Diemer Document

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: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ A Conductor’s Guide to Selected Choral-Orchestral Works of Emma Lou Diemer A document submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Research of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS in the Ensembles and Conducting Division of the College-Conservatory of Music 2005 by Jennifer S. Morgan 727 W. M.L. King Dr. Apt. 406W Cincinnati, OH 45220-2545 [email protected] B.A., Otterbein College, 1995 B.M.E., Otterbein College, 1995 M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2003 Committee Chair: Dr. Stephen R. Coker 2 ABSTRACT Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927), an accomplished American composer, educator, and performer, has written 180 choral works. Best known in the world of choral music for her Three Madrigals, Diemer’s favorite compositional medium is chorus with orchestral accompaniment. Chapter One contains a biography placing Diemer’s choral-orchestral compositions in context, a categorical summary of Diemer’s choral output, and a preface to the following chapters. Chapters Two through Eight examine seven of Diemer’s choral-orchestral works. Each of those chapters serves as a conductor’s guide to the specific piece, with the objective of providing a resource to conductors who might prepare and present these works. This document was written for the purpose of assisting choral conductors by providing the following information about each composition: dedication or commissioning data, composer’s notes, quotes from interviews, correspondence, sources (texts, Diemer notebooks/sketches, composition drafts/manuscripts, full score), vocal and instrumental requirements, past performances (arrangements for the first performance, subsequent performance history, critical reception/reviews), encapsulated analysis in tables (form, sub- sections/text, compositional elements, harmonic context, textures), special suggestions for conductors, performance issues (a discussion of the choral and orchestral parts, an assessment of the works’ respective difficulties), proposed program notes, bibliography specific to the composition, and discography specific to the composition. The works addressed in these guides for Chapters Two through Seven are: To Him All Glory Give, Anniversary Choruses, Invocation, There Is a Morn Unseen, To Come So, and Songs for the Earth. Chapter Eight is a conductor’s guide to a set of anthems written for Duke Chapel: God of Love and God of Power, The Church’s One Foundation, and How Firm a Foundation. Also included are a selected 3 bibliography, an appendix of Diemer choral works not included in Ellen Grolman Schlegel’s Emma Lou Diemer: A Bio-Bibliography, and an appendix of selected photographs. 4 Copyright © 2005 by Jennifer S. Morgan All rights reserved 5 For Bill 6 ACKNOWLEGMENTS Being greatly fortunate in my academic career to have studied with and been mentored by a number of talented and nurturing conductors, I am deeply indebted to: Dr. Stephen Coker, Dr. Earl Rivers, Dr. Terence Milligan, and Dr. Craig Johnson. Rose Hensley with all of her administrative assistance and the staff of the CCM College Office deserve my gratitude. My peers have shown me tremendous support throughout the composition of this document. A special thank you is expressed to Dr. Coker for his guidance from the inception of the idea through the submission, his diligence in helping me find the most effective wording, and for his consent to allow me to press ahead. I could not have written this document without the constant aid and email responses of Emma Lou Diemer, whose music continues to impress and amaze me. I greatly appreciate her generosity and hospitality especially during my trip to Santa Barbara. Thanks to David Seubert and Jace Turner from the Davidson Library Department of Special Collections at the University of California Santa Barbara for their help while I did research there. I am also grateful to the following people who provided necessary scores: Emma Lou Diemer, Dennis Blubaugh of Musical Resources, Laura Piantini of Theodore Presser Company, and Barry Torres of St. Lawrence University. In addition, I am obliged to my aunt, Mary Alice Morgan, Professor of English and Director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Mercer University, who has suggested prose enhancements. Finally, I greatly appreciate all the love and support of my parents and my fiancée, without whom I could not have completed this document. From the technical assistance of my new desktop computer purchase and pdf conversion, to the grocery and take-out trips, Bill Flory, my best friend and future husband, has been and continues to be my foundation. 7 CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................................2 ACKNOWLEGMENTS ...............................................................................................................................6 CONTENTS..................................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER ONE: EMMA LOU DIEMER: BIOGRAPHY, SUMMARY OF CHORAL OUTPUT, PREFACE TO CONDUCTOR’S GUIDES..................................................................................................9 CHAPTER TWO: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR TO HIM ALL GLORY GIVE .....................................18 Table 1 – To Him All Glory Give...........................................................................................................20 CHAPTER THREE: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR ANNIVERSARY CHORUSES ................................22 Table 2 – Anniversary Choruses – Movement I – “I Will Sing of Mercy and Judgment” .....................25 Table 3 – Anniversary Choruses – Movement II – “Sleep Sweetly, Sleep [Ode]”.................................26 Table 4 – Anniversary Choruses – Movement III – “Sing Aloud Unto God”........................................29 CHAPTER FOUR: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR INVOCATION..........................................................34 Figure 1 – Letter from May Sarton to Professor Ward – 16 November 1985 ........................................34 Figure 2 – Letter from Robert Jones to Emma Lou Diemer – 27 March 1986.......................................35 Figure 3 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to May Sarton – 7 April 1986.............................................36 Figure 4 – Letter from May Sarton to Emma Lou Diemer – 11 April 1986...........................................37 Table 5 – Invocation ...............................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER FIVE: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR THERE IS A MORN UNSEEN ..................................43 Figure 5 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 7 January 1991.....................................44 Figure 6 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson.................................................................45 Figure 7 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 28 January 1991...................................46 Figure 8 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson.................................................................47 Figure 9 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 16 May 1991........................................48 Figure 10 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 5 June 1991........................................49 Figure 11 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 1 July 1991 ........................................50 Figure 12 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 5 June 1991........................................51 Figure 13 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 4 September 1991 ..............................52 Figure 14 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 10 September 1991 ............................53 Figure 15 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 7 October 1991 ..................................54 Figure 16 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 30 December 1991.............................55 Figure 17 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 6 January 1992...................................56 Figure 18 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 15 February 1992...............................57 Figure 19 – Letter from Craig Johnson to Emma Lou Diemer – 29 May 1992......................................58 Figure 20 – Letter from Emma Lou Diemer to Craig Johnson – 13 June 1992......................................59 Table 6 – There Is a Morn Unseen..........................................................................................................63 CHAPTER SIX: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR TO COME SO..............................................................68 Table 7 – To Come So ............................................................................................................................70 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE FOR SONGS FOR THE EARTH....................................73 Table 8 – Songs for the Earth –Movement I – “‘Nature’ is what we see–”............................................77

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