Contemporary American Art Songs, for Voice and Piano

This chapter examines Harry T. Burleigh's work as a composer during the period 1896–1913. Burleigh's 200-plus vocal and instrumental works brought him national and international renown in the first half of the twentieth century. Burleigh's songs reflected his thorough knowledge of the prevailing forms and musical idioms of the European and American art song, both as a singer and as a composer. All his songs were written for the recital or concert stage, and they often set the same lyrics. Two of Burleigh's compositional output are choral arrangements of spirituals—“Deep River” and “Dig My Grave”—that were written for Kurt Schindler's Schola Cantorum. Also, it was not unusual for Burleigh himself to appear in concert or recital with other song composers. This chapter considers Burleigh's compositions published from 1896 to 1903 and from 1904 to 1913, including art songs, plantation songs, piano sketches, and sacred songs.

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Burleigh’s Singing Career

10.5406/illinois/9780252039942.003.0009 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jean E. Snyder

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Art Songs ◽

American Art ◽

Art Music ◽

American Music ◽

Lecture Recital ◽

African American Art ◽

Early Twentieth Century

This chapter focuses on Harry T. Burleigh's singing career. When Burleigh auditioned for admission to the Artist's Course at the National Conservatory of Music, his goal was to become a classical concert singer. Like soprano Sissieretta Jones, he wanted to sing arias and art songs in recital. Like other well-known black singers, Burleigh sang for audiences in African American venues throughout the East and Midwest, as well as for mixed audiences, and on many occasions he sang for audiences that were primarily white. As he became known nationwide as “the premiere baritone of the race” and as the leading black composer in the early twentieth century, he was often invited to present full recitals, to represent African Americans as part of a program of American music, or to give a lecture-recital on spirituals. One of Burleigh's favorite accompanists was pianist R. Augustus Lawson. This chapter also examines Burleigh's contribution to the tradition of African American art music, along with his use of the works of American song composers and his collaboration with them.

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Modernist poetry and performer’s dramatic role: considerations on Ronaldo Miranda’s artsong “Segredo"

Dramaturgias ◽

10.26512/dramaturgias14.34389 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 431-451

Author(s):

Gisele Pires Mota

Keyword(s):

Art Songs ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Modernist Poetry ◽

Carlos Drummond De Andrade ◽

Voice And Piano ◽

The One ◽

The Relationship ◽

Performance Guidelines ◽

Poetry And Music

The present research focuses Ronaldo Miranda’s artsong “segredo”. This study applies an interdisciplinary approach in a methodological attempt to join poetry and music and the dramatic roles of singer and pianist, especially in dealing with modernist poetry. The discussion about the relationship between music and words is based on the studies of Stein and Spillman (1996). The literary concept of persona (who is talking in a poem) and mode of address (to whom the persona is talking) is the one described by Edward T. Cone in The Composer’s Voice (1974). The main goal of this paper is to provide performance guidelines for both the singer and the pianist on the art songs for voice and piano “Segredo” by Ronaldo Miranda and poem by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, with suggestions for shaping interpretive ideas and emphasis on the dramatic role of the performers.

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“Composer by Divine Right”

10.5406/illinois/9780252039942.003.0015 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jean E. Snyder

Keyword(s):

Historically Black ◽

Art Song ◽

Art Songs ◽

American Art ◽

Black Colleges ◽

Historically Black Colleges ◽

American Art Song ◽

Music Publishing ◽

Choral Ensembles ◽

Sacred Songs

This chapter examines a selection of art songs that won Harry T. Burleigh renown through their performance by an impressive roster of American and European opera and recital singers, making him one of the most respected American art song composers of the first quarter of the twentieth century. Burleigh's best-known art songs were published by G. Ricordi Music Publishing Company for more than three and a half decades. The first five years of G. Ricordi's publications (1914–1919) represent the majority of the strongest, most memorable, and most enduring of his art song oeuvre. In addition to a dozen or so art songs, more sacred songs appeared in the 1920s, especially from 1924. There were several songs written for historically black colleges such as Talladega College, several novelty songs, and a number of arrangements of folksongs and operatic choruses for choral ensembles. Two songs are especially notable: “Lovely Dark and Lonely One” (1935) and “In Christ There Is No East or West” (1940).

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