Hanns Eisler and His Hollywood Songbook: A Survey of the Five Elegies (Fünf Elegien) and the Hölderlin Fragments (Hölderlin­Fragmente) 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 Stanley E. Workman, Jr., B.M., M.M. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2010 D.M.A. Document Committee: Dr. Robin Rice, Advisor Professor Loretta Robinson Dr. C. Patrick Woliver Copyright by Stanley Edward Workman, Jr. 2010 Abstract Hanns Eisler, (1898‐1962), remains today as one of the most fascinating and controversial composers of the Twentieth‐Century. Schooled in the aesthetic style of the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Eisler made an ideological shift in the trajectory of his musical career in the mid‐1920’s, shifting the emphasis away from ‘art music’ to music for the Worker’s Movement. Enormously versatile, Eisler then found himself working in various genres, from the writing of ‘agitprop’ style ballads and choruses, the Lehrstücke collaborations with friend and colleague Bertolt Brecht, and to the composing of film scores for many documentary and Leftist film producers. When the Worker’s Movement was disbanded with the oncoming of Hitler in 1933, Eisler, now an exile, once again returned to more conventional musical forms such as the Symphony and the Art Song. It is during this exile period in both Europe and the U.S.A. that Eisler composed some of his greatest works, such as the Deutsche Sinfonie, the chamber work Fourteen Ways of Describing Rain, and the Hollywood Songbook (Das Hollywooder Liederbuch), to name just a few. Eisler’s prolific Hollywood film score career was interrupted by the infamous 1947 HUAC hearings, which resulted in deportation. Eventually Eisler settled in the GDR where he composed and taught, but would find some of his compositional aspirations, such as the writing of a new opera, brutally attacked by criticisms of musical elitism. Probably no other composer has suffered more from the effects of the Cold War globally as has Hanns Eisler. Only in the last twenty years have serious efforts been undertaken to reevaluate his work through critical analysis, performance, and discussion. The goal of this document is to introduce Hanns Eisler and his music, presenting him as one of the great continuers of the genre of the Lied in the twentieth‐century. This document begins with a brief biography of Hanns Eisler, and moves to a discussion of the Hollywood Songbook, briefly touching on various songs, then moving to a musical examination of two (of three) closed cycles within the collection: the Five Elegies (Fünf Elegien) and the Hölderlin Fragments (Hölderlin­ Fragmente). Included within are appendices listing works for voice and piano, and a selected Hanns Eisler Vocal Discography. ii Dedication This document is dedicated to Charles P. Varney (1931‐2010) Teacher, Mentor, and Friend. iii Acknowledgments I want to first express my thanks to my committee: to my teacher and advisor, Dr. John Robin Rice for his expert teaching and unfailing support throughout my doctoral studies; to Professor Loretta Robinson for her encouragement and optimism, and to Dr. C. Patrick Woliver for his vigilant guidance and insightful observations. To Dr. Helen Fehervary, a member of my Candidacy Committee, I wish to express my thanks and gratitude for her outstanding teaching, and for introducing me to the music of Hanns Eisler. Without this introduction, this paper would never have been written. Thanks are due to several of my colleagues at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio: to Dr. Carl Hilgarth and Dr. Thomas Piontek for their expert guidance through difficult German texts; to Dr. Nicholas Meriwether for thought‐ provoking conversations on philosophical concepts. I would like to offer special thanks and deepest gratitude to my friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Barnhart for the many hours of thoughtful musical discussion and analysis we have shared on this and many other projects. Finally I wish to acknowledge, with much gratitude, the support of several individuals: to Beverly Cain, former Librarian of the Portsmouth Public Library, and now Librarian for the State of Ohio, for her willingness to serve as my ‘personal librarian’ and provide assistance even up to the eleventh hour; to Amy Clark Barnhart for her expertise in the area of graphic design; to Jon Burton for his assistance, support, advice, and friendship; and to John Huston, Professor of Theatre at Shawnee State University, whose unwavering faith and confidence in my abilities throughout this project has held me to the course. iv Vita June 1978..................................................................Portsmouth High School (Ohio) May 1982...................................................................B.M. Voice, Kent State University December 1987......................................................M.M. Voice, University of Memphis 1988 to 1992 ...........................................................Indiana University, Post‐Graduate Studies in Voice and Opera 1992 to present......................................................Director of Music‐2nd Presbyterian Church, Portsmouth, Ohio 1997 to 2000 ...........................................................Adjunct Instructor, Shawnee State University 2000 to 2002 ...........................................................Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Music, Kent State University (Choral) 2002 to 2005 ...........................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Music, The Ohio State University 2005 to present......................................................Adjunct Voice, Piano, Choral Instructor Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio Fields of Study Major Field: Music Voice Performance and Choral Conducting v Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................iv Vita................................................................................................................................................v Fields of Study...........................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................vi Introduction...............................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: A Biography of Hanns Eisler......................................................................4 Chapter Two: Introduction to The Hollywood Songbook.........................................16 Chapter Three: Five Elegies (Fünf Elegien)...................................................................23 I­ “Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen” ..................................................................................... 24 Musical Example 1‐ “Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen” mm. 7‐9 ......................................................24 Musical Example 2‐ “Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen” mm. 10‐12.................................................25 Musical Example 3‐ “Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen” mm. 13‐16.................................................26 Musical Example 4‐ “Unter den grünen Pfefferbäumen” mm. 20‐22.................................................26 II­ “Die Stadt ist nach den Engeln genannt”........................................................................... 28 Musical Example 5‐ “Die Stadt ist nach den Engeln genannt” mm. 1‐11..........................................29 Musical Example 6‐ “Die Stadt ist nach den Engeln genannt” mm. 18‐24 .......................................30 III­ “Jeden Morgen, mein Brot zu verdienen”........................................................................ 31 Musical Example 7‐ “Jeden Morgen, mein Brot zu verdienen” mm. 17‐20......................................32 IV­ “Diese Stadt hat mich belehrt” ............................................................................................ 33 Musical Example 8‐ “Diese Stadt hat mich belehrt” mm.1‐4..................................................................33 V­ “In den Hügeln wird Gold gefunden”.................................................................................. 35 Musical Example 9‐ “In den Hügeln wird Gold gefunden” mm. 5‐12 .................................................36 Chapter Four: The Hölderlin Fragments.......................................................................38 I­ “An Die Hoffnung” ...................................................................................................................... 47 Musical Example 10‐ “An die Hoffnung” mm. 1‐2.......................................................................................47 Musical Example 11‐ “An die Hoffnung” mm. 10‐12 .................................................................................50 Musical Example 12‐ “An die Hoffnung” mm. 19‐21 .................................................................................50 II­ “Andenken”................................................................................................................................