Composer and lyricist Paul Gordon’s Jane Eyre the Musical takes Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre to the stage in combination with John Caird’s script. Originally a pop writer with several hits, Gordon’s Broadway compositions were just as successful and received many Tony nominations. In this duet between two characters, Blanche Ingram and Jane Eyre, Gordon highlights Brontë’s juxtaposition of the two different worlds that each Victorian woman inhabits, commenting on social status and societal expectations of a relationship.

Antonio Caldara was born in Venice, but worked as a maestro di cappella in many locations ranging from Rome to Mantua and other positions in Barcelona. While in Rome working under Prince Francesco Maria Marescotti Ruspoli, Caldara composed a pastoral opera, La costanza in amor vince l’inganno,for public theatre. This includes well known arias such as “Sebben Crudele” and “Selve amiche, ombrose piante”.^[1] In “Selve amiche, ombrose piante,” Caldara juxtaposes the evenness of the melodic line with bursts of ornamentations which may replicate the anxious heartbeat of the speaker as she yearns for peace on her slow, and contemplative journey through the forest.

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was born in 1876 in Venice, and was the son of an Italian mother and German father. He was best known for his comic operas, but wrote other small chamber ensemble pieces such as Quatro Rispetto. In the first of the four Rispetti, there are simple chords accompanying the vocal line that includes poetic images from nature in order to depict the beloved. There are many ornamentations throughout this movement that embellish words such as trees, flower, and shore. At the end of the first Rispetti, the work takes a more dramatic shift and then returns to the opening phrase in conclusion. The second Rispetti is more dramatic, following an ABA form. The third Rispetti includes lots of arpeggiated figures, creating a more romantic and awe like mood and has a very flowing vocal line. The final Rispetti is marked with a presto tempo marking, having very fine staccato articulations throughout. The phrases in this Rispetto are very short, but it allows for a great contrast in this piece, ending the set with an ecstatic nature. ^[3]

Rispetto I

Rispetto II

Rispetto III

Rispetto IV

Elliot Carter was a highly praised American composer, winning many awards and playing a great part in the development of modernism. With the impact of many great composers in his life, such as friends Charles Ives and Aaron Copland and teacher Nadia Boulanger, Carter was able to compose for over 75 years, and in a varieties of styles and genres.^[4] Carter set American poet Robert Frost’s (1874-1963) poem “Dust of Snow” in 1942 while teaching at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. Carter’s legato vocal line contrasts starkly with the piano accompaniment, bringing together two independent solo parts to create one unique sound. Frost’s poem, although short, is not void of deep meaning. In fact, the profundity of the poem and the relationship of the crow and the narrator in particular are realized in the combination of the piano and the voice. It’s as if the staccato piano part is the crow hopping on the branch that “shakes” the snow, while the legato vocal line portrays how the narrator is so absorbed in his own world. However, in Frost’s second stanza, both lines change, displaying the awakening of the narrator to the life all around, and as the woods quiet again, the speaker takes in the beauty, simplicity, and interdependence, grateful for the chance to be outside of themself.

American composer and conductor Henry Mollicone was born in 1946, studied at the England Conservatory of Music (B.M, M.M.) and since then has written many operas, song cycles, piano works, and choral works, while holding various university teaching posts. “Waiting” was written in Saratoga, California in November 1999 for Debra Lambert, a fellow faculty member at Notre Dame de Namur University, where Mollicone serves as an adjunct lecturer.^[5] It is the last of Mollicone’s Seven Songs, revised in 1999. Mollicone writes, “this group of songs is, to me, nostalgic--each song was dedicated to a dear and special person.”^[6] He goes on to say that any of the seven songs may be performed individually or as a group, and notes that “Waiting” in particular is frequently chosen to be performed individually. The text by poet Henry Behn (1898-1973) speaks sweetly about the symbiotic relationship of nature between bees, bears, and honeyed flowers, but carries a profound meaning through the almost picturesque scene begging to be the decor of a precious baby’s nursery. The lilting rhythms switching from duple to triple division and comforting tempo that stretches and pulls create an environment that feels safe while encouraging growth.

Richard Hundley was an American composer, singer and pianist who is best known for his collection of art songs, totalling over 75 for voice and piano.^[7] Growing up mainly with his paternal Grandmother in Kentucky, she and Hundley were very close. She greatly impacted Hundley as a composer, challenging him to foster his musicality, and pursue his compositional interests. Through the impact of many other teachers, and musicians, Hundley’s love for music and poetry met in the genre of art song which provided him with an outlet to display “how [he] feel[s] about the words.” He goes on to explain that “a song is like a short story, and from the first notes played by the piano I am telling the listener how I feel about the text.”^[8] This is exactly what Hundley did with Jose Garcia Villa’s poem “Moonlight’s Watermelon,” the third song in Hundley’s set Octaves and Sweet Sounds. Villa, referred to as the “Comma Poet,” separates every word with a comma, creating space and time in his works. Hundley related greatly to Villa’s work, stating, “for me the poem recalls my childhood living with my grandmother in Kentucky when we ate watermelon, fresh from her garden, on summer evenings.”^[9] Hundley’s connection to the poem is evident in the quick silly lines of the piece and the piano’s way of dancing through the various chromatic passages like a small boy through his grandmother’s garden, looking for the ripest watermelon to share with his grandma.

Richard Hageman was born in 1881 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. He was a child prodigy who was not only a composer, but a concert pianist and conductor as well. In 1908 Hageman moved to the United States and conducted the Metropolitan Opera as the beginning of his journey in the states.^[10] The first piece in this set is “Do Not Go My Love,” based on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. There is a fair amount of dissonance and resolution in this piece, coupling with the lyrics in portraying an unsettled pushing and pulling sensation of not wanting a loved one to leave when you know it’s a natural ebb and flow of life. There is a point in the piece where you will hear the piano go into a dreamlike like motive where the poem is reminiscing about holding a small child. The next piece in this set is “Music I Heard with You,” based on a poem by Conrad Aiken. When Aiken was a small boy, his father killed his mother and then committed suicide. ^[11] At the beginning of this piece, the piano part plays a motive resembling the sounds of church bells, and can be inferred as the church bells of a funeral. This piece then embarks on a story of reminiscing on the loss of loved ones and battling with the emotions of anger and loss, as well as the happy remembrance of ones that you love who have now passed on. The last piece in this set is “At the Well,” also based on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. This piece tells a cute, funny, flirtatious story of two sisters and their adventures into the woods to fetch water. Throughout the piece the time signature changes frequently from ⅝ to 6/8, creating very fun, playlike motives in both the piano and vocal lines.

Franz Schubert composed “Die Forelle” D 550 in 1817, setting the first three stanzas of Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart’s (1739-1791) poem. Schubert is known for the vast number of his vocal compositions, over six hundred in total.^[12] He is most famous for his lieder, songs for voice and piano, known for a musical line and accompaniment that clearly depicts the poem. This holds true in “Die Forelle,” “the trout,” whose carefree and darting movement is scattered throughout the piano accompaniment in a fast figure appearing both in the left and right hands. The first two stanzas of the narrative poem are set in a cheery Db major until a mood shift in the third stanza where Schubert modulates to the relative minor of Bb, then returns to major.

Schubert’s oeuvre contains several lieder by the name of “Ständchen,” meaning Serenade. These works were settings of different poems by various poets including Gabriele von Baumberg, Shakespeare and Rellstab (1799-1860). Ludwig Rellstab’s poem “Leise flehen meine Lieder” was set by Schubert in 1823 and published after his death in 1828 as D. 957, No. 4.^[14] Again, Schubert portrays the scene of the poem through the piano accompaniment, with staccato articulation and chordal arpeggiation written for the pianoforte and imitating that of a stringed instrument such as a lute. Additionally, the strophic nature of the first four stanzas of Rellstab’s poem, which oscillate between d minor, F major (the relative major), and D major (the parallel major), creates a sense of continuity, which is disrupted in the fifth and final stanza when Schubert modulates to b minor (the relative minor of D major) and ultimately ends the piece in D major. The harmonic progression which so perfectly supports the text and the meaning of the poem in combination with the articulations of the accompaniment create a piece of overall art that can only be created by Schubert.

Book 4 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749-1832) novel Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship presents the character Mignon singing “Nur ver die Sehnsucht kennt.”^[16] Schubert set Goethe’s poem in 1826 and later published the song in 1827 as Opus 62, No. 4, creating an emotionally charged lied through the building vocal line, rich harmonic texture, and stark contrast between the A, B and A’ sections of the piece. The speed of the harmonic rhythm begins slowly but becomes rapid and intense to match the mood of Goethe’s poem in the middle, then returns to the previous state. 

Hall Johnson was an American composer who arranged many gospel pieces throughout his life. ^[18]“Ride On, King Jesus!” arranged by Hall Johnson is a very fun spiritual. The piece starts of with the main motive, utilizing some syncopated rhythms and moves very quickly into a 2/4 pattern that is soft and playful. This piece ends with a back and forth of the piano and voice line with downbeats and triplet rhythms in the piano and voice parts respectfully, ending the song “with a bang.”

H.T. Burleigh is another American composer who has arranged many gospel pieces. “Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child,” is a heart wrenching negro spiritual. This piece, although simple in nature, has such a deep meaning, rooted in the slavery of African Americans. In this piece, Burleigh uses the dialect that was typical of African American slaves, and writes melodic lines that resemble the moaning of slaves.

Carol Cymbala was born in Chicago, Illinois to a family of five with a pastor father. Her family is/was very gifted in music and she began embarking on her love for music at a young age of six. Her father created the church that is now known as Brooklyn Tabernacle and her husband is now the pastor of that church. She is the choir and music director, fulfilling her call to ministry. Along with many other pieces, Carol Cymbala wrote the piece “He’s Been Faithful.” This is a song about how Christ shapes the lives of Christians and, regardless of our circumstances or the way that we deal with them, God is, has been, and always will remain faithful.

Léo Delibes was born in 1836 in France and was well known for writing music for operas and ballets in France. One of his famous operas was Lakmé from which “ Duo des fleurs/Sous le dome epais” came from. In what is famously known as “The Flower Duet,” Lakme and Mallika, Lakme’s servant, are at the river gathering flowers and talking about the scenery, as well as Lakme’s fear of what the future holds for her and her family. The British empire at this time is prohibiting Hindu worship, and Lakme’s father is going against that by continuing to lead people in worship. During the middle of the flower duet, Lakme shares her concerns of this situation with her servant, Mallika and Mallika tries to reassure her that their gods will protect him and then they go on to sing of the flowers, and swans, among other elements of nature. ^[19]