CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Melody of Love and Suffering A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Music in Music, Performance By Doudou Mao May 2016 ! The Graduate Project of Doudou Mao is approved: _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. David Sannerud Date _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Linda Stones Date _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Deanna Murray, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ! ii! Table of Contents Signature Page ii Abstract iv Program 1 Appendix 12 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! iii! ABSTRACT Melody of Love and Suffering By Doudou Mao Master of Music in Music, Performance ! The repertoire of this recital was selected to fulfill my Master of Music in Voice, and to create the illusion of fluid and melodic lines in music and poetry. Pieces are arranged by chronological period, which stretch from the Baroque period including Giovanni Bononcini, Alessandro Scarlatti, Henry Purcell, to the Romantic era including Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, and Georges Bizet. All selections are chosen to describe the emotions of love and suffering as the primary theme, which are expressed via melodic varieties and lyrical descriptions. The recital starts with the Baroque period aria Per la gloria d'adorarvi (For my love my heart doth prize) by Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini from his opera Griselda written in 1701, dealing with love between King Gualtiero and his peasant Queen Griselda. Per la gloria d’adorarvi originally was sung by a tenor, but today is available in various keys. Another aria Un’ ombra di pace (A shadow of peace) is from Bonocini’s Calfurnia. Bononcini’s pieces have typical Baroque features: the melody presents variations in regular quadruple meter and is tonal in a lively Vivace, it also matches the theme of love. The aria O cessate di piagarmi (O no longer seek to pain me) is an aria from Pompeo, composed by Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti, who was a compatriot of Bononcini. O cessate di piagarmi, compared with another Scarlatti’s art song Amor preparami, has provided ample opportunity for the voice to interpret and modulate. The lyric expresses tortures in love, fitting the theme of love and suffering. The recapitulation of the da capo allows for ornamentation. Strike The Viol and Music For A While are from British composer Henry Purcell. These two songs both ! iv! praise music; one is lively with vigorous rhythms, while the second song is based on a ground for which Purcell was famous. The aria Fairest Isle is from Purcell’s semi-opera King Arthur in Baroque period, sung by the character Venus when she excitedly sings her praise of love at a carnival. The melody of the Baroque period has tonal varieties and regular tempos, which directly connect the mood of love and suffering. All composers in the baroque era were drawn to love in various manifestations. The emotions of second half fluctuate like a wave in the ocean. The Germany composer Johannes Brahms was born in a music family. Brahms preferred to set poems written by his friends, such as Klaus Groth, and Georg Friedrich Daumer. Most songs that he composed have depicted heartbroken love. His music is full of diversity, because “Brahms was a Janus who faced both the past and the future.”1 Dein Blaues Auge (Your blue eyes), Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen (That I Would No More See Thee), and Liebestreu (True Love), all three of these lieders describe the eternally human topic of love. Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen contains flowing melodic lines with a dramatic plot. Wie Melodien zieht es mir (It Moves Like Melody) presents an ongoing legato. Gabriel Fauré and Georges Bizet both were French composers , and belonged to late Romanticism. Fauré was a creative composer who composed plenty of mélodies. Prison (Prison) represents the picture that was seen by the prisoner from his lonely cell, and Les Berceaux (The Cradles) employs triple beats to reflect the motions of both the sea and the rocking cradles. Fauré’s melodies have helped listeners to visualize the scene. Georges Bizet, a French Romantic composer of melody, contributed not only more than fifty melodies, such as Chanson d’Avril (Song of April) but also operatic masterpieces, such as Carmen and Djamileh. Chanson d’Avril is an attractive art song composed in 1866, exhibiting fluent melody that suits the syllabic poem, and expresses the vigorous vitality of spring in April, and leads the listener into a vivid garden. The recital ends with the aria Seguidilla from Bizet’s Carmen, which caused a huge sensation, premiered in 1875. Carmen is a dramatic love play; the woman Carmen who worked in a tobacco factory fell love with soldier Jose and Toreador Escamillo. Bizet chose the contralto Fach for Carmen. The !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song and Literature (Wisconsin: Hal Leonard ,Corporation, 2006), 103. ! ! v! Seguidilla is sang by Carmen when she seduces Don Jose. Carmen has diverse music blending gypsy melody with French delicacy, resulting in exotic music. The encore Three Wishes Of The Rose comes from Chinese composer Tzu, Huang, who was a great composer, poet, and writer at early 20th century. His compositions display romance and warmth, and always express the poetry well, as he himself was a poet. Three Wishes Of The Rose conveys the composer’s best wishes to the roses and plaint of fragile beauty. The recital explores the unity of poetry and melody in art songs. Poems set to melody are at the heart of art songs. In Brahms’ Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen two opposite emotions of love and struggle are diametrically opposed. Brahms subtly gave the lower melodic line to deeply express the love, pushing toward its climax, while the higher part emotes the suffering after love. The repertoire was chosen to show two contrary sentiments and to touch audiences; on the other hand, this recital provides an opportunity to gain experience and to prepare the solo voice in expressive singing. ! ! vi! The Graduate Project of Doudou Mao is approved: _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. David Sannerud Date _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Linda Stones Date _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Deanna Murray, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ! ii! Table of Contents Signature Page ii Abstract iv Program 1 Appendix 12 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! iii! ABSTRACT Melody of Love and Suffering By Doudou Mao Master of Music in Music, Performance ! The repertoire of this recital was selected to fulfill my Master of Music in Voice, and to create the illusion of fluid and melodic lines in music and poetry. Pieces are arranged by chronological period, which stretch from the Baroque period including Giovanni Bononcini, Alessandro Scarlatti, Henry Purcell, to the Romantic era including Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, and Georges Bizet. All selections are chosen to describe the emotions of love and suffering as the primary theme, which are expressed via melodic varieties and lyrical descriptions. The recital starts with the Baroque period aria Per la gloria d'adorarvi (For my love my heart doth prize) by Italian composer Giovanni Bononcini from his opera Griselda written in 1701, dealing with love between King Gualtiero and his peasant Queen Griselda. Per la gloria d’adorarvi originally was sung by a tenor, but today is available in various keys. Another aria Un’ ombra di pace (A shadow of peace) is from Bonocini’s Calfurnia. Bononcini’s pieces have typical Baroque features: the melody presents variations in regular quadruple meter and is tonal in a lively Vivace, it also matches the theme of love. The aria O cessate di piagarmi (O no longer seek to pain me) is an aria from Pompeo, composed by Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti, who was a compatriot of Bononcini. O cessate di piagarmi, compared with another Scarlatti’s art song Amor preparami, has provided ample opportunity for the voice to interpret and modulate. The lyric expresses tortures in love, fitting the theme of love and suffering. The recapitulation of the da capo allows for ornamentation. Strike The Viol and Music For A While are from British composer Henry Purcell. These two songs both ! iv! praise music; one is lively with vigorous rhythms, while the second song is based on a ground for which Purcell was famous. The aria Fairest Isle is from Purcell’s semi-opera King Arthur in Baroque period, sung by the character Venus when she excitedly sings her praise of love at a carnival. The melody of the Baroque period has tonal varieties and regular tempos, which directly connect the mood of love and suffering. All composers in the baroque era were drawn to love in various manifestations. The emotions of second half fluctuate like a wave in the ocean. The Germany composer Johannes Brahms was born in a music family. Brahms preferred to set poems written by his friends, such as Klaus Groth, and Georg Friedrich Daumer. Most songs that he composed have depicted heartbroken love. His music is full of diversity, because “Brahms was a Janus who faced both the past and the future.”1 Dein Blaues Auge (Your blue eyes), Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen (That I Would No More See Thee), and Liebestreu (True Love), all three of these lieders describe the eternally human topic of love. Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen contains flowing melodic lines with a dramatic plot. Wie Melodien zieht es mir (It Moves Like Melody) presents an ongoing legato. Gabriel Fauré and Georges Bizet both were French composers , and belonged to late Romanticism. Fauré was a creative composer who composed plenty of mélodies. Prison (Prison) represents the picture that was seen by the prisoner from his lonely cell, and Les Berceaux (The Cradles) employs triple beats to reflect the motions of both the sea and the rocking cradles.