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University of Lethbridge

The Past, present, and future in John Greer's The Red red heart

Abstract

A psychological narrative from nostalgia to optimism binds the songs in John Greer’s cycle The Red Red Heart together. In the first two songs, images of the present are viewed with fear, discomfort, and confusion while images of the past are viewed with optimistic nostalgia and longing. In the middle of the cycle, the character’s emotional responses are reversed, the past now being viewed with negativity and despair, while the present is seen as exciting, joyous, and optimistic. In the final song of the cycle, the character’s growth culminates in her cautious hope for the future. The musical setting of the character’s changing opinions and feelings towards her past, present, and future will be examined from the perspectives of tonality, climax points, formal structure, melody, expression, rhythm, and accompaniment.

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Authors
  • Wittig, Megan L
  • University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts

Subjects

dc:subject × 7

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
hdl:10133/3720
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/3720

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Lethbridge
Base URL
opus.uleth.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-27
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Wittig, Megan L; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts. The Past, present, and future in John Greer's The Red red heart. 2015.