34th Annual Student Research Conference
The Traditional German Volksballade and Its Romantic Revival: An (Abridged) Lecture Recital
Noah B. Rogers
Dr. Marc Rice and Dr. Adam Davis, Faculty Mentors
During the German Romantic period, the balladic tradition of this region saw an enormous rise in popularity after being largely neglected for centuries. Although this renewed interest was sparked by the work of poets like Herder, Bürger, and Goethe, it quickly found its way into the musical sphere.
This capstone project will examine the Romantic revival of Germanic ballads, analyzing the ties between this movement and traditional Volkslied. After briefly surveying the history of the Volksballade, this presentation will look at the Kunstballade genre that developed over the course of the Romantic period. It will feature performance clips of three musical ballads written by some of the most notable proponents of the ballad in German art song: Loewe’s “Herr Oluf,” Schubert’s “Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel,” and Wolf’s “Nixe Binsefuß.” Literary and musical analyses will provide discussion of both the traditional elements and the Romantic developments featured in these works.
Keywords: Ballads, Folk Songs, Volksballade, Kunstballade, German Romanticism, Carl Loewe, Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf
Topic(s):Music
Folklore
German
Presentation Type: Face-to-Face Oral Presentation
Session: 201-3
Location: SUB GEO
Time: 11:00