Poetry into song: performance and analysis of lieder

When Franz Schubert put Goethe's poem "Gretchen am Spinnrade" to music in 1814, he created a musical form that has captivated audiences ever since. In Poetry into Song, Deborah Stein and Robert Spillman challenge readers to seek a richer, more imaginative understanding of Lied - the nineteenth-century German art song.

Written for students of voice, piano, and theory and for all singers and accompanists, Poetry into Song establishes a framework for the analysis of song based on a process of performing, listening, analyzing, and performing again. This unique approach emphasizes the reciprocal interaction between performance and analysis. Focusing on the masterworks, Poetry into Song features numerous poetic texts, as well as a core repertory of songs. Examples throughout the text demonstrate points, and end of chapter questions reinforce concepts and encourage directed analysis. While numerous books have been written on Lieder and German Romantic poetry, Poetry into Song is the first to combine performance, musical analysis, textual analysis, and the interrelation between poetry and music in a truly systematic, thorough way.

Includes scores for 17 songs.

Foreword / Elly Ameling and Max Deen Larsen -- Introduction : Preliminary clarifications -- Part I : The language of poetry -- Introduction to German romanticism. Historical context of German romanticism ; German romantic themes and imagery ; Cultural influences within German romanticism ; Exercises -- Part II : The language of the performer -- Texture. Vocal styles ; Accompanimental styles ; Models for study of texture ; Exercises -- Temporality. Nuances of notation ; Determination of tempo ; Timing between partners ; Exercises -- Elements of interpretation. Dynamics ; Timbre ; Vocal accents and stress ; The concept of persona ; Exercises -- Part III : The language of music -- Harmony and tonality. Harmonic and tonal norms ; Tonality and mode ; Harmonic and tonal innovation ; Exercises -- Melody and motive. Melodic overview : Context and characteristics ; Linear analysis ; Contrapuntal structure of melody and bass ; Compound line ; Motivic analysis ; Melody in the accompaniment ; Exercises -- Rhythm and meter. Rhythmic, metric, and phrase norms ; Metric, rhythmic, and phrase deviations ; Exercises -- Form in the German lied. Introduction ; Analysis of form in lieder ; Conclusion …