Studio Lied

Cultural Influences on Composition

Why would a composer choose to respond to a specific event or aspect of a culture with a new composition?

What are some examples of songs written to celebrate a culture or events that have inspired songs? Home on the Range? 9/11? World War II?

We will look at two composers, one at the turn of the century and one composer writing today, who have written work that is a response to specific cultures or events.

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920)

Though his career was cut short by illness at 36 Griffes, is considered one of the first truly distinctive voices in American music. Born in New York, he spent his early years studying the European classics on the piano. At the age of 19, he moved to Germany to study composition and became immersed in the German Romantic school. However, this created a love of cultures in the young composer, and many of his most important works would reflect this interest.

While he was best known for his work influenced by his interest in German, French and Asian cultures, the Cypress String Quartet has chosen a work that was inspired by other indigenous peoples of North America. Little is known about the original Chippewa music that inspired Griffes to write his Two Sketches for String Quartet Based on Indian Themes. The Smithsonian holds a few black wax cylinder recordings of 19th century Chippewa songs but no other modern recordings exist. The Chippewa tribes, originating from and around the lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota, have traditionally used songs in two ways: ceremonially and socially. The Chippewa's ceremonial "Farewell Song" inspired Griffes to write his hauntingly beautiful first sketch: "Lento e mesto."

"Farewell Songs" are unique in their ability to address the deceased and to reach them during their journey from one world to the next. There are no traditional melodies or rhythms, but they are usually sung by the conductor alone and supported by a small orchestra of shakers and hand-drums. The conductor, typically a spiritual advisor or elder of the community, interprets the song, but no one person can compose the song alone. "Farewell Songs" are given to conductors through dreams, visions or meditations. Modern Chippewa cultural advisors such as Calvin Ottertail from the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota acknowledge the therapeutic and calming effects of "Farewell Songs" on listeners and musicians alike.

Dan Coleman (b. 1972)

Composers do not always write work that celebrates specific events because they are personally called to take on the project in isolation of other factors. Sometimes composers are commissioned to write a work that will celebrate an event or anniversary. In this instance, the Lied Center of Kansas and the Lied Center for Performing Arts, a unit of the University of Nebraska, have commissioned Dan Coleman to write a work to recognize the 150th anniversary of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to be performed by the Cypress String Quartet in a series of concerts sponsored by the performing arts centers in the two states.

In the creation of this work, the performing arts centers were interested in working with a young ensemble and composer that would be reflective of the power and energy that galvanized the young United States in 1854 when the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed. Dan Coleman was approached to create the work, which is entitled String Quartet No. 2 because of the reputation he has already gained within the classical music field.

The audiences who will attend the performances will have a unique opportunity to decide for themselves if they feel that the composer has captured the spirit of the event that is represented. It is a responsibility that any artist creating a work, which is reflective of not only their own voice but also the voice of the people they are representing, would have to feel greatly. Dan Coleman says on the work, "The anniversary of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the occasion for the commission of my second string quartet, is an interesting example because it is a difficult event for a composer to use as a starting point. The act created two states, but it also helped to precipitate the Civil War. If we substitute the highly charged historical emblems of war, territorial boundaries, and slavery with musical ideas, we may discover that some compromises are not worth making.

While I certainly didn't set out to create direct parallels between the political complexity of the act and the form of my piece, there is an analogy to be made. There are a small number of musical ideas (rhythms, melodies, and harmonies) in my quartet, and some of them combine quite nicely together. But, some combinations of notes are left unresolved. In fact, the whole piece dissolves without an easy conclusion.

In any work of art, it is not necessary for ideas to be reconciled in order to be beautiful. When you listen to my quartet, you might do best to imagine that you have opened a window onto a musical world, but that world is larger than the piece itself. I hope this will give you a reason to think about the quartet even after the performance has ended, and the last few bars have evaporated into silence."

© 2004 The Lied Center of Kansas | Site by Telos Studios