Part I: Poet. Baudelaire's invitation to composers ; Song and memory in the 'Terrible Year' ; 'To the depths of the Unknown in search of the new!' -- Interlude. The poet sings -- Part II. Singer. Melodie at the crossroads ; Song, salons and the 'society singer' ; Collaboration and creative process -- Interlude. The voices of Fetes galantes -- Part III. Public. Singing histories ; Reimagining song at the Conservatoire ; Melodie centre stage ; Postlude. Philosophies of composition.
Summary:
"French art song, or melodie, was one of the most radical and exploratory artforms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was also among the most intimate, a genre of experimentation, hesitation and unfiltered artistic conversation. In this landmark history, Emily Kilpatrick charts the compositional preoccupations and literary stimuli, the friendships and rivalries, critical narratives and performance practices that shaped French art song between 1870 and the First World War. She traces the expanding horizons of an essentially new musical idiom, moving from the lively debates of the avant-garde to the social and artistic contradictions of the salons, the pedagogy of the Paris Conservatoire, and the eventual accession of song to the concert platform and a central place in the musical imagination. The melodie of the Belle Epoque flourished amidst a culture of creative collaboration, and through the musicianship and advocacy of performers as well as composers. Setting key works by Faure, Duparc, Chausson, Debussy and Ravel alongside historical curiosities and hidden gems, French Art Song: History of a New Music probes composer-performer relationships and the shaping of performance traditions, and addresses the challenges faced by the twenty-first century interpreter. Kilpatrick twines cultural history with musical insight and a wealth of previously unpublished source material, in a wide-ranging and richly detailed account of the public and private faces of musical invention"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.