Musical illuminations of Genesis narratives
"This volume examines the stories of Genesis in music, showing how musical settings can illuminate many of the Bible's most noted tales. Helen Leneman studies oratorios, operas and songs (as well as their librettos) to shed light on how Genesis has been understood and experienced over time...
| Summary: | "This volume examines the stories of Genesis in music, showing how musical settings can illuminate many of the Bible's most noted tales. Helen Leneman studies oratorios, operas and songs (as well as their librettos) to shed light on how Genesis has been understood and experienced over time. Examining an extensive range of musical settings of stories from the book of Genesis, Leneman offers an overview of chiefly 19th and 20th century musical engagements with this biblical text. Leneman first discusses how Eve's inner thoughts are explored by noted French composers Jules Massenet and Gabriel Faurâe. The text then enters the deep waters of Noah's flood in examination of several compositions, including two unusual settings by Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten, as well as more conventional settings by Saint-Saèens and Donizetti. Two major 19th century oratorio settings of Abraham's story by lesserknown German composers Martin Blumner and Karl Mangold provide fascinating illuminations of the Abraham narratives, whereas parts of Rebecca's story are found in works by Câesar Franck, Ferdinand Hiller, and most unusually, by a French woman composer, Câelanie Carissan. Finally, Leneman shows how Joseph's story was set in numerous oratorios (including by Handel) but that one of the most important works based on his story is an opera by 18th century French composer Etienne Mâehul. In addition to discussing these larger 19th century works, Leneman also examines several interesting atonal 20th century works based on the stories of Eve and the Flood, shedding new light on the history of the interpretation of the Book of Genesis."--! From back cover The voices of Eve (Genesis 2-3). Jules Massenet and áEve : mystáere (1875) ; Gabriel Faurâe and La Chanson d'áEve (1910) -- Noah and the flood (Genesis 6-9). Camille Saint-Saèens and Le Dâeluge (The flood) (1875) ; Gaetano Donizetti and Il Diluvio universale (1830) ; Jacques Fromenthal Halâevy and Georges Bizet, Noâe (1862/69) ; Benjamin Britten and Noye's fludde (1958) ; Igor Stravinsky and The flood (1962) -- The Abraham-Sarah narratives (Genesis 12-22). Abraham in nineteenth-century oratorios ; Carl Amand Mangold and Abraham (1860) ; Martin Blumner and Abraham (1862) ; Abraham in twentieth- and twenty-first century opera ; Kurt Weill and The eternal road (1937) ; Ezra Ladennan and Sarah (1958) ; Gerald Cohen and Sarah and Hagar (2008) ; Elinor Remick Warren and Abram in Egypt (1961) -- The Abraham-Sarah narratives (Genesis 12-22) [continued]. Aqedah settings ; Abraham Goldfaden and Akeidas Izchok (1898) ; Ildebrando Pizzetti and La Rappresentazione di Abram e d'Isaac (1928) ; Igor Stravinsky and Abraham and Isaac (1964) ; Judith Kaplan Eisenstein and The sacrifice of Isaac : a liturgical drama (1972) ; Hagar in song ; Franz Schubert and Hagars Klage (Hagar's lament, 1811) ; Juan Crisâostomo Arriaga and Agar dans le dâesert (Hagar in the Desert, 1825) ; Sally Beamish and Hagar in the wilderness (2013) ; Sarah from Women of valor suite by Andrea Clearfield (2000) -- Rebecca at the well (Genesis 24). Ferdinand Hiller and Rebecca, biblisches Idyll (1877) ; Câesar Franck and Râebecca : scáene biblique (1881) ; Câelanie Carissan and Râebecca : Oratorio (1893) -- Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37-50). George Frederick Handel : Joseph and His Brethren (1744) ; Etienne-Nicolas Maul and Joseph : opâera en trois actes (1807) ; Kurt Weill and The Eternal Road -- Annotated appendix of additional works. The Voices of Eve ; Alexander Goehr (1932- ), Eve Dreams in Paradise (op. 49) ; Charles Villiers Stanford, Eden (1891) ; Joseph Haydn's The Creation (1796) ; Alessandro Scarlatti, Cain overo Il primo omicidio (Cain or the first homicide) (1707) ; Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831), La Mort d'Abel (The Death of Abel; 1810/revised 1823) ; Stephen Schwartz, Children of Eden (1986) ; Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, The Apple Tree (1966) ; Nathaniel Shilkret, The Genesis Suite (1945) ; Noah and the flood ; Daniel Beltzhoover, The Deluge (1860s) ; Alexander Goehr (1932- ), The Deluge (1957) |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 0567673731 |