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Musical Means in Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death

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Musical Means in Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death Musical Means in Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death: A Singer’s Study Guide D.M.A. 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 Jason Fuh, M.M. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2017 Document Committee: Dr. Robin Rice, Advisor Prof. Edward Bak Dr. Alexander Burry Prof. Katherine Rohrer Copyrighted by Jason Fuh 2017 Abstract Modest Mussorgsky’s song cycle Songs and Dances of Death is a series of four miniature dramatic scenes. The text was supplied by Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov, who developed a keen relationship with the composer when they shared an apartment. A glance at Mussorgsky’s musical life and growth in the “Mighty Handful” circle helps us comprehend the evolution of his compositional style. At the peak of his musical maturity, the composer devoted himself to compositions in the realist, nationalist style. However, Songs and Dances of Death seems to have softened the edge of his style by incorporating lyricism, and possibly also impressionism and symbolism, into his works. Mussorgsky’s music in Songs and Dances of Death is tonal but it does not adhere to a traditional Western music theoretical analysis. Therefore, the musical analysis presented is based on defining the terms musical environment and musical energy as they emerge from the compositional components, an approach that provides yet another dimension of musical understanding in works like Mussorgsky’s. Russian diction is discussed in great detail along with a comprehensive summary of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) system for the Russian language. ii Dedication In loving memory of Dorothy S. Pegg and Helen (Helenka) A. Churnega iii Acknowledgments Wholehearted gratitude is due to Dr. Robin Rice for being a devoted teacher, and to Prof. Edward Bak a tireless coach. Special thanks go to Dr. Alexander Burry, Prof. Katherine Rohrer, Chris Grossman and Emilie Kadish for their editorial assistance, and to Eugenia Vainberg for her Russian language tutorial. This was once an unreachable dream, but it came true today because of you all being there for me. iv Vita 1995 ....................................... B.M. Vocal Performance, The Cleveland Institute of Music 1995 ........................................................... First Place, Darius Milhaud Performance Prize 1996 ................................................................. Elizabeth Stoeckler Stevens Prize in Lieder 1997 ...................................... M.M. Vocal Performance, The Cleveland Institute of Music 1998 ................................................................. Elizabeth Stoeckler Stevens Prize in Lieder 1999 ........................................................ Irvin Bushman Memorial Prize in Vocal Artistry 1999 ............................................................................ Janiec Opera, Brevard Music Center 1999 to 2003 ............................................................................................. Cleveland Opera 2000 ...................... Artist Diploma, Vocal Performance, The Cleveland Institute of Music Summer, 2002 ........................................................................... Intermezzo Summer Opera 2009 to 2010 ....................................................... Opera Productions, Cleveland Orchestra July, 2010 ...................................................... Vocal Recital, Taiwan National Recital Hall August, 2011 ................................................. Vocal Recital, Taiwan National Recital Hall October, 2011 ............................................................... Future Stars Recital, Carnegie Hall May, 2013 ..................................................... Vocal Recital, Taiwan National Recital Hall May, 2015 ..................................................... Vocal Recital, Taiwan National Recital Hall Field of Study Major Field: Music v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x List of Examples ................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: The Making of the Composer ........................................................................... 3 The Date of Birth ......................................................................................................................... 3 The Name .................................................................................................................................... 4 The Years of Youth ..................................................................................................................... 6 The Circle .................................................................................................................................... 7 The Evolution of Mussorgsky’s Songs ...................................................................................... 11 Chapter 3: The Making of the Songs and Dances of Death ............................................. 21 vi The Text ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Relationship between the Composer and the Poet ..................................................................... 25 The Songs .................................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter 4: Analysis and Interpretation ............................................................................. 39 Editions and Orchestrations ....................................................................................................... 40 “Lullaby” (“Колыбельная”) ..................................................................................................... 43 “Serenade” (“Серенада”) .......................................................................................................... 51 “Trepak” (“Трепак”) ................................................................................................................. 58 “Field Marshal” (“Полководец”) ............................................................................................. 66 Chapter 5: Russian Diction for Singers ............................................................................ 76 Consonant Palatalization ........................................................................................................... 77 Assimilation ............................................................................................................................... 79 Vowel Assimilation ...................................................................................................................................... 79 Consonant Assimilation ............................................................................................................................. 80 IPA Rules for Vowels ................................................................................................................ 81 IPA Rules for Consonants ......................................................................................................... 86 Chapter 6: Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 104 References ....................................................................................................................... 107 Appendix: Text and Translation ..................................................................................... 110 Колыбельная [kɑLɨbʲ 'elʲnaja] / Lullaby ................................................................................. 110 vii Серенада [sʲerʲen'ada] / Serenade ............................................................................................ 114 Трепак [tʲrʲep'ak] / Trepak ....................................................................................................... 117 Полководец [pɑLkav'odʲɛts] / Field Marshal ......................................................................... 120 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Gregorian chant "Dies Irae" .............................................................................. 33 Figure 2. Polish hymn "Z dymem pożarów" ..................................................................... 37 ix List of Tables Table 1. Spelling possibilities of the name ........................................................................
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