2006 May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank David P. Rossow, the source and inspiration of this research, for many years of friendship and for his generosity of time during this project. I would also like to thank my committee chair and major professor, Dr. Loraine Sims, whose unwavering support, guidance, encouragement, and compassion have inspired me immeasurably throughout my tenure here at LSU. Sincere thanks are also extended to the additional members of my committee for lending their guidance and support of this project: Dr. Lori Bade, Prof. Robert Grayson, and Prof. Bruce Sharky. I would especially like to thank my future wife, Rose Mannino, for always standing by me and loving me unconditionally. I love you. To my parents, I would like to thank you for always supporting my path in the music and for encouraging me every step of the journey. To all of the professors and teachers past and present who have played a part in shaping me into the musician I am today, thank-you. Finally, sincere thanks to God for all of His gifts and blessings. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………… iv INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER 1: The Life of David P. Rossow Early Childhood and Musical Beginnings …………………………… 6 Adolescence and Growing Interests …………………………………… 12 College Years and Studies in Jazz …………………………………… 15 Graduate School and Early Compositions …………………………… 19 Family Life, Career, and Writing Activity …………………………… 27 Recent Compositions and Prospective Outlooks …………………… 29 CHAPTER 2: Three Shakespeare Sonnets …………………………………………… 31 CHAPTER 3: Three A.E. Housman Songs …………………………………………… 66 CHAPTER 4: Summary, Conclusions, and Compositional Style …………………… 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………… 101 APPENDIX A: Transcription of Interview—Biographical Information …………… 103 APPENDIX B: Transcription of Interview—Three Shakespeare Sonnets ………….... 131 APPENDIX C: Transcription of Interview—Three A.E. Housman Songs …………… 144 APPENDIX D: Current List of Compositions by David P. Rossow …………………… 158 APPENDIX E: Letter of Permission …………………………………………………… 160 VITA …………………………………………………………………………………… 161 iii ABSTRACT David P. Rossow (b. 1975) is a contemporary American composer and arranger of choral works, music for jazz ensemble, and most recently, songs for solo voice and piano. This document serves as a performer’s guide to Rossow’s songs for baritone/low male voice and piano, Three Shakespeare Sonnets and Three A.E. Housman Songs. Chapter 1 is comprised of relevant biographical information about the composer from early childhood to present (2014). Chapters 2 and 3 are performance guides to Three Shakespeare Sonnets and Three A.E. Housman Songs, respectively. Included in these chapters are the following: date of composition; source of poetry; harmonic structure and features; range and tessitura; meter/changing meters; dynamic ranges; shape of vocal line with recommended approaches; and interpretive suggestions for performance. Chapter 4 contains summary/concluding remarks as well as information pertaining to compositional style. Following the bibliography are the appendices containing transcriptions of interviews with the composer, a listing of Rossow’s works to-date, and a letter of permission. Readers of this document will gain further insight into the life and compositional style of American composer, David P. Rossow, as well as an in-depth survey of his Three Shakespeare Sonnets and Three A.E. Housman Songs for the purposes of future research, further study, preparation, and performance. It is this author’s hope that the information found herein will inspire teachers and singers alike to adopt this repertoire as a permanent fixture when programming contemporary American music. iv INTRODUCTION The concert song is a stepchild of contemporary American music. Most of our prominent present-day composers who have distinguished themselves in instrumental music have written hardly any songs, quite often none whatsoever. There are of course exceptions, but they are few indeed . the apparent apathy of so many serious American composers toward the concert song is a condition that affects contemporary music in general. —Sergius Kagen, The Juilliard Review The above observation by Sergius Kagen appeared in a 1954 publication of The Juilliard Review. A similar, more contemporary complaint from an interview with composer, Ned Rorem, appeared in a May 2005 publication of The Windy City Times. Rorem stated that “the world of vocal music is in a worse state than it ever was. Nobody writes songs anymore.”1 How remarkably things have changed since Kagen penned his notion nearly sixty years ago, and it appears that Rorem is lamenting an apparent lack of interest in the classical song model in particular. Nevertheless, contemporary American art songs continue to gain popularity among scholars and academics searching for fresh musical material to program on concert recitals and potential recording projects. Keith Clifton confirms the aforementioned sentiment in his reactionary statement to Ned Rorem’s grievance: “With all due respect to Mr. Rorem, American song is very much alive and there are composers writing songs. Unfortunately, what is often lacking are singers to sing them and audiences to hear them.”2 Clifton’s latter sentiment perhaps captures the plague of the American song genre, as it competes for growing popularity and awareness in the musical world. Nevertheless, it seems that a recent surge of interest in American song continues to satisfy the curiosity of many of today’s singing artists. 1 Keith E. Clifton, Recent American Art Song: A Guide (Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2008), xi. 2 Ibid. 1 The evolution of the American song spans a long, rich history replete with stylistic progress, unending textual inspiration, and marked individuality. According to Carol Kimball, the history of American classical music “is as eclectic as the cultures that make up America’s population. From the earliest parlor songs of Stephen Foster to the appealing melodies of Richard Hundley, American song has passed through a number of transformations, but its style continues to mirror the American credo of individualism above all.”3 Indeed, America’s art music is a kaleidoscope of diverse colors, styles, moods, and characters. Stephen C. Foster, who is often considered America’s first great composer of song, penned 287 works throughout his lifetime.4 His songs embody notions of sentimentality and yearning—much akin to those of the Irish song ballad as found in the numerous works of Irish composer and poet, Thomas Moore. Citing Thomas Moore as Foster’s chief inspiration for his parlor song idiom, Crawford states, “Foster drew . on Irish melody of the kind popularized by poet Thomas Moore in several volumes of Irish song published in both the British Isles and America.”5 Much of America’s early art music was fashioned thus—taking its inspiration from European counterparts spanning the British Isles, Germany, and France. In the middle of the nineteenth century, America’s song model began to take on an entirely new dimension from the early Irish ballad popularized by Stephen Foster. Many American composers from this period studied composition in Europe— particularly in Germany; thus, their pieces were frequently fashioned in the style of German Romanticism though they clung to notions of sentimentality. In addition, later nineteenth century and early twentieth century composers found artistic inspiration in the French compositional 3 Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, Co., 2006), 245. 4 Deane L. Root, “Foster, Stephen C.,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, ed. Deane Root, http://oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/10040 (accessed October 10, 2013). 5 Richard Crawford, America’s Musical Life – A History (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001).