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2018

Peter Lieberson's Rilke Songs and NerudaSongs: Two Disparate Expressions of LoveEmily Catherine Howes

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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

PETER LIEBERSON’S RILKE SONGS AND NERUDA SONGS:

TWO DISPARATE EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE

By

EMILY HOWES

A Treatise submitted to the College of Music

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Music

2018

Emily Howes defended this treatise on April 10, 2018.

The members of the supervisory committee were:

Douglas Fisher

Professor Directing Treatise

Evan A. Jones

University Representative

Chuck Chandler

Committee Member

Valerie Trujillo

Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and

certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

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I would like to dedicate this treatise to my fiancé. Adam, thank you for your endless patience and encouragement.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Timothy Hoekman, Marcus Stadlmueller, and Alyna

Salgado for their assistance with translations, as well as Adam Heilman for his help with musical

examples. I would like to thank Professor Valerie Trujillo, Dr. Evan A. Jones, Dr. Chuck

Chandler, and Professor Douglas Fisher for their willingness to serve on my committee and for

their guidance in the writing of the treatise. And finally, I would like to thank the three marvelous

voice teachers who have led me to where I am today: Edith Davis Tidwell, Shirley Close, and

Marcy Stonikas.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables vi ..................................................................................................................................List of Musical Examples vii ..............................................................................................................Abstract ix ...........................................................................................................................................

1. PETER LIEBERSON: HIS PLACE IN THE MUSICAL WORLD 1 ...........................................

2. LORRAINE HUNT LIEBERSON: HER CAREER AND INFLUENCE 5 ..................................

3. RAINER RILKE: HIS TEXTS 8 ...................................................................................................

4. RILKE SONGS: AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE 12 .......................................................................

5. PABLO NERUDA: HIS TEXTS 26 ..............................................................................................

6. NERUDA SONGS: A FURTHER EXPRESSION OF LOVE 30 ..................................................

7. CONCLUSION 43 .........................................................................................................................

APPENDICES 45 ...............................................................................................................................

A. RILKE SONGS: WORD FOR WORD 45 ......................................................................................

B. NERUDA SONGS: WORD FOR WORD 51 .................................................................................

References 58 .....................................................................................................................................

Biographical Sketch 61 .......................................................................................................................

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LIST OF TABLES

1 Frequency of large intervallic leaps in Rilke Songs 14 .................................................................

2 Frequency of large intervallic leaps in Neruda Songs 32 .............................................................

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LIST OF FIGURES

1 Rilke Songs, “Atmen du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 20 13 ......................................................

2 Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 20 13 ........................................................................

3 Rilke Songs, “Stiller Freund,” meas. 15 13 ...................................................................................

4 Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 4-5 14 .......................................................................

5 Rilke Songs, “O ihr Zärtlichen,” meas. 45-48 16 ..........................................................................

6 Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 14 17 .....................................................

7 Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 16-17 18 ................................................

8 Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 50-52 18 ................................................

9 Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 14-16 20 ...................................................................

10 Rilke Songs, "Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 50 21 ........................................................................

11 Rilke Songs, “Blumenmuskel,” meas. 24-25 23 ...........................................................................

12 Rilke Songs, “Stiller Freund,” meas. 21-25 24 .............................................................................

13 Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” PV score, meas. 58-59 31 ...

14 Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” PV score, meas. 116 31 .................

15 Longing motive in Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna.” 33 ..........

16 Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” clarinet, meas. 14 33 ...........

17 Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” woodwinds, meas. 58 34 .....

18 Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” PV score, meas. 23-33 35 .............

19 Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” RH piano, meas. 140 36 ................

20 Neruda Songs, “No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque como,” voice, meas. 3 37 ..................

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21 Neruda Songs, “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño,” PV score, meas. 1-5 39 .........

22 Neruda Songs, “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño,” percussion, meas. 13 39 ........

23 Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” strings, meas. 1-2 40 ..............................

24 Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” PV score, meas. 39-44 41 ......................

25 Neruda Songs, “No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo,” PV score, meas. 47-48 42 .....

26 Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” PV score, meas. 55 42 ...........................

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ABSTRACT

This treatise seeks to examine the similarities and differences between Rilke Songs and

Neruda Songs, two song cycles by American composer Peter Lieberson. This will be done by

comparing different elements, including text setting, harmonic language, instrumentation, etc. It

includes a brief biography of the composer and his wife as well a translation of all texts and a

brief biography of the poets.

Peter Lieberson met and fell in love with his second wife, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt

Lieberson (1954-2006), during a production of his opera, Ashoka’s Dream. The two were married

in 1999. Over the course of their marriage, Lieberson wrote two song cycles with his wife’s

voice in mind. The first, Rilke Songs, premiered just two years after their marriage. The texts are

all from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Die Sonnete an Orpheus (Sonnets to Orpheus), and they center

around the mythological musician demi-god who attempted to save his wife Eurydice from

death. The second cycle, Neruda Songs (2005), contains five songs with Spanish texts by

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Each song portrays love in a different phase, from the initial

romance to the final farewell. Just a year after these songs were premiered, Lorraine died of

breast cancer, making these songs especially poignant.

Though these two cycles were written only four years apart, they are decidedly dissimilar.

Neruda Songs exhibits a sweeping lyricism and an intense sense of urgency, while Rilke Songs

has more disjunct melodies and a contemplative atmosphere. The primary reason for this

difference is surely the text. In the Hal Leonard publication of Rilke Songs, Lieberson writes that

he considers these five songs “love songs even though the poems themselves are not overtly

about love.” However, no matter Lieberson’s intentions, Rilke’s texts simply do not contain the 1

passion and fervor of Neruda’s. As a result, the two song cycles show two very different sides of

love: one of which is staid, thoughtful, and profound, while the other is intense, ardent, and fiery.

Peter Lieberson, Rilke Songs (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2007), vi.1

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CHAPTER 1

PETER LIEBERSON: HIS PLACE IN THE MUSICAL WORLD

American composer Peter Lieberson was born October 25, 1946, in New York. His 2

father, Goddard Lieberson, was the head of Columbia Records, and his mother, Vera Zorina, was

an actress and former ballerina. Through his father’s work, Lieberson was exposed to many types

of music at a young age. The creative spirit must have touched Lieberson quite early because he

taught himself how to play the piano, and would often try to reharmonize the pieces he heard at

his father’s work with jazz chords. 3

Before pursuing degrees in composition, he attended New York University and earned a

degree in English Literature in 1972. He studied composition informally with Milton Babbitt for

some time before formally beginning studies at Columbia University where he received a Master

of Arts in 1974. While at Columbia he studied composition with several teachers including

Charles Wuorinen and Harvey Sollberger, and he even spent time as an assistant to Leonard

Bernstein in 1972. 4

It was at Columbia that Lieberson began to practice Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. After

his Master’s degree, he moved to Colorado to continue studying Buddhism. There he met and 5

married his first wife, Ellen Kearney, who was a fellow student. After their studies, they moved

to Boston where they helped to found and direct the Shambhala Training meditation center. The 6

Shambhala Center still exists today and teaches the ancient practices of Vajrayana Buddhism and

Zachary Woolfe, “Peter Lieberson, Composer Inspired by Buddhism, Dies at 64,” New York 2

Times, published 23 April 2011, accessed 9 Feb. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/arts/music/peter-lieberson-64-composer-inspired-by-buddhism-dies.html.

Ibid.3

Steven Ledbetter, "Lieberson, Peter,” in Grove Music Online, accessed 7 Feb. 2018, http://4

www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042681.

Woolfe.5

Woolfe.6

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Shambhala. Their mission is to “awaken kindness, goodness and wisdom within society.” 7

Lieberson remained committed to the practice of Buddhism throughout his life, and its influence

can be seen in many of his works, including Drala (1986), Ziji (Shining Out, 1987), Raising the

Gaze (1998), and his opera, Ashoka’s Dream (1997). 8

In 1981 Lieberson began his doctoral work at Brandeis University, where he studied with

Donald Martino, Martin Boykan, and several others. It was around this time that Lieberson 9

began to garner national recognition. His Piano Concerto, written for Peter Serkin, was

premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Seiji Ozawa. This led almost

immediately to another commission from the BSO, which resulted in the composition of

Lieberon’s symphony Drala in 1986. 10

After receiving his PhD, Lieberson taught composition at Harvard for several years

(1984-1988) before moving with his family to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he again directed

Shambhala Training. He continued to compose, and in 1994 he stopped teaching Shambhala in

order to devote himself more fully to composition. 11

In 1997 Ashoka’s Dream premiered at Santa Fe Opera. The opera tells the story of an

Indian ruler, who foreswears the violent command of previous sovereigns and becomes a

benevolent ruler. The story is based on Ashoka the Great, who ruled India from approximately

265-238 BCE. After witnessing the destruction of war, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and began

a reign that was characterized by humanitarian efforts. 12

Blue Mandala, “Shambhala: Making Enlightened Society Possible: Boston,” accessed 8 Feb., 7

2018, https://boston.shambhala.org/.

Ledbetter.8

Ibid.9

“Peter Lieberson,” Musical Sales Classical, last modified Sept. 2012, accessed 8 Feb. 2018, 10

http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/Peter-Lieberson.

Woolfe.11

Amulya Chandra Sen, “Ashoka: Emperor of India,” in Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 10 12

Feb. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashoka.

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It was during this production that Lieberson met Lorraine Hunt, who was singing the role

of Triraksha, Ashoka’s second wife. The two had an instant connection which, arguably, may

have begun before they ever met in person. In an interview with Jeff Lunden in 2006, Lieberson

said he had heard a recording of Lorraine that made an indelible impression upon him. He said,

“I realized it was a kind of force I was listening to. It wasn’t the trained voice so much that

impressed me… it was the soul behind it.” After a complicated divorce with his first wife, 13

Lieberson and Lorraine married in 1999. The two spent nine years together before Lorraine’s 14

death in 2006. 15

Likely due to his studies with many modernist composers, Lieberson’s early works were

in a 12-tone idiom. However, he was also influenced by American jazz, late Stravinsky, musical

theatre, and minimalism, and later in his career his works became significantly more lyrical. 16

Alex Ross, a music critic for The New Yorker, asserts, “He wrote with a rare combination of

modernistic rigor and Romantic sensuality, the latter coming ever more to the fore in recent

years.” This was likely due to his close collaboration with Lorraine, and this “Romantic 17

sensuality” can be seen most clearly in Neruda Songs. Critics seem to agree that Lieberson was

able to artfully combine intellectual rigor and expansive lyricism, particularly in his later

compositions. Allan Kozinn writes:

Mr. Lieberson’s works meld most [of his] influences into a cohesive, energetic and intensely communicative style, with brainy, atonal surfaces that attest to his

Jeff Lunden, “Lieberson’s ‘Neruda Songs,’ Tracing Love’s Arc,” NPR Music, published 30 13

Dec. 2006, accessed 10 Feb. 2018, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6696483.

Woolfe.14

The two were together from the time they met in 1997.15

Vivien Schweitzer, “Sounds of a Composer Given Voice by His Muse,” New York Times, 16

published 29 July 2010, accessed 10 Feb. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/arts/music/01peter.html?mcubz=0.

Ross.17

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post-tonal pedigree and a current of lyricism and drama that gives this music its warmth and passion. 18

Not long after Lorraine’s death Lieberson was diagnosed with lymphoma. He continued

to compose through this illness, writing The World in Flower, Songs of Love and Sorrow (written

in Lorraine’s memory), and Remembering JFK. After Lorraine’s death, Lieberson married 19

Rinchen Lhamo, a former Buddhist nun. Lieberson passed away April 23, 2011, due to 20

complications with his illness while receiving treatment in Tel Aviv. 21

Allan Kozinn, “Portrait Reveals a Collage of Influences,” New York Times, published 28 Sept. 18

2008, accessed 10 Feb. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/arts/music/29lieb.html.

Alex Ross, “For Peter Lieberson,” Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise, published 23 April 2011, 19

accessed 10 Feb. 2018, http://www.therestisnoise.com/2011/04/for-peter-lieberson.html.

Andrea Shea, “Songs of Love and Sorrow… And Love Again,” WBUR Boston, published 25 20

Mar. 2010, accessed 16 April 2018, http://legacy.wbur.org/2010/03/25/songs-of-love-and-sorrow.

Ibid.21

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CHAPTER 2

LORRAINE HUNT LIEBERSON: HER CAREER AND INFLUENCE

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was born on March 1, 1954, near San Francisco, California. 22

Her father, Randolph Hunt, was a music teacher and a conductor for several community music

programs, and her mother was a local voice teacher. It should come as no surprise that 23

Lorraine’s musical training began at a very young age. She began by taking piano and violin

lessons, but at the age of twelve she switched to viola. She played in youth orchestras and sang in

local choirs. It seems that her life was always filled with music. 24

Lorraine attended San Jose State for her undergraduate degree, where she studied both

voice and viola. After graduation she made a career as a freelance violist in the Bay Area.

Several years later she moved with a boyfriend to Boston where she continued to freelance. It

was not until she was twenty-six years old that she turned entirely to singing, attending the

Boston Conservatory to study voice. 25

In 1981 she won two competitions, one run by Boston Opera and the other by the

Metropolitan Opera. Though she was not a national winner of the Metropolitan Opera National 26

Council Auditions, her reputation as a singer began to grow. At this point she was singing 27

“Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: American Opera Singer,” Encyclopædia Britannica, published 22 22

Feb. 2018, accessed 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lorraine-Hunt-Lieberson.

Anthony Tommasini, “Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Luminous Mezzo, Dies at 52,” New York 23

Times, published 5 July 2006, accessed 28 Feb. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/arts/music/05hunt.html.

Ibid.24

Ibid.25

Alan Blyth, "Hunt-Lieberson [Hunt], Lorraine,” in Grove Music Online, accessed 1 Mar. 2018, 26

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000046063.

Alan Blyth is unclear about what level of the competition Lorraine won (district/regional/27

national). However, she is not listed as a national winner on the Metropolitan Opera’s website, so so she must have been either district or regional winner.

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primarily Baroque repertoire, which she continued to perform adeptly throughout her entire

career. 28

Lorraine first garnered major attention after appearing as Sesto in Peter Sellars’s 1985

production of Giulio Cesare. This sparked a close professional relationship, and she appeared 29

in many of his later productions, including Oedipus rex (Jocasta), Don Giovanni (Elvira),

L’incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia), Serse (title role), and Theodora (Irene). She also 30

appeared in a controversial staging of two Bach cantatas at Lincoln Center in 2001.

These two cantatas, No. 199 and No. 82, were conducted by Craig Smith and were staged

quite graphically. Interestingly, neither cantata was intended for mezzo-soprano/alto voice. The

first of the cantatas, Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut, was written for soprano and the second, Ich

habe genug, was written for baritone. In Sellars’s highly stylized production, the second cantata

featured Lorraine in a hospital gown frantically pulling at tubes attached to her arms. This was 31

particularly moving at the time because Lorraine had recently undergone treatment for breast

cancer. In fact, the concert was originally planned for 1999, but had to be postponed when

Lorraine was diagnosed. This diagnosis caused her to withdraw from several performances,

including the premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin. Furthermore, Lorraine lost her 32

younger sister, Alexis, to breast cancer in 2000, which must have made Sellars’s staging all the

more heartbreaking both for the performer and for audience members who were aware of her

loss.

Before her bout with breast cancer, Lorraine made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing

Myrtle Wilson in John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, and she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera

Ibid.28

“Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: American Opera Singer,” Encyclopædia Britannica.29

Blyth.30

James R. Oestereich, “Music; Staging Unstagable Bach, Again,” New York Times, published 4 31

Mar. 2001, accessed 1 Mar. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/04/arts/music-staging-unstageable-bach-again.html.

Tommasini.32

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again in 2003 as Dido in Berlioz’s Les Troyens. Aside from her role in The Great Gatsby, her 33

major operatic premieres include the mezzo role in John Adams’s El Niño and Triraksha in

Lieberson’s Ashoka’s Dream. Lorraine was never attached to a record label, presumably 34

because she so valued live performances. Relatively few recordings were made during her

lifetime, and the majority that are available now were recorded live and released posthumously.

It has been speculated that this may be the reason why Lorraine was not better known during her

life, despite a formidable career. 35

In 2001, she was named Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year. In a touching obituary,

Charlotte Higgins describes Lorraine’s voice:

Inextricable from the passion she brought to her music was an incomparable beauty of phrasing, a matchless, velvety tone and a quality, barely definable, of rapture. Her artistic powers were still in full and glorious flow; she was one of the greatest mezzos of our age. A woman of immense grace, she was disarming in her candour and warmth. 36

Though Lorraine was a relatively private person, she never shied away from baring her soul

onstage.

Despite the gleaming richness of her sound, her voice somehow conveyed poignant intimacy. Although she paid scrupulous attention to rhythm, phrasing and text, she came across as utterly spontaneous. Her person disappeared into her performances. And yet in a Handel aria, a Britten cantata or a song by her husband, she could be so revealing you sometimes wanted to avert your eyes for fear of intruding. 37

Sadly, after a performance of Neruda Songs in 2006, Lorraine returned to her Santa Fe home

complaining of stomach problems. She was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer and died

peacefully on July 3. 38

Tommasini.33

“Lorraine Hunt Lieberson,” Naxos Records, accessed 1 Mar. 2018, https://www.naxos.com/34

person/Lorraine_Hunt_Lieberson/1833.htm.

Higgins.35

Ibid.36

Tommasini.37

Higgins.38

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CHAPTER 3RAINER RILKE: THE TEXTS

Austrian-Bohemian poet René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born

December 4, 1875, to a German speaking family in Prague. Both of his parents were somewhat 39

discontent in life; Josef Rilke had ambitions of a military career and Sophia had dreamed of a life

in high society, but neither attained those desires. Likely as a result of living under the weight of

those unfulfilled ambitions, the poet described his own childhood as “anxious and heavy.” 40

In 1885 Rilke’s parents separated, and he was sent to the military academy of St. Pölten.

Unfortunately, Rilke found himself even more miserable at St. Pölten’s than he had been in his

parents’ home, and it was with great relief that he found himself free of the military in 1891. 41

His uncle, Jaroslav Rilke, then became his main source of support in both his academic and

artistic endeavors. Rilke was employed at his uncle’s law office and began studies at the

University of Prague. In 1894, Rilke wrote Lives and Songs, his first book of poetry, and in 42

1896 he left for Munich without finishing his studies. 43

While in Munich, Rilke met Lou Andreas-Salomé, a Russian psychoanalyst and author.

Lou exposed Rilke to Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies and Freudian psychology. It is also

theorized that Rilke changed his first name to the more masculine “Rainer” due to her

Rüdiger Görner, “Rilke: a biographical exploration,” in The Cambridge Companion to Rilke, 39

edited by Karen Leeder and Robert Vilain (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 10.

Görner, 9.40

H. F. Peters, Rainer Maria Rilke: Masks and the Man (New York: University of Washington 41

Press, 1960), 195.

Ibid.42

Görner, 11.43

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influence. In 1901, Rilke married Clara Westhoff, a German painter and sculptor. The two 44 45

later separated to pursue their individual careers, though they never divorced.

When the First World War broke out, Rilke’s traveling became limited to German-

speaking countries. In 1915 he was briefly drafted, and his poetic output was brought to a near

standstill. After the war, Rilke resumed traveling, but found that his psyche was not entirely 46

unscathed.

Several years later in 1921, Rilke moved to Château de Muzot in the Canton of Wallis in

Switzerland, and it was here that his “imagination finally mended” after encountering “a world 47

that was shattered by World War One.” In February of 1922, the poet found himself in a frenzy 48

of writing, and it is out of this that the Sonnets to Orpheus emerged. The sonnet sequence is

divided into two parts, the first containing twenty-six poems and the second containing twenty-

nine. The first half was written in a mere four days (February 2-5), and the second was finished

in a little over a week (February 15-23). In the intervening ten days, Rilke finished writing Duino

Elegies, a collection of ten elegies. Interestingly, though they were practically written in 49

tandem, they represent two different periods of his poetic output. The elegies are commonly

referred to as coming from his “late” period, while the sonnets are from his “very late” period. 50

While both books of poems deal with similar themes, in particular metamorphosis, the

elegies lament the absence of this transformation in human existence, whereas the sonnets

Ibid, 12.44

Peter Branscombe, "Rilke, (René) Rainer (Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef) Maria,” in Grove Music 45

Online, accessed 30 Jan. 2018, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000049390.

Peters, 198. After being drafted, Rilke was transferred to the military archive in Vienna due to 46

the intervention of some friends.

Thomas Martinec, “The Sonnets to Orpheus,” in The Cambridge Companion to Rilke, edited 47

by Karen Leeder and Robert Vilain (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 95.

David Young, Introduction to Sonnets to Orpheus, by Rainer Maria Rilke (Middletown, CT: 48

Wesleyan University Press, 1987), vii.

Martinec, 96.49

Ibid, 96.50

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portray humans in the process of metamorphosis. David Young states, "If... Duino Elegies are

about what it really means to be human, the sonnets seem to be about how you can love the

world, and survive in it, given that condition.” In a letter to Countess Sizzo (April 12, 1923), 51

Rilke wrote:

Anyone who has not acknowledged the fearsomeness of life on occasion, even acclaimed it, will never fully take possession of the ineffable authorities of our existence, he will pass by on the verges, and when judgement is made one day will be neither alive nor dead. To demonstrate how formidableness and blessedness are identical[…]: that is the core meaning and conception of my two books. 52

For centuries mankind had looked to God for meaning in life, but Nietzsche had declared God

dead in the late 1800s. Then many looked to science, but the atrocities of World War I shattered

the idea that technology and progress could give direction. Rilke’s poetry suggests an alternate

source for meaning in life - specifically the reintegration of the “formidable” and the “blessed.”

Rilke believed that the ability to reconcile the two would enable humankind to transform and

transcend mundane life. Orpheus acts as a symbol of this reconciliation. Stephen Mitchell puts it

well, saying:

Orpheus is a symbol of absolute connection… He willingly steps into the transforming flame and enters the Double Realm, a mode of being in which all the ordinary human dichotomies (life/death, good/evil) are reconciled in an infinite wholeness. 53

Orpheus was able to transcend the normal bounds of human life at three times in mythology. He

is able to walk through the underworld while still living; he is able to charm nature and beasts

with his singing; and after his own death his severed head continues to sing. Orpheus’s ability 54

to exist in death while alive (and vice versa) as well as his ability to unite the human and

inhuman make him the figure of metamorphosis.

Young, ix.51

Quoted in Martinec, 97.52

Stephen Mitchell, Introduction to The Sonnets to Orpheus, by Rainer Maria Rilke (New York: 53

Simon and Schuster, 1985), 9.

Martinec, 99.54

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Wera Ouckama Knoop, a young dancer who died just prior to Rilke’s frenzy of

inspiration, appears as another symbol of metamorphosis in several sonnets. Though Rilke did

not know the dancer well, he was deeply touched by her death, and the sonnets are dedicated to

her memory. Wera’s death at such a young age struck Rilke as another illustration of human

metamorphosis. She was taken out of life prematurely and therefore she unites youth and death

in the Double Realm, or Doppelbereich. 55

Rilke’s sonnets are modeled after Petrarch’s; each poem is made of two strophes of four

lines (quatrains) followed by two strophes of three lines (tercets). Sonnet form has strict rules 56

and is built on longstanding tradition, which may at first seem like an odd choice for poems that

center around transformation. It is customary for the two quatrains to share a rhyme scheme and

for the tercets to share a rhyme scheme, and, generally speaking, the first two quatrains raise a

question or a problem to be solved which is then somehow concluded in the tercets.

To some degree, Rilke adheres to these rules. All of his sonnets have fourteen lines: two

quatrains and two tercets. They have identifiable rhyme schemes and metrical patterns, but the

rhyme schemes sometimes change between strophes. The stanzas vary greatly in length, and

often, rather than having a clean break between the quatrains and the tercet, Rilke links them

with an enjambment. A sonnet sequence is usually linked by a common theme or sequence of 57

events, and it often tells the story of a romantic relationship. Sonnets to Orpheus take a slightly

different approach.

[Rilke] does not center his poem on love for a particular person, but writes instead a kind of extended love-poem to the world celebrating such diverse love-objects as mirrors, dogs, fruit, ancient sarcophagi, roses, a strip of cloth, unicorns, breathing and childhood. 58

Essentially, by breaking the traditional rules, Rilke has transformed sonnet form itself.

Martinec, 101. Wera is referred to in Sonnets I:25 and II: 28.55

This is unlike the Shakespearean sonnet, which contains two strophes of six lines followed by 56

a couplet.

For example, see Sonnet II.5 “Blumenmuskel,” pages 21-22.57

Young, viii.58

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CHAPTER 4

RILKE SONGS: AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE

As a child, Peter Lieberson's mother often spoke lines of Rilke’s poetry to him. Though

Vera was Norwegian, her first language was German, and she instilled in the young Lieberson an

affection for the German poet. Moreover, it is easy to see why Sonnets to Orpheus specifically 59

appealed to the composer, especially when considering the tenets of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Whereas Mahayana [another denomination of Buddhism] seeks to destroy the poisons of craving, aggression, and ignorance, Vajrayana places an emphasis on transmuting them directly into wisdom. This is based in the Tibetan Buddhist belief that the mundane world (samsara) is inseparable from enlightenment. 60

Like the sonnets, Vajrayana Buddhism is all about metamorphosis. This is evident in the poems

that Lieberson chose, which share themes like openness, transformation, and being one with the

forces around us. Furthermore, breath, nature, and space frequently appear as motifs in these

texts.

Rilke Songs was premiered in 2001 at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, though it 61

was not printed until 2007, a year after Lorraine’s death. In spite of the uniqueness of each of 62

the songs, they do share some common, salient qualities. Lieberson uses enharmonic equivalents

freely throughout the cycle, as can be seen in Examples 1-3. Examples 1 and 3 feature the voice

singing a D-flat while the piano plays a C-sharp, and Example 2 shows the voice singing a D-

sharp while the piano plays an E-flat.

Lieberson, Rilke Songs, vi.59

“Intro to Tibetan Buddhism,” Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, accessed 13 Feb. 2018, 60

https://www.sakya.org/introtibetanbuddhism.html.

Lieberson, Rilke Songs, ii. 61

Lieberson, Rilke Songs, i.62

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Ex. 1, Rilke Songs, “Atmen du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 20.

Ex. 2, Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 20.

Ex. 3, Rilke Songs, “Stiller Freund,” meas. 15.

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Rilke Songs also contains a generous amount of part doubling between the piano and the

voice, though this is not often obvious upon a first listen. Lieberson often shifts octaves, even

within a melodic phrase, in order to maintain the independence of the two voices. This can be

seen in Example 4.

Ex. 4, Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 4-5.

In these two measures the voice and right hand of the piano have the exact same pitches and

rhythms, but there are octave displacements in the piano part. This inversion of the intervals

changes the contour, making the two parts more independent.

Lieberson also tends to write huge leaps in the vocal line. The table below demonstrates

the frequency with which large leaps occur in the set.

Table 1, Frequency of large intervallic leaps in Rilke Songs. 63

Leaps from m6-8ve Leaps over an 8ve

“O ihr Zärtlichen” 12 3

“Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht” 18 0

“Wolle die Wandlung” 14 3

Excludes any intervals separated by a rest.63

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Table 1, continued.

“O ihr Zärtlichen” O ihr Zärtlichen, tretet zuweilen Oh you gentle ones, tread occasionally in den Atem, der euch nicht meint, in the breath that is not meant for you, laßt ihn an eueren Wangen sich teilen, Let it divide itself on your cheeks, hinter euch zittert er, wieder vereint. Behind you it trembles, again united.

O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen, O you blessed ones, o you whole ones, die ihr der Anfang der Herzen scheint, you seem to be the beginning of hearts, Bogen der Pfeile und Ziele von Pfeilen, Bow of the arrows and targets of arrows, ewiger glänzt euer Lächeln verweint. your tear-stained smile shines forever.

Fürchtet euch nicht zu leiden, die Schwere, Do not fear to suffer the difficulties, gebt sie zurück an der Erde Gewicht; Give the weight of your burdens back to the earth; schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere. heavy are the mountains, heavy are the seas.

Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflanztet, die Bäume, Even the trees you planted as children, wurden zu schwer längst; ihr trüget sie nicht. became too heavy long ago; you could not carry

them. Aber die Lüfte… aber die Räume… But the breezes… but the spaces…

The first song, “O ihr Zärtlichen,” takes its text from sonnet I.4. Lieberson states that the

poem is “about being childlike and open.” To evoke an unburdened and innocent character, 64

Lieberson shifts freely and constantly between meters. This is particularly noticeable at the

beginning of the piece where no more than two measures pass without a change of meter

(measures 1-17). This constant shifting combined with rhythms that are tied across barlines

creates a feeling of suspension and timelessness that colors the whole cycle with an esoteric

quality. As the song continues, the vocal line departs from its gentle beginning and takes on an

impassioned nature at measure 18, exclaiming “O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen, die ihr der Anfang

der Herzen scheint” (Oh you blessed ones, oh you whole ones, you who seem to be the

beginning of hearts). The voice then descends to the lowest pitches of the song (marked piano,

ma intenso) at measure 31, and a heavy quality appears in both piano and voice. The listener

finally hears a consistent 6/8 meter, and the piano plays primarily dotted quarter notes and

plodding eighth notes. This, along with the voice’s laborious climb back up to a higher register

“Blumenmuskel" 8 0

“Stiller Freund” 3 2

Lieberson, Rilke Songs, vi.64

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followed by a slow stepwise descent, lends a strenuous feeling to the whole section, which

textually centers around “die Schwere” (the heaviness). This is immediately followed by a

slower, quieter section which is colored with fatigue and despondency (starting measure 40).

However, the song does not end with lethargy; Lieberson sets the ending line adeptly. “Aber die

Lüfte” (but the breezes) is set to a fluttering sextuplet in the voice, and “aber die Räume” (but the

spaces) is set to a gentle major tenth leap. This is accompanied by sustained chords in the piano,

which recall the timelessness of the opening (seen in Example 5).

Ex. 5, Rilke Songs, “O ihr Zärtlichen,” meas. 45-48.

Though Lieberson does not use overt text painting until the very end of the song, he is

able to vividly take the listener through the entire sonnet. The introduction brings the simplicity

and innocence of “the gentle ones” to life and is followed by their journey through suffering. He

then ends by calling back the lighter elements, which essentially merges the heavy and the light

in the Doppelbereich.

“Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht” Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht! Breathing, you invisible poem! Immerfort um das eigne Constantly around its own Sein rein eingetauschter Weltraum. Gegengewicht, Existence, purely exchanged universe. Counterweight, In dem ich mich rhythmisch ereigne. In which I rhythmically occur.

Einzige Welle, deren Only wave, whose

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allmähliches Meer ich bin; Gradual sea I am; sparsamstes du von allen möglichen Meeren, - Most frugal of all possible seas, - Raumgewinn. Space gain.

Wieviele von diesen Stellen der Räume waren schon How many of these points of space were already innen in mir. Manche Winde Inside me. Some winds sind wie mein Sohn. Are like my son. Erkennst du mich, Luft, du, voll noch einst Do you recognize me, air, you, still full of meiniger Orte? places that were once mine? Du, einmal glatte Rinde, You, once smooth bark, Rundung und Blatt meiner Worte. Curve and leaf of my words.

The second song, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” is set to sonnet II.1 and begins with

only the voice. It freely utters the title (Breathing, you invisible poem) before being joined by a

churning, chromatic piano line. The roiling sixteenth notes of the piano (combined with one

moment of moving sixteenth notes in the voice) create a flurry of sound in which one can

imagine the constant exchange of air, which is the “invisible poem.” This whirlwind is finally

broken in measure 14 when the voice and piano come together in a more staid passage. The two

parts have a unified rhythm on the word “Gegengewicht” (counterpoint/counterweight), and they

alternate between two chords, as if teetering back and forth between worlds.

Ex. 6, Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 14.

The voice then sings another short a cappella passage before being rejoined by the piano

in a lush swell of sound. The piano plays fluidly shifting tremolos as the voice sings a sustained,

swaying line. In this, the listener hears the breath characterized again, but this time as the

“einzige Welle” (only wave) described in the text. This is interrupted by a return of the persistent

sixteenth notes in the piano. However, rather than returning to the churning legato of the initial

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passage, these sixteenth notes are much more turbulent. They change registers swiftly and

roughly, and they grow in speed and volume before winding to a contemplative stop in measure

31. The voice reenters in measure 33, asking pensively, “How many of these spaces are already

inside of me?”

The sixteenth notes are reiterated one last time, and this time they are jagged and jarring.

However they quickly dissolve, giving way to the shifting tremolos of the previous “wave.” This

feeling of return is strengthened by the reappearance of a previous melody. The voice sings the

melodic content of measures 16-17, but at a half-step transposition, seen in Examples 7 and 8.

Ex. 7, Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 16-17.

Ex. 8, Rilke Songs, “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht,” meas. 50-52.

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Granted, this is not much repeated material: simply a descending perfect fifth, descending minor

third, followed by an ascending minor seventh. However, there is so little repeated melodic

material throughout the set that this bears mentioning.

The recurring wave gradually subsides, and both the voice and piano begin to slow and

simplify. The listener is left with only the gentle remnants of the wind/breath in the occasional

fluttering sixteenth and thirty-second notes of the piano.

“Wolle die Wandlung” Wolle die Wandlung. O sei für die Flamme begeistert, Desire the change. O be enraptured for the flame, drin sich ein Ding dir entzieht, das mit Verwandlungen Something from inside of it retreats from you, prunkt; resplendent with transformation; jener entwerfende Geist, welcher das Irdische meistert, That creating spirit, which masters earthly life, liebt in dem Schwung der Figur nichts wie den Loves nothing in the swing of the figure as wendenden Punkt. much as the inverting point.

Was sich ins Bleiben verschließt, schon ists das Erstarrte; That which locks itself in remaining is already frozen; wähnt es sich sicher im Schutz des unscheinbaren Grau’s? Does it imagine itself safe in the protection of the inconspicuous grayness? Warte, ein Härtestes warnt aus der Ferne das Harte. Wait, from the distance the most difficult warns of difficulty. Wehe -: abwesender Hammer holt aus! Careful -: The imperceptible hammer swings up!

Wer sich als Quelle ergießt, den erkennt die Erkennung; He who pours himself out as a source, recognition recognizes him; und sie fürhrt ihn entzückt durch das heiter Geschaffne, And it leads him delighted through the cheerful creation, das mit Anfang oft schließt und mit Ende beginnt. That often concludes with the beginning and with the ending begins.

Jeder glückliche Raum ist Kind oder Enkel von Trennung, Each happy space is a child or grandchild of separation, den sie staunend durchgehn. Und die verwandelte Daphne Which they go through astonished. And the transformed Daphne, will, seit sie lorbeern fühlt, daß du dich wandelst in Wind. Since feeling the laurel, desires that you transform into the wind.

“Wolle die Wandlung,” the third song in the set, is set to sonnet II.12, and it seems to

grow right out of “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht.” The voice and piano enter simultaneously,

and the voice starts on C5, the note which ended the previous song. It is as though the

“Luft” (breeze) of the second song died down only for a moment to rise again in the next song.

Once again, the listener can hear persistent sixteenth notes in the piano, but unlike the previous

song, these sixteenth notes seem a little freer. They are at the mercy of the wind, speeding up and

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slowing down liberally. Furthermore, while the text of “Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht” hints at

metamorphosis (through the air/breath that links everything), “Wolle die Wandlung” revels in

transformation. This particular poem is full of clever word play and paradoxical phrases, such as

“den erkennt die Erkennung” (recognition recognizes him) and “das mit Anfang oft shließt und

mit Ende beginnt” (which often concludes with the beginning, and with the ending begins).

It is in this song that Lieberson uses some of his most overt text painting. For example,

on the phrase "Schwung der Figur" (swing of the figure), the listener hears a distinct dotted,

swinging rhythm which is unlike anything used previously in the song. This is quickly followed

by “nichts wie den wendenden Punkt” (nothing as the inverting/turning point), which is skillfully

represented in a winding vocal line that keeps inverting on itself. Both of these uses of text

painting can be seen in Example 9.

Ex. 9, Rilke Songs, “Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 14-16.

At measure 34, the song’s fury finally dies down. The passage is marked tranquillo, and

the piano plays gently lilting chords while the voice moves smoothly across several registers. It

is as though the voice and piano are leading the listener through the “heiter

Geschaffne” (cheerful creation). From here, the song slowly intensifies again, as Daphne, the

mythological nymph who transformed into a laurel tree, bids the listener to transform into the

wind. This behest is illustrated in the piano part which plays a chime-like quintuplet figure that

slowly fades into the distance (seen in Example 10).

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Ex. 10, Rilke Songs, "Wolle die Wandlung,” meas. 50.

“Blumenmuskel” Blumenmuskel, der der Anemone Flower muscle of the anemone Wiesenmorgen nach und nach erschließt, Which opens little by little to reveal the meadow morning bis in ihren Schooß das polyphone Until in her lap, heaven pours forth Licht der lauten Himmel sich ergießt, The polyphonic light,

in den stillen Blütenstern gespannter, In the silent, tensed star-blossom, Muskel des unendlichen Empfangs, Muscle of infinite receiving, manchmal so von Fülle übermannter, Sometimes so overpowered by abundance, daß der Ruhewink des Untergangs That the quiet signal of the setting sun

!21

kaum vermag die weitzurückgeschnellten Can barely return Blätteränder dir zurückzugeben: The thrown-open petal edges: du, Entschluß und Kraft von wieviel Welten! You, determination and strength of so many worlds!

Wir, Gewaltsamen, wir währen länger. We, violent ones, we last longer. Aber wann, in welchem aller Leben, But when, in all of our lives, sind wir endlich offen und Empfänger? Are we open and receiving?

The fourth song, set to sonnet II.5, seems to have the least in common with the

surrounding songs. Throughout the majority of the cycle the voice and piano are very closely

related, but here they are quite independent of one another. In fact, they do not even share the

same time signature until measure 22. It is easy to imagine the vocal line with an alternate

harmony, which would change the song entirely. However, bustling sixteenth notes underneath

the fluid vocal melody (which uses only white-keys on the piano) create a feeling of

contradiction. The unaffected piano line represents the indifferent, passing day while the more

romantic vocal line represents the opening anemone, happily receiving the sun’s light. 65

Unlike the previous two songs, the sixteenth note pattern in the piano does not feel frantic

or impassioned. It is more like clockwork, sometimes altering in dynamic level but never

faltering rhythmically until measure 20 when it suddenly takes on a dotted swing. After a

moment of stillness, this builds into a tense progression of chords that illustrate the anemone’s

struggle to stay open, in spite of the setting sun. Though the vocal line here has several leaps, the

piano’s chords stay tightly restrained, as though unable to move much more than a major second

(seen in Example 11).

In the last few measures, starting in measure 28, there is a stark contrast to the opening.

This can be seen in the poem as well, whose last tercet changes tone abruptly. The focus shifts

from the anemone to the “Gewaltsamen” (the violent ones), a term Rilke uses here to refer to

humanity. The piano plays stark chords, many of which have wide intervals giving them a hollow

quality, while the voice sings a limited range, a total reversal of measures 24-25. The song then

ends with a haunting tritone in both the voice and piano that asks the accusatory question,

“When, in all of our lives, are we as open and receiving?”

It should be noted that the “Anemone” mentioned in Rilke’s poem refers to a flower in the 65

Ranunculaceae family, not a sea anemone.

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Ex. 11, Rilke Songs, “Blumenmuskel,” meas. 24-25.

“Stiller Freund” Stiller Freund der vielen Fernen, fühle, Silent friend of the many distances, feel, wie dein Atem noch den Raum vermehrt. How your breath expands space. Im Gebälk der finstern Glockenstühle In the beam of the grim belfries laß dich läuten. Das, was an dir zehrt, Let yourself ring. That which takes a toll on you

wird ein Starkes über dieser Nahrung. Becomes strong through this nourishment. Geh in der Verwandlung aus und ein. Go in and out of transformation. Was ist deine leidendste Erfahrung? What is your most agonizing experience? Ist dir Trinken bitter, werde Wein. If drinking is bitter to you, become wine.

Sei in dieser Nacht aus Übermaß Be in this night of excess Zauberkraft am Kreuzweg deiner Sinne, Magic on the crossroad of your senses, ihrer seltsamen Begegnung Sinn. Sense of their strange encounter.

Und wenn dich das Irdische vergaß, And when earthly things have forgotten you, zu der stillen Erde sag: Ich rinne. Say to the quiet earth: I flow. Zu dem raschen Wasser sprich: Ich bin. Say to the rushing water: I am.

The final song of the the cycle, “Stiller Freund,” was actually written in 1997, several

years prior to the rest of the set. The text is from sonnet II.29, which concludes Sonnets to 66

Orpheus; it is only fitting that it should conclude Rilke Songs as well. In the words of Stephen

Mitchell:

By the end of the book… the cycle is completed. Life resolves in a single breath, and the tree of song that sprang up in the first line of the first Sonnets is

Ledbetter.66

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transformed into the serene, rooted I am that is the Sonnets’ last word, the word uttered at every moment by each particular form, and also the name of God. 67

Similarly, the opening of “Stiller Freund” recalls the opening of the song cycle. Both songs begin

in a 5/8 meter, and, though neither stay there for long, the uneven meters combined with oddly

tied and dotted rhythms create a feeling of timelessness. This, as well as the gentle register shifts

in the piano and the primarily stepwise motion in the voice, creates an inviting soundscape that

characterizes the first portion of this song.

However, this is interrupted by a menacing rhythmic figure in the piano which

characterizes the middle portion of the song. The figure (seen below in Example 12) is a triplet

rhythm made up of a sixteenth note and an eighth note, and it invades multiple registers

“preying” on the subject.

Ex. 12, Rilke Songs, “Stiller Freund,” meas. 21-25. 68

This gnawing figure finally subsides in measure 34 and gives way to sustained notes in

the piano as the voice sings wide intervals, bidding the sufferer to take their bitterness and turn

themselves into wine.

In measure 45 the opening measures return. Though the voice has different words, much

of the musical material is unchanged, implying that things are made new through

metamorphosis. As noted previously, there is very little repeated melodic material used

throughout Rilke Songs, so the use of an ABA’ form in the last song is quite remarkable. As the

Mitchell, 10.67

It may be noted that this excerpt could easily become a 12-tone row. However, no 68

permutations of the row appear throughout the rest of the song.

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set draws to a close both piano and voice slowly fade before cutting off abruptly, all the while

affirming their existence, “Ich bin” (I am).

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CHAPTER 5

PABLO NERUDA: THE TEXTS

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was born July 12, 1904, to José del Carmen Reyes, a railway

worker, and Rosa Basoalto, a school teacher, who died within a month of his birth. His given 69

name was Ricardo Eliezer Neftali Reyes y Basoalto. He was born in Parral, just south of 70

Santiago, but within a few years the family had relocated to Temuco, a small town farther

south. At the age of ten the precocious boy began writing poetry. His father disapproved, 71 72

which may be why the poet adopted a pen name in honor of Czech poet Jan Neruda. Despite 73

his father’s disapproval, Neruda’s poetic endeavors were encouraged by Gabriela Mistral, who at

the time was the principal of the local girls’ school. Mistral, a poet herself, later won the Nobel 74

Prize for literature (twenty-six years before Neruda). His first poem, “Entusiasmo y 75

Perseverancia,” was published in the local newspaper when he was only thirteen. 76

Neruda moved to Santiago in order to attend university, where he studied French with the

intent of becoming a teacher. It was there that he published Veinte poemas de amor y una canción

Allén Sture, editor, Tore Frängsmyr, editor- in charge, Nobel Lectures, Literature 1968-1980, 69

(World Scientific Publishing Co.: Singapore, 1993), https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1971/neruda-bio.html.

“Pablo Neruda: 1904-1973,” Poetry Foundation, accessed 2 Mar. 2018, https://70

www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/pablo-neruda.

Manuel E. Duran and Roberto González Echeverría, “Pablo Neruda: Chilean Poet,” 71

Encyclopædia Britannica, published 15 Nov. 2017, accessed 2 Mar. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Neruda.

Ibid.72

Sture.73

Duran.74

Horst Frenz, editor, Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, (Elsevier Publishing Company: 75

Amsterdam, 1969), https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1945/mistral-bio.html.

Sture.76

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desperada (Twenty poems of love and a song of despair). Initially his publisher refused to print 77

the poems because of their overt eroticism. Unlike most poetry at the time, which spoke of

courtly love with euphemisms and discrete wordings, Neruda’s poems were filled with

references to commonplace relations and indelicate references to delicate subjects. The collection

was finally printed in 1924, and it is now one of Neruda’s best selling books. 78

Unfortunately, Neruda’s poetry alone did not provide much income, so in 1927 he took a

position as a diplomat in Rangoon, Burma. The poet’s time spent in Burma was quite lonely, and

this isolation led him to look inward. The resulting book of poetry, Residencia en la tierra

(Residence on earth) has been described as “hermetic” and “unintelligible.” It was this bleak 79

book of poetry that made Neruda well known throughout the Spanish speaking world. 80

The hermetic style of expression he had […] perfected in Residencia en la tierra was soon spread all over the Spanish-speaking world, beginning the cycle of imitation and emulation that has come to be called Nerudism. 81

Neruda spent the following years traveling back and forth between Chile and his diplomatic

posts, which included Batavia (modern day Jakarta), Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Madrid, and

Paris. In Batavia he met and married his first wife, a Dutch woman named Maria Antonieta

Hagenaar. Their marriage dissolved within four years, and the poet later married an Argentine

woman, Delia del Carril. This marriage lasted slightly longer, but the two divorced in the

1950s. 82

In the 1940s Neruda entered the political arena. He was elected to senate in 1945 as a

member of the Communist party. His strong political convictions led him to denounce

Residencia en la tierra as too depressing; he believed that he had a social responsibility to create

“Pablo Neruda: 1904-1973,” Poetry Foundation.77

René de Costa, The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 78

1979), 2-4.

Ibid, 5.79

Sture.80

Costa, 8.81

Duran.82

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poetry that “support[ed] life.” He lent his support to presidential candidate Gabriel González 83

Videla. Two years after being elected Videla severed his ties with the Communist Party which led

Neruda to publish a scathing letter of criticism. The poet was then forced into exile to avoid

repercussions. 84

In the following years the poet travelled through the USSR, Poland, Hungary, and

Mexico. While in Mexico he met Matilde Urrutia, his third wife to whom he remained married

for the rest of his life. This period led to most of Neruda’s “epic” poetry, in particular Canto 85

general. Once again, there is a pronounced change in style.

Obviously, Neruda has again altered his expressive system. There is not the hermetic style of Residencia en la tierra. There is a disciplined use of rhyme and meter. There is also a change in vocabulary and diction: the language is simple and elevated; the syntax is clear and straightforward. The poet, conscious of his new public responsibility, is no longer speaking and writing as though to himself; he is writing to persuade the reader. 86

In 1952, the poet was finally able to return to Chile. By then he had achieved national

recognition and had amassed a decent amount of wealth. His 1954 publication of Odas

elementales (Elemental odes) marked another change of style, one which praised everyday

objects. For instance, one of the poems in the book is entitled “Oda a la cebolla” (Ode to the

onion). 87

In 1959 he published Cien sonetos de amor (One Hundred Love Sonnets) which were

dedicated to Matilde. Though this publication is not considered a critical part of his oeuvre, it 88

does contain many stunningly beautiful love poems. The book is divided into four main sections:

mañana (morning), mediodía (midday), tarde (evening), and noche (night). Each time of day

represents a different chapter in a relationship; the poems in mañana are about fresh, child-like

Costa, 11.83

Duran.84

Ibid.85

Costa, 13.86

Duran.87

Sture.88

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love, and the poems in noche speak of love that is mature and profound. As the title suggests,

each of the poems are in Petrachan sonnet form, but the rhyme schemes tend to be quite free or

even nonexistent.

There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion—that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency of his language, and that’s especially so when he seems swept away. 89

And the poet was certainly swept away when he met Matilde; that much is obvious from his

verse.

In 1971 Neruda was appointed as diplomat to France where he was awarded the Nobel

prize for literature. He returned to Chile shortly after due to poor health, and he passed away in 90

1973, just days after a right-wing coup. While the recorded cause of death was cancer and a

related illness, forensic experts have since discovered that the cause of death was some sort of

infection, possibly as a result of assassination. 91

Mark Strand, “The Ecstatist: Pablo Neruda and his passions,” New Yorker, published 8 Sept. 89

2003, accessed 3 Mar. 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/09/08/the-ecstasist.

Sture.90

Colin Dwyer, “Pablo Neruda Didn’t Die of Cancer, Experts Say. So What Killed the Poet?,” 91

NPR:The Two-Way, published 23 Oct. 2018, accessed 2 Mar. 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/23/559522814/pablo-neruda-didnt-die-of-cancer-experts-say-so-what-killed-the-poet.

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CHAPTER 6

NERUDA SONGS: A FURTHER EXPRESSION OF LOVE

Peter Lieberson first discovered Neruda’s love poetry by chance in the Albuquerque

airport; he was drawn to a little book with a shocking pink cover, Cien sonetos de amor. In the

forward to the piano-vocal score the composer says: “As I glanced through the poems, I

immediately thought that I must set some of these for Lorraine.” Lieberson received a co-92

commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and on

May 20, 2005, Neruda Songs was premiered in Los Angeles under Esa-Pekka Salonen, quickly

followed by the Boston premiere on November 25 under James Levine. 93

The composer presented the songs to his wife as a finished product. When asked if she

had been consulted during the writing process, Lorraine responded:

We'd been together a while, so he was really tuned into my voice, and so I didn't really have to say much at all about what he [had] written for me. He was right on, as far as range and technical ease of the vocal lines. 94

In 2008, two years after Lorraine’s death, Lieberson was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer

Award in composition for Neruda Songs. The $200,000 award is given yearly through the 95

University of Louisville, and the winner is determined by both professional musicians and

community members. Dr. Marc Satterwhite, a professor of composition at the University of

Louisville stated, “The piece has beauty and surface simplicity, but great emotional depth and

intellectual rigor, as well.” 96

The orchestration of Neruda Songs is incredibly lush. It is scored for two flutes (the

second doubling piccolo), oboe, English horn, two clarinets (the second doubling bass clarinet),

Peter Lieberson, Neruda Songs (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2011), 3.92

Lieberson, Neruda Songs, 2.93

Lunden.94

The award is now only $100,000.95

Huizenga, Tom. “‘Neruda Songs’ Wins Grawemeyer Award.” NPR Music. December 3, 2007, 96

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16835783.

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two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, harp, piano, percussion, and strings. The richness of the

harmonies stands in stark contrast to Rilke Songs. This may be because Rilke Songs was

conceived for piano and voice, and, for the sake of the pianist’s fingers, Lieberson avoided using

too many notes sounding at once. However, it seems more likely that this was a choice made

based on the poetry, which demands a sultry and often languid orchestration. Just a few instances

of Lieberson’s use of dense chords may be seen in Examples 13 and 14.

Ex. 13, Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” PV score, meas. 58-59.

Ex. 14, Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” PV score, meas. 116.

The orchestra occasionally doubles the vocal line, but not regularly. In fact, for much of

the cycle, the orchestra seems to provide a cushion of sound upon which the voice sings. It is as

though the orchestra creates the atmosphere in which the mezzo-soprano exists. The orchestra

does play melodic material, but it is primarily in introductions, interludes, and postludes.

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Neruda Songs also avoids the abundance of large vocal leaps that are so prevalent in

Rilke Songs. For the sake of comparison, see Table 2 below.

Table 2, Frequency of large intervallic leaps in Neruda Songs. 97

“Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna” Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna, If your eyes were not the color of the moon, de día con arcilla, con trabajo, con fuego, of a day full of clay, of labor, of fire, y aprisionada tienes la agilidad del aire, and imprisoned you have the agility of air, si no fuera porque eres una semana de ámbar, if you were not a week of amber,

si no fuera porque eres el momento amarillo if you were not a yellow moment en que el otoño sube por las enredaderas in which autumn climbs through the vines y eres aún el pan que la luna fragante and if you were not still the bread that the fragrant moon elabora paseando su harina por el cielo, prepares, decking the heavens with its flour.

oh, bienamada, yo no te amaría! oh, beloved, I would not love you! En tu abrazo yo abrazo lo que existe, In your embrace, I embrace all that exists, la arena, el tiempo, el árbol de la lluvia, sand, time, the tree of rain,

y todo vive para que yo viva: and everything lives in order that I may live: sin ir tan lejos puedo verlo todo: without going far I can see all: veo en tu vida todo lo viviente. I see in your life all that is living.

The first song is set to Sonnet VIII, which is from the Mañana portion of Cien sonetos de

amor. The song begins with a gentle arpeggiation in the basses and harp, which is transferred to

Leaps from m6-8ve Leaps over an 8ve

“Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna”

7 1

“Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo”

10 0

“No estés lejos de mí, porque cómo” 8 0

“Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño”

6 1

“Amor mio, si muero y tú no mueres” 11 0

Like Table 1, this table excludes any intervals separated by a rest. It should also be noted that 97

this table includes one augmented fifth.

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the bass clarinet and cellos, and then finally to the clarinet. The clarinet plays a longing major

sixth leap, which hints at a motive that is repeated throughout the song, seen in Example 15.

Ex. 15, Longing motive in Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna.”

This motive is slightly altered in the clarinet; it ends with a major second, causing the line to end

on A, which gives it a more resolved feeling than elsewhere in the song. The motive is first heard

in its primary form at the end of the first vocal phrase, measures 5-6. This motive creates a sense

of longing which is followed by a vocal line that slowly climbs up, getting higher by half-steps

before finally coming to a repose on “aire” (air). This word is brought to life in the following

clarinet figure (seen in Example 16).

Ex. 16, Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” clarinet meas. 14.

In measure 31, the voice sings the longing motive again to the word

“bienamada” (beloved), but this time it is a diminished fourth higher than before, making it all

the more impassioned. This is brought on by a flurry of ascending scales in the woodwinds (seen

in Example 17). There is no way to replicate this fury of activity in the piano reduction, so it

must rely solely on chord clusters.

This occurs again in measures 58-60. The woodwinds build into a frenzy, as the voice

sings the longing motive. However, this time the voice begins a decrescendo as it reaches its

highest note, once again singing “bienamada.” It is as though the burst of longing has reached its

zenith, and now it must gently subside. The piece ends with a soft reiteration of the motive, once

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again ending with a major second rather than a minor third, giving the listener a sense of

contentment and closure.

Ex. 17, Neruda Songs, “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,” woodwinds, meas. 58.

“Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo” Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo Love, love, the clouds by the tower of the sky subieron como triunfantes lavanderas, climbed like triumphant washerwomen, y todo ardió en azul, todo fue estrella: and all burned in blue, everything became stars: el mar, la nave, el día se desterraron juntos. the sea, the ship, the day, they exiled together.

Ven a ver los cerezos del agua constelada Come see the cherry trees of the constellation-like water y la clave redonda del rápido universo, and the round key of the rapid universe ven a tocar el fuego del azul instantáneo, come touch the fire of the momentary blue, ven antes de que sus pétalos se consuman. come before its petals are consumed.

No hay aquí sino luz, cantidades, racimos, There is nothing here except light, amounts, clusters, espacio abierto por las virtudes del viento space open by the virtues of the wind hasta entregar los últimos secretos de la espuma. until entrusting the final secrets of the foam.

Y entre tantos azules celestes, sumergidos, And among so many heavenly blues, submerged, se pierden nuestros ojos adivinando apenas our guessing eyes scarcely lose

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los poderes del aire, las llaves submarinas. the powers of the air, the underwater keys.

The second song of the set takes its text from Sonnet XXIV which, like the previous text,

is from the Mañana chapter. This text seems even more childlike and innocent in its ardor, which

is heard from the outset of the song. The “light, brilliant” 3/8 meter brings to mind a blissful

dance, which is intensified when the voice joins singing energized leaps, as though propelled

forth by the intensity of its joy. The voice then breaks into fluttering sixteenth notes which are

imitated and intensified in the orchestra before being restored to the vocal line (seen in Example

18).

Ex. 18, Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” PV score, meas. 23-33.

This is followed by a slower, “suspended” section in measure 45 which materializes just as the

singers says “todo fue estrella” (everything became stars). The tempo relaxes, and the piano and

strings play warm, ascending chords. It feels as though the listener has suddenly been plunged

underwater.

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In measure 51 the opening material returns, and the voice once again sings its joyous

leaping line. However this is not a true return to the A section; in measure 96 the song dissolves

into a combination of the joyous opening and the slower, suspended section. The voice sings a

slightly mutated form of the opening line, while the orchestra returns to the warm, ascending

chords of measure 45. The blending of these two contradictory sections creates a feeling of

completion. The fluttering sixteenth notes return in the orchestra in a few places, but now they

are subdued, as though they too have been plunged underwater in a search for “the final secrets

of the foam.”

The song ends with a foretaste of the orchestral motive from the following song, seen in

Example 19.

Ex. 19, Neruda Songs, “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo,” RH piano, meas. 140.

“No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo” No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo, Do not be far away from me for a single day, because, porque, no sé decirlo, es largo el día, because, I do not know how to say it, the day is long, y te estaré esperando como en las estaciones and I will be waiting for you, like the trains cuando en alguna parte se durmieron los trenes. which sleep in the stations.

No te vayas por una hora porque entonces Do not go away for even an hour because en esa hora se juntan las gotas del desvelo in that hour the drops of anxiety join together y tal vez todo el humo que anda buscando casa and, like the smoke that wanders searching for a home, venga a matar aún mi corazón perdido. may come to kill my lost heart.

Ay que no se quebrante tu silueta en la arena, Ah that your silhouette may not break on the sand, ay que no vuelen tus párpados en la ausencia: ah that your eyelids may not fly open in the absence: no te vayas por un minuto, bienamada, do not go for a minute, beloved,

porque en ese minuto te habrás ido tan lejos because in that minute you will have gone so far away que yo cruzaré toda la tierra preguntando that I will cross all the earth asking si volverás o si me dejarás muriendo. if you will return, or if you will leave me dying.

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The third song, which takes its text from Sonnet XLV of the Mediodía chapter, seems to

grow right out of the second song. The cello D-sharp of the previous song dies away slowly only

to be taken up by the bass clarinet in the third song, and the motive introduced at the end of the

second song appears in the oboe in measure 10 of “No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque

cómo.” This connection links the relationships spoken of in the texts. Although the couple has

entered a new chapter, “midday,” it is clearly the same relationship. This oboe motive appears

again in measures 17 and 63.

The linking of songs #2 and #3 is quite important because the third song marks a distinct

change in tone, and it would be easy for a listener to disassociate this song from the others. In

this song the listener catches the first glimpse of desperation. The orchestra plays simpler chords

in a lower register, and the voice sits much lower than before. This creates a more stark texture

than used in the previous songs, though it is still lush in comparison to Rilke Songs.

The opening vocal melody establishes a melodic motive that returns at several points

throughout the song, seen in Example 20.

Ex. 20, Neruda Songs, “No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque como,” voice, meas. 3.

This motive appears in the voice (always to the same words) at several pitch levels throughout

the song. Lieberson’s use of repeated text and melodic material is quite free throughout the set, 98

but in this instance the repetition of the opening line of text is very purposeful. It paints a picture

of a speaker who is desperate for closeness with their loved one and terrified to let them out of

their sight. The motive is ever recurring, much like a mantra. Despite forays into different

registers and textures, it always returns. The song finally ends with the melodic motive swiftly

followed by the oboe motive, as though the two will never be parted again.

It should be noted that one iteration ends with a major third, rather than a minor third. See 98

measure 10-11.

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“Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño” Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño. You are mine. Rest with your dream in my dream. Amor, dolor, trabajos, deben dormir ahora. Love, sorrow, labor, should all sleep now. Gira la noche sobre sus invisibles ruedas Above, the night spins its invisible wheels y junto a mí eres pura como el ámbar dormido. and, close to me, you are as pure as sleeping amber.

Ninguna más, amor, dormirá con mis sueños. No one else, my love, will sleep with my dreams. Irás, iremos juntos por las aguas del tiempo. You will go, we will go together through the waters of time. Ninguna viajará por la sombra conmigo, No one will travel through the shade with me, sólo tú, siempreviva, siempre sol, siempre luna. only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.

Ya tus manos abrieron los puños delicados Your hands have already opened their delicate fists y dejaron caer suaves signos sin rumbo, and allowed soft, aimless signs to fall, tus ojos se cerraron como dos alas grises, your eyes shut like two gray wings,

mientras yo sigo el agua que llevas y me lleva: meanwhile I follow the water that you carry, and it carries me: la noche, el mundo, el viento devanan su destino, the night, the world, the wind, they all spin their destiny, y ya no soy sin ti sino sólo tu sueño. and now I am no longer without you, even if I am only your dream.

The fourth song, set to Sonnet LXXXI from the Noche chapter, begins with an

impassioned downbeat in the cellos followed by a chord in the strings (with a triplet figure in the

violins) and an exultant vocal line proclaiming “Ya eres mia” (you are mine). This triumphant

opening escalates as the strings play sweeping lines (all beginning with the triplet figure) and the

voice ascends in pitch, still proclaiming that first line of text. (Seen in Example 21.)

This leads into the most rhythmically active section of the entire set. In measure 13 the

maracas enter playing a “bossa nova rhythm,” an indication which is only notated by a fill line,

seen in Example 22. The introduction of a consistent non-pitched percussion instrument keeps

the whole section firmly grounded rhythmically, unlike much of the rest of the set which is more

rhythmically free. In addition to the maracas, the orchestra plays syncopated rhythms under the

chromatic vocal line, coloring the section with a Latin dance feel.

The interplay between the sweepingly lyrical sections and the more syncopated sections

is ongoing throughout the song, and one of the most beautiful moments in the entire set occurs in

the exultant orchestral interlude from measure 74-90. Here the orchestra swells to a fortissimo

playing segments of melodic material that were introduced earlier in the voice, often in multiple

octaves with rich harmonies underneath. It is as though the speaker, reveling in the fact that their

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love now belongs to them, is torn between dancing for joy and proclaiming their love from the

rooftops.

Ex. 21, Neruda Songs, “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño,” PV score, meas. 1-5.

Ex. 22, Neruda Songs, “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño,” percussion, meas. 13.

“Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres” Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres, My love, if I die and you do not,

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amor mío, si mueres y no muero, My love, if you die and I do not, no demos al dolor más territorio: let’s not give sorrow more territory: no hay extensión como la que vivimos. it does not have as much space as the place we live now.

Polvo en el trigo, arena en las arenas Dust in the wheat, sand in the desert, el tiempo, el agua errante, el viento vago time, wandering water, the vague wind, nos llevó como grano navegante. it carried us away like sailing grain. Pudimos no encontrarnos en el tiempo. We could not find one another in time.

Esta pradera en que nos encontramos, This prairie in which we find one another, oh pequeño infinito! devolvemos. oh little infinity! we return. Pero este amor, amor, no ha terminado, But, my love, this love has not ended, y así como no tuvo nacimiento and just like it had no birth no tiene muerte, es como un largo río, it has no death, it is like a large river, sólo cambia de tierras y de labios. only changing lands and lips.

This leads to the final song which takes its text from Sonnet XCII, also from the Noches

portion of Cien sonetos de amor. The song begins with a peaceful swaying in the strings much

like a lullaby (seen in Example 23).

Ex. 23, Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” strings, meas. 1-2.

Unlike the previous songs, which are full of drama and desire, this song exudes

contentment. Echoes of the past songs are sprinkled subtly through the final song, as though the

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speaker is looking back on a long, happy life with their loved one. Measures 20-24 hearken back

to song #4 with its syncopated rhythms and its chromatic line. Furthermore, the orchestral

tremolos under the free vocal line in the subsequent eleven measures recall the ending of the

fourth song (specifically measures 119-125).

This is followed several measures later by an altered version of the longing motive from

the first song (see Example 15). More specifically, measures 39-44 call to mind the impassioned

“bienamada” from the first song (see Example 24). The orchestra swells to a forte as the voice

sings a fervent ascending major sixth (though with a passing B-flat) followed by a descending

line. This time it is set to the phrase “oh pequeño infinito” (oh little infinity) and sung twice, as

though it is a memory that truly deserves savoring. While it is not an exact replica of the motive,

it is certainly similar enough to bring the first song to mind.

Ex. 24, Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” PV score, meas. 41-44.

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This is followed by a section that is reminiscent of the third song, more specifically the

melody which accompanies the phrase “no te vayas,” seen in Example 25. This can be seen most

clearly in Example 26 where the melodic material of the motive appears twice in quick

succession (though the quality of some intervals is altered). However, this melodic return brings

none of the desperation of the third song with it.

Ex. 25, Neruda Songs, “No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo,” PV score, meas. 47-48.

Ex. 26, Neruda Songs, “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres,” PV score, meas. 57.

The song ends with a return to the peaceful, swaying strings that opened the song as the

voice reaffirms that this love has no end, rather it will only change “tierras” (lands) and

“labios” (lips).

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CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

Rilke Songs and Neruda Songs are undeniably different. Neruda Songs are intensely

romantic and emotional, while Rilke Songs are contemplative and cerebral. However, Lieberson

still considered Rilke Songs to be “love songs.” While the texts are not overtly about love, they

represent the coming together of disparate forces, and there is certainly something romantic in

that. Furthermore, Rilke Songs was closely tied to Lieberson’s world view, so in some ways the

composer was offering himself as a gift to his wife.

Nevertheless, the two sets show two entirely different faces of love, and this is reflected

in the different compositional elements. Lieberson embraces the esoteric quality of Rilke’s texts

by using stark textures and disjunct melodies. The piano plays an important role throughout the

set, and, with the exception of the opening of “Blumenmuskel,” the piano and voice are very

closely linked. And, perhaps in an attempt to ground an eclectic, intellectual text, the composer

uses a fair amount of text painting.

The immediacy of the Neruda texts, on the other hand, calls for lush orchestration, and as

a result Lieberson wrote many sweeping, step-wise gestures in both the voice and orchestra. The

orchestra plays melodic material in interludes, but when the voice is active it tends to simply

create an atmosphere, rather than acting as an equal partner with the voice. The vivid, colorful

text does not require further illustration, and as a result the listener hears many powerful

emotions but practically no text painting.

It is interesting that both textual sources happen to be books of sonnets. Though, given

the abundance of romantic sonnets written throughout history, it may have been an inevitable

choice. It is also interesting that both sets link the second and third songs, although for very

different reasons. Rilke Songs links the two due to their similar themes, while the second and

third Neruda songs are forcibly linked in order to create a feeling of continuity.

And perhaps this is how the two cycles should be viewed. Just like the second and third

Neruda songs, the cycles show two different phases of love, but it is undoubtedly the same love

that links them. Rilke Songs may be more restrained than Neruda Songs, but it comes from a very

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early stage in Lieberson and Lorraine’s relationship. In many ways, Neruda Songs represents the

culmination of their romance. Lieberson himself said:

We had a very short time together. In some sense, we only had nine years. But, in many other ways, it was very full, because we were together almost continuously. And, after I heard these pieces [Neruda Songs] and the way she sang them, there was a sense of completion. A sense that I finally had done what I really wanted to do and I was able to express my love for Lorraine in music. 99

Lunden.99

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APPENDIX A

RILKE SONGS: WORD FOR WORD

O ihr Zärtlichen, tretet zuweilen Oh you gentle ones, tread occasionally

in den Atem, der euch nicht meint, in the breath, that for you is not meant,

laßt ihn an eueren Wangen sich teilen, Let it on your cheeks itself divide,

hinter euch zittert er, wieder vereint. Behind you trembles it, again united

O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen, O you blessed ones, o you whole ones,

die ihr der Anfang der Herzen scheint, that you the beginning of hearts seem, (you seem to be the beginning of hearts,)

Bogen der Pfeile und Ziele von Pfeilen, Bow of the arrows and targets of arrows,

ewiger glänzt euer Lächeln verweint. forever shines your smile tear-stained.

Fürchtet euch nicht zu leiden, die Schwere, fear you not to suffer, the difficulties, (Do not fear to suffer the difficulties,)

gebt sie zurück an der Erde Gewicht; give them back to the earth weight; (Give the weight of them back to the earth;)

schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere. heavy are the mountains, heavy are the seas.

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Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflanztet, die Bäume, even the ones as children you planted, the trees, (Even the trees you planted as children,)

wurden zu schwer längst; ihr trüget sie nicht. became too heavy long ago; you could carry them not

Aber die Lüfte… aber die Räume… But the breezes… but the spaces…

Atmen, du unsichtbares Gedicht! Breathing, you invisible poem

Immerfort um das eigne Constantly around the own

Sein rein eingetauschter Weltraum. Gegengewicht, Existence purely exchanged universe. Counterbalance,

In dem ich mich rhythmisch ereigne. In which I myself rhythmically occur

Einzige Welle, deren Only wave, whose

allmähliches Meer ich bin; gradual sea I am

sparsamstes du von allen möglichen Meeren, - most frugal you of all possible seas, -

Raumgewinn. Space gain.

Wieviele von diesen Stellen der Räume waren schon How many of these places of the spaces were already

innen in mir. Manche Winde

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inside me. Some winds

sind wie mein Sohn. are like my son.

Erkennst du mich, Luft, du, voll noch einst meiniger Orte? Recognize you me, air, you, full still of once mine places? (Do you recognize me, air, you, still full of places that were once mine?)

Du, einmal glatte Rinde, You, once smooth bark,

Rundung und Blatt meiner Worte. Curve and leaf of my words.

Wolle die Wandlung. O sei für die Flamme begeistert, Desire the change. O be for the flame enraptured,

drin sich ein Ding dir entzieht, das mit Verwandlungen prunkt; inside itself a thing of you retreats, that with transformations is resplendent; (Something from inside of it retreats from you, resplendent with transformation;)

jener entwerfende Geist, welcher das Irdische meistert, that creating spirit, which the earthly life masters (That creating spirit, which masters earthly life)

liebt in dem Schwung der Figur nichts wie den wendenden Punkt. loves in the swing of the figure nothing as the inverting point. (Loves nothing in the swing of the figure as much as the inverting point.)

Was sich ins Bleiben verschließt, schon ists das Erstarrte; What itself in remaining locks away, already is the frozen one; (What locks itself in remaining is already frozen;)

wähnt es sich sicher im Schutz des unscheinbaren Grau’s? imagines it itself safe in the protection of the inconspicuous grays? (Does it imagine itself safe in the protection of the inconspicuous grayness?)

Warte, ein Härtestes warnt aus der Ferne das Harte.

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Wait, a most difficult warns of from the distance the hardness. (Wait, from the distance the most difficult warns of difficulty.)

Wehe -: abwesender Hammer holt aus! Careful -: absent hammer swings up!

Wer sich als Quelle ergießt, den erkennt die Erkennung; Who himself as source pours out, him recognizes the recognition; (He who pours himself out as a source, recognition recognizes him;)

und sie führt ihn entzückt durch das heiter Geschaffne, and it leads him delighted through the cheerful creation

das mit Anfang oft schließt und mit Ende beginnt. that with beginning often concludes and with end begins.

Jeder glückliche Raum ist Kind oder Enkel von Trennung, Each happy space is child or grandchild of separation,

den sie staunend durchgehn. Und die verwandelte Daphne which they astonished go through. And the transformed Daphne

will, seit sie lorbeern fühlt, daß du dich wandelst in Wind. wants, since she laurels feels, that you change yourself into wind. (since feeling the laurels, desires that you change yourself into wind.)

Blumenmuskel, der der Anemone Flower muscle which of the anemone

Wiesenmorgen nach und nach erschließt, Meadow morning little by little opens up, (which little by little opens up to reveal the meadow morning)

bis in ihren Schooß das polyphone until in her lap the polyphonic

Licht der lauten Himmel sich ergießt, Light the loud heaven pours out (heaven pours forth polyphonic light)

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in den stillen Blütenstern gespannter, in the silent blossom star tensed,

Muskel des unendlichen Empfangs, muscle of the infinite receipt,

manchmal so von Fülle übermannter, sometimes so from abundance overpowered

daß der Ruhewink des Untergangs that the quiet signal of the setting

kaum vermag die weitzurückgeschnellten barely able the far back shot

Blätteränder dir zurückzugeben: petals edges you return (The quiet signal of the setting sun is barely able to return the far-flung back petal edges.)

du, Entschluß und Kraft von wieviel Welten! you, determination and strength of how many worlds!

Wir, Gewaltsamen, wir währen länger. We, violent ones, we last longer.

Aber wann, in welchem aller Leben, But when, in which all life,

sind wir endlich offen und Empfänger? are we at last open and recipient? (receiving)

Stiller Freund der vielen Fernen, fühle, Silent friend of the many distances, feel,

wie dein Atem noch den Raum vermehrt. how your breath still the space expands

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(how your breath still expands the space.)

Im Gebälk der finstern Glockenstühle In the beam of the grim belfries

laß dich läuten. Das, was an dir zehrt, let yourself ring. That, which on you preys,

wird ein Starkes über dieser Nahrung. becomes a strong one through this nourishment.

Geh in der Verwandlung aus und ein. Go in the transformation out and in.

Was ist deine leidendste Erfahrung? What is your most suffering experience? Ist dir Trinken bitter, werde Wein. Is to you drinking bitter, become wine.

Sei in dieser Nacht aus Übermaß Be in this night of excess

Zauberkraft am Kreuzweg deiner Sinne, Magic power on the crossroad of your senses,

ihrer seltsamen Begegnung Sinn. of their strange encounter sense. (sense of their strange encounter).

Und wenn dich das Irdische vergaß, And when you the earthly has forgotten (And when earthly things have forgotten you,)

zu der stillen Erde sag: Ich rinne. to the quiet earth say: I flow.

Zu dem raschen Wasser sprich: Ich bin. To the rushing water say: I am.

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APPENDIX B

NERUDA SONGS: WORD FOR WORD

Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna, If not apart from the fact your eyes hold color of moon, (If your eyes did not hold the color of the moon,)

de día con arcilla, con trabajo, con fuego, of day with clay, with labor, with fire,

y aprisionada tienes la agilidad del aire, and imprisoned you hold the agility of air

si no fuera porque eres una semana de ámbar, if not apart from the fact you are a week of amber (If you were not a week of amber,)

si no fuera porque eres el momento amarillo if not apart from the fact you are the moment yellow (If you were not a yellow moment)

en que el otoño sube por las enredaderas in which the autumn climbs through the vines

y eres aún el pan que la luna fragante and you are yet the bread that the moon fragrant

elabora paseando su harina por el cielo, prepares walking its flour through the heavens, (And you are yet the bread that the fragrant moon prepares, decking the heavens with its flour,)

oh, bienamada, yo no te amaría! oh, beloved, I would not love you!

En tu abrazo yo abrazo lo que existe, in your embrace I embrace that which exists,

la arena, el tiempo, el árbol de la lluvia, the sand, the time, the tree of the rain,

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y todo vive para que yo viva: and all lives in order that I may live:

sin ir tan lejos puedo verlo todo: without to go so far I can see it all: (without moving far I can see it all:)

veo en tu vida todo lo viviente. I see in your life all that living. (I see in your life all that is living.)

Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo Love, love, the clouds by the tower of the sky

subieron como triunfantes lavanderas, climbed like triumphant washerwomen,

y todo ardió en azul, todo fue estrella: and all burned in blue, all became star:

el mar, la nave, el día se desterraron juntos. the sea, the ship, the day they exiled together.

Ven a ver los cerezos del agua constelada come to see the cherry trees of the water constellated

y la clave redonda del rápido universo, and the key round of the rapid universe,

ven a tocar el fuego del azul instantáneo, come to touch the fire of the blue moment,

ven antes de que sus pétalos se consuman. come before of which its petals are consumed. (come before its petals are consumed.)

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No hay aquí sino luz, cantidades, racimos, It does not have here except light, amounts, clusters, (There is nothing here except light, amounts, clusters,)

espacio abierto por las virtudes del viento space open by the virtues of the wind

hasta entregar los últimos secretos de la espuma. until to entrust the final secrets of the foam.

Y entre tantos azules celestes, sumergidos, And among so many blues heavenly, submerged,

se pierden nuestros ojos adivinando apenas they lose our eyes guessing scarcely (our guessing eyes scarcely lose)

los poderes del aire, las llaves submarinas. the powers of the air, the keys underwater.

No estés lejos de mí un solo día, porque cómo, Do not be far from me a single day, because why,

porque, no sé decirlo, es largo el día, because, I do not know to say it, it is long the day, (because… I do not know how to say it, the day is long,) y te estaré esperando como en las estaciones and you I will be waiting for like in the stations (and I will be waiting for you, like in the stations)

cuando en alguna parte se durmieron los trenes. when in any part they slept the trains. (where the trains sleep.)

No te vayas por una hora porque entonces Do not go for an hour because then

en esa hora se juntan las gotas del desvelo

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in that hour they join the drops of the anxiety (in that hour, the drops of anxiety join together)

y tal vez todo el humo que anda buscando casa and such place all the smoke that walks searching for home

venga a matar aún mi corazón perdido. may come to kill still my heart lost. (the smoke that walks in search of a home may come to kill my heart, which is still lost.)

Ay que no se quebrante tu silueta en la arena, Ah that not break your silhouette in the sand, (Ah that your silhouette may not break on the sand,)

ay que no vuelen tus párpados en la ausencia: ah that not may fly your eyelids in the absence: (ah that your eyelids may not fly open in the absence:)

no te vayas por un minuto, bienamada, Do not go for a minute, beloved,

porque en ese minuto te habrás ido tan lejos because in that minute you will have gone so far away

que yo cruzaré toda la tierra preguntando that I will cross all the earth asking

si volverás o si me dejarás muriendo. if you will return or if me you will leave dying.

Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño. Now you are mine. Rest with your dream in my dream.

Amor, dolor, trabajos, deben dormir ahora. Love, sorrow, labor, should to sleep now.

Gira la noche sobre sus invisibles ruedas Spins the night above its invisible wheels

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y junto a mí eres pura como el ámbar dormido. and nearby to me you are pure like the amber sleeping.

Ninguna más, amor, dormirá con mis sueños. Not one more, love, will sleep with my dreams.

Irás, iremos juntos por las aguas del tiempo. You will go, we will go together through the waters of time.

Ninguna viajará por la sombra conmigo, Not one will travel through the shade with me,

sólo tú, siempreviva, siempre sol, siempre luna. only you, evergreen, always sun, always moon.

Ya tus manos abrieron los puños delicados Now your hands opened the fists delicate

y dejaron caer suaves signos sin rumbo, and allowed to fall soft signs without direction, (Your hands have already opened their delicate fists and allowed soft, aimless signs to fall,)

tus ojos se cerraron como dos alas grises, your eyes themselves shut like two wings gray,

mientras yo sigo el agua que llevas y me lleva: meanwhile I follow the water that you carry and me it carries:

la noche, el mundo, el viento devanan su destino, the night, the world, the wind they spin their destiny,

y ya no soy sin ti sino sólo tu sueño. and now I am not without you if not only your dream. (and now I am no longer without you, even if I am only your dream.)

Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres, Love mine, if I die and you do not die,

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amor mío, si mueres y no muero, love mine, if you die and I do not die,

no demos al dolor más territorio: let’s not give to the sadness more territory:

no hay extensión como la que vivimos. It does not have expanse like it in which we live. (It does not have the expanse, like the place in which we live.)

Polvo en el trigo, arena en las arenas Dust in the wheat, sand in the sands

el tiempo, el agua errante, el viento vago the time, the water wandering, the wind slow

nos llevó como grano navegante. us it carried away like grain sailing. (It carried us away like a sailing grain.)

Pudimos no encontrarnos en el tiempo. We could not find ourselves in the time. (We could not find one another in time.)

Esta pradera en que nos encontramos, This prairie in which us we find, (This prairie in which we find one another,)

oh pequeño infinito! devolvemos. oh little infinity! we return.

Pero este amor, amor, no ha terminado, But this love, love, has not ended,

y así como no tuvo nacimiento and just like it did not hold birth (and just like it had no birth)

no tiene muerte, es como un largo río,

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it does not hold death, it is like a long river,

sólo cambia de tierras y de labios. only it changes of lands and of lips. (it only changes lands and lips.)

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Branscombe, Peter. "Rilke, (René) Rainer (Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef) Maria." Grove Music Online. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/ grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630- e-0000049390.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Emily Howes, mezzo-soprano, received both her undergraduate and Master’s degree

from the University of Louisville where she studied with Edith Davis Tidwell. While pursuing

her doctorate at Florida State, she studied with both Shirley Close and Marcy Stonikas.

Ms. Howes has a great love of contemporary American compositions. This past summer

with Chautauqua Opera she covered the mezzo-soprano role in the Philip Glass opera Hydrogen

Jukebox, and she will be returning this coming summer to cover Hannah After in Laura

Kaminsky’s As One. In 2016, she premiered Quinn Dizon’s 12 Haiku for mezzo-soprano and

orchestra at the University of Louisville’s New Music Festival in 2016, and she has premiered

several roles with Thompson Street Opera, a small opera company that promotes the works of

emerging contemporary composers.

At Florida State University she has been seen in many roles, including Ruggiero

(Handel’s Alcina), Angelina (Rossini’s La Cenerentola), and Nero (L’incoronazione di Poppea).

Previous roles include Maurya (Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea), Ms. Todd (Menotti’s The

Old Maid and the Thief), Zerlina (Mozart’s Don Giovanni), and Mother Marie (Poulenc’s

Dialogues of the Carmelites).

Ms. Howes has been the winner of various awards and competitions including the Glenys

Gallaher Award (FSU, 2017), the Bill Fabris Award (Chautauqua Opera, 2017), the Hannah J.

Beaulieu Competition (FSU, 2016 and 2017), the Carnegie Hall Competition (FSU, 2017), and

the University of Louisville Concerto Competition (2014). She graduated from both her

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with highest honors, and she has maintained a 4.00 GPA

throughout both of her graduate degrees.

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