The course offers a detailed look at German art song from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century with a special focus on Vienna: the Berlin School, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Richard Strauss and Schoenberg. In analyzing the works, students will explore details of the poetic texts, compositional technique, the use of expressive devices, and
composers’ biographies. Time will also be taken for the cultural context, including field trips to historic sites. Finally, a consideration of source studies will include the examination of original manuscripts.
Prerequisites:
Prior studies in music history, upper level skills in music analysis.
Learning outcomes:
The student will develop a facility in effectively analyzing as song in relation to form, expressive devices, and poetic model and be able to position the work within the history of the genre as it changed during the 19th century; a deeper awareness of cultural context as well as primary sources will enable a hands-on engagement with the fundamental questions of musical historiography.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, discussions, field trips.
Required work and form of assessment:
Reading and listening assignments are listed below. CDs of the required listening will be made available for borrowing and copies of the required readings will be provided in reading packets. There will be a midterm and a final exam as well as a series of worksheets and short essays relevant to the topics at hand; participation in class discussions is also evaluated. The course is graded as follows:
class participation
20%
writing assignments
20%
midterm exam
30%
final exam
30%
content:
The following is a list of class meetings by week giving topics, reading and listening assignments. The schedule and assignments are subject to change.
WK 1 Course Introduction Berlin School
Genre, origins Reichardt, Zumsteeg [ca. 1800]
Readings: GL
WK 2 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
An die ferne Geliebte [1816] “Reading” lieder
Readings: PL, KG, CC 101-119
WK3 Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin [1823] Nature and self
Readings: YS (all)
WK4 Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Kosegarten Lieder [1815] Manuscript studies
Readings: S1, S2
WK5 Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Dichterliebe [1840] Poetic voice
Readings: KS 1-12, 63-93
MIDTERM EXAM
WK6 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Vier ernste Gesänge, op.121 [1896] The specter of death
Readings: SB 607-621, MM 371-378
WK7 Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Mörike Lieder [1888] Songs of spirituality
Readings: YW 1-17, 140-168
WK8 Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen [1885] Symphony No. 1 [1888] Song and symphony
Readings: MW 91-126
WK9 Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Vier letzte Lieder [1948] Romantic demise
Readings: TJ MB 364-369
WK10 Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
Das Buch der hängenden Gärten, op.15 [1909] Explosion in the Garden
Readings: SV 322-366
FINAL EXAM
Required readings:
A key to the source abbreviations is given below. All references are to page numbers. Also check reading packets for individual class sessions.
Abb: CC
James Parsons, (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Lied. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press,
2004
Abb: GL
Stanley Sadie (ed.), “Lied” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 10, §III-IV, 836-844. London: Macmillan, 1980
Abb: KG
Joseph Kerman, “An die ferne Geliebte” in Alan Tyson, ed., Beethoven Studies [i], 123-157. New York, 1973
Abb: KS
Arthur Komar, Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe. New York: Norton, 1971
Abb: MB
Matthew Boyden, Richard Strauss Boston: Northeastern Univ Press,1999
Abb: MM
Malcolm MacDonald, Brahms. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1990
Abb: MW
Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: The Wunderhorn Years. Berkeley: Univ. CA Press, 1975
Abb: S1
Morten Solvik, “Of Songs and Cycles: A Franz Schubert Bifolio” in Music History from Primary Sources. A Guide to the Moldenhauer Archives, ed. Jon Newsom and Alfred Mann, 392-399. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2000
Abb: S2
Morten Solvik, “Finding a Context for Schubert’s Kosegarten Cycle” in Eva Badura- Skoda et al (eds.), Schubert und seine Freunde, 169-182. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar: Böhlau Verlag, 1999
Abb: SB
Jan Swafford, Johannes Brahms. A Biography NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997
Abb: SV
Carl Schorske, Fin-de-siècle Vienna. NY: Vintage Books, 1981
Abb: PL
Luise Eitel Peake, “The Antecedents of Beethoven’s Liederkreis”. Music and Letters 63/3-4 (July-Oct 1982), 242-260
Abb: TJ
Timothy L. Jackson, “Ruhe, meine Seele! and the Letzte Orchesterlieder” in Richard Strauss and His World, ed. Bryan Gilliam, 90-137. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1992
Abb: YS
Susan Youens, Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press, 1992
Abb: YW
Susan Youens, Hugo Wolf and his Mörike Songs. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press, 2000
Recommended readings:
Charles Rosen, The Romantic Generation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1995
Scott Burnham, Beethoven Hero. Princeton: Univ. Press, 1995
Susan Youens, Schubert’s poets and the making of lieder. Cambridge: Univ Press, 1996
Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey. Schubert’s Winterreise Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1991
Maynard Solomon, “Franz Schubert and the Peacocks of Benvenuto Cellini” 19th-Century Music Vol.12, No.3 (Spring 1989), 193-206
R. Larry Todd, ed. Schumann and His World. Princeton: Univ Press, 1994
Ernest Newman, Hugo Wolf. New York: Dover, 1966
Eric Sams, The Songs of Hugo Wolf. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 1992
E. Mary, Dargie, Music and Poetry in the Songs of Gustav Mahler Berne: Peter Lang, 1981
Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death. London: Faber and Faber, 1985
Stephen E. Hefling, “Das Lied von der Erde” in The Mahler Companion, ed. by Andrew Nicholson and Donald Mitchell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002
Brief Biography of Instructor:
A native of Norway, Dr. Morten Solvik received his B.A. at Cornell University and his Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the tantalizing connections between music and culture, especially in relation to Vienna. Recent projects include a study of Mahler’s concept of nature and its impact on his musical thinking, an investigation of song manuscripts which led to the uncovering of an unknown Liederspiel by Schubert, and a look at Bruckner reception during the Nazi regime and its influence on the compilation of the composer’s Critical Edition in the 1930s and 40s. He has participated in productions for radio and television, organized concerts, and lectured on a wide variety of topics.
The course offers a detailed look at German art song from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century with a special focus on Vienna: the Berlin School, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, Richard Strauss and Schoenberg. In analyzing the works, students will explore details of the poetic texts, compositional technique, the use of expressive devices, and
composers’ biographies. Time will also be taken for the cultural context, including field trips to historic sites. Finally, a consideration of source studies will include the examination of original manuscripts.
Prior studies in music history, upper level skills in music analysis.
The student will develop a facility in effectively analyzing as song in relation to form, expressive devices, and poetic model and be able to position the work within the history of the genre as it changed during the 19th century; a deeper awareness of cultural context as well as primary sources will enable a hands-on engagement with the fundamental questions of musical historiography.
Lectures, discussions, field trips.
Reading and listening assignments are listed below. CDs of the required listening will be made available for borrowing and copies of the required readings will be provided in reading packets. There will be a midterm and a final exam as well as a series of worksheets and short essays relevant to the topics at hand; participation in class discussions is also evaluated. The course is graded as follows:
The following is a list of class meetings by week giving topics, reading and listening assignments. The schedule and assignments are subject to change.
A key to the source abbreviations is given below. All references are to page numbers. Also check reading packets for individual class sessions.
Abb: CC
James Parsons, (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Lied. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press,
2004
Abb: GL
Stanley Sadie (ed.), “Lied” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. 10, §III-IV, 836-844. London: Macmillan, 1980
Abb: KG
Joseph Kerman, “An die ferne Geliebte” in Alan Tyson, ed., Beethoven Studies [i], 123-157. New York, 1973
Abb: KS
Arthur Komar, Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe. New York: Norton, 1971
Abb: MB
Matthew Boyden, Richard Strauss Boston: Northeastern Univ Press,1999
Abb: MM
Malcolm MacDonald, Brahms. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd, 1990
Abb: MW
Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: The Wunderhorn Years. Berkeley: Univ. CA Press, 1975
Abb: S1
Morten Solvik, “Of Songs and Cycles: A Franz Schubert Bifolio” in Music History from Primary Sources. A Guide to the Moldenhauer Archives, ed. Jon Newsom and Alfred Mann, 392-399. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2000
Abb: S2
Morten Solvik, “Finding a Context for Schubert’s Kosegarten Cycle” in Eva Badura- Skoda et al (eds.), Schubert und seine Freunde, 169-182. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar: Böhlau Verlag, 1999
Abb: SB
Jan Swafford, Johannes Brahms. A Biography NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997
Abb: SV
Carl Schorske, Fin-de-siècle Vienna. NY: Vintage Books, 1981
Abb: PL
Luise Eitel Peake, “The Antecedents of Beethoven’s Liederkreis”. Music and Letters 63/3-4 (July-Oct 1982), 242-260
Abb: TJ
Timothy L. Jackson, “Ruhe, meine Seele! and the Letzte Orchesterlieder” in Richard Strauss and His World, ed. Bryan Gilliam, 90-137. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1992
Abb: YS
Susan Youens, Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press, 1992
Abb: YW
Susan Youens, Hugo Wolf and his Mörike Songs. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press, 2000
Charles Rosen, The Romantic Generation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1995
Scott Burnham, Beethoven Hero. Princeton: Univ. Press, 1995
Susan Youens, Schubert’s poets and the making of lieder. Cambridge: Univ Press, 1996
Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey. Schubert’s Winterreise Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1991
Maynard Solomon, “Franz Schubert and the Peacocks of Benvenuto Cellini” 19th-Century Music Vol.12, No.3 (Spring 1989), 193-206
R. Larry Todd, ed. Schumann and His World. Princeton: Univ Press, 1994
Ernest Newman, Hugo Wolf. New York: Dover, 1966
Eric Sams, The Songs of Hugo Wolf. Bloomington: Indiana U. Press, 1992
E. Mary, Dargie, Music and Poetry in the Songs of Gustav Mahler Berne: Peter Lang, 1981
Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death. London: Faber and Faber, 1985
Stephen E. Hefling, “Das Lied von der Erde” in The Mahler Companion, ed. by Andrew Nicholson and Donald Mitchell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002
A native of Norway, Dr. Morten Solvik received his B.A. at Cornell University and his Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the tantalizing connections between music and culture, especially in relation to Vienna. Recent projects include a study of Mahler’s concept of nature and its impact on his musical thinking, an investigation of song manuscripts which led to the uncovering of an unknown Liederspiel by Schubert, and a look at Bruckner reception during the Nazi regime and its influence on the compilation of the composer’s Critical Edition in the 1930s and 40s. He has participated in productions for radio and television, organized concerts, and lectured on a wide variety of topics.