Unlocking Meaning in Art Song

Unlocking Meaning in Art Song teaches singers how to analyze songs in order to discover deeper meanings and create more compelling interpretations and performances. The first part of the book introduces important practical skills for analyzing the text as well as key musical elements including melody, rhythm, structure, linear motion, and harmony. The remainder of the book presents an in-depth guided analysis of twenty Schubert songs. The questions and prompts in these chapters allow students, singers, and other readers to discover for themselves the amazing ways in which music and expressive meaning are structured. Songs range from simpler analytical difficulty (such as An die Musik) to medium difficulty (such as Gretchen am Spinnrade), and finally to more complex (such as Erlkönig). The techniques presented in this book can be applied to all types of songs, allowing singers to build critical skills and artful consciousness. This is an ideal resource for song literature courses, voice teachers, students, collaborative pianists, and theory faculty.

Beverly Stein

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BASIC SKILLS Introduction: How to use this book 1) How to Analyze the Text of Your Song What is the Poem About? Performing a Song with a Refrain Poetic Structure Poetic Meter Rhyme Scheme Word Sounds Themes of German Romanticism Chapter Summary 2) What to Look for in the Musical Setting: Structure, Melody, and Rhythm Mood The Piano Part Form Phrasing Melody Motive Mid-Chapter Summary Tempo Meter and Rhythm Meter Upbeat versus Downbeat Phrase Beginnings Rhythm Accents Texture Dynamics Chapter Summary 3) What to Look for in the Musical Setting: Tonal Structure, Linear Motion, and Harmony Tonal Structure (Cadence Levels) Cadence Mapping Tonal Withholding Choice of Key Linear Motion and Motivic Parallelism Pedal Points Harmony Roman Numeral Analysis Tonicization and Modulation Augmented and Neapolitan Sixth Chords Enharmonic Shift Sudden Shift to a New Key Third Relationships and Chromatic Mediants Oscillation and Circling Chapter Summary PART TWO: SIMPLER SONGS TO ANALYZE 4) Heidenröslein 5) An die Musik 6) Die Forelle 7) Gute Nacht PART THREE: SONGS OF MEDIUM DIFFICULTY TO ANALYZE 8) Der Neugierige 9) Der Tod und das Mädchen 10) An die Nachtigall 11) Ave Maria 12) Du liebst mich nicht 13) Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt 14) Du bist die Ruh 15) Frühlingstraum 16) Gretchen am Spinnrade PART FOUR: MORE COMPLEX SONGS TO ANALYZE 17) Erster Verlust 18) Meeres Stille 19) Die junge Nonne 20) Die Liebe hat gelogen 21) Ganymed 22) Dass sie hier gewesen 23) Erlkönig APPENDIX Template for song analysis (long and short versions) Bibliography Glossary