Transforming Postwar East Germany through Song : Paul Dessau’s Lieder composed for Lin Jaldati, Lecture-Recital by Michael Hix, Baritone
Beschreibung
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Titel: | Transforming Postwar East Germany through Song : Paul Dessau’s Lieder composed for Lin Jaldati, Lecture-Recital by Michael Hix, Baritone |
Medientyp: | Buch, Text |
veröffentlicht: |
College Music Society
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Umfang: | 1-31 |
Schlagworte: | |
Zusammenfassung: | <p>The rise of East German musical culture after the devastation of WWII is an intriguing facet of contemporary European history. Of particular interest are the Jewish artists, including composer Paul Dessau (1896-1979) and Yiddish folk singer Lin Jaldati (1912-1988), who played significant roles in the musical life of the young nation in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Dessau, one of the GDR’s musical figureheads, returned from exile in 1949 in order to contribute to the cultural development of the new communist country. His eclectic compositional voice incorporates disparate styles and influences including agit-propaganda music, folk music, and modernist techniques. The Yiddish folk singer Lin Jaldati (1912-1988) functioned as an official icon of Jewish culture in the GDR. She served as a musical and cultural ambassador, performing programs of Yiddish folksongs and agit-prop songs of Eisler, Fürnberg and Dessau around the world.</p> <p>This lecture recital presents Dessau’s lieder composed for the singer Lin Jaldati. These works, which include such songs as “An meine Landsleute,” “Höre Israel,” and “Tereszin mit Reisegruppe” often combine Dessau’s modernist musical language and extended piano techniques with a simplified, folk-inspired vocal melody suitable for Jaldati’s voice. The texts for these songs, including many settings of Bertolt Brecht, are poignant commentaries on the Holocaust and military conflicts of the 20th century. Examining the collaboration of Dessau and Jaldati provides a unique perspective on post-Holocaust music, identity politics, and Jewish culture in East Germany.</p> <p>“Transforming Postwar East Germany through Song: Paul Dessau’s Lieder composed for Lin Jaldati,” is a scholarly lecture/performance by Dr. Michael Hix, Associate Professor of Voice at the University of New Mexico. The presentation is available in the form of a twenty-nine minute Youtube video, featuring power point slides, videos of performances, and a recorded narration.</p> <p>Dr. Hix’s well-researched presentation provides a nuanced view of three complicated artists–Paul Dessau, composer, Lin Jaldati, singer, and Jaldati’s husband, the pianist Eberhard Rebling–who lived in a time of great social and political turmoil. The lecture provides a biographical sketch of the artists, placing them and their artistic output within the context of post-war East German history and relating their work to other composers, poets, and performers living in the GDR. Hix discusses the poetry and Dessau’s compositional style for the Jaldati Lieder, taking pains to contrast the simple, chant-like style of these Lieder with other highly demanding vocal works written by the composer at the same time. Interspersed with the slides are a video of Jaldati and Rebling in concert and three videos of the author and his collaborative partner, Dr. Kristin Ditlow, performing three of the Dessau Jaldati songs: “An meine Landsleute,” composed in 1965, “Höre, Israel,” composed in 1969, and “Tereszin mit Reisegruppe,” composed in 1978.</p> <p>Hix’s slides are well organized and stylish in their display. His narration is paced well, and provides a wealth of details not shown in the onscreen slides. The sound quality of his recorded narration is good. The sound quality on the three performances by Hix and Ditlow is fine in general, although the reverberant nature of the performance space used for the recordings tends to make the piano dominate louder passages. Each of the performances by Hix and Ditlow has English subtitles displayed on screen, aiding the viewer in understanding the text.</p> <p>Compliments are due to Dr. Hix and Dr. Ditlow for their performances of the songs. Dr. Hix’s high baritone and clear German diction help these lesser-known songs come to life.</p> <p>A lengthy bibliography of sources and contact information on the performers concludes the video.</p> |
ISSN: |
0069-5696
2334-203X |
Datensammlung: | sid-55-col-jstormusic sid-55-col-jstoras8 JSTOR Music Archive JSTOR Arts & Sciences VIII Archive |