Music and Poetry: A History of Collaboration
Emi E. Griess
Dr. James D'Agostino, Faculty Mentor
Lieder (art songs) are a wonderful part of the history of artistic collaboration. In 19th Century Germany, composers took poems of high literary merit and wrote music to accompany them. The musical expression of the songs reflected the feeling of the poetry. Some composers created song cycles of several related pieces, usually containing romantic or pastoral themes. Because they did not directly collaborate with the writers, composers' pieces were sometimes disliked by the poets; Erlknig, written by Schubert and ill-received by Goethe, became one of the most celebrated art songs of all time. I will explore these collaborations while reflecting on my personal experience working with graduate music student Jon Gill, who took several of my poems and is in the process of putting them to music. The opportunity to work with a composer and see my poetry performed on stage will inform my research in new and interesting ways.
Keywords: collaboration, lieder, poetry, Germany, composer, poet, music, art song
Topic(s):English
Music
Interdisciplinary
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 39-2
Location: VH 1324
Time: 1:30