Hananiah Fettig and Lydia Powers

History of Music

Daniel Ledingham

5/29/17

Samuel Barber

1. Introduction

1.1. Thesis: Samuel Barber is known for many influential pieces of music: one of his most

important being his Hermit Songs because of his influence in writing them, their unique

formatting, and how different they all are

2. Samuel Barber (March 9, 1910 January 23, 1981 (age 70))

2.1. Born in West Chester Penn. (Contemporary Musicians)

2.1.1. Born to a well-educated middle-class family

2.1.1.1. oldest of two children

2.1.1.1.1. only son of Marguerite Macleod Beatty and her physician husband

Samuel Leroy Barber

2.1.1.1.2. one sister named Sara

2.1.2. Barber came by his musical talent from his mothers side

2.1.3. his aunt and uncle Louise and Sidney Homer was a composer and served as a

great mentor

2.2. Immediately Barber showed more interest in musical than in other things boys are

usually interested in (Head, Frey, Smith, & Smith, 2015)

2.3. His parents wondered whether he was gay; time revealed the fact was true

2.3.1. at 9 years he wrote his first coming-out letter to his mother

 2.3.1.1. I have written this to tell you my worrying secret. Now dont cry when

you read it because it is neither yours nor my fault. I suppose I will have to tell

it now without any nonsense. To begin with I was not meant to be an athlet[e].

I was meant to be a composer, and will be Im sure. Ill ask you one more

thing. Dont ask me to try to forget this unpleasant thing and go play

football. PleaseSometimes Ive been worrying about this so much that it

makes me mad (not very). (Head, , Frey, Smith, & Smith, 2015)

2.4. Barber is a Composer that is considered one of the most expressive representatives of the

lyric and romantic trends in 20th-century classical music (The Editors of Encyclopedia

Britannica)

2.4.1. dedicated nearly all his time to composition

2.5. at age 7 he composed his first work titled Sadness (a piano piece)

2.6. Began working on his first opera at age 9 when composer Sidney Homer caught on to

his gifts

2.7. 1924, he enrolled in the newly opened Curtis Institute in Philadelphia (already having

written 14 pieces) (Libbey, 2010)

2.7.1. studied piano with Isabelle Vengerova

2.7.2. composition with Rosario Scalero

2.7.3. conducting with Fritz Reiner

2.8. he met Gian-Carlo Menotti at Curtis (Head,, Frey, Smith, & Smith, 2015)

2.8.1. he would become his lifelong companion and collaborator for six decades

2.8.2. they purchased a large house in 1943

2.8.2.1. lived as a couple until 1974

2.9. in 1936 Samuel-Barber wrote his most famous piece; Adagio of Strings

2.9.1. had a tense melodic line and taut harmonies (the sounds of American culture,

2006)

2.9.2. conducted by Arturo Toscanini and led by NBC symphony in 1938

2.9.2.1. during this time America was still recovering from the depression

2.9.2.2. as well as Hitler pushing toward war

2.9.2.3. Toscanini had only recently settled in America after fleeing Italy

2.9.2.4. the importance of the broadcast performance is noted by Joe Horowitz:

2.9.2.4.1. "Toscanini's concerts in New York... once he was so closely

identified with the opposition to Mussolini, the opposition to Hitler

these were the peak public performances in the history of classical music

in America," says Horowitz. "I don't think any concerts before or since

excited such an intense emotional response, and I don't think any concerts

before or since evoked such an intense sense of moral mission."(the

sounds of american culture, 2006)

2.9.3. broad casted from New York to a radio audience of millions

2.9.4. considered by many to be the most popular of all 20th century orchestral

works

2.9.5. became a radio standard after it was played at President Franklin D.

Roosevelt in 1945 (Head, , Frey, Smith, & Smith, 2015)

2.9.5.1. it was also played at President John F. Kennedy in 1963

2.9.5.2. after these played it became what music historian Thomas Larson calls:
 2.9.5.2.1. Americas secular hymn for grieving the dead (Head, , Frey,

Smith, & Smith, 2015)

2.9.6. Barber started to get tired of this song

2.9.6.1. he wanted them to play some of his other pieces

2.10. during World War II Samuel-Barber served in the Army Air Corps (Who is

Samuel Barber? Everything You Need to Know)

2.10.1. while there he started writing his 'Second Symphony'

2.10.1.1. later called 'Symphony Dedicated to the Air Forces'

2.10.2. he served in the war from 1942-1945 (Library of Congress)

2.11. 1947 was a bad year for Samuel-Barber (Who is Samuel Barber? Everything You

Need to Know)

2.11.1. his aunt, Louise Homer, and his father became gravely ill

2.11.1.1. out of agony he composed a deeply moving piece based on the poem

Knoxville, Summer of 1915 written by James Agee

2.11.1.2. his poem depicted an evening in a Southern family through a child's

eyes

2.11.2. a month after his work published in April his aunt died, his father following

shortly after

3. The Hermit Songs

3.1. Influence

3.1.1. Samuel Barber traveled to Ireland in 1952 and there he discovered ten Irish

poems translated into English written by Monks and Scholars from the 9th- 13thc
 3.1.1.1. These were extraordinary men, monks or Hermits or what not, and

they wrote these little poems on the corners of MSS (manuscripts) they were

illuminating or just copying. I find them very direct, unspoiled and often

curiously contemporaneous in feeling. -Samuel Barber

3.1.2. His basic concern was always with universal musical values and emotions:

the expression of joy, sorrow, nostalgia, wit, religious feeling, affection, love,

passion and desire for some sort of nobility and dignity.

3.2. Funds

3.2.1. Samuel barber got a commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge

Foundation at Washingtons Library of Congress

3.2.2. Premiered at the Library of Congress October of 1953

3.2.2.1. Leontyne Price as the soprano and Samuel Barber as the pianist

3.2.2.1.1. Five days after the premiere, Elizabeth Coolidge died

3.3. Defining the hermit Songs

3.3.1. The Hermit Songs are a song cycle of ten songs:

3.3.1.1. At Saint Patricks Purgatory

3.3.1.1.1. Prayer to God asking for protection on an upcoming voyage

3.3.1.1.2. Mixed meter

3.3.1.2. Church Bell at Night

3.3.1.2.1. Short, calm tone

3.3.1.3. St. Ivas Vision

3.3.1.3.1. Aria- being sung to baby Jesus

3.3.1.4. Heavenly Banquet

 3.3.1.4.1. Festive- feed and entertain biblical characters

3.3.1.5. The Crucifixion

3.3.1.5.1. Tender lament highlighted by dissonance

3.3.1.6. Sea Snatch

3.3.1.6.1. Frantic- describes a ship lost at sea

3.3.1.7. Promiscuity

3.3.1.7.1. Short and Mischievous

3.3.1.8. The Monk and his Cat

3.3.1.8.1. Relaxed tone

3.3.1.8.2. Compares the lives, eyes, and joys of the monk and his cat

3.3.1.9. The Praises of God

3.3.1.9.1. Points to the foolishness of those who dont enjoy singing

3.3.1.10. The Desire of Hermitage

3.3.1.10.1. Calm, dissonant

3.3.1.10.2. Contemplates hermitage and death

3.4. Distinct Characteristics

3.4.1. Influenced by Gregorian Chant

3.4.1.1. Barber loved Gregorian Chant, thought it made his heart feel whole and

complete

3.4.2. None of them have time signatures

3.4.2.1. They use consistent eighth notes to convey the flow of the chant
 3.4.2.1.1. Barber often changes the number of beats in a measure, which

result in alternate measures of duple, triple, compound, and complex

meters

3.4.2.2. This allowed him to project the rhythmic irregularities of the poems

effectively

3.4.3. Meters fluctuate freely throughout the cycle, and Barber places bar lines and

beams according to the metric pulses of the text

3.4.4. Uses three principal modes: Aeolian, Ionian, and Dorian

3.4.5. Different modal centers to assist in expressing the wide variety of poetic

moods

3.4.6. The majority of the songs contain Barbers characteristic modal-chromatic

language, a combination of tertian, modal, and quartal harmonies

3.4.6.1. These open, quartal harmonies gave the songs an ancient quality

3.4.6.1.1. quartal harmony is the building of harmonic structures with a

distinct preference for the intervals of the perfect fourth, the augmented

fourth and the diminished fourth.

3.4.7. These pieces also consist of open 4th and 5th notes

3.4.8. Gregorian Chant is the most distinctive characteristic of the Hermit Songs

3.5. Examples of these characteristics

3.5.1. Gregorian chant is most present in Heavenly Banquet and Sea Snatch

3.5.2. Most songs have a predominant meter~ At Saint Patricks Purgatory

3.5.2.1. Other songs, like Sea Snatch, show metric shifts in almost every

measure
 3.5.3. Church Bells at Night and Purgatory contain less tonally stable centers, and

they demonstrate Barbers interaction with modernists techniques

3.6. Antony and Cleopatra 1966

3.6.1. after the death of his sister Sara, Barber wrote this piece that he thought

would be a great success

3.6.1.1. This was the first piece he did not collaborate with Menotti; he

collaborated with Franco Zeffirelli (Head, Frey, Smith, & Smith, 2015)

3.6.1.2. during this period of their life Menotti and Barber had grown apart due

to Menotti being away so often

3.7. after the rejection of his work, Barber slipped into a stage depression and alcoholism

(Who is Samuel Barber? Everything You Need to Know)

3.8. despite his setback Barber eventually regained his spirit and started composing again

3.8.1. he wrote until he was almost 70

3.8.2. his music appeared to be reflective and contemplative

3.8.2.1. he never brought any morbidity or unhappiness to his work

3.8.3. his last major work was The Third Essay for Orchestra written in 1978

3.9. Samuel Barber died of lymphatic cancer in 1981, in New York City at the age of 70

3.9.1. his funeral took place at Oaklands Cemetery, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

3.10. Conclusion (Library of Congress )

3.10.1. Hallmark among American composers

3.10.1.1. Barber embraced his lyrcial and expressive compositional style

3.10.1.1.1. shunned nearly all experimental trends popular in the first half of

the 20th century

 3.10.1.2. the majority of Barber's works adhere to traditional European 19th

century models

3.10.1.2.1. the result of his studies with Scalero at Curtis

3.10.1.2.2. as well as advice and guidance from his Uncle Sidney

3.10.1.3. Barber possessed a natural affinity for songs

3.10.1.3.1. could write them with ease

3.10.1.3.2. generating songs as a diversion from a larger composition where

he was struggling

3.10.1.3.3. Barber's catelog is comprised mosly of songs

3.10.1.3.3.1. majority of them still unpublished

3.10.1.3.4. it is in this medium that Barber's lyrical gifts is displayed and his

legacy celebrated

Work Cited Page

"Barber, Samuel." Contemporary Musicians. Retrieved May 26, 2017 from

Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-

and-books/barber-samuel

Chisholm, R. M. (2009, September 01). Notes on the Hermit Songs Texts. Retrieved May

29, 2017, from https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1857894111/notes-

on-the-hermit-songs-texts

DeMichele, A. (2010). Text Settings and Pictorialization in Samuel Barber's "Hermit

Songs" , op 29: A marriage of music and word. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

http://search.proquest.com/openview/8087234609f989eb86a29d7e4df922a6/1?pq
 -origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Jaffe, J. %. (n.d.). Samuel Barber (1910-1981). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

http://www.parlancechamberconcerts.org/parlance-program-notes/hermit-songs

op-29/

Jeffers, G. A., & Pledge, S. D. (n.d.). Melodies Passengers The Songs of Samuel Barber.

Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

Head, T., C., Frey, A., Smith, D. G., & Smith, J. (2015, August 10). Seven Most Interesting Facts

About Samuel Barber (1910-1981). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from

http://www.cmuse.org/interesting-facts-about-samuel-barber/

https://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/sharedfiles/booklets/QUM/booklet- QTZ2079.pdf

Kimbell, S. E. (2010, May). The Romantic Pilgrimage: Narrative Structure in Samuel

Barber's Hermit Songs. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from

https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/ysu1274965990/inline

Lansford, J. A. (2015, June 24). The Hermit Songs of Samuel Barber. Retrieved May

29, 2017, from https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc663371/

Libbey, T. (2010, March 05). The Life and Music Of Samuel Barber. Retrieved May 28, 2017,

from http://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/124272297/the-life-and-music-of-samuel-barbe

L. (n.d.). Samuel Barber, 1910-1981. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from

https://loc.gov/item/ihas.200182572

The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. (n.d.). Samuel Barber. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Barber

The Impact of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' (2006, November 04). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from

http://www.npr.org/2006/11/04/6427815/the-impact-of-barbers-adagio-for-strings
Who is Samuel Barber? Everything You Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/samuel-barber-335.php