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Course Description

Summary

This class is directed toward the somewhat advanced vocal performer. They will learn about German Lieder, the wonderful confluence of text and music, which is a highpoint of the Romantic period in music. They will study and perform Schumann’s Dichterliebe, one of the greatest song cycles ever written. Students will together and separately learn all of the sixteen songs and perform them in a culminating concert. They will also study the relationship between the poems and the music in the songs of the period. Romantic composers, unlike the classical composers, sought to express emotion, often revealing their innermost thoughts and feelings, positive and negative, love and death. The poets of the period often juxtaposed these human emotions with the magnificence and neutrality of nature. We will study the art, poetry and emotional feeling of the period with an emphasis on some of the great poets, Goethe, Heine, and look at other song cycles by Schumann as well as cycles by Schubert and Wolf. Participants will do written assignments about the romantic era. This is an opportunity for 6-8 students, auditioned by the instructor, to learn more about German Lieder, the great composer Schumann and to perform his Dichterliebe. Reports and papers will be assigned. Rep sessions with the pianist will be available, as well as coaching in German pronunciation.