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Narrative and Robert Schumann’s Songs
A New Approach to the Romantic Lied
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Andrew H. Weaver
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2024
About this book
Featuring 28 music examples this book takes an innovative approach to analyzing and interpreting nineteenth-century German song, offering new perspectives on Robert Schumann's Lieder and song cycles.
Robert Schumann's Lieder are some of the richest and most complex songs in the repertoire and have long raised questions and stimulated discussion among scholars, performers, and listeners. While a wide range of methodologies has been used to understand and interpret his songs, one that has been conspicuously absent is an approach based on narratology (the theory and study of narrative texts).
Proceeding from the premise that the performance of a Lied is a narrative act, in which the singer and pianist together function as a narrator, Andrew Weaver's groundbreaking study proposes a comprehensive theory of narratology for the German Romantic Lied and song cycle, using Schumann's complete song oeuvre as the test case. The theory, grounded in the work of narratologist Mieke Bal but also drawing upon recent work in literary theory and musicology, illuminates how music can open up new meanings for the poem, as well as how a narratological analysis of the poem can help us understand the music.
Weaver's book offers new insights into Schumann's Lieder and the poetry he set while simultaneously proposing a methodology applicable to the analysis and interpretation of a wide range of works, including not only the rich treasury of German Lieder but also potentially any genre of accompanied song in any language from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Robert Schumann's Lieder are some of the richest and most complex songs in the repertoire and have long raised questions and stimulated discussion among scholars, performers, and listeners. While a wide range of methodologies has been used to understand and interpret his songs, one that has been conspicuously absent is an approach based on narratology (the theory and study of narrative texts).
Proceeding from the premise that the performance of a Lied is a narrative act, in which the singer and pianist together function as a narrator, Andrew Weaver's groundbreaking study proposes a comprehensive theory of narratology for the German Romantic Lied and song cycle, using Schumann's complete song oeuvre as the test case. The theory, grounded in the work of narratologist Mieke Bal but also drawing upon recent work in literary theory and musicology, illuminates how music can open up new meanings for the poem, as well as how a narratological analysis of the poem can help us understand the music.
Weaver's book offers new insights into Schumann's Lieder and the poetry he set while simultaneously proposing a methodology applicable to the analysis and interpretation of a wide range of works, including not only the rich treasury of German Lieder but also potentially any genre of accompanied song in any language from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Andrew H. Weaver
ANDREW H. WEAVER is Professor of Musicology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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A Note on the Series
iii -
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Contents
vi -
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Illustrations
viii -
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Acknowledgments
xii -
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Note on Online Material
xiv -
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Introduction
1 - Part I A Theory of Narratology for the Lied
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Chapter One. Narratological Foundations: The Lied as Narrative Text
21 -
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Chapter Two. Narrative Agency: Narrators, Characters, Focalizers
33 -
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Chapter Three. Narrative Action: Events in Lyric Poetry and Lieder
74 - Part II Schumann’s Lieder through the Narratological Lens
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Chapter Four. Narrating in Song: Analyses of Individual Lieder
113 -
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Chapter Five. Schumann and the Ballad
132 -
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Chapter Six. Multiplying Voices: Schumann’s Songs for Two, Three, and Four Voices
176 -
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Chapter Seven. Schumann’s Cycles
210 -
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Postlude
251 -
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Glossary of Narratological Terms
253 -
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Bibliography
261 -
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Index of Schumann’s Songs
273 -
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General Index
281
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 19, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781805433149
Original publisher:
University of Rochester Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781805433149
Keywords for this book
German Lieder; Song Cycles; Music Analysis; Narratology; Music Studies; Romantic Era; German Composer; Piano Concerto; Romanticism; Poetry
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
