Still Songs: Music In and Around the Poetry of Paul Celan

252 Pages·2012·2.14 MB·English

by  Celan

Still Songs: Music In and Around
the Poetry of Paul Celan
Axel Englund
Still SongS: MuSic in and around
the Poetry of Paul celan
I am never merry when I hear sweet music.
(Jessica in The Merchant of Venice, act V, Scene i)
Still Songs: Music in and around
the Poetry of Paul celan
axel englund
Stockholm University, Sweden
© axel englund 2012
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
axel englund has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing company
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
englund, axel.
Still songs : music in and around the poetry of Paul celan.
1. celan, Paul--criticism and interpretation. 2. celan, Paul--Musical settings--history
and criticism. 3. Music and literature--germany--history--20th century. 4. german
poetry--20th century--history and criticism.
i. title
780'.0831-dc23
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
englund, axel.
Still songs : music in and around the poetry of Paul celan / axel englund.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSBn 978-1-4094-2262-4 (hardcover) -- iSBn 978-1-4094-2263-1 (ebook)
1. Music--germany--20th century--history and criticism. 2. celan, Paul--Musical
settings--history and criticism. 3. national socialism and literature. i. title.
Ml275.5.e55 2012
831’.914--dc23
2011036586
iSBn 9781409422624 (hbk)
iSBn 9781409422631 (ebk)
Bach musicological font developed by © yo tomita.
III
Printed and bound in great Britain by the
MPg Books group, uK.
Contents
Note on Editions and Translations vii
List of Music Examples and Figures ix
Acknowledgements xi

Introduction: Poetry and Music in Conflict and Convergence 1
1 Play Death Sweeter: Musicality, Metaphoricity, Murder 21
2 Fire in the Harp, in her Hair: The Lied and the Lullaby 55
3 Rises and Plays: Interruptive Repetition and the Law of
Musical Purity 87
4 Into You, Into You I Sing: Spasmodic Speech and the Borders of
the Human Body 123
5 We Resound: Music In and Beyond the First Person Plural 155
6 Shattered the Songs: Dissonances of a German-Jewish Musicality 189
Bibliography 225
Index 237
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Note on Editions and Translations
Paul Celan’s texts are quoted from the following editions (all translations are by
the author unless otherwise noted):
Gesammelte Werke, ed. Beda Allemann and Stefan Reichert (7 vols, Frankfurt am
Main, 2000), henceforth abbreviated as I–VII.
Die Gedichte: Kommentierte Gesamtausgabe, ed. Barbara Wiedemann (Frankfurt
am Main, 2003), henceforth abbreviated as KG.
Mikrolithen sinds, Steinchen: Die Prosa aus dem Nachlaß, ed. Barbara Wiedemann
and Bertrand Badiou (Frankfurt am Main, 2005), henceforth abbreviated as
PN.
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List of Music Examples and Figures
Music Examples
1.1: Medek, Todesfuge, harmonic reduction of opening 42
1.2: Medek, Todesfuge, setting of ‘Schlangen’ passage 43
1.3: Medek, Todesfuge, setting of ‘da liegt man nicht eng’ 45
1.4a–b: Medek, Todesfuge, setting of ‘der Tod ist ein Meister’ 46
1.5: Medek, Todesfuge, soprano ending 47
1.6: Birtwistle, ‘Todesfuge – Frieze 4’, bars 1–5 49
1.7: Birtwistle, ‘Todesfuge – Frieze 4’, violin part of bars 63–5 51
1.8: Birtwistle, ‘Todesfuge – Frieze 4’, bars 88–93 53
2.1: Medek, ‘Sie kämmt ihr Haar’, bars 1–9 72
2.2: Karkoschka, ‘Sie (Wiegenlied)’, bars 1–5 74
3.1: Reimann, Engführung, opening of section IV 94
3.2: Reimann, Engführung, opening of section VIII 102
3.3: Birkenkötter, Sieben Stücke, ending of piece IV (reduction) 112
4.1: Kurtág, ‘Tübingen, Jänner’, bars 17–33 128
4.2: Dittrich, Streichtrio, section I, bars 1–4 134
4.3: Dittrich, Streichtrio, section VI, bars 126–9 135
4.4: Dittrich, Streichtrio, section VI, bars 152–4 135
4.5: Dittrich, Streichtrio, section XII, bar 270 136
5.1: Denhoff, ‘Es sind noch Lieder zu singen…’, bars 1–4 159
5.2: Denhoff, ‘Es sind noch Lieder zu singen…’, bars 83–5 160
5.3: Denhoff, ‘Es sind noch Lieder zu singen…’, bars 126–8 161
5.4a: Rihm, ‘Fadensonnen’, bars 1–4 164
5.4b: Birtwistle, ‘Fadensonnen’, bars 1–4 165
5.5a: Rihm, ‘Fadensonnen’, ending 166
5.5b: Birtwistle, ‘Fadensonnen’, ending 167
6.1: Ruzicka, …der die Gesänge zerschlug, III, martellato figure 204
6.2: Ruzicka, …der die Gesänge zerschlug, X, ‘Erstarrung’ passage 209
6.3: Ruzicka, …der die Gesänge zerschlug, XI, ‘statico’ passage 210
6.4: Ruzicka, …der die Gesänge zerschlug, XII, ‘Canto’, opening 211
Figures
4.1: Dittrich, Streichtrio, sections and durations 133
4.2: Dittrich, Singbarer Rest II, section III, excerpt from sung text 143