From Poetic Meter to Musical Rhythm: Declamatory Schemas in the Lied (pdf of the powerpoint)
Abstract
Much has been made of the transformation that takes place when poetic rhythms are set to music. This paper shows that poetic meter is nonetheless relevant to our understanding of song. Each line length in particular carries with it a range of setting types or “declamatory schemas.” I introduce declamatory schemas, then explore the schemas for trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter settings in turn. Examples, taxonomies, and comparative tables are presented for each line length. I survey songs from Schubert’s Winterreise, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s Opp. 1 and 7 collections. In the section on pentameter settings I show how my method relates to that of Fehn and Hallmark, and compare pentameter settings by Schubert and Wolf. The technique introduced here is useful for broad comparisons and as an entry point into more detailed and fully contextual analysis. I work with songs from the genre of the Lied, but the technique might be applied in any repertoire with accentual-syllabic poetry and metrical settings.