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Towards A Declamatory Performance In Schubert Lieder, Olivia Claire Sanders Robinson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study reconsiders declamation in Schubert lieder performance in light of emerging historical evidence. Johann Michael Vogl’s reputedly declamatory approach has arguably been captured in surviving Diabelli editions that document his rhetorically motivated alterations and ornamentations. Similarly, Gustav Anton von Seckendorff has detailed song-like spoken declamation that manipulates pitch, rhythm and accentuation. Recordings of five modern German speakers were transcribed, analysed and used to model effective declamation in the recitation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poems ‘Erster Verlust’ and ‘Geistes Gruß.’ PRAAT speech analysis software was used to analyse the recordings. The participants’ use of stress, emphasis and rubato was …