Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
The origins and the evolution of the French mélodie The new concept of mélodie crystallised around the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. There were many factors that determined this change to happen. Musically speaking, one of the factors that contributed directly to the emergence of the mélodie was the necessity of creating a new vocal genre due to the decline, at an artistic level, of the romance. The influence that Schubert’s Lieder had in France and the emergence of new compositional styles due to the new literary trend derived from the new Romantic poetry were also decisive in this respect. In order to have a clearer image of the mélodie we must first analyse its predecessor, the romance. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, in the Dictionary of the French Academy, the term “romance” did not have a particular musical definition. It was described as a “light verse, recounting some ancient story”. The first musical description of the word romance appears in the Encyclopédie (1765): “An ancient tale, written in simple, easy, and natural verse. […] This poem is sung and French music, clumsy and insane as it is, seems quite suitable to the romance”. From the Musical Dictionary of J. J. Rousseau comes the first broad definition of the romance: “It’s an air to which is sung a short poem of the same name, divided into stanzas, whose subject is usually some love story, often tragic” Since the romance should be written in a simple, moving, and rather archaic style, the air should correspond to the character of the words: no ornaments, nothing mannered, but a sweet, natural, rustic melody that produces its own effect regardless of how it is sung. An accurate, clear voice that articulates well and sings without affectation is all that is required for singing a romance.”
Martini’s famous “Plaisir d’amour”, set on a text by Florian, is one of the romances that reached a mature compositional style. Its major compositional devices consisted in utilising the ‘bassocontinuo’ (played at the harpsichord). “Plaisir d’amour” has a rondo form which includes a prelude, a few interludes and a postlude. The musicians of today must also have knowledge of the historical context in order to understand the origins and development of the mélodie. Both, the liberal ideals and the tense
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
political context of the Revolution were impregnated in the cultural manifestation of the French society. When the aristocracy was deliberately substituted with the more dynamic class of the bourgeoisie, many personalities, composers and artists in general, emancipated to the status of artistic and creative individualities. This brought significant changes in music and other arts. The forms of the ‘ancien régime’ were deliberately changed in favour of a new lyrical style connected to the atmosphere of the new social-political realities. In poetry, the romance was split into three types according to its subject. There were historical, pastoral, and sentimental romances. In music, there are two particular types of romances. The first type, the Abstract romance, which has its roots in the Italian musical style, includes a fluid melodic line that is partially detached from the text. The accompaniment does not feature a complex musical language. The accompaniment has just the role to support the vocal line, mainly with some broken chords. The abstract romance has its roots in the Italian musical style and was written by composers such as: Boieldieu, Carbonel, Plantade, D’Alvimare, etc. The expressive romance is much closer to the German style. For the second type of romance the musical the emphasis is on expression. There is a strong interrelationship between music and text. The middle stanza of this expressive romance emphasises the role of the piano through devices such as chromatic notes, modulations or altered chords. During the revolution the romance gained elements that are characteristic to the Pre-Romanticism period. Thiébault expressed the difficulties that the composers were confronting with because of the rigid form required by the strophic form. He wrote: “The structure of the romance is predetermine. The air of a romance cannot include more than one stanza, unless by successively using the minor and major modes, the composition is doubled in length. There are composers who have liberated themselves from this restriction by varying the tune for each stanza and joining them with more or less rich and complicated ritornelli. But only foreigners would have thus conceived of perverting the romance and transforming it into a difficult study piece requiring long attention, that which is only meant to charm for a moment.” The period that prepares the emergence of the Mélodie should be observed in detail because there are some composers that gave contour in advance to some ideas that are specific to the new musical concept, cultivating elements that are later confirmed in the mélodie. The romance received different names at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The names are chosen according to the character of music, or the literary subject or both as in the
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
barcarolle.1 Niedermeyer is an important figure of the 19th century. His vocal works are still classified as romances. However, compared to those created by his contemporaries, they reflect a stronger union between music and text. Niedermeyer also gives an increased importance to the accompaniment. One important creation of Niedermeyer is “Le lac”. It was composed on a famous poem by Lamartine, named “Méditations poétiques”. Gounod started on this successful path that Niedermeyer created with his composition. The use of the major mode in order to express an endearing feeling is one of the compositional devices used by Niedermeyer and characteristic to the Romanticism. [Figure 1] Fig.1 [First section after the introduction in “Le lac”]
Monpou is another composer that was concerned with the adaptation of the Romantic poetry to music, more explicitly, the adaptation of the Romantic versification to the rigid melodic construction of the romance. Many composers of the period were struggling to fit the Romantic verse into the so called “square” or balanced phrase- a melodic framework that includes
1
The romance had names such as: barcarolle, tyrolienne, chansonette (a humorous or anecdotal piece of small dimension), nocturne, tarantelle (Italy) and boléro (for the poems dealing with Spain).
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
subdivisions of binary measures. This rigid musical framework was not suitable for the poetry of Hugo or Musset. Therefore, Monpou tried, without satisfactory results, to comply with the new requirements imposed by the complexities of the Romantic verse. One of the intentions of Monpou was to break the barriers imposed by the, old, traditional style. The following example reflects the attempt of Monpou to fit Hugo’s “Sara la baigneuse” to his, almost experimental, musical setting. [Figure 2] Fig. 2 (Opening of Victor Hugo’s “Sara la baigneuse”)
The musical literature and other dictionaries in the 19th century do not provide a clear definition of the word “mélodie”. The first designation of the word mélodie as a song type was made by René Brancour in an article of “La grande encyclopedié”2. The first professional definition of the mélodie is given by Georges Kastner in 1866: “In our time the name mélodie has been given to the principal part (the expressive and continuous melody) of a composition, to distinguish it from the harmony and accompaniment; but the term also applies to a type of vocal composition of a rather arbitrary outline, which by its style and atmosphere falls midway between the French romance and the German Lied.”3
In 1855, Charles Soulier wrote that the mélodie is “a sort of romance of a cantabile and melodious construction, distinguished by sweet and piquant inflections. Schubert invented this new type of vocal piece about twenty years ago”4 Hector Berlioz was the first composer who decided to attribute the word “mélodie” for his short vocal pieces. Berlioz’ early songs from “Irlande, neuf mélodies imitées de l’anglais”, with the exception of one mélodie called “Élegie”, are very close to the old concept of the romance. Michel Brenet, in the French Musical Dictionary of 1936, emphasised that Franz Schubert used
2
Vol. 23. Paris (1886-1902) Parémiologie musicale de la langue française – Pg. 126-127, 1866 4 Nouveau dictionaire de musique illustré, Paris, 1855 3
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
this term before Berlioz, when he published the Lieder for the first time in France. Before 1830 the mélodie was classified according to its regional or other specific characteristics. A few distinct examples could be the “Mélodie romantique” composed by Vimeux on the words of Breuil, the “Mélodies polonaises” – a cycle that included ten romances: chansonettes and mazurkas – composed by Albert Sowinsky; the “Mélodies dramatiques” – work for one to three voices with piano accompaniment- by Antonie Bessems; the “Mélodie hébraïque” composed by Barrault de Saint-André on a poem by Henri O’Neill. The influence of Schubert’s Lieder was decisive to the development of the mélodie as an independent vocal genre. The publication of Schubert’s German Lieder in France was decisive in this respect. Schubert’s well-known songs -“Six mélodies célèbres avec paroles française par M. Bélanger de Schubert” were published in 1833 by Richault. It took only a short time until the next work “Le roi des aulnes” from Goethe’s “Erlkönig” was published, with the translation of the same person, Bélanger. In 1834 and 1835 there were other four new Schubert mélodies that were translated by Crevel de Charlemagne. After 1840 the number of publications increased, the main translators being Émile Deschamps and Bélanger5 Richault’s contribution is enormous having published at least 360 mélodies, all of them translated by Bélanger. Between the years 1840 and 1850 Beethoven’s Lieder also had a few appearances in France, including the cycle “An die ferne Geliebte” translated as “À la bien-amiée absente” or “Der Wachtelschlag”- translated “Le chant de la caille”. An important personality of the 19th century was Josef Dessauer. During his stay in Paris he composed both Lieder and romances on poems by Victor Hugo, Maurice Bourges, Émile Barateau and others. Maybe for the first time in Dessaure’s composition we can observe a mix between the strophic form of the French romance, the opulent harmonic framework specific to the German music, and also ornaments added to the vocal line that are of Italian origin. Of course, all these contributions raised the interest of the French composers with regard to the contemporary German music. The fame of Schubert’s music was growing fast due to the magnificent performances of Adolphe Nourrit6. There should be mentioned that Lieder in France were generally chosen for their music, the interest in German poetry being at a secondary level. Bélanger, a very skilful librettist, was mostly trying to prioritise the musical
5
e.g. “Euvres musicales de Schubert”, Paris, Schlesinger – 12 songs with French text by Deschamps, 1839; and “Quarante mélodies de Schubert”, Paris, Brandus – publisher and lyricist, 1850) 6 Adolphe Nourrit was considered one of the greatest singers of the Romantic era.
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
element sometimes with the result of neglecting the literary component, as the following example will demonstrate: Goethe’s “Rastlose Liebe”
Translation of Bélanger (under the name of “Toujour”) Charmante amie, A toi ma vie, Ma foi chérie, Jamais trahie; Tus eras mes amours Mes amours toujours!
Émile Deschamps has a totally different approach regarding the translation of a text. He was a very inventive poet. He made sure that the German text is followed in a great level of detail. He never hesitated to modify the rhythms in order to make sure that the words fit the vocal line as smoothly as possible. In this respect, the famous Lied “Die Forelle” (“La truite”) could be offered as an example: Fig. 3
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
After Schubert’s wave of popularity in France the contour of the new concept of the mélodie was much more visible. The French critic Henri Blanchard, a partisan of the romance, stated: “What is going to happen to the romance? What will become? Will it be transformed into a Lied?!? […] It is with regret that we see [the romance] distorted, losing its freshness, its melodic and especially its harmonic simplicity and finally going out of fashion…”
Soon after 1835 the “air”, old type of, mélodie disappeared and was substituted by the true, vigorous new concept of mélodie. Structurally speaking, there was no need any more for the strophic framework. Most of the new mélodies were free of the old structural and schematic form. Adolph Vogel’s “Le souvenir” was, for example, structured using the following plan: Fig. 4 Tonality Structure
Mi minor
Mi Major
A
B
La minor (with modulation) C
Mi minor A1
Mi Major B1 (varied)
Secondly, the piano accompaniment does not have a decorative role in the new concept of the mélodie. The accompaniment is much more connected to the text and there are moments when the piano has its individual musical discourse. [Figure 5]. It could be described as a conversation between the voice and piano. The orchestral writing style can also be detected in the part of the accompaniment. However, we have to bear in mind that the piano as an instrument was still at an elementary level. Clapisson is one of the composers who was fond of the accompaniments wrote by Schubert. In his later mélodies Clapisson wrote his accompaniments utilising rhythmic motifs that are reminiscent of the Schubert’s piano parts. The following musical example (“Le vieux Robin Gray”) illustrates how Clapisson utilised a simple rhythmic motif and maintained it for the duration of the entire piece.
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Figure 5 (“Le vieux Robin Gray” by Clapisson on words by Florian)
Thirdly, the intact “square” phrase does not have to be permanently included in the rhythmicalmelodic framework. For example, in “Sisca l’Albanaise”7 Halévy managed to join the concept of the balanced phrase together with a vocal line that was treated like a recitative. [Figure 6]
7
“Sisca l’Albanaise”, composed by Halévy, was published in the La France musicale Album in 1841.
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Figure 6 (“Sisca l’Albanaise”- Halévy)
The crystallization of the new concept of the mélodie envisages the adaption of the Romantic poetry to music. The composers started to adapt their music to the new Romantic poetry, which meant that they had to abandon the “square” phrasing in order to use the free versification structure of poems written by Victor Hugo, Lamartine and Goutier. The accompaniment that Adolphe Vogel created for the mélodie entitled “Satan” is remarkable. The role of the accompaniment is not decorative. His experimental harmonies bring the expression towards a new superior level. [Fig. 7]
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Figure 7 (“Satan” by Adolphe Vogel)
The earlier mélodies of Berlioz, including “La belle Isabeau”, “Le chasseur danois” and “L’origine de harpe” are still at the border of leaving the rigid structure of the romance. Mélodies such as “Le matin”, “La belle voyageuse” or “Petit oiseau” reflect a much more complex musical language regarding the construction of both, the melodic line and harmonic architecture. Their forms and structures are much more characteristic of the Romantic musical concept. Berlioz’ most important musical achievement, in terms of the development of mélodie, took shape in 1841 when he composed a song cycle on the famous poems “La comédie de la mort” by Gautier. Berlioz’ song cycle appeared under the name of “Les nuits d’été”. The style of Berlioz in “Les nuits d’été”, compared to other previous works, reaches a certain level of maturity. One of the impressions I have when I perform this song cycle is that the piano accompaniment is in a way treated like an orchestra. It may not be a coincidence that Berlioz decided to revise his score in 1856, more explicitly, to substitute the piano part with a full orchestral accompaniment. “Villanelle”, the first mélodie of the cycle, is no doubt one of Berlioz’ musical gems. The melodic line is supported by rich chords that have spectacular turns in terms of the harmonic structure. The musical “dialogue” is another important feature that Berlioz utilises, the vocal part taking motifs previously presented in the piano part. [Figure 8]
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
The progression of the diminished seventh chords is one of the important devices that Berlioz uses in order to enrich the musical language of his mélodies. An example could be found in “Le spectre de la rose”, the second mélodie of the cycle. Berlioz dramatizes the text by creating a modulation from Do# minor to Si Major. [Fig. 9] Figure 9 (“Le spectre de la rose”, version 2; Bars 38-41)
“Sur les lagunes”, the lament, is probably the most interesting mélodie from “Les nuits d’été”. The composer uses a motif that becomes the subject of an intimate musical conversation between piano and voice. This motif, which basically consists of a minor second interval, is found during the entire of this mélodie. [Figure 10] Figure 10 (Motif from “Sur les lagunes”)
The same motif used as an ornament of a minor third creates a diminished 4th. It is fascinating how Berlioz uses the same motif in other harmonic context in order to express a particular feeling of agony.
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
[Figure 11]
Charles Gounod was considered by Maurice Ravel as “the true founder of the mélodie in France”8. The younger generation of composers, including Massenet, Delibes, Bizet, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, was very much attached to Gounod’s harmonic practices. Almost all the mélodies of Gounod composed before 1870 are in strophic form, with additional random enlarged stanzas. After his refuge in England in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, the mélodies he composed were much freer in terms of structure. Gounod was very much concerned with the equilibrium between the poetic and musical accents. In this respect, Saint-Saëns once affirmed: “Not the least of his merits is that he guided us towards the great tradition of the past, basing his vocal music on correctness of declamation.”9 267
One of the most impressive innovations of Gounod it’s related to the way he used the pedal in the accompaniment of a mélodie. Gounod sometimes overlapped notes supported by the pedal over other chords in order to create an effect of dissonance.10 [Fig. 12]
The harmonic and rhythmic framework of Schubert’s Lieder is impregnated in some of the early mélodies of Gounod (e.g. “Crépuscule” and “Chant d’automne”). However, there are mélodies, such as “Chanson du printemps”, that are free of German influence. In Gounod’s
8
*Quotation of Maurice Ravel Saint-Saëns “La poésie et la musique” in Harmony et mélodie, Paris, 1885, pp 261-262; 10 *Another interesting feature of Gounod’s later music was the doubled inverted pedal effect. 9
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
“Sérénade” the emphasis is on the interrelationship between the vocal line and versification. This is a diametrically opposed approach compared to the German Lied in which the emphasis is on the consistency of the piano part. The difference consists in Gounod’s decision to make the piano accompaniment subordinate of the vocal line. The expressiveness was always Gounod’s ideal. Saint-Saëns once affirmed that Gounod “tried to minimize the number of modulations in his music, on the ground that it was a mistake to use such a powerful aid to expressiveness too freely…His aim was to obtain the maximum possible effect with minimum apparent effort, to reduce the representation of external events and objects to a minimum and to concentrate all the interest on the expression of feelings”11 In conclusion, I would like to insist on the importance that the historical context has when attempting to understand how the French music developed. Music was, first of all, part of the intellectual climate and represented the cultural expression in France and its set of conventional beliefs. Music in France was a polyglot manifestation of society.
11
Quotation taken from Martin Coper’s “French Music: From the death of Berlioz to the death of Fauré”, page 14.
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Bibliography
Books 1) Cowart, Georgia “French musical thought, 1600-1800”, UMI Research Press, 1989; 2) Cooper, Martin “French Music: From the death of Berlioz to the death of Fauré”, Oxford University Press, New York, 1978; 3) Mason, Laura “Singing the French Revolution: Popular Culture and Politics 1787-1789”, Cornell University Press; 4) Boyd, Malcom “Music and French Revolution”, Cambridge University Press; 5) Mongredien, Jean “French Music: From the Enlightenment to Romanticism, 17891830”(translation by Sylvain Frémaux) Amadeus Press, Portland;
Discuss the evolution of the mélodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mélodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
APPENDIX
The cover of Niedermeyer’s “Le lac”
Discuss the evolution of the mĂŠlodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mĂŠlodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Pencil drawing of H. Monpou -1840
Discuss the evolution of the mĂŠlodie from its origins in the eighteenth century romance to the early mĂŠlodies of Berlioz and Gounod.
Adolphe Nourrit- Tenor, librettist, and composer.