The Solo Piano Music of David Lang

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Solo Piano Music of David Lang THE SOLO PIANO MUSIC OF DAVID LANG Karl Larson A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS December 2012 Committee: Laura Melton, Advisor Kenneth Thompson Marcus Zagorski Beatrice Guenther © 2012 Karl Larson All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Laura Melton, Advisor Since the inception of Bang On a Can in 1987, David Lang has become one of the most successful American composers of his generation. Along with fellow Bang On a Can founders Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe, Lang has built a strong career composing minimalist influenced music in a postminimalist world. His resultant style features music that, like early minimalist works, is highly repetitive and limited in musical means. However, Lang's work lacks an emphasis on transparency in process and compositional method, an imperative quality in early minimalist music. David Lang's compositional output has been substantial in many areas; he is particularly well known for his works for percussion, various chamber groups, and vocal works. While these compositions are often played and highly regarded, his piano works have not been given the same attention. Beginning with 1983's While Nailing at Random up until 2012's Hard Hit, Lang has published seven single movement piano works as well as Memory Pieces, a set of seven pieces completed in 1992. David Lang's solo piano oeuvre is among the most substantial in the minimalist catalogue. This study was first to explore Lang's solo piano repertoire as a whole, both comparing it to other minimalist solo piano works as well as to one another in order to better understand Lang's development as a composer. This information was gathered through an analytical study of David Lang's solo piano music, an interview with the composer, and a study of the solo piano genre within the minimalist music movement as a whole. iv Upon completing an interview with David Lang, an analysis of his works for solo piano, and an overview of minimalist solo piano music, it is clear that David Lang, while influenced by the music of earlier minimalists, has developed his own compositional voice. While Lang consistently uses process in his music, his application of process is meant to limit his access to musical material rather than place an emphasis on observable patterns. Unlike earlier minimalists who strove for transparency of process in their compositions, Lang keeps his processes hidden beneath the surface of the music. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Karl Larson would like to thank Laura Melton, Kenneth Thompson, Marcus Zagorski, and Beatrice Guenther for their guidance throughout this degree process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I: THE KEYBOARD WORKS OF YOUNG, RILEY, GLASS, REICH, AND ADAMS................................................................................................................................. 1 La Monte Young......................................................................................................... 4 Terry Riley................................................................................................................. 8 Philip Glass................................................................................................................ 12 John Adams................................................................................................................ 21 Steve Reich................................................................................................................. 24 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER II. DAVID LANG'S BIOGRAPHY AND STYLE............................................ 28 CHAPTER III. THE SOLO PIANO COMPOSITIONS...................................................... 36 Memory Pieces........................................................................................................... 40 Cage................................................................................................................ 41 Spartan Arcs................................................................................................... 45 Wed.......................................…....................................................................... 58 Grind............................................................................................................... 64 Diet Coke........................................................................................................ 65 Cello............................................................................................................... 70 Wiggle............................................................................................................. 73 Beach.............................................................................................................. 79 Post-Memory Pieces................................................................................................... 83 Broken Door.................................................................................................... 84 vii Boy................................................................................................................. 88 Cut.................................................................................................................. 93 The Point........................................................................................................ 97 This Was Written By Hand............................................................................. 99 Hard Hit......................................................................................................... 109 Outliers....................................................................................................................... 112 While Nailing at Random............................................................................... 113 Psalms Without Words.................................................................................... 120 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION............................................................................................ 123 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................... 128 APPENDIX. HSRB APPROVAL FORM............................................................................... 131 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1 Thematic Chords in The Well-Tuned Piano............................................................... 6 2 Keyboard Study No. 1 - First Page and Instructions.................................................. 9 3 Keyboard Study No. 2 – Page 8.................................................................................. 11 4 Two Pages - Cells 1-5................................................................................................ 14 5 Music in Fifths - Cells 1-4......................................................................................... 15 6 Music in Contrary Motion - Cells 1-2........................................................................ 16 7 Mad Rush (mm. 1-4).................................................................................................. 18 8 Mad Rush (mm. 5-8)….............................................................................................. 18 9 Mad Rush (mm. 55-57).............................................................................................. 19 10 Metamorphosis 1 (mm. 6-9)....................................................................................... 20 11 Metamorphosis 2 (mm. 31-32)................................................................................... 20 12 Wichita Vortex Sutra (mm. 71-73).............................................................................. 20 13 Graphic Realization of "Gating" in China Gates........................................................ 22 14 Cage (mm. 1-6)........................................................................................................... 42 15 Spartan Arcs (mm. 1-6)............................................................................................... 45 16 Wed (mm. 1-8)............................................................................................................. 59 17 Grind (mm. 1-10)........................................................................................................ 65 18 Diet Coke (mm. 7-18)................................................................................................. 67 19 Cello (mm. 1-9).......................................................................................................... 71 20 Wiggle (mm. 1-5)........................................................................................................ 74 21 Wiggle (mm. 67-71).................................................................................................... 74 ix 22 Beach (mm. 1-4) (middle voice)................................................................................ 80 23 Beach (mm. 1-20)....................................................................................................... 82 24 Broken Door (mm. 1-4).............................................................................................. 85 25 Broken Door (mm. 1-8).............................................................................................. 86 26 Boy (mm. 14-23)........................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • SFCMP Announces Its Season-Opening Concert Featuring A
    Contact: Sheryl Lynn Thomas [email protected] (415) 633-8802 Press kits SAN FRANCISCO (September 18, 2018) - San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) announces ​ ​ its season-opening concert featuring a celebration of the music of Elliott CARTER on Saturday, October 20, ​ ​ 2018 at the Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco. The on STAGE Series features large-ensemble ​ ​ ​ ​ contemporary works of the most influential and innovative composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Carter was the grandest of the grand American composers from the 20th century, who lived beyond his 100th birthday and yet wrote music that was fresh, inventive, and forward-looking to the very end of life. SFCMP welcomes its newly arrived artistic director, Eric DUDLEY, with a program featuring three of Carter’s works, including the ​ ​ rhythmically energetic and emotionally powerful Penthode for twenty players. Complementing Carter’s enduring ​ ​ voice will be a wry work by the young American composer, Asher Tobin CHODOS, written for an instrumentation ​ ​ uniquely drawn from Carter’s Penthode, plus Canadian composer Sabrina SCHROEDER’s Bone Games/Shy ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Garden, an essay in the sensuality of noises. The series will begin with our popular How Music is Made ​ ​ Composer Talk and Open Rehearsal with composer Tobin Chodos. Audiences can expect to see a number of compositional voices brought into the mix that have never been a part ​ of the ensemble’s lexicon. This season-opening performance will begin with Asher Tobin Chodos, a young California-based composer who will showcase his world premiere of Big Show, an Elliot Carter-inspired piece ​ ​ commissioned by SFCMP. In his piece Big Show, Chodos exhibits a fresh take on aspects of Carter’s work: ​ ​ “Carter’s endlessly stimulating polyphonic writing has been seen by many as a sort of musical version of an idealized democracy: a harmony that emerges from many dissenting voices.
    [Show full text]
  • Amjad Ali Khan & Sharon Isbin
    SUMMER 2 0 2 1 Contents 2 Welcome to Caramoor / Letter from the CEO and Chairman 3 Summer 2021 Calendar 8 Eat, Drink, & Listen! 9 Playing to Caramoor’s Strengths by Kathy Schuman 12 Meet Caramoor’s new CEO, Edward J. Lewis III 14 Introducing in“C”, Trimpin’s new sound art sculpture 17 Updating the Rosen House for the 2021 Season by Roanne Wilcox PROGRAM PAGES 20 Highlights from Our Recent Special Events 22 Become a Member 24 Thank You to Our Donors 32 Thank You to Our Volunteers 33 Caramoor Leadership 34 Caramoor Staff Cover Photo: Gabe Palacio ©2021 Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts General Information 914.232.5035 149 Girdle Ridge Road Box Office 914.232.1252 PO Box 816 caramoor.org Katonah, NY 10536 Program Magazine Staff Caramoor Grounds & Performance Photos Laura Schiller, Publications Editor Gabe Palacio Photography, Katonah, NY Adam Neumann, aanstudio.com, Design gabepalacio.com Tahra Delfin,Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Brittany Laughlin, Director of Marketing & Communications Roslyn Wertheimer, Marketing Manager Sean Jones, Marketing Coordinator Caramoor / 1 Dear Friends, It is with great joy and excitement that we welcome you back to Caramoor for our Summer 2021 season. We are so grateful that you have chosen to join us for the return of live concerts as we reopen our Venetian Theater and beautiful grounds to the public. We are thrilled to present a full summer of 35 live in-person performances – seven weeks of the ‘official’ season followed by two post-season concert series. This season we are proud to showcase our commitment to adventurous programming, including two Caramoor-commissioned world premieres, three U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • New Masters at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
    - NEW MASTERSAT THE BROOKLYNACADEMY OF MUSIC News Contact: Ellen Lampert/212.636.4123 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 1982 Contacts: Ellen Lampert Susan Spier (212) 636-4123 Glenn Branca will present the world premiere of his SYMPHONY NO. 3 (Gloria) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, January 13-16 as part of BAM's NEXT WAVE series. Performances in the Helen Owen Carey Playhouse will be Thursday through Saturday evenings (January 13-15) at 8:00pm and Sunday (January 16) at 2:00pm. SYMPHONY NO. 3 (Gloria) will continue Branca's use of home-made instruments, as exhibited in the electric stringed instruments he used in SYMPHONY No. 2 at St. Mark's Church last year. For SYMPHONY NO. 3, Branca has designed keyboard instruments which have been built by David Quinlan, a professional builder of harpsichords and folk instruments. The sixteen musicians for SYMPHONY No. 3 include Branca himself plus Jeffrey Glenn, Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore, Barbara Ess, David Quinlan, Craig Bromberg, and Stephen Wischerth on drums. Branca, tagged an "art-rocker" for his new music/rock experimentation, formed an experimental rock quintet with Jeffrey Lohn in 1977, called the Theoretical Girls. His next group was called The Static, a guitar-based trio, with which he moved from rock clubs to performances in alternative art spaces such as The Performing Garage. Known for the theatricality of his performances, Branca has toured throughout the U.S. and Eu rope with The Glenn Branca Group, a,,,J li.::!LO,dcd l'NO d;i.:.urns ·for 9;-j f<.eccrds, 'Lesson No.
    [Show full text]
  • Deconstructing David Lang's the Anvil Chorus
    Columbus State University CSU ePress Theses and Dissertations Student Publications 2014 Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus Brandon M. Smith Columbus State University Follow this and additional works at: https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations Part of the Music Education Commons Recommended Citation Smith, Brandon M., "Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 113. https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/113 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications at CSU ePress. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CSU ePress. Deconstructing David Lang's The Anvil Chorus by Brandon Michael Smith A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements of the CSU Honors Program for Honors in the Degree of Bachelor of Music in Music Education College of the Arts Columbus State University Thesis Advisor Committee Member Dr. Sean Powell Honors Committee Member J&^^ f Date [g^SjLS ' Dr. Susan Tomkiewicz Honors Program Director ^trkO^h^C^^ Date £&Q indy Ticknor 1 Usually, when a piece of music is taken out of context, that is, when it is learned and performed without studying the piece, the composer, the musical genre, or the historical significance, the understanding of it for the performer is narrow and limited and the performance is less than ideal. This leads to a substandard realization of the music. Contrarily, a musician should integrate research with the learning process as to enhance the comprehensive understanding of the piece, which ultimately results in a high level of performance. This idea is important for the complex and extensive musical repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • Bang on a Can Live – Vol
    NWCR646 Bang on a Can Live – Vol. 2 Gary Trosclair, trumpet; Mark Stewart, electric guitar; Alan Moverman, piano and synthesizer; Tigger Benford, percussion Jeffrey Brooks 3. Composition for Two Pianos (1992) ................... (8:55) (Bang on a Can 1992) Piano Duo – Cees van Zeeland & Gerard Bouwhuis Elizabeth Brown 4. Migration – in memory of Julie Farrell (1992) .... (11:44) (Bang on a Can 1992) Elizabeth Brown, shakuhachi; Mayuki Fukuhara, violin; Sarah Clarke, viola; Theodore Mook, cello David Lang 5. The Anvil Chorus (1991) ..................................... (7:00) (Bang on a Can 1991) Steve Schick, percussion Jeffrey Mumford 6. a pond within the drifting dusk (1989) ................ (9:22) (Bang on a Can 1989) Laura Gilbert, alto flute; Joshua Gordon, cello; Victoria Drake, harp Phil Kline Shelley Hirsch/David Weinstein 7. Bachman’s Warbler (1992) ................................. (16:34) 1. Haiku Lingo (excerpt) (1990) ............................. (8:15) (Bang on a Can 1992) Phil Kline, harmonica and (Bang on a Can 1990) Shelley Hirsch, voice; boomboxes David Weinstein, electronics Total playing time: 74:53 Lois V. Vierk 2. Red Shift IV (1991) ............................................. (12:25) Ê & © 1993 Composers Recordings, Inc. (Bang on a Can 1991) A Cloud Nine Consort: © 2007 Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc. Notes Bang on a Can is among the most inclusive and hospitable of introductions are cursory, a bit nervous and wonderfully all new music festivals. Its ambiance is informal. When the illuminating—an introduction to the person, not the concept, venues allow it, audiences can come and go during annual all- behind the music. When John Cage stepped on stage to kick day marathon concerts, sit up close and listen, or casually off the 1992 edition of the festival, which began with his stand in the back with a beer or an apple cider.
    [Show full text]
  • The Guardian.Pdf
    My favourite film: Koyaanisqatsi By Leo Hickman December 13, 2011 It's a film without any characters, plot or narrative structure. And its title is notoriously hard to pronounce. What's not to love about Koyaanisqatsi? I came to Godfrey Reggio's 1982 masterpiece very late. It was actually during a Google search a few years back when looking for timelapse footage of urban traffic (for work rather than pleasure!) that I came across a "cult film", as some online reviewers were calling it. This meant I first watched it as all its loyal fans say not to: on DVD, on a small screen. If ever a film was destined for watching in a cinema, this is it. But, even without the luxury of full immersion, I was still truly captivated by it and, without any exaggeration, I still think about it every day. Koyaanisqatsi's formula is simple: combine the epic, remarkable cinematography of Ron Fricke with the swelling intensity and repeating motifs of Philip Glass's celebrated original score. There's your mood bomb, right there. But Reggio's directorial vision is key, too. He was the one who drove the project for six years on a small budget as he travelled with Fricke across the US in the mid-to-late 1970s, filming its natural and urban wonders with such originality. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) directed by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian Personally, I view the film as the quintessential environmental movie – a transformative meditation on the current imbalance between humans and the wider world that supports them (in the Hopi language, "Koyanaanis" means turmoil and "qatsi" means life).
    [Show full text]
  • Presidency Cultural Programme in Kraków
    Presidency Cultural Programme in Kraków 2011-08-23 4th “Divine Comedy” International Theatre Festival December 2011 The Divine Comedy festival is not just a competition, but also an opportunity to see the top shows by young Polish directors and the chance to compare opinions of Polish theatre with critics from all over Europe. The selection of productions is made by the most prominent Polish critics, journalists, and reviewers, while the decision on who walks away with the figurine of the Divine Comedian is made by an independent international jury. The festival is divided into three blocks. In the Inferno section – the contest for the best Polish productions of the previous season – the maestros of Polish theatre and their students compete for the award. Paradiso is the section of the festival devoted to the work of young, but already acclaimed, directors. The Purgatorio block includes accompanying events. It should be emphasised that this year the festival has changed its formula – traditionally the competition section and culmination of accompanying events fall in December, while the international section takes place all year round – every month excluding the summer holidays. Organiser: Krakow Festival Office www.boskakomedia.pl Opera Rara: A. Vivaldi – L’Oracolo in Messenia 8 December 2011 December’s performance in the Opera Rara cycle perfectly achieves the goals set by originator Filip Berkowicz when he began the project in 2009 – to present above all works which are rarely played or which have been restored to the repertoire after centuries of absence in concert halls. This will be the world première of the opera written by Antonio Vivaldi in the last years of his life, published just after his death and then lost for a very long time.
    [Show full text]
  • Meet Me by the Pleroma
    MEET ME BY THE PLEROMA Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Electronic Music and Recording Media Mills College, May, 2009 By Charles Johnson Approved by: _______________________ Chris Brown Director of Thesis ________________________ Fred Frith Head, Music Department _________________________ Sandra C. Greer Provost and Dean of the Faculty Reading Committee: _______________________ James Fei _______________________ Pauline Oliveros Contents: 1. Introduction………………………………………………………….…..6 2. Development Process……………………………………………………9 2.1 Preliminary Work……..…………………….……………………….9 2.2 Materials…………..…………………….…………………….……15 2.3 The Form..…………………….……………………...……………..20 3. Context Within My Work………….……………………...……………21 4. Context Within My Interests…………………………………………....23 4.1 Musical Interests………………………..…………………………..23 4.2 The Sonic Other……….………………………..…………………..25 4.3 Philosophical, Social, Political…………………..………………….27 4.4 About the Title……….………………………..…………………….32 5. Concept…….………………………..…………………….…………….36 5.1 Why Difference Tones?………………….………………….………36 5.2 Considerations for the Performers……….………………….………37 5.3 Considerations for the Audience……….………………….………..38 6. Signal Flow Performance……….………………………….……………41 6.1 Staging……………………..…………………….…………………..41 6.2 Comments on Performance.…………………….…………………...42 6.3 Audience Reaction.………..…………………….…………………..43 7. Appendix A. Score to Meet me by the pleroma …………………………47 8. Appendix B. Technical details…………………………………………...50 9. Bibliography……………………………………………………………..54
    [Show full text]
  • ORLI SHAHAM LOS ANGELES DAVID ROBERTSON PHILHARMONIC JON KIMURA PARKER 1 Merican Composers Have Always Pushed Boundaries, As Americans Themselves Have a Pushed West
    AMERICAN GRACE Piano music from Steven Mackey | John Adams ORLI SHAHAM LOS ANGELES DAVID ROBERTSON PHILHARMONIC JON KIMURA PARKER 1 merican composers have always pushed boundaries, as Americans themselves have A pushed West. I feel strongly that John Adams and Steven Mackey are at the forefront of defining what it means to be an American pianist today. On a stunning summer’s day in 2007 in the inspiring Rocky Mountain valley of Aspen, I found myself as usual underground, in a windowless practice room. One of the magical things about Aspen is that the otherwise oppressive quality of such a room is transformed by the people who inhabit it. I was taking a practice break from Gershwin and Stravinsky, preparing for rehearsal with the orchestra, when Steve Mackey came off the stage from rehearsing his guitar concerto Tuck and Roll. I was seven months pregnant with my twin sons, and Steve and I immediately started to talk about both music and child-bearing, which his wife was soon to do as well. I relished our talk and was further enthralled by Steve’s sizzling guitar playing and magnetic compositional style. For the next months, I ravenously listened to his oeuvre, convincing me that he was the first composer I wanted to ask to write me a concerto. The process was amazing. Steve showed me bits now and again, listened to my recordings and live performances, asked about my hand size, even allowed me a say in the final dramatic turn of the piece. Every time a part of the score came my way, I was more excited to learn it and understand it.
    [Show full text]
  • Form in the Music of John Adams
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2018 Form in the Music of John Adams Michael Ridderbusch Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Ridderbusch, Michael, "Form in the Music of John Adams" (2018). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6503. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6503 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Form in the Music of John Adams Michael Ridderbusch DMA Research Paper submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Theory and Composition Andrew Kohn, Ph.D., Chair Travis D. Stimeling, Ph.D. Melissa Bingmann, Ph.D. Cynthia Anderson, MM Matthew Heap, Ph.D. School of Music Morgantown, West Virginia 2017 Keywords: John Adams, Minimalism, Phrygian Gates, Century Rolls, Son of Chamber Symphony, Formalism, Disunity, Moment Form, Block Form Copyright ©2017 by Michael Ridderbusch ABSTRACT Form in the Music of John Adams Michael Ridderbusch The American composer John Adams, born in 1947, has composed a large body of work that has attracted the attention of many performers and legions of listeners.
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental
    Experimental Discussão de alguns exemplos Earle Brown ● Earle Brown (December 26, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of open form,[1] a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since—notably the downtown New York scene of the 1980s (see John Zorn) and generations of younger composers. ● ● Among his most famous works are December 1952, an entirely graphic score, and the open form pieces Available Forms I & II, Centering, and Cross Sections and Color Fields. He was awarded a Foundation for Contemporary Arts John Cage Award (1998). Terry Riley ● Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music, of which he was a pioneer. His work is deeply influenced by both jazz and Indian classical music, and has utilized innovative tape music techniques and delay systems. He is best known for works such as his 1964 composition In C and 1969 album A Rainbow in Curved Air, both considered landmarks of minimalist music. La Monte Young ● La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist generally recognized as the first minimalist composer.[1][2][3] His works are cited as prominent examples of post-war experimental and contemporary music, and were tied to New York's downtown music and Fluxus art scenes.[4] Young is perhaps best known for his pioneering work in Western drone music (originally referred to as "dream music"), prominently explored in the 1960s with the experimental music collective the Theatre of Eternal Music.
    [Show full text]
  • Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from JS Bach's
    Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007) Johann Jacob Van Niekerk A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Giselle Wyers, Chair Geoffrey Boers Shannon Dudley Program Authorized to Offer Degree: School of Music ©Copyright 2014 Johann Jacob Van Niekerk University of Washington Abstract Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007) Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Giselle Wyers Associate Professor of Choral Music and Voice The themes of suffering and social conscience permeate the history of the sung passion genre: composers have strived for centuries to depict Christ’s suffering and the injustice of his final days. During the past eighty years, the definition of the genre has expanded to include secular protagonists, veiled and not-so-veiled socio- political commentary and increased discussion of suffering and social conscience as socially relevant themes. This dissertation primarily investigates David Lang’s Pulitzer award winning the little match girl passion, premiered in 2007. David Lang’s setting of Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” interspersed with text from the chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) has since been performed by several ensembles in the United States and abroad, where it has evoked emotionally visceral reactions from audiences and critics alike.
    [Show full text]