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Article Evaluation, "Messa de Nostre Dame"[edit]
Overall, I feel that this article is very well put together, but it is very short and I would like to see some more elaboration, specifically about the music and how it came to be (this is also mentioned by other editor in the article’s Talk page). This article is part of the Classical music WikiProject, which is mildly ironic considering it is a Medieval era composition, but since it is part of a project I feel it is a bit bare-boned. I do feel that the significance of the piece as one of the first complete versions of the mass ordinary is a bit brushed over; it is mentioned in the introduction but only expanded on slightly in the “Unification” section. I think one thing that could definitely help beef up the article would be to include the text for each of the five sections with a loose translation, and to go into a bit more detail about the structure of each section individually (for example, the Agnus Dei is split into three sections to represent the Holy Trinity) and how they come together as a whole. If little details like this could be included into the article, I think it would do the article much more justice. I also think it would be interesting to include a comparison of the mass to Machaut’s other music, considering Machaut is mostly known for his secular songs.
Article Selections[edit]
"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair"- I would like to add a section that includes a more in depth description of the song; currently all the article provides is that the song is a parlor song. There is no mention of the strophic form, its basis off of Anglo-Irish folk song, or if it is meant as a solo voice piece, as accompanied, etc. There also is no analysis of the music. It also isn't mentioned that the song is a combination of the two definitions of "popular music": a song that is so common is it thought of as belonging to the public, and one that brought financial gain. I think I would also like to add a "Recordings" section for popular recordings of the song, because the article currently has none. I would also like to the fact that Foster's ex wife's nickname being "Jennie" that the song's original name in his notebook was "Jennie with the Light Brown Hair". I want to delve into the the history and cultural aspects of the song as well, this is a very bare article that I think could be spruced up by digging more into the time frame the song was written in as well as any cultural effects the song had or continues to have. I'm sure there is more research that can be done as there is only five references included in the article.
"Alfred"-There is no plot synopsis included in this article, which could be easily included. There also isn't a list of characters or their voice parts, and a section about the orchestrations could be added.
Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair[edit]
"Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). It was published by Firth, Pond & Co. of New York in 1854. It is highly likely Foster wrote the song with his estranged wife Jane McDowell in mind. The lyrics allude to a permanent separation.[1]
"Jeanie" was a notorious beneficiary of the ASCAP boycott of 1941, a dispute caused by ASCAP increasing its licensing fees. During this period, radio broadcasters played only public domain music or songs licensed by ASCAP rival BMI. According to a 1941 article in Time magazine, "So often had BMI's Jeannie [sic] With the Light Brown Hair been played that she was widely reported to have turned grey."[2]
Musical Characteristics[edit]
"Jeanie" is categorized under the genre of parlor song, a typical Romantic era lyric composition. The musical texture of the piece is homophonic, and was written in strophic form, meaning the same melody is used for each stanza of text. There is also a strong basis off of Anglo-Irish folk song that was common for the time period.[3]
Background[edit]
Foster married Jane Denny McDowell in 1850. Their union was tumultuous, and the pair divorced in 1853. "Jeanie" was published just a year later, in 1854.[5] A common theory is that Foster wrote "Jeanie" for Jane. Proponents for this theory cite Foster's sketchbook as proof, as he had written the title of the song to be "Jennie with the Light Brown Hair", and that "Jennie" was Jane's nickname.[3]
Although "Jeanie" is now one of Foster's most popular parlor songs, it was practically unknown when it was first published. Foster hit troubled times, and had to sell the rights to the song to get by. After his death in 1864, the rights were given the Jane, and after her death in 1879, to their daughter, Marion.[5] "Jeanie" did not become commercially successful until the ASCAP boycott in 1941.
Influences[edit]
Recordings[edit]
You can hear a recording of Bing Crosby's verison here.
A recording by the Plantation Singers.
Sources
. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035636/>.
Foster, Stephen Collins. . Pond, Wm. A & Co., New York, 1882. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035748/>.
“The Enjoyment of Music.” The Enjoyment of Music, by Kristine Forney et al., W.W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 291–293
https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/9/Recordings/Dvor%C3%A1k__Alfred.html
http://www.antonin-dvorak.cz/en/alfred
http://jams.ucpress.edu/content/45/3/515.full.pdf+html
Smaczny, Jan. "Dvořák, his Librettists, and the Working Libretto for 'Armida'." Music and Letters, vol. 91 no. 4, 2010, pp. 555-567. Project MUSE, muse.jhu.edu/article/431750.
Clapham, J. (1966). Antonín Dvořák; musician and craftsman. New York: St. Martin's Press.
References[edit]
- ^ O'Connell, Joanne. "Understanding Stephen Collins Foster, His World and Music", ProQuest. March 23, 2007.
- ^ "No Letup". Time Magazine. January 27, 1941.
- ^ a b Foreny, Kristine; et al. (2018). "The Enjoyment of Music.". W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 291–293.
{{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|last=(help) - ^ Sisario, Ben (September 20, 1998). "ON THE MAP; Stephen Foster's Old Hoboken Home". New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- ^ a b "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair". Library of Congress.
Alfred[edit]
Alfred is a heroic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. It was Dvořák's first opera and the only one he composed to a German text. The libretto, created by Carl Theodor Körner, had already been set by Friedrich von Flotow (as Alfred der Große) and is based on the story of the English king Alfred the Great. Composed in 1870, Alfred was never heard of or performed during Dvořák's lifetime. It instead received its premiere (in Czech translation) at the Czech Theatre, Olomouc on 10 December 1938.
The opera was performed for the first time with its original German libretto on 17 September 2014, in Prague.[1][2]
Characters[3][4][edit]
- King Alfred (bass) - King of the English, the opera's hero
- Alvina (soprano) - Alfred's fiancé, captive of Harald
- Prince Harald (tenor) - leader of the Danes
- Prince Gothron (bass/baritone) - second leader of the Danes
- Sieward (bass/baritone) - Alfred's loyal servant
- Dorset (tenor) - an English noble
- Rovena - Alvina's friend
Synopsis[edit]
The plot of Alfred transpires during wartime between the English and the Danes, sometime during the Middle Ages. It follows the hero, Alfred, on his quest to rescue his love Alvina from the grasp of the Danish leader Harald, and to lead the English to victory.[3][4][5] The opera lasts for about 140 minutes.[3]
Act I - The Camp of the Danes[3]: The opera opens to the Danish camp as they prepare to celebrate a victory over the English. Gothron sits apart from the crowd, unsettled-the night before he dreamed he saw King Alfred wearing a crown of victory. Harald then arrives at camp, escorting British captives that include Alfred's finacé Alvina. Harald attemps to woo Alvina, but she refuses his advances, preferring to be kept prisoner with the other captives.[3][4]
Act II - A Wilderness in the Forest[3]: We are introduced to King Alfred for the first time in the second act as he learns from Sieward that his army has been overtaken and his beloved captured by the Danes. Alfred plans to sneak into the Danish camp by disguising himself as a harp player. On his way in, he hears Alvina singing from the tower she is imprisoned in, and promises her that he will recuse her soon. Gothron's men surprise him, and drag the supposed harpist into camp. During this, Alvina manages to escape and arrives at camp as Alfred reveals his true identity. The two flee together, and Gothron is seen remembering his earlier dream.[3][4]
Act III - A Rocky Glen in the Forest[3]: Alvina comes across a group of British soldiers and informs them that Alfred is alive and well. She convinces them to join their king, but is surprised and captured once more by Harald and his men. Back at camp, Harald again tries to convince Alvina to fall in love with him, but still she refuses. Alfred suddenly charges into the camp with his army and the aide of the noble Dorset. Alfred's army emerges victorious, and Harald commits suicide instead of facing defeat. Alfred and Alvina are happily reunited, and the opera closes with the people rejoicing for their king and country.[3][4]
Background[edit]
Dvořák was working as a violist at the Prague Provisional Theatre when he began writing Alfred, before he had established himself as an opera composer, and had no access to a librettist.[6] Therefore, he used an existing libretto by the German poet Karl Theodor Koerner written in 1811. There is no clear path as to how Dvořák came across the libretto besides a claim made by Josef Zubaty in his biological sketch of the composer; Zubaty states that Dvořák came across the text "in a old Almanach".[6][5] Scholars such as Michael Beckerman have theorized that the allure of a free and already notated libretto was probably an attracting factor for Dvořák[7][page needed], and librettos written in Czech were very sparse.[7][6] Scholars further opine that even with this first work, Dvořák was already flexing the composing characteristics that would later define his work and development: he turned the original two act form into three acts,[6][4] and the whole opera is flavored by the influence of Wagner.[5][8][7]
Dvořák himself did not promote Alfred; several Dvořák biographers like John Clapman and Jan Smaczny have pointed out this is likely because of its German text amidst a time of intense nationalistic feelings in the Czech people.[4] [3]It is also theorized Dvořák did not feel confident in the score (again theorized by both Clapham and Smaczny[5][9]), and some have pointed out the libretto would have been better suited for the German Singspiel.[3][4][5] He did not include it in his list of compositions,[9] and save for one time when he may have shown it to his friend and conductor Smetana, no one saw the score during Dvořák's lifetime.[5][6][4][9] During his lifetime, he was more than content to allow his second opera, King and Charcoal Burner, to pass off as his first.[9] However, Dvořák did not forget his first opera completely; the romantic scene between Vanda and Solvaj in his later opera Vanda is the same duet sung by Harald and Alvina at the end of Act I, just transposed to a different key.[3][5][7]
Musical Influences[edit]
John Clapman has stated that as Alfred was Dvořák's first opera, the influence of several already well established composers is readily seen throughout the score.[5] The heaviest of these influences is German master composer Richard Wagner.[5][8] Several musical analyzers of Dvořák such as Jarmila Gabrijelova have pointed out the materialization of Wagnerian concepts in several of Dvořák's beginning works[8]; the orchestration of Alfred contains many leitmotifs, and frequent use of Wagnerian harmony and chromaticism.[5][7] The influence of Czech folk songs can be heard in the ballet of the Danes as they celebrate their initial victory and the style of Italian opera master Giuseppe Verdi can be heard during full chorus scenes.[5][7] One of the themes within the opera's overture references the works of composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt, and one prelude in Act II uses Smetana's fondness of switching between the dominant seventh and the tonic, as analyzed by Clapham.[5] Alfred does leave room for improvement, however. Dvořák followed Körner's libretto very nearly to a T, which resulted in several disjointed passages, a lack of action, and hit-or-miss characterizations.[5][7]
Performances[edit]
Dvořák had planned for a performance of just the overture from Alfred in May 1881 under the title Tragic Overture, but the piece was replaced by his third Slavonic Rhapsody.[3][5]
A radio broadcast of excerpts from the opera aired in Prague on February 6th, 1938 to the original German text.[3]
The premiere stage performance of Alfred was at the Czech Theatre in Olomouc, on December 10th, 1938, nearly thirty five years after Dvořák's death, to a Czech translation.[2][3][4]
A performance of the full opera to its original German text was done on September 17th, 2014 during Dvořák's Prague festival.[1][3][2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Fraňková, Ruth (18 September 2014). "First opera by Antonín Dvořák premiered in Prague". Radio Prague. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ a b c "OPERA NEWS - Alfred". www.operanews.com. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Supka, Ondrej. "Alfred". Antonin-dvorak.cz. The Dvorak Society for Czech and Slovak Music.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smaczny, Jan (2002). "Alfred". Grove Music. Oxford Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.o900088. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Clapham, John (1966). Antonín Dvořák, Musician and Craftsman. St. Martin's Press. pp. 267–269.
- ^ a b c d e Smaczny, J. (2010-11-01). "Dvorak, his Librettists, and the Working Libretto for 'Armida'". Music and Letters. 91 (4): 555–567. doi:10.1093/ml/gcq101. ISSN 0027-4224.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dvořák and his world. Beckerman, Michael Brim, 1951-. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. 1993. pp. 104, 109–113. ISBN 9781400831692. OCLC 696008263.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c Gabrijelova, Jarmila (2006). "Antonín Dvořák and Richard Wagner". Muzikologija (6): 305–316. doi:10.2298/muz0606305g. ISSN 1450-9814.
- ^ a b c d Smaczny, Jan (January 1990). "Alfred: Dvořák's First Operatic Endeavour Surveyed". Journal of the Royal Musical Association. 115 (1): 80–106. doi:10.1093/jrma/115.1.80. ISSN 0269-0403.