Sheet Music, Libretti, Lyrics, & Programmes from performances of the music of early avant-garde subculture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pierre-Jean de Béranger, One Hundred Songs. 1847. Trans. by William Young. 1st English translation? Chapman and Hall, London. Copy owned by Edward Boltwood of Pittsfield, MA (embossment), donated to the Library of the Berkshire Athenauem (bookplate & catalog material).
Read Online
Béranger's satirical songs, for which he was imprisoned several times for sedition, enjoyed immense popularity among the literate working class, Liberal bourgeoisie, and leftist intellectuals for the first 50 years of the 19th Century, and are credited with having materially contributed to the outbreak of both the 1830 and the 1848 revolutions. (See the mass-produced medallion in "Ephemera", a precursor of band shirts and patches.) As with most vernacular song-writers, Béranger wrote his lyrics to popular traditional tunes that would be easily recognised, and intended the songs to be sung collectively in 'goguette' singing clubs, pubs, homes, and political meetings. A member of the Caveau Moderne (Modern Vault) songwriting group, he was a major influence on the Jeunes-France, nearly all of whom dedicated poems and prints to him. That group became notorious for roaming the city shouting out seditious songs by Béranger and other subversive songwriters. This, the first English translation, came out the year before the 1848 Revolutions swept Europe. The translator admits that he is unqualified, and looking at the clumsy versification he is correct; but explains that since nobody else had made Béranger available, he'd do the best he could. Right on.
Béranger's satirical songs, for which he was imprisoned several times for sedition, enjoyed immense popularity among the literate working class, Liberal bourgeoisie, and leftist intellectuals for the first 50 years of the 19th Century, and are credited with having materially contributed to the outbreak of both the 1830 and the 1848 revolutions. (See the mass-produced medallion in "Ephemera", a precursor of band shirts and patches.) As with most vernacular song-writers, Béranger wrote his lyrics to popular traditional tunes that would be easily recognised, and intended the songs to be sung collectively in 'goguette' singing clubs, pubs, homes, and political meetings. A member of the Caveau Moderne (Modern Vault) songwriting group, he was a major influence on the Jeunes-France, nearly all of whom dedicated poems and prints to him. That group became notorious for roaming the city shouting out seditious songs by Béranger and other subversive songwriters. This, the first English translation, came out the year before the 1848 Revolutions swept Europe. The translator admits that he is unqualified, and looking at the clumsy versification he is correct; but explains that since nobody else had made Béranger available, he'd do the best he could. Right on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Franz Lizst & Otto Roquette, Saint Elizabeth. (1918). Fred Rullman, New York. Libretto to New York Metropolitan Opera production. Inscribed: M.L. Quinn 1918.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul Dukas & Maurice Maeterlink, Ariane et Barbe-bleue (Ariane and Bluebeard). (1906). G. Schirmir, New York. Libretto to New York Metropolitan Opera production. Inscribed: M.L. Quinn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eliza Mercoeur & Amédée de Beauplan, Italie: Romance. Le
Ménestrel: Journal de Musique, No. 48. (30 March, 1834)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Philippe
[aka Napoleon] Musard, Satan: Quadrille. 1842. Meissonnier, Paris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Philippe
[aka Napoleon] Musard, Le Chateau de la Barbe-Bleue: Quadrille. (The
House of the Blue-Beard: Dance). c. 1850. Meissonnier, Paris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacques Offenbach, Jules Barbier, & E.T.A. Hoffmann, Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Opéra en quatre actes. 1881. 1st Edition. Calmann-Lévy, Paris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry Russell & Matthew 'Monk' Lewis, The Maniac (1840). Sheet Music. 1st edition. Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston.
Listen to Song in amateur Youtube Music Video
(note that the lyrics are in the character of a young mother, despite the baritone singing voice)
The Gothic subculture that developed in the late eighteenth century and persisted into the evolution of Horror was a multidisciplinary phenomenon: members of the Gothic community could read pulp gothic fiction, hang cheap reproductions of gothic and frenetic prints on the walls, see gothic plays in the theatres, and gather together to sing gothic songs. The lyrics to The Maniac were written by 'Monk' Lewis (see "Books"), one of the most popular and influential writers of the genre, and treat an indispensible Gothic theme: the victim accused and incarcerated falsely for madness, and then driven into true madness. The music is by Henry Russell, a hugely popular songwriter and singer (writer of Old Dan Tucker) who advocated speed, gusto, and socially progressive content in popular music.
(note that the lyrics are in the character of a young mother, despite the baritone singing voice)
The Gothic subculture that developed in the late eighteenth century and persisted into the evolution of Horror was a multidisciplinary phenomenon: members of the Gothic community could read pulp gothic fiction, hang cheap reproductions of gothic and frenetic prints on the walls, see gothic plays in the theatres, and gather together to sing gothic songs. The lyrics to The Maniac were written by 'Monk' Lewis (see "Books"), one of the most popular and influential writers of the genre, and treat an indispensible Gothic theme: the victim accused and incarcerated falsely for madness, and then driven into true madness. The music is by Henry Russell, a hugely popular songwriter and singer (writer of Old Dan Tucker) who advocated speed, gusto, and socially progressive content in popular music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wagner (son-in-law of the Frenetic Romanticist Franz Liszt) was hugely influential on the Symbolists, primarily for his theory which affected Symbolist conceptions of Theatre and Mythology especially, but was felt through the disciplines. In 1861 the French premier of Tannhauser was shipwrecked by an in-house riot by the right-wing avant-garde, dandies, and aristocrats of the Jockey Club, in response to Wagner's Socialism and the prevailing Germanophobia of the time. His work was not produced again in France for decades, so that many Francophone avant-gardists who were inspired by his notion of the Gesamkunstwerk, which articulated an imperative toward transdisciplinarity near the heart of the avant-garde from its earliest development, without ever having seen or heard Wagner's work produced. This is the first authorised American edition of the libretto of the Gotterdamerung, a cheap trade paperback which has the feel of an opera programme, right down to the adverts that adorn the end of the book; the American premier of the opera seems to have been this same year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Wagner, Rheingold. (1904). Libretto. Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston. Libretto to New York Metropolitan Opera production.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Wagner, Tannhauser. (Undated). Libretto. Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston. Libretto to New York Metropolitan Opera production. Inscribed: M.L. Quinn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment