Singers and pianists never tire of exploring the songs of Schubert and Schumann, Wolf and Mahler. But discussions of these marvelous works have too often given only brief consideration to the artistry of the poems-by such masters as Goethe, Heine, and Eichendorff-and to the composers' insightful interaction with that verbal art.
Of Poetry and Song: Approaches to the Nineteenth-Century Lied is an anthology of truly interdisciplinary studies of text-music relations in the German Lied. The chapters gathered in it (including some published here for the first time in English or indeed at all) were written by two musicologists -- Rufus Hallmark and Jürgen Thym -- and two German-literature specialists-Harry Seelig and the late Ann C. Fehn.
An extensive introduction by the volume's editor, Jürgen Thym, considers the fruitful ways in which the four authors meet the challenge of combining literary and musical analysis.
Jürgen Thym is professor emeritus of Musicology at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music
Reviews
[The essays] fit together naturally - even rhyme with one another - because of each author's dedication to uncover the `network of communicative meaning' between linguistic and musical structures in lieder. . . . Seelig writes with passion and precision. . . . The shining star . . . is by Jürgen Thym. . . . These essays exhibit an impressive level of intellectual rigour . . . [and] offer us a standard by which we can now measure our own efforts. NINETEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC REVIEW [Karen M. Bottge][A] rich banquet of critical essays . . . , making us palpably aware of the active role that lied composers played as sensitive and penetrating readers of their chosen poems. . . . [Special praise for] Ju"rgen Thym's exemplary text-music analysis of Schumann's "Frühlingsfahrt." Both musicologists and performers will find considerable intellectual and artistic stimulation by wrestling with the arguments in this book. MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES [Benjamin Binder]
The authors elevate the role of the poem in the creation of the Lied . . . [and delve into] the deeper meanings of the songs and cycles presented. . . . [Includes] musical examples and easy-to-read diagrams and tables. . . . Summing Up: Highly Recommended.-- Choice [Jennifer Trost]
'The authors argue passionately for treating song as the complex phenomenon it is, one in which the relations between linguistic and musical structures are the focus. A rich and important book.' --Susan Youens, J. W. Van Gorkom Professor of Music, University of Notre Dame
An approachable, engaging, and polished study of the mechanics of song composition. . . . [Important essays] written in prose so clean, precise, and direct that upper-level students will appreciate their insights as much as seasoned scholars. . . . A generous number of clean and polished music examples . . . makes this compilation both attractive and convenient. . . . Hallmark's opening essay . . . [is] theperfect way to open a seminar on song. MUSIC AND LETTERS [Blake Howe]
[An] important and engaging collection of essays [.] As an approachable, engaging, and polished study of the mechanics of song composition and analysis, this book has few peers. MUSIC & LETTERS, November 2011
