Music Composition Assignment from 10.28.16
A major component of this period is its emphasis on emotion, which is a reversal from the logic and stoicism of the Classical period. Themes included love, death, the wildness of nature, the supernatural, and the fickleness of human nature. The emphasis on instability is referred to as “Sturm und Drang” (storm and stress), and can be heard in the less logical, less stable melody lines and forms popular in this period.
Specifically regarding vocal song, the singer and the pianist is much more collaborative than had been previously, and it is much more difficult to say that one part is predominant. Truly, the vocal part and the accompaniment can be equal players in Lieder. Several examples will follow:
First is Brahms’ excellent “Immer leiser wird mein Sclummer,” sung in this example by the French soprano Elly Ameling. You will notice that the voice part and the piano are dancing with one another, moving together and complimenting one another: Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer
Schubert wrote over 600 Lieder in his short life. Many of his most famous works were written when he was just a teenager, including his excellent “Erlkoenig” (The Elf King). It tells the story of the legend of the Elf King and his encounter with a child and his father riding at night through a forest. This excellent interpretation by Dietrich Fischer-Diskau shows clearly the four characters (narrator, child, father, Erlking) and the piano adds the fifth character (the horse). A translation of the text can be found here and the video here: Erlkoenig
Lest you think it was all vocal song and nothing else, there follows some of my favorite instrumental pieces from the Romantic period:
Brahm’s Symphony No. 4 in e minor
Clara Schumann “Tres Romances”
Frederic Chopin Nocturne in e minor
Modest Mussorgsky “Night on Bald Mountain”
Edward Grieg “In the Hall of the Mountain King”
Your assignment this week is to write a vocal song using at least four lines of a poetic text. Some sources for texts include the psalms, Shakespeare’s sonnets, translations of poetry by Johann von Goethe, and Emily Dickinson. You are certainly welcome to write your own text, too! Vocal songs can be organized in two ways: through-composed, which have essentially no repetition of material through the song, or strophic, which include repeated material like a verse-chorus-verse-chorus type of song. Most songs we are familiar with are strophic.
For your performance in class this week, recordings are fine if you have someone who can sing your song or if you feel more comfortable singing your song in a recording rather than live. If you choose to have a live performance, I am available to you as a singer or you may choose another student to join us for the beginning of class. Try to give your performers as much warning as possible, and maybe even some extra time to practice before sightreading on the spot. 🙂
Lastly, be mindful of your end-of-semester project, which is a free composition of any type or style that you would prefer. I’ll be working on getting us some recital time to showcase your work to the school at large. Also, be thinking of a piece that you may want to submit to a composer for critique. I don’t know if I’ll get that settled this semester, but I’ll definitely have something for next semester. I’d love to do that twice if we can pull it off.
Happy writing! I sure do enjoy this class. Have a great week!