A poet revealed: Elizabeth Barrett Browning as portrayed in Libby Larsen's "Sonnets from the Portuguese" and Dominick Argento's "Casa Guidi" Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Rowe, Martha L., 1953- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 07:31:56 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290604 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly fi'om the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, while others may be from any type of computer printer. 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Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directiy to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Infonnation Company 300 North Zedj Road, Ann Aibor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 A POET REVEALED: ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING AS PORTRAYED IN LIBBY LARSEN'S SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE AND DOMINICK ARGENTO'S CASA GUIDI by Martha Lu Rowe A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DANCE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN PERFORMANCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1996 UMI Number: 9713358 UMI Microform 9713358 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the document prepared by Mdrtha Lu Rowe entitled A Poet Revealed: Elizabeth Barrett Brov/ning As Portrayed In Libby Larsen's Sonnets From The Portuguese And Dominick Argento's Casa Guidi and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts binson PronJJocelyn Reiter Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dociiment to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the requirement. Director Date 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department of the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED:. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you, Libby Larsen and Dominick Argento, for being so gracious and giving so generously of your time. My thanks to Susan Brailove at Oxford University Press for sending me score after score of Larsen's works. Thank you. Prof. Robinson, Prof. Reiter, and Dr. Day for your invaluable guidance and support. Lyneen, thanks so much for constantly reminding me about deadlines and keeping me on track. Dr. Brobeck, my eternal thanks for forcing me to become computer-literate. Jane, Chris, Janet, Greg, Ron, Brian, Laurie, Tina, Paul, Jill, Mary, and Diane -for the wine, the movies, the shoulders, the incredible friendship you all showed over the course of this degree - my deepest thanks. To the music faculty and my students at NMSU: thanks for cutting me some slack. I owe you one. And to ray family - my love. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. UST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 6 n. ABSTRACT 7 m. INTRODUCTION 8 IV. ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING Life 10 Letters and Sonnets from the Portuguese 15 V. LIBBY LARSEN Life and Works 18 Sonnets from the Portuguese Compositional Background 20 Overview of Text 22 VI. SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: ANALYSIS OF SELECTED WORKS 26 VII. DOMINICK ARGENTO Life and Works 42 Casa Guidi Compositional Background 45 Overview of Text 46 Vm. CASA GUIDI: ANALYSIS OF SELECTED WORKS 50 DC. CONCLUSIONS 70 X. REFERENCES 72 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ILLUSTRATION I, Chronological order of letters used in Casa Guidi ILLUSTRATION 2, Arch form of Casa Guidi 7 ABSTRACT Composers Libby Larsen and Dominick Argento have each written song cycles based on the texts of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Larsen's Sonnets from the Portuguese. for soprano and chamber orchestra, is a setting of six of the forty-four poems from Browning's amatory sequence of the same name. Argento's Casa Guidi. for mezzo- soprano and orchestra, is a setting of excerpts from letters written by Browning, primarily to her sister Henrietta, during her years in Florence. This study examines the two composers' images of Browning, and how those images are portrayed through choice of text and musical setting. The image of Browning depicted in Larsen's cycle is that of a woman who moves from a fear of love to an acceptance and embracing of it. The love that she comes to know is a love that recognizes the necessity of moving on in spite of unresolved issues. This image was gleaned from Browning's sonnets by Larsen and soprano Arleen Auger, who worked closely together to create a cycle that would speak of mature love, in contrast to the youthful love in Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben. Three of the six sonnets in the cycle are analyzed for Larsen's use of compositional devices that reinforce the themes of the recognition and acceptance of love and of U:aist in non-resolution. The texts chosen by Argento were based on his desire to depict the feminine and vulnerable aspects of Browning during her years in Florence. Although the letter excerpts are not arranged in chronological order, they accurately reveal a woman who delighted in her home and family. The last three of the five songs are examined to show how Argento's careful text setting and use of orchesural color and motives enhance Browning's words and the overall mood of the letters. I. INTRODUCTION American composers Libby Larsen and Dominick Argento have each written a song cycle based on texts by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Larsen's cycle. Sonnets from the Portuguese, is a setting of six of the forty-four poems from Browning's famous amatory sequence of the same name, written in 1845. The text of Argento's Casa Guidi is compiled primarily from Browning's letters to her sister, Henrietta, written between 1846 and 1857. The combined texts of the two cycles offer a limited but informative portrait of the Victorian poet from the time she met Robert until a few years before her death in 1861. The purpose of this study is to examine how the composers' images of Browning affected their choice of text, and how those images were musically depicted. Brief biographical studies of Larsen and Argento are presented, as well as a more detailed study of Browning, focusing on her life from 1845 to 1857. Compositional background information is given, followed by a general overview of each cycle. A text-centered analysis of selected songs focuses on why particular texts were chosen, how they were set and manipulated, what the composers intended to emphasize, and how the music reflects that intent. The question arose of how to shorten Elizabeth Barrett Browning's name. If Robert Browning had not been an equally famous poet and an important name in this document, the issue would have been easily addressed. Various authors have used "EBB," "Barrett-Browning," and simply "Browning." I have chosen to use the traditional last name as well, substituting "Elizabeth" when both her name and Robert's appeared in a possibly confusing setting. The use of "Robert" was an arbiurary decision based on the need for clarity. 9 The scores used in the analysis sections are the composers' own piano reductions. Both strongly prefer their original orchestral versions, but acknowledged the usefulness of the reductions. For the sake of space, the reductions have been reproduced in this document with the orchestral instrumentation indicated. 10 n. ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING UFE Elizabeth Barrett Browning was arguably the most influential female poet of the Victorian era. She had been considered to succeed Wordsworth as England's Poet Laureate even before she had published her most famous works, Sonnets from the Portuguese and Aurora Leigh.