The Voice of Children in Art Song: A Study of Six Cycles Involving a Child's Perspective

This document explores the often overlooked and undervalued song cycle repertory containing children’s themes. This genre includes music written and performed by adults that offers elements of a child’s world within the poetry. Various modes of communication are possible in songs with children’s themes, depending on whether the poet is an adult or child, whether the poet acts as an adult or child, and whether the intended audience consists of adults or children. The document compares six song cycles using each of these modes of communication. Poems written by children are set in <i>A Garland for Marjory Fleming</i> by Richard Rodney Bennett and <i>Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann</i>, Op. 104 by Robert Schumann, while adult poets act as children in Theodore Chanler’s <i>The Children</i> and Leonard Bernstein’s <i>I Hate Music! A Cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano,</i> and children are the poetic audience in <i>La courte paille</i> by Francis Poulenc and <i>A Charm of Lullabies</i> by Benjamin Britten. This document uses these three modes of communication as an analytical lens through which to view the poetic and musical techniques used in creating a child’s world in song. The analysis searches for specific messages conveyed by the poets and composers and gives suggestions to performers in highlighting these childlike aspects on stage.

Name thesis:degree_name

DMA

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College-Conservatory of Music: Voice

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Cincinnati

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Woolston, Rachelle M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Schlagel, Stephanie

• Music
• Elisabeth Kulmann
• Marjory Fleming
• childrens themes
• perspective of children
• child poets
• childrens song cycles

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1353088912

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ucin1353088912