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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School

2010

Songs of Mortality I-IIISarah Hutchings

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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

SONGS OF MORTALITY I-III

By

SARAH HUTCHINGS

A Thesis submitted to the College of Music

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Music

Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010

The members of the committee approve the thesis of Sarah Hutchings defended on November 4, 2010.

__________________________________ Ladislav Kubik Professor Directing Thesis

__________________________________ Clifton Callender Committee Member

__________________________________

James Mathes Committee Member

Approved: _____________________________________ James Mathes, Chair, Department of Music Theory

_____________________________________ Seth Beckman, Dean, College of Music The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................... ii Manuscript .................................................................................... 1 1. Evening Star .............................................................................. 1 2. Spirits of the Dead ..................................................................... 13 3. Valley of Unrest ……………………………………………………. 28 Biographical Sketch ....................................................................... 45

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ABSTRACT

Songs of Mortality (2008-2009) is a song cycle composed using the poetry of American poet, Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849).

Evening Star is a work a mood apart from the rest of Poe’s poetry. The harmonies of this piece are meant to evoke hope and longing.

Evening Star captures the poet’s sense of wishing for something more in life, and his fascination with the night-time sky. Spirits of

the Dead is a dark work describing the torment of dead souls and of what Poe perceives to be their predestined end. Wispy melodies

embody the transcendent nature of the spirits, and extended techniques in the quartet suggest a sense of disquiet and mutability.

Valley of Unrest recalls the losses of wars past and how the poet perceives the valley where many have perished.

Evening Star: The same teneramente con espressione markings appear in this piece, as they did in Spirits. This should be considered

as a “warming” of the sound for the instrument indicated. Tenuto markings should be followed for emphasis and ferme (measure 7 of

the voice) markings should be considered as an emphasis on the musical phrase as a whole. Liberamente markings are tempo rubato

within the measure.

Spirits of the Dead: In the introduction, strings should embody the essence of restless spirits as they execute their extended

techniques. With the sul tasto markings, the sound should be as “dry” as possible, thus no vibrato should be used (for a renaissance

effect). When the expression, teneramente con espressione appears, the intent is to create a beautiful “warming” of the sound in the

ensemble for a slight mood change from the dry effects of before. If a line between notes appears, for example, in measure 14 for

Violin I, Violin II, and Viola, it is meant to be a portamento. This effect occurs several times throughout the piece and will be further

recognized by the presence of a slur marking. Liberamente markings are tempo rubato markings within the measure. Tempo

markings are meant to be a guide to gauge about how fast one should proceed with the next passage.

Valley of Unrest: There should be a feel of melancholy and reflection to this piece. Phrasing is very important for all instruments.

The violin has a few “solo” passages where a common motive returns. The solo violin double stops should be played dryly, with a

fiddle idiom in mind. For the voice, slur markings are not an indication of where to breathe, but rather a direction of how to shape the

phrase. Slurs detail vocal interpretation within a phrase and also indicate legati as an opposition to “dry” performance with an

emphasis on diction. Phrases with a slur marking should be sung legato and more towards the vowel rather than with precise

consonants.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Sarah Hutchings is a graduate student in Composition at Florida State University. She was born in Lexington Kentucky on September 27, 1984 and soon moved to Durham, North Carolina where she began music lessons at the age of four. Sarah plays the piano and cello and currently maintains a side career as a performing vocal accompanist. As a composer, Sarah has flourished at Florida State University where she discovered that her compositions were inspired by the neurological phenomenon, senesthesia. She plans to continue her education at the doctoral level and hopes to someday compose a full-length opera. Sarah continues to perform with her husband, Verdi baritone, Mitchell Hutchings.