Tag: Sense of Possibility

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An Evening of Interpretations by Ravel and Friends

Introduction

Exhausted by the “excesses of Romanticism,” composers were inspired to revolutionize the dawn of the twentieth century with an entirely fresh, progressive musical style. The “sense of possibility” possessed by these composers, as historian Joseph Auner calls it, denotes rejection of the idea that everything must stay the same. In the wake of this widespread search for modernity, no singular, dominant movement emerged, but a whole host of new musical thoughts was born. 

Inspiration was drawn from all different sources: other styles, other creators, other cultures, and so on. What resulted was a tradition of total blending between artistic styles, as evidenced by the works of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). 

Not only is Ravel the pioneer and mastermind behind many breakthroughs from the twentieth century, but his career wholly captures the eclectic character of this era. As this concert will surely demonstrate, the works of Ravel span across decades of experimental movements, from Impressionism to Exoticism to Expressionism popular music to all of the above combined. 

The diverse range of style in Ravel’s compositions is largely the influence of connections he made, through which he gained exposure to many different modes of expression. With this understanding, this concert program has been designed around Ravel, as his career represents the unique interconnectedness of twentieth century styles, genres, cultures, relationships, and more.

Three compositions by Ravel will be showcased, distinct from each other in their representation of styles or techniques, as they span quite far across the many phases of his career. Each Ravel piece will also be premised by the work of another composer from his lifetime. In placing these composers beside each other, the goal is to compare how influences were shared between them.

Thus, this concert is eclectic in itself. The program does not pertain to one specific style, genre, or technique, but displays an entire narrative of creative exchange. We hope you will join us in honoring this tradition of interconnectedness, especially as it is iconic to the twentieth century.

Setting

St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY: Exterior

This concert will take place on April 23, 2021 at 8:00 PM at the St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, NYC, NY.

The concert will take place in the spring to symbolize the vibrancy and novelty of the turn of the century. Also, the concert will take place at night to honor the presence of specific imagery in some pieces. The most heavy-handed example of this would be “Nacht” from Pierrot Lunaire, composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912, which is featured in our first act.

The grand, arched windows of the St. Ann’s Warehouse will contribute to the mood by exposing an elegant nighttime view of the Manhattan skyline. Converted from a church in the 1980’s, this event venue is a “flexible, open space”1 that comes down to 1,000 square feet of bare canvas.

St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY: Interior
St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY: Interior

St. Ann’s Warehouse has been selected for this concert based on its versatility, an essential asset to the set-up of the space. The concept, here, is that audience members will be seated in entirely mismatched chairs, acquired from thrift shops, antique stores, storage units, or the bowels of people’s homes. The goal is to get as much variety of color, shape, texture, and size as possible so that the physical set-up of the space will parallel the themes of eclecticism in Ravel’s twentieth century works.

Inspiration: Soho South Cafe – Savannah, Georgia
Inspiration: Soho South Cafe – Savannah, Georgia

Meet the Artists

Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon (2016), photo by David Luchon

Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon

From Lyon, France, Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon, alongside their most recent conductor, Thierry Escaich, brings French authenticity to our concert, in keeping with Ravel’s background. Most importantly, the official residence of Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon is l’Auditorium de Lyon, also titled The Maurice-Ravel Auditorium, in honor of the composer himself. Although this orchestra primarily performs operas, the theatricality and melodrama that goes into their usual performances will surely suit Ravel’s provocative compositions.

Notes on the Program

“Pagodas”, from Estampes, composed by Claude Debussy (1903)

To discuss Maurice Ravel’s greatest musical connections and influences yet not mention Claude Debussy would be erroneous, as the two composers are constantly compared. For instance, a passage by Auner, describing the iconic 1920’s-1930’s Paris music scene, refers to Ravel as “the most famous French composer after Debussy.”2

Both Debussy and Ravel are strongly associated with nineteenth century Impressionism in accordance with the start of their careers at this time. As Ronald L. Byrnside’s journal article, “Musical Impressionism” examines, however, these comparisons have been negative on occasion, including an “unfortunate and rather silly debate on the subject of influences and even plagiarism [between their works].”3 In response, Byrnside suspects that onlookers only conflated the separate works of Debussy and Ravel because they are both distinct and unique in contrast to other Impressionist works. In other words, Debussy and Ravel’s late-nineteenth century compositions are only similar in their dissimilarity to other Impressionist pieces; they are dissimilar from each other, too.

Regardless, links between Debussy and Ravel continued to emerge through the twentieth century, as exemplified by the two Exoticist pieces performed here: Debussy’s “Pagodas” from Estampes, and Ravel’s “Asia” from Scheherazade, both composed in 1903.

“Asia”, from Scheherazade, composed by Maurice Ravel (1903)

The Exoticism movement took off in the first decade of the twentieth century, a product of the “sense of possibility” held by composers in their quest for modernity. As the name suggests, Exoticist pieces borrow techniques and aesthetics from “exotic” or foreign cultures. Usually, these were cultural styles of the “Orient,” an outdated blanket term that ignorantly lumped all non-Western cultures together.

In fact, “Asia” from Scheherazade, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1903, is directly inspired by a Tristan Klingsor poem that revolves around “fantasies of a vaguely defined ‘Orient’ with references to Persia, China, and India.”4 To best channel this oriental style, Ravel applies musical techniques superficially associated with Asian and Middle-Eastern music, including pentatonic melodies and augmented seconds. In effect, Ravel’s application of “unusual spices”5 makes a noticeable statement when placed into a Western context.

Differently, in “Pagodas” from Estampes, composed by Claude Debussy in 1903, Debussy seeks to “expand and transform his own musical language”6 by incorporating Asian style more fluidly into the Western pallet. Inspired by his fascination with Japanese prints and engravings, Debussy took great care to emulate this aesthetic, even through the presentation of the title page. In sum, while both Ravel’s “Asia” and Debussy’s “Pagodas” speak to the Exoticism movement, they demonstrate two different methods of combining the “Orient” and the West.

“Nacht”, from Pierrot lunaire, composed by Arnold Schoenberg (1912)

Another noteworthy revelation in the twentieth century was that of atonal and dissonant music, as seen in Expressionism and Serialism. The atonality movement launched post-World War I, as artists were eager to discard earlier conventions in this new chapter. “Nacht” from Pierrot lunaire, composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912, is the perfect example of these elements in action. Modeled from a series of poems, also titled Pierrot lunaire, written by Albert Giraud in 1884, Schoenberg crafted a musical melodrama with expressionist tones.

“Nacht,” a short, dramatic piece, was specifically selected for this concert as it perfectly captures the mood of Pierrot lunaire: vivid, dark imagery channeled into howl-like singing.

In relation to Ravel, and his career as a composer, Schoenberg’s work was very inspirational amidst the atonal movement. Like others, Ravel was interested in experimenting with unconventional sounds, exhausted by the extravagances of pre-war musical traditions. Chansons madécasses, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1925-1926, will demonstrate Ravel’s exploration of these new styles.

Chansons madécasses, composed by Maurice Ravel (1925-1926)

Chansons madécasses, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1925-1926, indicates a post-war shift in his composition techniques, which Henry Prunières, in his review of the composition, identified to be “more linear, thinner in texture, more contrapuntal.”7 Others have speculated that Chanson madécasses contains hints of Ravel’s Exoticist style, specifically in his use of calabash, a percussion instrument common in African music. The title Chanson madécasses also translates to “Madagascan songs” in English.

There is limited information on how Ravel perceived his own change in style, except that he has credited Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire as inspiration,8 which is why these two pieces are juxtaposed in our program. Both feature vulgar imagery, based on poetry, through a melodramatic interpretation of the melody by a female vocalist.

In particular, Ravel’s Chanson madécasses is described to be erotic, seductive, and dramatic. One wonders if Ravel was simply provocative in nature, as supported by his aforementioned unique Impressionist and striking Exoticist works.

Parade, composed by Erik Satie (1917)

As outlined by Auner, Parade, composed by Erik Satie in 1917, was an extremely successful albeit scandalous ballet which exercised “peculiar combinations of materials and nonchalant tone,”9 foretelling of 1920’s and 1930’s musical trends. Tending towards the category of popular music with its ragtime influences and danceable feel, Parade is made accessible to wider audiences through its embodiment of both “a musical hall variety show and a traveling circus” and its “motley cast of acrobats.”10 This piece offended some listeners with its vulgarity, however, especially during the sensitive time of World War I.

Cue the similarly, notoriously provocative Maurice Ravel. Evidently, Ravel and Satie ran in similar circles throughout their careers. Ravel, alongside Debussy, even took Satie under his wing early on.11 As critic Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi recalls, Ravel “[asserted] that Satie’s music contained the germ of many things in the modern developments of music”12 early on.

Clearly, Satie and Ravel demonstrate how composers each built upon their “senses of possibility” by inspiring each other. For instance, the following piece, Piano Concerto in G, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1931, is similar to Parade in its use of popular music styles, such as dance music and jazz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96ZQFXmtNNU

Piano Concerto in G, composed by Maurice Ravel (1931)

“[Piano Concert in G] illustrates the heterogeneous mix of elements that [Ravel] was able to incorporate in a single work, including Classical forms, the retrospective genre of the concerto, the harmonies and timbres of jazz, and and sharp-edge, Machine Age style.”13

Piano Concerto in G, composed by Maurice Ravel in 1931, is even considered to be “Gerwishinesque” at times, referencing popular American jazz composer, George Gershwin. Just like Satie’s Parade, Piano Concerto in G signifies the rise of popular music to prominence in the 1920’s and 1930’s, including genres like dance music, blues, ragtime, and jazz.

It has been proven, simply by the nature of this concert program, that Ravel was keen to experiment with modern sounds. The impressive extent of his social network, as well as the impressive duration of his relevance within the sphere of twentieth century music, may be wholly attributed to his perpetually-open mind. It has been proven that Ravel was not afraid to experiment with new techniques and styles, and the provocative nature of his work contributes to his legendary renown. In this way, compositions by Ravel perfectly represent the daring, eclectic, and progressive personality of twentieth century music.

Notes

1.  “Facility Rentals.” St. Ann’s Warehouse, https://stannswarehouse.org/about-st-anns-warehouse/facilities/

2. Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013): 108.

3. Byrnside, Ronald L. “Musical Impressionism: The Early History of the Term”, (The Musical Quarterly, 1980): 534.

5. Auner, Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: 29.

6. Ibid.

7. James, Richard S., “Ravel’s ‘Chansons Madécasses:’ Ethnic Fantasy or Ethnic Borrowing?” (The Musical Quarterly, 1990): 370.

8. Ibid., 361.

9. Auner, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century: 103.

10. Ibid.

11. Laloy, Louis, “La Musique retrouvée,” (Librairie Plon, Paris, 1928): 258-259.

12. Calvocoressi, Michel-Dimitri, “Erik Satie. A few recollections and remarks”, (The Monthly Musical Record, 1925): 6-7.

13. Auner, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century: 109.

Sources

Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013.

Byrnside, Ronald L. “Musical Impressionism: The Early History of the Term.” The Musical Quarterly 66, no. 4 (1980).

Calvocoressi, Michel-Dimitri, “Erik Satie. A few recollections and remarks”, The Monthly Musical Record, 55, January 1, 1925.

James, Richard S. “Ravel’s ‘Chansons Madécasses:’ Ethnic Fantasy or Ethnic Borrowing?” The Musical Quarterly 74, no. 3 (1990).

Laloy, Louis, “La Musique retrouvée”, Librairie Plon, Paris, 1928.

St. Ann’s Warehouse. “Facility Rentals.” Accessed December 18, 2020. https://spektrix-nyc.do.stannswarehouse.org/about-st-anns-warehouse/facilities/.

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Jazz Meets Art Music: A New Tradition of Collaboration in the Twentieth Century

At the turn of the century, musicians were overwhelmed with what music historian Joseph Auner called a “sense of possibility”1, or motivation in rejection of the idea that everything must stay the same. Composers explored various musical traditions and art movements in their widespread search for a new, rejuvenating sound but failed to unite in dedication to one artistic style. The diverse range of resulting musical styles is commonly organized by a “contemporary taxonomy”2 that includes the categories, art music and popular music. 

While art music denotes the structured and the elite, popular music denotes the modern, in step with popular culture. Notably, popular music is considered the antithesis of art music, as it is commonly described “to be of lower value and complexity” while “readily accessible” to listeners without musical education.3                           

In the twentieth century, however, labels like these became much less exclusive as the simultaneous prominence of so many different styles allowed others to blend and influence each other. In particular, it is interesting to observe the interactions of art music and a specific popular music genre: jazz. The relationship between art music and jazz music is based on the role of jazz, as a new and lively popular tradition, in rejuvenating art music. In effect, combinations of musical styles like jazz and art music added dimension to the greater character of twentieth century music.

Before exploring how the relationship between jazz and art music was beneficial, it is interesting to examine why some felt threatened by a “hybrid intruder”4. Opposed to the idea of combining musical styles, some cherished the maintenance of musical traditions as separate and sacred in their own right. As an example, in the process of rebuilding music traditions “from the ground up” post-World War II, American composer John Cage rejected engagement with jazz and popular music. As exemplified by his abstract, objective composition style, Cage preferred to minimize the role of the composer’s individuality and personal emotion and expression that is brought out by jazz and popular music.5 

Those who did appreciate the combination of jazz and art music saw the positive inspiration that could be drawn from each. While political conflict provoked widespread distress in the 1920-30’s, jazz music was necessary in reinvigorating a music scene that had grown dry and inaccessible via classical music. According to Auner, jazz music “solved many challenges composers faced” in that it “[spoke] to a broader public” and “provided a rich repertory of up-to-date rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and timbres” all of which could be applied to other musical genres in need of variety.6 

As an example, with the rise of sound film as a form of entertainment, opera seemed “particularly in need of resuscitation through jazz.”7 This successful incorporation of jazz into opera scores is evident in the works of Austrian-American composer Ernst Krenek. Although Krenek began his career with a neoclassical, romantic style, his career took a positive turn under the influence of relationships with some jazz and serialist composers. Standing as a physical representation of his fusion of these two genres, the largely successful opera Jonny spielt auf (Jonny Strikes Up), composed by Krenek in 1925, follows the story of a Modernist composer who finds inspiration in his relationship with an African-American jazz musician.The score of this opera is unique in its “illusions to jazz and popular dance forms such as shimmy, blues, and tango,”8 which inspired many other composers to follow in Krenek’s lead and add modern sound to opera. In accordance with the development of modern music, Krenek was very influential in his demonstration of how “disparate ideas of the new music, the New Objectivity, machine art, jazz, race, Primitivism, and the modern world could be jumbled together.”9  Evidently, this opera is quite self-aware, blatantly encouraging artists to draw inspiration from other musical traditions, and this message is even physically manifested in the plot and the multifaceted score. 

Krenek, Ernst. Part II, Scene XI, (“Finale”), Jonny spielt auf. (1926): 1:04-2:07.

In accordance with this idea that jazz and art music enrich each other, the compatibility of these two styles is defended by the fact that jazz played with technical elements also seen in art music. Most notably, throughout the campaign to revitalize twentieth century music, atonality was a strong trademark of the era. Jazz is well suited to this trend of unconventional harmony, given the prominence of new, innovative scales, such as blues scales or scales in uncommonly-seen modes. As specific examples, art music genres like serialism and expressionism are similar to jazz in their goals to liberate the composer through chance and randomness. In teaching jazz improvisation, some even believe that exposure to diverse, atypical styles of music such as those can “stretch” the ear. It seems that, regardless of the capacity in which jazz and art music interacted, the two styles were well-suited to each other.

The ideas that stem from Gunther Schuller’s third stream concept also validate the combination of jazz and art music, or the combination of any genres at all. Third stream exemplifies the inherent compatibility of jazz and contemporary “classical” musical techniques through the formation of a new genre that completely blended the two. Unlike composers who simply used jazz as inspiration, Schuller aimed to preserve as much of the authenticity of both jazz and classical music as possible.10 According to Schuller, such a combination of styles is “not only interesting but inevitable”11 for musical synthesis and innovation, especially since the performance of classical music was lacking in energy which jazz could provide.

“Da Capo”, Third Stream Music/The Modern Jazz Quartet & Guests, with The Jimmy Giuffre Three & The Beaux Arts String Quartet, (1960): 0:00-1:24.

Perfectly summarized by Schuller’s statement that he “[does not] care what category music belongs to”12 as long as it sounds good, the third stream represents a progressive philosophy. At this point in time, there was significant diversity of prominent musical style to the point that composers could not remain isolated in their studies; therefore, as Schuller argues, music should not be judged and restricted by the standard of solely one genre; there are so many to draw influence from, instead. Music should be judged by its pure profoundness and enjoyability, on its own terms.

In the end, the combination of jazz and art music perfectly represents the trend of widespread experimentation among composers in the twentieth century in an effort to establish a fresh, new sound. Not only did their “sense of possibility” inspire the creation of many new genres but, in combining these genres, musicians added even more depth to the complex character of the twentieth century music scene. Boundaries were broken with permanence as, to this day, composers combine many different styles into one musical project.

Notes

  1. Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2013): 5.
  2. “Art Music.” Grove Music Online, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002227279. 
  3. “Popular Music.” Grove Music Online, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000043179?rskey=glGlf5&result=1.
  4. Schuller, Gunther. Musings: The Musical Worlds of Gunther Schuller. (Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1989): 141.
  5. Auner. Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: 191.
  6. Ibid., 100.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Ibid.
  10. Schuller. Musings: 116.
  11. Ibid., 118.
  12. Ibid., 115.

Sources

“Art Music.” Grove Music Online, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002227279. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. Print.

“Popular Music.” Grove Music Online, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000043179?rskey=glGlf5&result=1. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Schuller, Gunther, and Milton Babbitt. Musings: The Musical Worlds of Gunther Schuller. Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1989. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/haverford/detail.action?docID=241240.

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Boulanger, Schindler, & the Rare “Sense of Possibility” for Women Composers

At the turn of the century, the panicked urge felt by many composers to create a new tradition of music could not have occurred without a “sense of possibility.”  The observation that some possess a “sense of possibility” originates from Musil’s Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften, which describes motivation to oppose the notion that everything should stay the same. According to Professor Joseph Auner, however, “even the possibility of a sense of possibility was by no means available to all.”1 Social conventions limited access to educational and professional opportunities for many in the twentieth century, as was demonstrated specifically by the difficulty women composers faced in their careers. Studying women composers Alma Schindler and Lili Boulanger as examples, it is clear that their high social statuses allowed for more success than many others could achieve, but they still experienced difficulty along the way, due to the negative perception of femininity held by many in the field of music.

Alma Schindler’s and Lili Boulanger’s successes were anomalies, since women composers in the twentieth century were challenged by a lack of resources, lack of encouragement, and lack of freedom from the stifying expectation that women remain primarily in a domestic role. 

Upon their engagement, Schindler’s husband Gustav Mahler “made it clear that [Schindler] was to live for his music, not hers” and advised that she stop composing; he found the idea of a husband-wife composing team “ridiculous” and “degrading”.2 Mahler would often escape to his “composing hut” as a “withdrawal from the domestic sphere” when he needed creative inspiration. Mahler’s disposition towards his own wife embodies the widespread social belief that women were characterized by their rigid domestic roles, contrasting men’s liberties as careerists.3 Only after Schindler’s affair with architect Walter Gropius did Mahler take an interest in Schinder’s writings, regretting his previously neglectful attitude. Clearly, such negativity did not stop Schindler’s fiery creativity and wit; she even threw critique back in Mahler’s face, notably describing his First Symphony as “irritating” and “an ear-splitting, nerve-shattering din.”4

Quite differently, Boulanger never married nor had children, passing from chronic illness at the young age of twenty-four. Her sister, Nadia Boulanger never married either, but claimed that she was “married to her music”, so she lived on to tirelessly promote Lili’s compositions while achieving her own success as music teacher and composer. Since women were perpetually stifled by the rigidity of their domestic responsibilities, the accomplishments of the Boulanger sisters suggest that they prospered from this unconventional break from gendered expectations. 

Educational opportunities also contributed to the success of the Boulangers, considering the sisters were “born into an exceptionally musical family.”5 Notably, the privilege of high education would determine a composer’s potential regardless of their gender, but a lack of education was more common among women, acting as a primary roadblock. Echoed by Schindler’s diary entry in which she hopelessly attributes the perceived impossibility of a career in music to the fact that her “mind has not been schooled,” the sexist expectation that women serve solely domestic purposes made access to education “terribly difficult for girls.”6 Like Schindler, women even had low expectations for themselves, since a successful career as a woman composer was otherwise unprecedented. 

With a deeper understanding of Schindler’s and Boulanger’s career paths, it is interesting to analyze their compositions. Similar uses of symbolism, expressiveness, and irresoluteness can be considered representative of their similar experiences and creative ideas. 

As a first example, Clairières dans ciel, composed by Boulanger in 1914 and published in 1919, reflects sorrowfully upon the parting of two lovers. This thirteen-piece movement channels Francis Jammes’s poetry in expressive, melancholic melodies, specifically in symbolism-rich Song 12, “Je garde un médaille d’elle”.

Je garde une médaille d’elle

Je garde une médaille d’elle où sont gravés

une date et les mots: prier, croire, espérer.

Mais moi, je vois surtout que la médaille est sombre :

son argent a noirci sur son col de colombe.

– Francis Jammes (1906)

I keep a medal for her

I keep a medal for her on which are engraved 

three words: pray, believe, hope. 

What I see most is that the medal is dark because 

its silver has blackened on her dove’s neck.

– Francis Jammes (1906)

Lili Boulanger’s interpretation of Jammes’s writing is thought to be so emotional that her sister Nadia identified a connection between the poem’s young female love interest and Lili herself.7 Given this apparent bond, musicologist Bonnie Jo Dopp wonders in her interpretation of Clairières dans ciel if “Lili experienced such unhappiness in love”8 as is depicted in the poem. 

The emotion behind Boulanger’s composition is represented musically throughout the song, as exemplified in the irresoluteness of the cadence at m.12. Building up to a half cadence with a V7 chord of G, the line fails to resolve to the tonic and instead falls to D minor, sustaining through m.13.

Boulanger, Lili. “Je Garde Une Médaille D’elle”, Clairières dans le Ciel, with Heidi Grant Murphy and Kevin Murphy, (Arabesque Recordings, 2006). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afg_Najnn1A

For the listener, the avoidance of a clean, traditional resolution recreates feelings of hopelessness and dissatisfaction as provoked by lost love. Throughout the song, bitonal accompaniment chords also act as musical representation, mirroring two mismatched lovers. Boulanger even creates visual symbolism, since the arrangement of the notes on the page forms the circular shape of une médaille, or a medallion as is featured in the lover’s memories.

Also riddled with deeply-felt emotion is Schindler’s “Die stille Stadt”, composed in 1910, inspired by Richard Dehmel’s dark and expressive poem. In accordance with this poem’s depiction of a hopeless, quiet night from the perspective of a wanderer, Schindler was repeatedly “drawn to mysticism and the contemplation of inner life”9 as a subject.

Die stille Stadt

Liegt eine Stadt im Tale,

Ein blasser Tag vergeht.

Es wird nicht [lange dauern mehr]1,

Bis weder Mond noch Sterne

[Nur Nacht] am Himmel steht.

Von allen Bergen drücken

Nebel auf die Stadt,

Es dringt kein Dach, [nicht] Hof noch Haus,

Kein Laut aus ihrem Rauch heraus,

Kaum Türme noch und Brücken.

[Doch] als dem Wandrer graute,

Da ging ein Lichtlein auf im Grund

Und [durch den] [Rauch und Nebel]

Begann ein [leiser] Lobgesang

Aus Kindermund.

– Richard Dehmel

The Silent Town

A town lies in the valley;

A pallid day fades.

It will not be long now

Before neither moon nor stars

But only night will be seen in the heavens.

From all the mountains

Fog presses down upon the town;

No roof may be discerned, no yard nor house,

No sound penetrates through the smoke,

Barely even a tower or a bridge.

But as the traveller became filled with dread

A little light shone out,

And through smoke and fog

A song of praise began,

Sung by children.

– Richard Dehmel

Schindler’s compositions regularly channeled themes of “night versus light, loneliness and love, and sexual union as a spiritual communion,”10 marrying vivid imagery with her provocative style. Just as Boulanger strategically avoided conventional resolution, Schindler instills a sense of uneasiness in “Die stille Stadt” with phrases that deliberately cut off in the middle of their flow. 

Alma Maria Mahler-Werfel, Die stille Stadt, with Angelika Kirchschlager and Helmut Deutsch, produced by Thomas Frost, (Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 2010). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b994Y75mS8o&feature=emb_title

Schindler immediately creates a dreamlike sound on the upbeat of beat 1, m.1 with use of Wagner’s unconventional and unresolved “Tristan” chord, an iconic feature of twentieth century music. Throughout her compositions, Schindler exemplifies an affinity for unconventional harmony and chromaticism, with rare appearances of major and minor chords and frequent uses of augmented and diminished chords, like the “Tristan chord”.11 Also similar to Boulanger, Schindler uses musical representations to emotionally provoke the listener as, in m.2-5, a chromatic descending line accompanies the sunset in the poem.12

“Je garde une médaille d’elle” by Boulanger and “Die stille Stadt” by Schindler clearly share deep expressions of melancholy and evocative uses of musical representation. More notably, however, these songs are comparable in their roles as emotional, creative outlets for women composers in a time when it was rare for them to be published. Knowing that both women experienced such  hopeless struggles in the pursuit of composition and beyond, it is possible that the morose and lonely moods of these songs are channeling their trying experiences.

In twentieth century music, such blatant imbalance of opportunity between genders was heavily tied to widespread negative perceptions of women, only perpetuated by influential men composers of the era. American composer Charles Ives, for example, was notoriously sexist and used gendered terms to emphasize the flaws he saw in musical tradition. To criticize nineteenth century music, he described its outdated urban, cultivated quality to be effeminate; instead, he sought the “masculine authenticity” of more rough and vernacular music.13 As a result, many positive musical innovations were labeled “masculine”,  beginning a tradition which effectively “depreciated and suppressed styles that were regarded ‘feminine’, along with the contributions of women composers, musicians, and patrons.”14 Establishing a negative association with femininity was especially impactful when used to slander outdated music in the twentieth century, since a desire for new, modern music practically characterized the era. 

The field of music only furthered demeaned femininity in its associations with the weak, domestic, and inferior. Though subtle, the perpetuation of these gender stereotypes only further discouraged women composers from confidently pursuing careers. This negativity is prominent in Schindler’s childhood diary entry in which, after losing hope of finding a woman composer role model, she defeatedly declares “a woman can achieve nothing, never ever.”15

Given the discriminatory trials women endured when pursuing careers in music, there is notably irony in the twentieth century search for progress and artistic renewal. How progressive is a movement that excludes women, along with several other groups who could not afford opportunities for success at this time? A “sense of possibility” is clearly selective in its ability to inspire and mobilize. Thankfully, though, with Schindler and Boulanger to act as a few exceptions, these women composers broke social boundaries, ultimately contributing to the prominence of women in music today.

Sources

Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. Print.

Dopp, Bonnie Jo. “Numerology and Cryptography in the Music of Lili Boulanger: The Hidden Program in ‘Clairières Dans Le Ciel.’” The Musical Quarterly, vol. 78, no. 3, 1994.

Follet, Diane. “Redeeming Alma: The Songs of Alma Mahler.” College Music Symposium, vol. 44, 2004, pp. 28–42. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40374487. Accessed 12 Oct. 2020.

Potter, Caroline. Nadia and Lili Boulanger. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.

Rosenstiel, Léonie. The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger. Rutherford, N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1978. Print.

Notes

1 Auner, Joseph. Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2013): 8.

2 Follet, Diane. “Redeeming Alma: The Songs of Alma Mahler.” (College Music Society, 2004): 29.

3 Auner, Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: 17.

4 Ibid., 24.

5 Potter, Caroline. Nadia and Lili Boulanger. (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016): xi.

 6 Auner. Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: 25.

7 Rosenstiel, Leonie. The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger. (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1978): 276.

8 Dopp, Bonnie Jo. “Numerology and Cryptography in the Music of Lili Boulanger: The Hidden Program in ‘Clairières Dans Le Ciel.’” The Musical Quarterly, vol. 78, no. 3, (1994): 560.

9  Follet, “Redeeming Alma”: 30.

10 Ibid., 31.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid., 34.

[13] Auner, Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: 64.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

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