Options
The relationship between text and music : a study of four settings of Suleika 2
Author
Chong, Ariana Pei Sieng
Supervisor
Dairianathan, Eugene
Abstract
This thesis addresses the relationship between text and music by focusing on a study of four musical settings of a poem Suleika 2. Through studying and comparing the four different song settings to the poem, this thesis addresses questions posed in the Introduction: how and to what extent are a poetic text and its musical setting related to each other? Can we possibly suggest a successful binding of the two arts? Would this binding still be successful despite a lesser poem or mundane musical materials? Do the two arts need equal treatment for a successful work to happen? Would it matter much to a composer if a poetic text was already in existence? Would it matter to the poet that the song is more popular than his poetry, or that the song contains alterations to his poetry?
In the Introduction and first chapter, some commentaries of prominent composers, poets and scholars about their perceptions of relationship between text and music, have been surveyed. The second chapter provides background information on the poem in question, Suleika 2, as well as information on Goethe's literary styles, besides making a comparison between Goethe's and Willemer's versions of the poem. This is followed by an analysis of the poem. The third chapter provides analyses of the different musical settings of Suleika 2 by four composers, having taken into consideration the goals of each one of them in composing the Lied. The fourth chapter concludes this thesis with an examination of the different social contexts within which each musical setting was composed, with a reflection on the issue of text alteration and the change in meaning resulting from the merging of text and music as well as from different musical settings of the same text.
In the Introduction and first chapter, some commentaries of prominent composers, poets and scholars about their perceptions of relationship between text and music, have been surveyed. The second chapter provides background information on the poem in question, Suleika 2, as well as information on Goethe's literary styles, besides making a comparison between Goethe's and Willemer's versions of the poem. This is followed by an analysis of the poem. The third chapter provides analyses of the different musical settings of Suleika 2 by four composers, having taken into consideration the goals of each one of them in composing the Lied. The fourth chapter concludes this thesis with an examination of the different social contexts within which each musical setting was composed, with a reflection on the issue of text alteration and the change in meaning resulting from the merging of text and music as well as from different musical settings of the same text.
Date Issued
2001
Call Number
ML2800 Cho
Date Submitted
2001