Professional Documents
Culture Documents
D.M.A. DOCUMENT
By
*****
Dissertation Committee:
Approved by
Professor Eileen Davis, Adviser
The song cycle entitled Songs to the Moon, written by composer Jake Heggie,
contains the texts of eight poems by the late American poet, Vachel Lindsay. The piece
was composed for American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, who premiered the
work with pianist Martin Katz at the Ravinia Festival on August 20, 1998. It is a
wonderful piece of music, worthy of in-depth musical study and continued performances.
This study is intended to serve as a resource guide for vocal coaches and singers
preparing to perform the piece. It should also be a helpful reference for scholars
interested in learning more about the life and vocal works of Jake Heggie.
Chapter one contains basic biographical information on Jake Heggie, while the
second chapter discusses the general style of his art songs and those who have influenced
his musical compositions. Chapter three focuses on poet Vachel Lindsay, and provides
interesting insight into his life and writings. Chapter Four includes biographical
information about the artists who premiered Songs to the Moon, as well as details about
the creation of the song cycle, the premiere performance, and the resulting critical
reception. The fifth chapter provides an analysis of both the poetry and music, while
chapter six includes a discussion of the unifying aspects of the cycle. The final chapter
contains performance suggestions gleaned from coaching sessions with Mr. Heggie and
Mr. Katz, as well as e-mail correspondences with Ms. von Stade. The appendix includes
ii
brief biographical information on Heggie’s most influential teachers, a summary of his
song style, a list of his vocal compositions, and a discography of his works to date.
iii
In loving memory of my parents,
Nancy Louise Sani and August John (Gus) Sani, Sr.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to thank my adviser and voice teacher, Prof. Eileen Davis, for her
guidance, encouragement, and the many practical suggestions she has given to me to help
make this project a reality. Her influence has helped shape me into the performer I am
today.
Thanks to OSU music faculty Dr. Woliver, Prof. Robinson, Dr. Peeler, Dr. Rice,
former OSU opera director Noel Koran, who have supported and encouraged my talent
I also wish to thank Dr. Ching chu Hu of Denison University for his expertise and
I am grateful to Martin Katz for coaching the pieces with me, and for providing
invaluable insight into performing Songs to the Moon. I also appreciate Frederica von
Stade for taking time out of her busy schedule to respond to my questions.
I am indebted and extremely grateful to composer Jake Heggie for his wonderful
music and his openness to share his life and music with me. Without his input, this
Thanks to my good friend Jennifer Whitehead for her emotional support and
encouraging words throughout this entire process. I am also indebted to my loyal friend
v
and “kindred spirit” Debbie Merki, who spent countless hours editing my document.
Over the years she has been, and continues to be, a true friend in every sense of the word.
family at the Newark Nazarene Church, who have supported me constantly through their
I would also like to thank my siblings, Mary, Tina, and John, as well as my Uncle
wonderful world of music, and my father who, through his example, showed me with a
I am also indebted to my Heavenly Father for the ultimate gift of grace and his
And finally I would like to thank my husband, Brian, for his constant support
throughout this entire project. He has brought so much love and joy to me. I can’t
vi
VITA
vii
2002………………………………. Graduate Outstanding Achievement Award,
The Ohio State University
FIELD OF STUDY
Music:
Vocal Performance
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………… ii
Dedication………………………………………………………………………………... iv
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………v
Vita……………………………………………………………………………………… vii
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………..... xi
Preface………………………………………………………………………………….. xiii
Chapters:
ix
7. Performance Notes…………………………………………………………………. 129
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………… 147
x
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. Gloriana, m.1-4…………………………………………………………………. 59
2. Gloriana, m.49-51………………………………………………………………. 60
3. Gloriana, m.5-8…………………………………………………………………. 61
4. Gloriana, m.54-55………………………………………………………………. 63
5. Gloriana, m.30-33………………………………………………………………. 64
6. Powerhouse, m.105-112………………………………………………………….69
7. Euclid, m.23-30…………………………………………………………………..69
8. Euclid, m.1-4…………………………………………………………………….. 70
9. Euclid, m.5-8…………………………………………………………………….. 71
10. Euclid, m.11-14…………………………………………………………………..75
xi
26. Griffin, m.86-98………………………………………………………………... 116
27. Griffin, m.18-25…………………………………………………………………117
28. Griffin, m.3-4…………………………………………………………………... 118
29. Griffin, m.52-55………………………………………………………………... 118
30. Griffin, m.1……………………………………………………………………...119
31. Griffin, m.49-50………………………………………………………………... 120
32. Griffin, m.76-84………………………………………………………………... 121
xii
PREFACE
I was first introduced to the music of Jake Heggie while listening to a recording of
Native Land, contained five of Heggie’s songs. There was something so simple, yet
elegant, about his folk songs in particular, that immediately drew me in. Soon afterward, I
tried to find out as much as I could about this relatively unknown composer. None of
Heggie’s songs were published at the time, but I was fortunate enough to acquire a
Then, in 1999 and 2000, the Associated Music Publishers, Inc. published three
volumes of Heggie’s art songs. Among his 52 songs is a song cycle for mezzo-soprano
and piano, entitled Songs to the Moon. It is comprised of eight songs set to the texts of
eight whimsical children’s poems by the late American poet Vachel Lindsay. Heggie’s
tender, jazzy, and often humorous musical settings fit perfectly with the charming,
childlike poems. I knew, when I sang through the song cycle, that it would prove to be a
recital. When I made the decision to focus on Heggie and this song cycle for my DMA
document, I wrote a letter to the composer requesting his assistance. His response has
been wonderful and overwhelming. He invited me to his home for a lengthy interview,
xiii
coached me on the songs, and since then has faithfully answered numerous e-mail
correspondences.
What a journey this whole process has been! It has been an incredible opportunity
to converse with this gracious composer about his life, music, compositional and
performance techniques. So many times I have studied music in the past wishing I knew
what the composer really intended in his music. This time, I had the opportunity to ask. It
was also a privilege to coach these songs with the one and only Martin Katz, who Ms.
von Stade refers to as “one of the treasures of the music world.”1 Both Heggie and Katz
offered wonderful insight into these songs. Throughout this process I have learned that,
even though composers and talented coaches can provide wonderful tools to help
performers, it is up to the performer to take hold of these ideas, commit to the text and the
character, and make the performance uniquely his or her own. I have tried to offer some
insight into Heggie’s music, specifically this song cycle, in order to help other performers
achieve this goal. I hope this analysis of Jake Heggie’s Songs to the Moon will provide
experiences.
1
Frederica von Stade, e-mail to the author, 23 Jan. 2002.
xiv
CHAPTER 1
American composer Jake Heggie has written more than 150 art songs as well as
numerous chamber, choral, orchestral and instrumental solo works. His works have been
performed by some of the most highly respected artists of our time, including singers
Frederica von Stade, Renèe Fleming, Susan Graham, Jennifer Larmore, Bryn Terfel,
Dawn Upshaw and Carol Vaness; flutist Eugenia Zukerman; and conductors John
DeMain, Jonathan Sheffer and Patrick Summers. His most well-known work to date is
his first opera, entitled Dead Man Walking, which is based on the book of the same title
written by Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ. The opera premiered in October of 2000 to much
critical acclaim. At the present time, 12 opera companies, both national and
Jake was born to parents John and Judy Heggie in West Palm Beach, Florida on
March 31, 1961. His full name is John Stephen Heggie, but he has always gone by the
name of Jake. His father was a medical doctor who enjoyed listening to big band and jazz
music, as well as playing jazz music on the saxophone. He was a first generation
American and the oldest son of Hungarian immigrants. At one point he had seriously
his parents encouraged him to pursue a more lucrative profession. Through his father’s
1
interest in jazz, Jake was exposed from a young age to the music of great jazz artists such
as Artie Shaw, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, and Tommy Dorsey.
The family moved to Torrence, California when Jake was very young and moved
again two years later when a job transfer took the family to Bexley, Ohio. It was here that
Jake began studying piano at the age of seven. From his first lesson, Jake was completely
enamored with the piano and its possibilities. He said, “I loved my lessons right from the
start. On the first day we learned to play, Hot Cross Buns. I remember it so clearly. I ran
home and said, ‘Mom, listen to this, I learned to play a song!’ From that time on I would
practice the piano for hours, rather than play outside.” At age 11, he began to experiment
with composing.
At the time I had been playing piano a lot and I was especially impressed with
Liszt and Beethoven pieces that were full of black notes. I thought to myself, “I
can do that!” So as a result, I started writing pieces to try and sound like these
composers. They had no depth or meaning at all, because all I was trying to do
was to be impressive by writing a lot of notes!2
He did not study composition formally until the family moved to Martinez,
California when he was 16 years old. It was at this time that he began to study
composition privately with composer Ernst Bacon (see Appendix A). Mr. Bacon worked
with Jake for two years and was the first person to encourage him to compose to texts.3
“He introduced me to the poems of Emily Dickinson and the joys of setting texts. That’s
When Jake was 18, he moved to Paris to try and find his own way musically and
personally. He did not go to Paris to study with anyone in particular, but to see what
2
Jake Heggie, personal interview, 11 September 2001.
3
Heggie, personal interview.
4
David Mermelstein, “He’s Got a Song in His Art,” Los Angeles Times 10 Nov. 1996: 54.
2
would happen for him musically and to work on his own. At this time he was preparing to
become a performer rather than a composer. While in Paris, he studied piano with a
couple of different teachers, but it soon became clear that he needed a more structured
plan of study and a more disciplined environment. At this time one of Jake’s friends
attended UCLA and studied with a teacher named Johana Harris. The Canadian-born
Harris was a gifted piano performer and teacher whose career spanned almost 70 years
(see Appendix A). His friend told him what an incredible musician and teacher she was
and encouraged him to enroll at UCLA. As a result, Jake made the decision to attend
Jake was also influenced by his composition teachers at UCLA – Paul Des
Marais, David Rakskin, Roger Bourland and Paul Reale – but describes Johana Harris as
his most important teacher and greatest influence as a composer. “ She had an amazing
personality and was one of the most phenomenal musicians you could imagine. Music
was her language, and she brought an essential meaning to music that had been missing
for me.”6 After a year or so the relationship between Heggie and Harris intensified and
the two were married in 1982; he was 21, and she was 70.7 Jake admits the marriage was
following manner. “We just complemented each other so well. There was such a strong
spiritual connection. She was my best friend.”8 He continued to study with Harris, and
the two also performed duo piano concerts all over the country.
5
Heggie, personal interview.
6
Heggie, personal interview.
7
Tom Savage, “High Scorers: Jake Heggie,” Opera News Jan. 2000: 12.
8
Mermelstein, 54.
3
Jake graduated from UCLA in 1984 and continued to tour with Johana until he
developed problems with his right hand in 1988.9 He had been compensating for a
technical problem and because of his constant performing, it developed into a muscular
problem. Eventually, he was forced to give up performing. At this time, he basically gave
up on the idea that he would ever play or compose professionally again.10 In order to
support himself, he took a job in public relations with the UCLA Center for the
Performing Arts. Around this same time Johana Harris was diagnosed with cancer, and in
the early 1990s her health began to fail. She passed away in 1995 at the age of 82.11
Feeling stifled and in need of a change, Jake made the decision to move from Los
Angeles to San Francisco in 1993.12 He worked with a piano teacher who helped to
correct his muscular problem, but limited his playing from 1988 until 1994. “I did a little
composing, but I mostly stopped because I was so depressed from not being able to play
anymore.” He describes this time as the most difficult period in his life.13 Before he left
for San Francisco, he had only the promise of freelance public relations work at UC
Berkeley, but ended up getting a full-time public relations position with the San
Francisco Opera.14 Because of his position with the opera company, he was able to meet
several prominent singers. One of these singers was highly acclaimed American mezzo-
soprano Frederica von Stade. Their meeting in San Francisco proved to be a turning point
for Jake’s career as a composer. The two had met briefly a few years earlier when Jake
9
Heggie, personal interview.
10
Heggie, personal interview.
11
Mermelstein 54.
12
Savage 12.
13
Heggie, personal interview.
14
Mermelstein 55.
4
was running a private performing arts series in Beverly Hills.15 She came to the San
Francisco Opera to perform in the world premiere of Conrad Susa’s Les Liaisons
Dangereuses in 1994, and immediately remembered him from their previous meeting.
She had no idea, however, that he was a composer. For an opening night gift, Jake
presented her with three of his folk-song arrangements. When they sat down to go
through them, she was quite impressed.16 Feeling encouraged by her comments, Jake
entered the G. Schirmer American Art Song Competition with von Stade agreeing to sing
for his demo tape. He eventually went on to win the contest. Since that time, von Stade
has become one of Heggie’s closest collaborators.17 Of their relationship, Jake says the
following,
She began to ask me to play for her and commissioned pieces and also arranged
commissions for me. She has been my biggest champion. She also came into my
life right around the time that Johana died. Ms. von Stade had no idea, but one
piece that Johana had always improvised on in recitals was Danny Boy. It just so
happened that this was the very first piece Flicka (von Stade) asked me to
arrange.18
interested as well.
Because I was working for SFO, I met all these wonderful singers who then began
to ask me to compose pieces for them. Singers such as Thomas Hampson, Renèe
Fleming, Jennifer Larmore, Dawn Upshaw, Ben Heppner and Bryn Terfel. Much
to my surprise they started performing my songs nationally and internationally. It
was because of these singers that other people began to pay attention to my
music.”19
15
Heggie, personal interview.
16
Heggie, personal interview.
17
Savage 12.
18
Heggie, personal interview.
19
Heggie, personal interview.
5
A recording of Heggie’s songs was released in 1999 by BMG Classics on the
RCA Red Seal label and was titled, The Faces of Love. The disc features 26 of his songs
performed by some of the world’s most noted singers, including Frederica von Stade,
Renèe Fleming, Jennifer Larmore, Sylvia McNair, Carol Vaness, and Brian Asawa. Five
of Heggie’s songs (including the three folk-song arrangements for von Stade) were also
Land. In response to winning the competition and the release of The Faces of Love, G.
Schirmer published 50 of Heggie’s songs in three volumes, also entitled, The Faces of
Love. The first volume was published in 1999, and the last two volumes were published
in 2000.20
Jake’s commission for his first opera, Dead Man Walking, came to him very
unexpectedly. He was still working in the public relations department for San Francisco
Opera when general director Lotfi Mansouri called him into his office one day in 1996. “I
went into his office with my pad thinking he needed to see me about a speech or a press
release or something like that. But instead he says, ‘I think I would like to ask you to
write this opera.’”21 Bobby McFerrin had been scheduled to write an opera for the
company but after being pushed back a few times, the whole commission eventually fell
through. As a result, there was an opening for a new opera during the 2001 season.
Because so many well-known singers were performing Jake’s music, Mansouri thought
he would be the perfect replacement. Heggie was to be teamed with the famous
playwright Terrence McNally. In one of the preliminary meetings with Jake, McNally
came up with a list of ten possible ideas for the opera’s subject matter. The very first one
20
The Official Website of Jake Heggie, <http://jakeheggie.com/>
21
Heggie, personal interview.
6
on the list, Dead Man Walking, struck both Heggie and McNally as being the ideal
subject. When they talked to Mansouri about their idea, he was very surprised, thinking
that McNally would choose something light-hearted or funny, but was immediately sold
on the idea.22 The San Francisco performances were hugely successful, and the opera
In January of 1998, Mansouri named Heggie San Franciso Opera’s first CHASE
the opera, which premiered in October of 2001. This production of Dead Man Walking
was directed by Joe Mantello, conducted by Patrick Summers and featured baritone John
Packard and mezzo-sopranos Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade. The opera was
recorded live by ERATO during its premiere run and was released internationally on
January 8, 2002. In addition, a documentary on the making of the opera was created by
KQED San Francisco for telecast on PBS throughout the United States during 2002.23
From 2000-2002, Heggie became the first composer-in-residence for the Eos
orchestra in New York City at the request of artistic director, Jonathan Sheffer. The
residency included several commissions, among them: Cut Time, a work for piano and
chamber orchestra that premiered in May 2001, and A Great Hope Fell: Songs from the
Civil War, a large song cycle for baritone Gordon Hawkins that premiered in February
2002.24
have performed three large-scale song cycles, two major works for chorus and mezzo
22
Heggie, personal interview.
23
The Official Website of Jake Heggie.
24
The Official Website of Jake Heggie.
7
solo, orchestral songs, and her featured role in Dead Man Walking as the convict’s
mother. The song cycles, On the Road to Christmas and Paper Wings, include lyrics
written by von Stade. In January of 2000, she sang Paper Wings with the Louisville
Uriel Segal.
Von Stade, together with pianist Martin Katz, presented the world premiere of
Heggie’s song cycle, Songs to the Moon, at the Ravinia Festival, Illinois in 1998. The
eight-song cycle is based on moon poems written by the American poet Vachel Lindsay,
Another collaboration between Heggie and von Stade is Patterns, a work for
female chorus, piano and mezzo-soprano soloist. This was commissioned by the San
Francisco Girls Chorus to celebrate its 20th anniversary and premiered in May 1999 with
von Stade as the featured soloist. In the same year, she also performed as a soloist with
Chanticleer and is written for mezzo-soprano soloist and 12 male voices to be performed
a cappella. A new set of songs with chamber orchestra for the Camerata Pacific in Santa
In a recent interview I asked Jake why he thinks he and von Stade work together
She is also very honest and open. There is nothing not to like about her. I think
she is so amazing on stage, so vulnerable and raw because she puts it all out there.
And she always starts with the text…she makes it something personal that she can
commit to. I think that is how you really know a great singer. There is a
commitment and an honesty to what they’re doing… There is a reason that they
are singing that song. It is important to them, and it is coming from right inside.25
25
Heggie, personal interview.
8
Many other noted soloists have also commissioned Heggie to write specifically
for them. A few of these singers include Jennifer Larmore, Brian Asawa and Welsh
baritone Bryn Terfel. In 2001, Heggie wrote a song cycle for Terfel, which was
performed in Vienna, throughout South Asia, London’s Barbican Hall, and New York’s
Carnegie Hall with pianist Malcolm Martineau. The song cycle is entitled The Moon is a
Mirror, and like his song cycle Songs to the Moon, it features moon poems written by
Vachel Lindsay. Three of these five songs are also orchestrated for full orchestra.
Another song cycle worth mentioning is The Deepest Desire, written for mezzo-soprano
Susan Graham and flutist Eugenia Zuckerman, and based on texts by Sister Helen
Prejean, the author of the book Dead Man Walking. This work premiered during the
summer of 2002 at the Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado (see Appendix C for
Heggie’s second full-length opera, The End of the Affair, premiered in March
2004 with Houston Grand Opera. It is based on the Graham Greene novel of the same
name. Collaborators for the opera included playwright Heather McDonald (An Almost
Holy Picture and Faulkner’s Bicycle), director Michael Mayer, and conductor Patrick
Summers. At the present time, Heggie continues to make his home in San Francisco,
California.
9
CHAPTER 2
Jake Heggie’s art songs are eclectic in style, ranging from broadly romantic to
subtly impressionistic, and often showing influences of jazz and popular music. His songs
dissonances.
When asked to describe his overall song style, Jake Heggie says the following:
Heggie holds the texts of his songs in high esteem and his musical settings are
created to describe, comment on or illustrate the mood of the poetry. He believes strongly
that if composers are going to write in English, then American audiences should be able
to understand most of what the singers are singing.27 As a result, critics and performers
have noted that his songs are very “singer friendly” and are generally well matched to the
natural flow and rhythm of the text. Singer Jennifer Larmore comments on the
accessibility of his songs. “Heggie’s songs get right to the point. They are terrific to
sing…Sometimes modern song composers try too hard. Jake doesn’t have to try: he’s a
26
Heggie, personal interview.
27
Heggie, personal interview.
10
natural.”28 Frederica von Stade agrees that Heggie’s music is flattering to the voice. “The
key to Jake’s music is that he really loves the voice and that’s a big thing. That sounds
Heggie has been influenced over the years by both classical and popular music.
When asked which specific composers influenced him, Heggie responds that early on it
was the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Claude Debussy, Frances Poulenc and
Benjamin Britten and later, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, George
Gershwin, and Noel Coward.30 His contemporaries have impressed Heggie as well,
number one influence. Every one of his shows is great! I just saw Sweeny Todd, and I
have to tell you it is right up there with the Mozart operas. His music is so clear”.31
for his consistent lyricism, and John Musto. However, it is the genre of musical theater
I really like a lot of musical theater writers out there now. I like Michael John
LaChiusa, who wrote The Wild Party and Marie Christine. Also Stephen Flaherty
who wrote Ragtime and Seussical. I think there are more interesting things going
on in musical theater than there is in the classical world in a lot of ways. Because
it is a world where you have to keep writing to survive and you have to be
thinking about your audience constantly. Also, because of the sheer quantity of
material that has to be written, interesting things happen.32
Heggie credits performers with influencing him as well. Some of his favorites
include Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Shirley Horn, Ella Fitzgerald, Janet Baker,
28
Marmelstein 54.
29
Marmelstein 54.
30
Savage 12-13.
31
Heggie, personal interview.
32
Heggie, personal interview.
11
Régine Crespin, Eleanor Steber, Frederica von Stade, Renèe Fleming, and Jennifer
Larmore.33 As a boy, what he enjoyed most about Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand
Julie Andrews was so influential in my life. When you watched her movies there
was such a joy of singing and it seemed so natural when she sang…Didn’t seem
affected, just a joy of singing and beauty of sound and real communication
through the music…Barbra Streisand was really important to me because she was
so amazing in Funny Girl and Funny Lady—there was all this natural singing as
part of regular expression…34
Heggie says he enjoys beautiful singing more than any other type of musical
expression. He recently stated that when wonderful voices combine with great music,
great theater and great drama, the overall effect is pretty overwhelming.35
When asked which teachers most influenced him, Heggie names Johana Harris
Ernst Bacon was the first person that suggested I try setting text, and I took to it
like a duck to water”.36 “He was the one who first introduced me to serious poetry
and got me started listening to classical voices. That’s when I fell in love with the
classically trained voice.37
It is Johana Harris, however, whom Heggie says is his all-time greatest influence.
I learned more about composition from Johana than from any other teacher.38
Even though she was officially my piano teacher, she was my most important
composition teacher in that she taught me to trust my instincts and to explore all
the variety that lay within those instincts. She taught me to not be afraid of my
instincts and not to feel like I had to stay with the lines. I never felt like she
wanted to box me into a particular style. She was a phenomenal musician –
probably the greatest musician I’ve ever known…It was an extraordinary
experience knowing her and working with her.”39
33
Savage 12-13.
34
Heggie, personal interview.
35
Heggie, personal interview.
36
Heggie, personal interview.
37
Robert Wilder Blue, “Composer’s First Opera Is a Triumph,” U.S. Operaweb, July 2000
<http://www.usoperaweb.com/2001/july/heggie.html>
38
Savage 12.
39
Blue.
12
Heggie thinks trusting your instincts and “getting out of your own way” is the
most important thing for any creative artist to learn. He relates the story of the first time
he finally stopped trying to “control” his composing and just let it happen.
In order to be successful, he says, a composer must learn to trust his own instincts
and ears and not be overly concerned with rules. “If you were locked into following the
rules all the time, I don’t know how anyone could write a note, certainly not anything that
was interesting.”41
When beginning the composition process, Heggie does not start at the piano but
thinks things through first in his head. Initially, he reads through the poem and tries to
internalize the character in order to discover the inner meaning of the words. He also
considers why it would make sense for the character to sing the words rather than just
speak them.42
40
Heggie, personal interview.
41
Blue.
42
Heggie, personal interview.
13
After that, he begins to think about the music.
I think about what kind of musical character best describes the psychological state
that would compel the person to say those things. What is the impetus to even say
those things? What state of mind are they in? And through all that, somehow
music starts to happen and I just sort of stay out of the way. The idea happens,
then a tune happens and then the texture that is behind the tune. So I work most of
that out before I start writing anything down. Then I will start writing things down
and check things on the piano as I go.”43
One of Heggie’s favorite voice types to compose for is the lyric mezzo-soprano.
He has written more pieces for mezzo than any other voice type.
The lyric mezzo-soprano is just so real. There is such a real sense of humanity and
character in that voice. When it gets into those really high regions it’s strained,
and that is real, too, but there is also something very earthy about it. I love the
way a lyric mezzo can ‘fly-off’ too, but also how it can be very grounded. Mezzos
also have a strong middle voice that expresses the text clearly. In a soprano voice,
you don’t get very clear text in the middle.45
Heggie has set texts written by a variety of poets ranging from the classics to the
contemporary. These poets include Hart Crane, Emily Dickinson, Paul Laurence Dunbar,
A.E. Housman, Vachel Lindsay, Amy Lowell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker,
Rainer Maria Rilke, Siegfried Sassoon, Sir Philip Sydney, Maya Angelou, Gavin
Geoffrey Dillard, Kevin Gregory, John Hall, Philip Littell, Armistead Maupin, Heather
McDonald, Terrence McNally, Sister Helen Prejean, Gini Savage, Frederica von Stade,
43
Heggie, personal interview.
44
Heggie, personal interview.
45
Heggie, personal interview.
14
and Judith Walker. When asked which texts he enjoyed setting the most, he said the
following:
I have enjoyed all the poets whose texts I’ve set. A lot of my choice of texts has to
do with whether or not there is a commission involved. Sometimes the person will
have a particular idea of something they would like. It has to be a poem that
speaks to them, but it certainly has to speak to me as well. The only way I know if
it is going to be right for me is if I feel music happening while I am reading it.
The first time I read something, I immediately get a sense of whether or not it will
work for me. I find myself constantly going back to Emily Dickinson, and I also
enjoyed setting Vachel Lindsay very much.46
To date Heggie has composed more than 150 art songs that continue to be
classical music, including Frederica von Stade, Jennifer Larmore, Renèe Fleming, Bryn
Terfel, Carol Vaness, Brian Asawa, Sylvia McNair, Dawn Upshaw, and Susan Graham.
Obviously singers enjoy performing his music, and for the most part, critical reception
has been positive. Some critics, however, have labeled his music “too eclectic” and
One of these critics, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times, puts Heggie in
the same category with composers John Musto and Daron Aric Hagen.
Yet for all the pleasure Mr. Musto, Mr. Hagen, and Mr. Heggie have given
singers and audiences, there is an eerie similarity to their work: each writes in
some variation of a pungently chromatic, sometimes modal, neo-Romantic
harmonic idiom, varying echoes of pop songs, or outbursts of chunky cluster
chords, or even brief fragments of tone rows, depending on how intense the
particular song is supposed to be. The significant differences in their work come
down to their choices of text and the degrees to which their vocal lines showcase
the specific voices of intended interpreters.47
46
Heggie, personal interview.
47
Anthony Tommasini, “A Sudden, Facile Flowering of American Song,” New York Times, 11
June 2000.
15
Heggie expresses his frustration with critics who have labeled his music, “too
popular.”
levels and stages in their careers. Since my interview with the composer three years ago,
he has received commissions for a number of new works, including Winter Roses, a new
set of songs for mezzo Frederica von Stade and Santa Barbara’s Camerata Pacifica,
scheduled to premiere in November 2004. His opera Dead Man Walking has received
more than a dozen performances worldwide, and additional performances are still being
scheduled. Presently he is working on revisions for his newest opera, The End of the
Affair, which premiered in Houston in March 2004. He also has plans to write a new
theater piece with Terrence McNally, currently scheduled for 2005. Obviously, his
Whether or not his art songs will continue to be performed in the future is yet to
be determined. With the positive responses they have received from performers and
48
Heggie, personal interview.
49
Heggie, personal interview.
50
Blue.
16
audiences, I have no doubt that at least some will retain a place in the repertoire of the
future.
Heggie made the following statement when asked about whether or not he thought
his opera Dead Man Walking would be performed in the future. I think the same thing
51
Blue.
17
CHAPTER 3
My Middle Name
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, relatively unknown today, was considered one of the
most famous American poets in the first third of the twentieth century.52 As a young man
he strove to bring poetry to people all across America and came very close to achieving
his goal. He received critical acclaim with the publication of his poem, General William
Booth Enters Into Heaven, in 1913. For the next ten years, he toured the country reciting
his poetry in colleges, universities, and high schools, to enormous crowds. It is estimated
that at least a million people came to hear him in his lifetime.53 His manner of reciting
was so compelling, that many believe the popularity achieved in his lifetime was due
52
Paul H. Gray, “Performance and the Bardic Ambition of Vachel Lindsay,” Text and
Performance Quarterly 9 (1989); 216.
53
Mildred Weston, Vachel Lindsay: A Poet in Exile (Fairfield, Washington:Ye Galleon Press,
1987) 7.
18
more to his delivery than to the poems themselves. Lindsay’s most dependable
As Vachel Lindsay came forward on a stage,” one critic was to write, “the force
of his personality brought an immediate sense of expectancy in his audience.”
Another spoke of his “electric presence…He set the throng on fire.”55 He also
asked the audience to join in certain poems. They were to clap their hands, nod or
shake their heads, exclaim, “No!” “Yes!” “We will!” The communication was
intoxicating. Those who never saw him in his handling of an audience never knew
the whole man.56
poetry: General William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems (1913), The Congo
and Other Poems (1914), The Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems (1917), The Golden
Whales of California, and Other Rhymes in the American Language (1920), Going-to-the
Sun (1923), Going-to-the-Stars (1926), The Candle in the Cabin (1926), and Every Soul
is a Circus (1929). His Collected Poems was first published in 1923. He also wrote
several prose books, including The Golden Book of Springfield (1920), Adventures While
Preaching the Gospel of Beauty (1914), and one of the first books on film theory entitled,
During his lifetime the majority of critics thought highly of Lindsay’s poetry. He
was considered, along with Edgar Lee Masters and Carl Sandburg, to be one of the
anthology New Voices published in 1919, lists Lindsay, along with Robert Frost, as one
54
John Ward, “Walking to Wagon Mound: Composing Booth” Western Hum Rev 40 (Fall 1986):
240.
55
Eleanor Ruggles, The West-Going Heart: A Life of Vachel Lindsay (New York: W.W. Norton
and Company Inc., 1959) 237.
56
Ruggles, p.243
57
Balz Engler, Poetry and Community (Tübingen, Germany:Stauffenburg-Verlag, 1990) 101-102.
19
of the most notable recent poets in the United States.58 He was highly respected abroad as
well. When Lindsay visited England in 1920, a paragraph from the London Observer
stated: “Mr. Vachel Lindsay is easily the most important living American poet. He is
more that that. He is the voice and hope of that eager, generous young America, the goal
After years of reciting his most requested poems, which included Booth, The
Congo, and The Chinese Nightingale, Lindsay became weary of his public performances.
had “heard enough talk to build ten thousand towers of Babel.” At the same time, he
seemed to crave the constant admiration and praise from his audiences.60 Following his
mother’s death in 1922, Lindsay experienced a physical breakdown and began exhibiting
unusual and often paranoid behavior.61 His nervous condition continued to deteriorate,
and he eventually took his own life by drinking poison at the age of 52.62
Today Vachel Lindsay and his writings are largely unknown. In the 1989 edition
Lindsay or his poetry in more than 5,000 pages of text.63 Still, Lindsay is not completely
forgotten. He has obviously survived with some readers because in 1981, 50 years after
his death, his Collected Poems went into its twenty-fourth printing.64
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, called Vachel for most of his life, was born on
November 10, 1879 in Springfield, Illinois, the son of Dr. Vachel Thomas Lindsay and
58
Engler, Poetry and Community 99.
59
Weston 9.
60
Weston 10.
61
Weston 93.
62
Ruggles 432.
63
Gray 216.
64
Engler, Poetry and Community 99.
20
Esther Catharine Frazee Lindsay. Lindsay’s father was a country doctor originally from
Kentucky and a devout prohibitionist. It is said that he never forgave Lincoln for the Civil
War.65 Lindsay’s maternal grandfather, Ephraim Samuel Frazee, sympathized with the
North and worked as a Campbellite preacher and farmer. He was very close to his
grandson and died when Lindsay was 18. Lindsay’s mother was an artist, a highly
educated and socially conscious woman. Before her marriage she taught art in two small
midwestern colleges. After her marriage she participated in numerous activities including
giving presentations on art, urging civic reform, and writing short plays that contained
religious and moral themes.66 Lindsay and his mother had a very close, but at times
tumultuous, relationship. He wrote the following about his mother, in a letter to his agent,
She was never the mushy mellow and rabbit-like mother that appears in all
movies. She was a holy terror to all those who were not prepared to dispute every
inch of the way with her. To live with her was like being valet to the Pope in the
Vatican and being a Protestant at the same time, making tactful efforts to conceal
it.67
Vachel had two sisters that lived into adulthood, Olive, who was two years older
and Joy, who was 10 years younger. He had three additional sisters: Isabel, Esther, and
the baby Eudora, who all died within three weeks of each other when an epidemic of
65
W.R. Moses, “Vachel Lindsay: Ferment of the Poet’s Mind” Profile of Vachel Lindsay, ed. John
T. Flanagan (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrel Publishing Co., 1970) 73.
66
Moses 73.
67
Robert F. Sayre, “Vachel Lindsay: An Essay” Adventures Rhymes and Designs, ed. Robert F.
Sayre (New York: Eakins, 1968) 16.
68
Ruggles 25.
21
Due to his delicate nature, Vachel’s mother taught him at home until he was 11
years old.69 His love of poetry began at age eight when he read Milton’s Paradise Lost.
At 13 he discovered the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.70 In 1908 he wrote, “My first love
among the poets was Edgar Poe—when I first entered High School, I could have been
called a Poe-crank, for my whole High School period.” Of Poe’s poem, Ulalume, he
wrote, “It is one of the great works of art to me…I know of nothing in the catalogue of
Besides loving poetry, Vachel inherited his mother’s talent and interest in art. At
16 he decided he would pursue art as a profession.72 Because his mother had always
encouraged Vachel’s artistic endeavors, he assumed that she would support his decision,
however, in an act of “betrayal” as Vachel called it, she did not. Vachel’s father insisted
that he study to become a doctor, and his mother agreed.73 Vachel was stunned and never
quite forgave her, although his sister Olive said that both parents had always talked
openly about their intentions for Vachel to become a doctor.74 At his high school
graduation, Miss Wilcox, Vachel’s teacher, inquired about his plans, and he responded,
“If I were an orphan, I’d be an artist. But I’m not, and so I’m going to college to be a
doctor.”75
Lindsay graduated from Springfield High School in 1897 and attended Hiram
College in Ohio to study medicine. After three years of struggling through math and
69
Weston 48.
70
Ruggles 42.
71
Vachel Lindsay, Letters of Vachel Lindsay, ed. Marc Chénetier (New York: Burt Franklin,
1979) 29.
72
Ruggles 48.
73
Ruggles 48.
74
Ruggles 43.
75
Ruggles 49.
22
science courses, it was clear to Lindsay that be would never become a doctor. So on
November 27, 1899, he wrote a letter to his parents that he called his “revolutionary
letter” and told them of his desire to become a professional illustrator or designer, and a
writer.76 “No one can teach me, and nothing can discipline my mind but the pride of the
artist. Nothing so well at least. Let me try.”77 Dr. Lindsay was disappointed that his son
would not continue his practice, but told Vachel he would support him if he really felt he
could succeed in an artistic profession. His mother wrote back, “His heart-ache is because
he fears you are throwing away a certainty of a very useful vocation for a very uncertain
dream.”78
So with his parents’ blessing, he entered the Art Institute in Chicago in January of
1901.79 He was discouraged to find that all the other students could draw better than he
could, but wrote home, “Oh, if I could only keep up with them, I can beat them entirely,
entirely!”80 Even with hard work, his talent proved to be mediocre. All the time he was in
art school he wrote poetry almost every evening, sometimes cutting class in order to
write.
In October of 1903, he made the decision to leave Chicago and study painting in
New York City with the artist Robert Henri. His parents reluctantly gave their consent.81
While home for summer break in Springfield, Vachel began to write a series of poems
and short stories about an imaginary cosmic system he envisioned, which he called, The
Map of the Universe. He eventually bonded his writings together into a book that was
76
Ruggles 66.
77
Ruggles 68.
78
Ruggles 69.
79
Ruggles 73.
80
Ruggles 74.
81
Ruggles 85.
23
never published entitled Where is Aladdin’s Lamp? When Lindsay returned to New York
after Christmas of 1904, he asked Henri if he thought he should pursue writing instead of
art. When Lindsay recited his poem, The Tree of the Laughing Bells, Henri answered
One of my great memories is the day long ago when you came to my studio and
read to me The Tree of the Laughing Bells. As I have followed you in all the great
work you have done, I have a kind of pride about that moment because I said to
myself then, “This fellow is a poet—he is a singer of songs.”82
Lindsay was encouraged by Henri’s confidence in his ability and decided to have
100 copies of two of his poems printed. One night for an hour he walked about the city of
New York, selling copies of his poems for two cents apiece in order to “bring his poems
to the people.” He wrote in his diary the next day about his experience.
Now let there be here recorded, my conclusions from one evening, one hour of
peddling poetry. I am so rejoiced over it and uplifted that I am going to do it many
times. It sets the heart trembling with happiness. The people like poetry as well as
the scholars or better.83
Eleanor Ruggles makes the following observation about why the experience
He had made 13 cents, but he was not after money. Not even the refusals had
much power to hurt him, and the glances of understanding, smiles of brotherhood
and words of sympathy that had come his way flowed through him with a
spreading warmth. What he was really seeking was love.84
His constant craving for love and acceptance would influence many of his
Vachel’s intense desire to take his poetry to the common man would result in
three walking trips. His first trip began in March of 1906. He took a boat from New York
82
Ruggles 94.
83
Ruggles 97.
84
Ruggles 97.
24
to Florida, with the intention of traveling all the way to Washington on foot.85 He took no
money or resources with him other than his printed poetry to exchange for bread and
shelter along the way.86 Throughout his trip he met very interesting people, some who
turned him away and others who treated him kindly. Many times, it was the poorest who
treated him the best.87 The freedom of the open road, along with his various experiences,
inspired him to fill three blank notebooks with his writings.88 He eventually became
physically exhausted, and after walking more than 600 miles in a two-month period,
Vachel returned to New York in the fall of 1906, and when his money eventually
ran out, he decided to undertake another walking trip to inspire new material.90 He left
New York on April 28, 1908, with the intention of walking all the way home to
Springfield Illinois. When he reached Hiram College in Ohio, where his sister Joy was a
student, he was bursting with ideas for new writing projects. He bought a train ticket for
the rest of the way home with money wired from his father.91
By age 30, Vachel was still living at home and financially dependent on his
parents. He had a few items published, but received many more rejection slips.92 His
parents were concerned that he would never be able to support himself. His mother
85
Ruggles 113.
86
Ruggles 111.
87
Ruggles 113.
88
Ruggles 111.
89
Ruggles 113.
90
Ruggles 129.
91
Ruggles 133.
92
Ruggles 169.
25
from our family life and impractical ways make me very anxious.”93 For a while Vachel
took a job as a day laborer, but after two weeks of getting up at five and hauling bricks in
In April of 1912, Vachel undertook his third and most demanding walking trip.
This time he traveled through the western part of America.95 The adventures of his third
trip are recorded in his prose book entitled, Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of
Beauty. In the book’s introduction, Lindsay describes what he labeled “The New
Localism,” which is the essence of his “Gospel of Beauty” he intended to share with the
people.
The things most worthwhile are one’s own hearth and neighborhood. We should
make our home and neighborhood the most democratic, the most beautiful and the
holiest in the world. The children now growing up should become devout
gardeners or architects or park architects or teachers of dancing in the Greek spirit
or musicians or novelists or poets or storywriters or craftsmen or wood-carvers or
dramatists or actors or singers. They should find their talent and nurse it
industriously. They should believe in every possible application to art-theory of
the thoughts of the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s Gettysburg
address. They should, if led by the spirit, wander over the whole nation in search
of the secret of democratic beauty with their hearts at the same time filled to
overflowing with the righteousness of God. Then they should come back to their
own hearth and neighborhood and gather a little circle of their own sort of
workers about them and strive to make the neighborhood and home more
beautiful and democratic and holy with their special art…Their reason for living
should be that joy in beauty which no wounds can take away, and that joy in love
of God which no crucifixion can end.96
Lindsay promoted this philosophy throughout his lifetime. His goal was to
encourage people of all classes to promote greater cultural and political equality in their
93
Ruggles 165.
94
Ruggles 166.
95
Ward 234.
96
Vachel Lindsay, Adventures Rhymes and Designs, ed. Robert F. Sayre (New York: Eakins,
1968) 52-53.
26
communities.97 He felt that everyone could and should contribute in some way to help
transform their hometown into an ideal American town, where equality, religion, and
Lindsay started his third walk in Springfield and planned to keep walking for at
least a year.98 One of his planned stops was his Uncle Johnson Lindsay’s home in Los
Angeles, California. He managed to make it as far as Wagon Mound, New Mexico (more
than 1,200 miles) before his morale hit rock bottom. He wired his father for money for
train fare to Los Angeles.99 According to Ruggles, as he boarded the train to Los Angeles,
he felt the worse defeat and self-contempt he had felt in years.100 When he arrived in Los
Angeles, he heard the news of the death of General William Booth, founder of the
Salvation Army. Not long after, he wrote his poem in honor of Booth, General Booth
Enters into Heaven.101 After staying with a friend in San Francisco, he came to the
conclusion that he simply could not continue his walking tour. He felt like a failure and
wrote that he “was ashamed to go home, hating to go home.”102 When he arrived back in
Springfield, after his father sent him money for train fare once again, he described
himself as “licked, down and out and wanting to die.”103 He didn’t know it then, but his
Lindsay finally achieved success through his association with Harriet Monroe. In
the summer of 1912, Monroe had founded a magazine in Chicago called Poetry, A
97
Ann Massa, Fieldworker for the American Dream (Bloomington:Indiana University Press,
1970) 231.
98
Ruggles 194.
99
Ruggles 196-97.
100
Ruggles 197.
101
Ruggles 197-98.
102
Ruggles 199.
103
Ruggles 199.
27
Magazine of Verse to promote contemporary poetry. She had read articles that Lindsay
had written about his first walking tour and asked him to send her some of his poems.
Among the poems he sent was his General William Booth Enters Into Heaven. She
selected this poem for her January 1913 issue of Poetry. The poem was praised by critics
as well as the general public. His fame quickly spread, and his first book, General
William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems, was published in the fall of 1913.
The General Booth poem, and some of his best-known poems, including The
Congo and The Kallyope Yell, were written in a style Lindsay referred to as “higher
vaudeville.” During 1914 and 1915, American vaudeville was at its height of popularity
and it continued to flourish until around 1930.104 Lindsay himself didn’t fully approve of
vaudeville, but acknowledged that it successfully entertained the common man. In a letter
to Jessie Rittenhouse, Lindsay explained that because Americans “hate and abhor
poetry,” he invented a ragtime manner that would fool them into thinking they were at a
vaudeville show. “And yet,” he said, “I try to keep it to a real art.”105 As a result, people
were introduced to the art of poetry in a way that was exciting and entertaining. In many
of his “higher vaudeville” poems, he would incorporate melodic lines and rhythms of
hymns or well-known songs. In the margins of the Booth poem, for example, Lindsay
wrote, “To be sung to the tune of ‘The Blood of the Lamb’ with indicated
poems. Some examples are, “Begin with terror and power, end with joy” and “With the
104
Massa 231.
105
Ruggles 211.
106
Massa 229.
28
literal imitation of camp-meeting racket…”107 These poems usually contained heavy
accents, words rich in alliteration, recurring phrases and in some cases, encouraged
audience participation.
Although Lindsay wrote musical notations in the margins of many of his poems,
he felt strongly that his poems should not be set to music. In 1923 he wrote:
It disturbs me when people write asking for permission to set my verses to music.
It shows such misapprehension of the point of view from which they were written.
It is like asking permission to rewrite the poems entirely, while pretending they
remain the same. No musical notation ever invented can express the same musical
scheme as the twenty-six letters of the alphabet…108
Six years later, in his introduction to Every Soul Is a Circus, he echoed his earlier
sentiments, “Setting poetry to music, even the best music, is the destruction of poetry and
the production of an amorphous and confused result. All poetry that has been set to music
has been blasted thereby.”109 His behavior didn’t always reflect his views on this subject,
because he gave permission to have his poems set musically on at least three occasions.
Sidney Homer, husband of famed contralto Louise Homer, received his permission to set
William Booth Enters Into Heaven for his wife to sing in 1926, and Charles Ives
composed an earlier setting of the same poem in 1914. Lindsay also gave his blessing to
John Alden Carpenter when he asked to compose a light opera based on The Congo.110
In addition to his “vaudeville” poems, Lindsay wrote poems that paid tribute to
American heroes. One of his most famous is the tender, Abraham Lincoln Walks at
Midnight. From an early age Lindsay was a great admirer of Lincoln. As a child,
107
Massa 229.
108
Massa 236-37.
109
Marc Chénetier “‘Free-Lance in the Soul World:’ Towards a Reprisal of Vachel Lindsay’s
Works” Prospects: Annual of American Cultural Studio 2 (1976) 498.
110
Ruggles 376.
29
Lindsay’s Uncle Johnson Lindsay lived next door to the Lincoln home, which was
already a museum at the time. The custodian, Mr. Oldroyd, gave Vachel and his cousin
Rudy permission to roam through the museum whenever they wanted.111 In 1909,
Lindsay was selected to give a speech at the one-hundredth anniversary of Lincoln’s birth
conducted in his hometown. In his speech he spoke out against the lynching of two black
men that occurred in Springfield a few months earlier, “Until we have completely set the
Negro free, we are disloyal to Lincoln, and worse.”112 Lindsay wrote his poem about
Lincoln as World War I broke out in Europe. The poem describes Lincoln as a spirit
roaming his hometown of Springfield, too upset by the news of war to sleep. “It breaks
his heart that kings must murder still.”113 Lindsay also wrote tributes to William Jennings
Bryan, Andrew Jackson, Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld, Johnny Appleseed, and
Less well known, but perhaps the most charming of all, are Lindsay’s whimsical,
childlike poems. The majority of these poems contain metaphors of the moon, which held
a special fascination for Lindsay. Lindsay is said to have grown tired of having his early,
delicately imaginative poems, such as his moon verses, ignored in favor of his “higher
vaudeville” poems.114 All in all, he wrote more than 100 moon poems. Some of them are
humorous, some magical, and others profoundly serious.115 Lindsay used the metaphors
111
Ruggles 40.
112
Ruggles 142.
113
Ruggles 231.
114
Ruggles 211.
115
Rica Brenner, Poets of Our Time (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941) 146.
30
to show how different people and different animals look upon the moon, showing that
each creature finds in the moon his own mood and disposition.116 As a result the moon is:
snowball; to the little girl, a cookie; to the miner in the desert, a water-keg; and to the
forester,
Baltz Engler in his book Poetry and Community, suggests that Lindsay’s moon
references can also be associated with dreaming and vision. An example of this can be
found in Lindsay’s poem, The Flute of the Lonely. The text of the poem contrasts a
dreamer with his workaholic neighbors, and his untidiness with their neatness. The
dreamer fares better because his neighbors are exhausted and weary. He, on the other
hand, has his music and his “moonlight thoughts” they cannot understand.119
From 1915 to 1920, Lindsay earned his living reciting his poems across the
country, and his popularity was at an all-time high.120 In his early days of reciting, he
seemed to enjoy and even thrive on the accolades he received. To Olive he wrote,
116
Dennis Camp, ed., The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1 (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry
Press, 1984) 163.
117
Brenner 146.
118
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1 165.
119
Engler 162.
120
Ruggles 226.
31
“Reciting is a kind of love-making, a religious service.”121 However, after years of
reciting his most popular poems, especially Booth and The Congo, he wrote to his friend
Lawrence Conrad, “I have had to recite those two poems and those only since about
1913, till I have nearly cracked up the back!”122 What also bothered him a great deal was
that he no longer had much quiet time for writing new poetry. He was still coming up
with new ideas but did not have the time and energy to write most of them down. He
longed to go back home and “write till my grey beard hangs out the window like Spanish
To try and give new life to his recitations, Lindsay came up with the idea of using
pantomime and dance to accompany his poetry. Lindsay met dancer Eleanor Dougherty,
younger sister of actor Walter Hampden, who was also interested in combining poetry
with dance.124 The two would perform what he referred to as “poem-games.” He would
recite his poetry while Eleanor, in costume, would match her dance steps to the various
syllables of the text. Their early experiments included instrumental music, which he later
omitted because he believed it “blurred the English.”125 They gave their first public
Examples of his poem-games include The Mysterious Cat, King Solomon and the Queen
121
Ruggles 243.
122
John T. Flanagan, “Vachel Lindsay: An Appraisal,” Profile of Vachel Lindsay, ed. John T.
Flanagan (Columbus, Ohio:Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1970) 117.
123
Ruggles 239.
124
Ruggles 244.
125
Brenner 139.
126
Ruggles 245.
127
Brenner 139.
32
When America declared war on Germany in April of 1917, Lindsay had mixed
feelings and longed for peace. As a response he began to write, The Golden Book of
Springfield, which took him three years to finish. The book began as a collection of
poems about Springfield but ended up as a fictional account of the city in the year 2018.
The story begins with a group of Springfield men and women called the
“Prognosticators’ Club,” which included a Campbellite minister, a Christian
Scientist, a Jew and a black man. They met together at Leland Hotel and
exchanged their prophecies and visions of the mystic year of 2018, when they will
all be reincarnated and witness the coming to their city of the Golden Book, a
winged book of air that “gleams wit and spiritual gold.”128
A year into writing the book, Lindsay experienced the tragic death of his father.
The frail man had slipped into icy waters while on vacation and never recovered. Both
wife and son were at his side when he passed away a few days later. Lindsay suffered
another disappointment when his book was finally released. After pouring his “heart’s
blood” into the book, he was devastated to find that most critics hated it. It proved to be a
In 1920 Lindsay went to England for a reciting tour, accompanied by his mother.
He was extremely well received by the British audiences. One of his most successful
recitations occurred at Oxford with a crowd of more than a thousand people. Robert
Lindsay was a most staggering success! By two minutes he had the respectable
and intellectual and cynical audience listening. By ten, intensely excited; by
twenty, elated and losing self-control; by half an hour completely under his
influence; by forty minutes roaring like a bonfire. At the end of the hour they
lifted off the roof and refused to disperse…130
128
Ruggles 278.
129
Ruggles 281-83.
130
Ruggles 274-75.
33
Vachel would remember his time in England fondly, mainly because it was the
The only thing that bothered Lindsay about his time in England was that some of
the newspapers began to refer to him as a “jazz poet.” This was because a British
publisher had used Lindsay’s poem The Daniel Jazz as the title of a collection of
Lindsay’s poems which were already published in America. According to Lindsay, the
publisher had named the volume without his consent while he was traveling to
England.132 Lindsay was furious and wrote the following in a letter to Harriet Monroe:
I have very much resented being called a “Jazz” poet, especially by the British
Papers, because it was used to mean something synonymous with hysteria,
shrieking and fidgets. I abhor the kind of Ball-Room dancing that goes with Jazz,
and I abhor the blasphemy that Jazz has made of the beautiful slow whispered
Negro Spirituals…Jazz is hectic, has the leer of the bad-lands in it, and first, last,
and always is hectic. It is full of the dust of the dirty dance. The Saxophone, its
chief instrument, is the most diseased instrument in all modern music. It
absolutely smells of the hospital.133
Lindsay felt strongly that jazz, like alcohol, was contributing to a national moral
decline.134 He even wrote a poem called, The Curse of the Saxophone that described the
instrument as being devised by Cain and played by John Wilkes Booth as he entered into
Hell.
131
Ruggles 275.
132
Ruggles 273.
133
Lindsay, Letters of Vachel Lindsay 255.
134
Massa 196.
34
Twenty thousand pigs on their hind legs playing
“The Beale Street Blues” swaying and saying:-
“John Wilkes Booth, you are welcome to Hell,”
And they played it on the saxophone, and played it well.
And he picked up a saxophone, grunting and rasping,
The red-hot horn in hot hands clasping,
And he played a typical radio jazz…135
When Lindsay returned to America after his time abroad, there seemed to be a
noticeable decline in his popularity. According to Ruggles, “T.S. Eliot’s first volume of
poems had just been published. Quite suddenly it was becoming the fashion to feel a little
ashamed of Lindsay. Some fellow Americans were irritated by the high English estimate
of his work.”136 Also, Lindsay’s newest book, The Golden Whales of California, did not
from his sister Joy saying that his mother had developed pneumonia and was dying. She
passed away before he could make it home.138 He was devastated by his mother’s death
He continued with his rigorous touring schedule that spring but developed a
palpitations after his recitals as well. In January of 1923, he caught the flu while touring
in Texas and collapsed after one of his recitals. His recovery kept him in bed for the next
three weeks. During this time he wrote a letter to his agent A.J. Armstrong saying,
135
Massa 196-97.
136
Ruggles 283.
137
Ruggles 284.
138
Ruggles 295.
139
Ruggles 300.
35
“Touring is killing me. I am getting old and burnt out, body, mind, and imagination. This
On January 29, while reciting at Gulf Junior College for Girls near Gulfport,
Mississippi, Lindsay again became completely exhausted. The president of the college,
Dr. Richard Cox, had been a student and friend of Lindsay’s at Hiram College and
insisted he stay with him and his wife until he completely recovered. When Lindsay felt
strong again, Dr. Cox offered him a position teaching poetry at the college. Lindsay was
extremely grateful for the offer.141 It was right around this time, however, that Lindsay
The changes were first noticeable to his sister Olive and her husband Dr. Paul
Wakefield, one of Vachel’s best friends at Hiram College. The Wakefields had served as
missionaries to China for several years and were now back in Springfield for the first
time since 1918. Vachel came to visit them during his Christmas break, and they noticed
a dramatic change in him. He would suddenly fly into “mad rages of temper from
misunderstanding,” Olive observed, so different from the gentle boy she remembered.143
When Vachel returned to Gulfport, he sent several letters and telegrams to Paul
complaining that the faculty disapproved of him and were watching every move he made,
even peeping at him through keyholes. Paul hurried down to Gulfport at Vachel’s request
and found him to be “a wreck nervously and physically…utterly beside himself with all
140
Ruggles 308.
141
Ruggles 314.
142
Ruggles 321.
143
Ruggles 321.
36
kinds of hallucinations…” Paul found that the “persecutors” Vachel complained of were
Minnesota in June of 1924. The doctors there diagnosed him with petit mal, which is a
form of epilepsy. Vachel was quite surprised by the diagnosis and refused to accept it.145
here that he met and married 23 year old Elizabeth Conner. Elizabeth was an extremely
bright young woman who taught English at Spokane High School. The two married after
dating only a few months and were very much in love. Elizabeth wrote the following to
Life with Vachel is a poem and unceasing adventure and surely more of beauty
and of joy than I ever thought this tired old star, the earth, could hold for me.
Twenty-three is painfully cynical, and I had thought the Galahad species extinct.
Then I discovered myself married to a husband who is worthy of the old Siege
Perilous, every way.146
Elizabeth seemed to have a calming effect on Vachel at least for a while, but
flashes of his paranoid behavior continued to surface. Helen McMillin of the Boston
Transcript interviewed Lindsay shortly after his marriage and wrote the following:
Yes, Mr. Lindsay is married, much married, happily married…Compared with the
buoyant young man, Mr. Lindsay today is weary, worn and inexpressibly sad. His
smile is the same-that big wrinkled smile that literally wreathes his face and send
his eyes completely out of sight. But his face in repose has lines of suffering.
Instead of roving the platform, he stands almost still behind the reading desk, kept
here, one feels by rigid determination. And most strikingly sad of all the
changes—the old spirit of comradeship between poet and audience has given
place to restraint, distrust, something that at times borders on definite
antagonism.147
144
Ruggles 322.
145
Ruggles 324.
146
Ruggles 344.
147
Ruggles 353-54.
37
In May of 1926, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl, Susan Doniphan Lindsay.
Lindsay continued to tour because of financial necessity. When Harriet Monroe received
a letter from Vachel with news of Susan’s birth, she thought it was odd that he wrote
more of his “old grudges” than his excitement at being a new father.148
One episode while on vacation in Glacier Park was particularly frightening for
Elizabeth. Vachel, Elizabeth, and her sister had been horseback riding one day with
guides from the park leading the way. On the return trip, Vachel insisted on walking back
alone, even though Elizabeth pleaded with him to return with the rest of them. Even after
the guides warned him of the dangers, he refused to listen. Vachel did not return back that
evening and was still missing the next morning. When the guides finally found him after
a day and a half of searching, Vachel was rambling and incoherent. When he recovered,
Vachel continued touring, but now sent less and less of the money home for
Elizabeth. He used to send all he earned, but now he would only send about $90 out of a
$250 fee, with the agent’s commission still to be paid.150 In September of 1927, Elizabeth
gave birth to a son, Nicholas Cave Lindsay. When she came home from the hospital and
paid the nurse who looked after Susan, they were completely broke. Elizabeth confided to
148
Ruggles 362.
149
Ruggles 368.
150
Ruggles 405.
151
Ruggles 379.
38
The family left Spokane to return to the family home in Springfield in April 1929.
To help with the family’s mounting expenses, Elizabeth gave lectures herself and
North Carolina, he viciously insulted the headmaster at a school for boys who had asked
Vachel to recite The Congo. Vachel refused to do it and made a horrible scene.
Fortunately, the incident did not occur in front of the students. He wrote the following to
Elizabeth the day after the incident, “I know you are a bit ashamed of me. I get so angry
at myself for being angry.”153 After a while his anger became directed toward his family.
When Olive and Paul came for a visit, Vachel was extremely rude, though he later
apologized.154 He also began to threaten Elizabeth physically and wrote a scathing letter
to her filled with ridiculous accusations.155 She showed the letter to Paul, who was
becoming more and more concerned. He consulted other doctors, including a well-known
psychiatrist who believed Vachel could prove to be dangerous. They tried to get Vachel
to see a psychiatrist, but he refused. The only doctor Vachel agreed to see in Springfield
was Dr. McMeen, his general physician. Paul wrote to Dr. McMeen about his concerns
and even about the possibility of having Vachel legally committed. Dr. McMeen thought
the idea was absurd and recommended that Vachel take an extended vacation in the
country.156 While Vachel was away, Elizabeth confided everything to her father. He was
152
Ruggles 406 & 408.
153
Ruggles 411.
154
Ruggles 412.
155
Ruggles 412.
156
Ruggles 415.
39
deeply concerned for her safety and the safety of the children.157 When Vachel returned
home he became obsessed with the idea that his father-in-law was trying to kill him and
even refused to let him come into his house.158 On December 3, 1931, Vachel ran into
Rev. Conner on the street and began to cause a scene by swearing and shouting out that
he knew he was trying to kill him. When Vachel left, Rev. Conner went straight to Dr.
McMeen’s office.159 The next evening Elizabeth and her father had a secret meeting with
the doctor, who acknowledged the situation was getting worse. He was convinced,
however, that Vachel was incapable of harming anyone.160 When Elizabeth came home
that evening, Vachel was ranting and raving, first with complaints of a lonely childhood
and later with accusations against Paul and his father-in-law. Ruggles says, “At random
moments, he would criticize her and then cry out that she was indeed the best, the kindest
and the noblest human being he had ever known.”161 His tirade continued for three hours
before he went upstairs.162 When Elizabeth went to bed, Vachel seemed very calm and
peaceful. He got out of bed as she came in and began to arrange pictures of her and the
children on the dining room table. She had followed him down and asked if he was all
right. He replied, “Yes, dear, I’m quite all right. I’ll be up in a while.” She then went back
She was awakened about fifteen minutes later by a loud crash. She saw Vachel
crawling up the stairs on his hands and knees with great force and speed.
Elizabeth’s first thought was that he was having some horrible seizure and that he
might harm her or the children. However, the moment she saw him running
through the upstairs hall with his hands raised, she knew that he was the one in
157
Ruggles 416.
158
Ruggles 424.
159
Ruggles 428.
160
Ruggles 429.
161
Ruggles 430.
162
Ruggles 431.
40
danger. His eyes were distended: his face was white, wild, and terrified. She
screamed a second time, wordlessly, and at the sound Lindsay fell, just outside the
nursery door. He rose by himself, and with both arms around him, she got him
into bed, where he asked for water, and when she brought it managed to say, in
reply to her anguished questioning, “I tried to kill myself by drinking Lysol.”163
Vachel soon stopped breathing and passed away a few minutes after Dr. McMeen
arrived. The doctor thought it would be best for the family to report the cause of death as
heart failure.164 As a result, only Vachel’s sisters and their husbands were told the true
story.165 The news of Lindsay’s death spread quickly. The next day, Carl Sandburg wrote
a tribute to Lindsay in the Chicago Daily News, “With such a stride, Vachel Lindsay
might cross to the after-world. He deserves a lullaby such as he wrote to Altgeld, ‘Sleep
softly, eagle forgotten.’ As Lindsay so surely remembered Altgeld, there will be others
The true account of Lindsay’s death would not be publicly known until four years
later when Edgar Lee Masters published his biography on Lindsay.167 The news was a
surprise to many of his friends because of Lindsay’s moral views against suicide. But
obviously, Lindsay’s mental health had deteriorated to such a point that he was not in his
right mind. Today it is speculated that Lindsay’s problems were due to a manic-
depressive disorder, or even the result of his prolonged use of a sedative called luminal,
which he took for his petit mal. The drug is now known to have damaging effects on the
nervous system.168
163
Ruggles 431-32.
164
Ruggles 432.
165
Ruggles 434.
166
Ruggles 434.
167
Weston 92.
168
Weston 92-93.
41
After Lindsay’s death, his hometown city of Springfield, Illinois dedicated “The
Vachel Lindsay Memorial Bridge” in his honor. The bridge connects the western and
eastern shores of Lake Springfield. On the western side there is a bronze bust of Lindsay
near a table inscribed with the final words of his poem, On the Building of Springfield.
Who knows what Lindsay could have accomplished had his life not ended so
tragically? Yet reading through his numerous volumes of poetry, there are certainly
treasures to be found among the more unsuccessful attempts. In my opinion, the gentler
poems are the most effective. John Flanagan made the astute assessment that “critics of
Lindsay’s work often overlook the poet’s gentler side, his attention to little things, his
softness, and his tender romanticism,”170 Lindsay himself seemed frustrated with the lack
of attention his quieter poems received. In 1915 he wrote, “for seventeen years I wrote
poems as quiet as one would wish to see and it is only in the last three years I have
written half a dozen loud ones, which, whatever their appeal, certainly do not represent
the bulk of my work.”171 Regardless of what one thinks of Lindsay’s work, there is
certainly a freshness and an emotional rawness about Lindsay’s poetry that connects to
the basic emotions in all of us, even if not all of his poems are successful. Herbert
His heart is always exposed. His passions are unveiled. He is unique in his
spontaneous giving of himself to the casual reader. There is a clean, childlike
quality about him and it comes most naturally when we observe him fashioning
169
Weston 94.
170
Flanagan 118.
171
Massa 226.
42
dance poems for children or moon poems which are first of all children’s rhymes
and only secondarily meant for adults…It is true that he has lapses as a poet.
Sometimes his thought outruns his content and the result is a ragged poem…But
Lindsay must be taken as he gives himself, wholeheartedly…He just pours out
everything until the whole man is before the reader. No other American poet has
so given himself to his readers.172
friend of his named Franz Lee Rickably. The same words should be applied to Lindsay’s
poetry today.
There is a foolish delusion that a poem has no right to thrill until it has thrilled ten
thousand others, until it has been brought from afar, until it has been endorsed by
some literary mogul, until the author is dead and we have forgotten he ever ate
bread and butter and meat. But when we trace down the history of any poem, it
began just like this; a youth was possessed by a song. He put it down on paper. He
chanted it to his neighbors, easy and quiet around the open fire. Some of them did
not like it. Some of them did. The sullen objectors did not really count. Pretty
soon they went on being sullen about something else. The neighbors that like the
chant asked for copies. It haunted them. They memorized it. They taught it to
their babies. They sang it at the tavern revel, or the prayer-meeting. More taverns
or prayer-meetings took it up. The total of prayer-meetings and revels made that
thing called Fame. In the next generation the children of the people who did not
like the poem said, “Yes, it’s famous. I haven’t time to read it, but Willie studies
it in school.” Pretty soon they think they have read it. They try to quote a line with
an enthusiastic air. They are always pretending—poor things. With each new poet
this tale must be told again. Read these verses with your souls, not your blue-glass
spectacles. Your neighbors be hanged! Do you like these songs yourself? Or are
you ashamed to have a soul? Or to confess that any love or hate resides therein
except when it appears to be the fashion?173
Vachel Lindsay’s poetry is certainly no longer “in fashion.” But he wrote many
beautiful and heartfelt poems that still have the power to inspire today. They are
definitely worthy of our attention and closer inspection. So as Lindsay asks, don’t just
172
Herbert S. Gorman, “Vachel Lindsay: Evangelist of Poetry,” Profile of Vachel Lindsay, ed.
John T. Flanagan, (Columbus, Ohio:Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1970) 14-15.
173
Dennis Camp, introduction, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, ed. Dennis Camp (Peoria,
Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press, 1984), xx & xxi.
43
listen to the critics, read the poems for yourselves, and read them with your soul. All
44
CHAPTER 4
The song cycle, Songs to the Moon, was composed by Jake Heggie and contains
the texts of eight poems by American poet Vachel Lindsay. It was written for mezzo-
soprano and piano and includes the following eight songs: Prologue: Once More to
Gloriana, Euclid, The Haughty Snail-King (What Uncle William Told the Children),
What the Rattlesnake Said, The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky (What the Little Girl
Said), What the Scarecrow Said, What the Gray-Winged Fairy Said, and Yet Gentle Will
Frederica von Stade, who premiered the work with pianist Martin Katz in 1998.
Ms. von Stade’s professional singing career has spanned more than thirty years.
She graduated from the Mannes School of Music and made her debut with the
Metropolitan Opera in 1970. Since then, she has performed almost all of her major roles
with the company, which, in January of 2000, celebrated the 30th anniversary of her debut
by mounting a new production of The Merry Widow. She has also performed leading
roles at all the major opera houses in America and Europe. She has been praised for her
45
She is equally at home on the concert stage and is regarded as “an expressive
performer with a rare gift of communication.” Her concert repertoire is very diverse,
ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, and including the popular repertoire of
Broadway. In addition, she has made more than 70 recordings and has received six
Grammy nominations as well as “Best of the Year” citations by Stereo Review, Opera
Pianist Martin Katz has been the Chair of the University of Michigan’s School of
ensemble for pianists, Mr. Katz coaches singers, teaches vocal repertory, and is a
the world as a first-rate accompanist.177 He has collaborated regularly, in recitals and for
recordings, with artists such as Marilyn Horne, Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, Cecilia
Bartoli, David Daniels, Jose Carreras and Frederica von Stade. Musical America
presented Mr. Katz with the “Accompanist of the Year” award in 1998.178 He is also
regarded as an expert in Baroque and bel canto music, and his editions of Handel, Vivaldi
and Rossini operas have been used by the Metropolitan, Houston, and Ottawa opera
companies.179
The song cycle was commissioned for Ms. von Stade in the fall of 1997 by Music
Accord, Inc., a consortium of music presenters including the Boston Symphony Orchestra
174
The Official Website of Frederica von Stade, <http://www.fredericavonstade.com/>
175
Music Academy of the West Website,
<http://www.musicacademy.org/Alumni/AlumniBios/katzalum.html/>
176
University of Michigan Website, <http://www.music.umich.edu/faculty/katz.martin.html/>
177
Music Academy of the West Website.
178
University of Michigan Website.
179
University of Michigan Website.
46
at Tanglewood; the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York City; The
DC; The Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL; San Francisco Performances, San
Francisco, CA; Spivey Hall, Clayton State College, Morrow, GA; University Musical
Society, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the Wolf Trap Foundation, Vienna,
VA.180 Ms. von Stade was free to pick a composer of her choice, whose work she would
then perform at the various places associated with the co-commission. Von Stade selected
her good friend, composer Jake Heggie. When asked about her decision, she replied, “I
always request Jake if given the option…I think he is unbelievably talented and has a
Heggie and von Stade had collaborated previously on several occasions, including
Three Folk Songs performed in 1995, On the Road to Christmas in 1996, Paper Wings
and an orchestrated version of Three Folk Songs in 1997. Ms. von Stade even wrote some
of the lyrics for On the Road to Christmas and the complete texts to Paper Wings. When
asked why Heggie enjoys collaborating so much with Ms. von Stade, he said the
following:
One thing is that we are really good friends, and I know her voice pretty well. I
know what she likes to do and what she can do, and she trusts me. We are very
sympathetic to each other artistically and personally. It has been just the right
collaboration so many times.182
Ms. von Stade thought that the subject of fairy tales would prove an interesting
topic for the song cycle. When Heggie heard this, he immediately thought of the moon
poems of Vachel Lindsay. Johana Harris had introduced him to the poetry of Vachel
180
The Offical Website of Jake Heggie.
181
von Stade, e-mail.
182
Heggie, personal interview.
47
Lindsay 15 years earlier when she gave him a book of his poetry entitled The Congo and
Other Poems. The volume contained 20 short, whimsical moon poems written
specifically as “fairy tales for children.” Heggie sent a copy of the poems to Ms. von
She told him to go ahead and pick the ones he wanted to use. After reading
through all of them, he chose poems with a wide range of characters that he thought
would form the best set. For the eight songs of the cycle he selected seven poems from
The Congo and Other Poems and one (What the Scarecrow Said) from Lindsay’s General
Heggie was familiar with Lindsay’s reputation for reciting his poetry in a way that
was both theatrical and entertaining. Because of this, he thought Lindsay’s poems were
Because Flicka (von Stade) is so theatrical, I wanted to give her a stage piece that
she could inhabit…It made sense for me to choose Lindsay’s poems because he
liked his poems to be read aloud. Because of this, I really theatricalized them and
gave them a wide range of character and sense of drama and fun. Knowing Flicka
as well as I do, these are all things she loves and does very well!183
Besides being theatrical, Heggie wanted his musical settings to express the
childlike quality of the poems. “Because of the nature of the poems, I wanted the settings
to be very simple, direct and clear; as clear and clean as possible in the accompaniments
and in the vocal lines. The poems are simple, and I didn’t want to confuse or complicate
them.”184 Ms. von Stade approved of the finished product. “I think Jake set the music so
well that you really just have to follow the directions in his music. He has made the
183
Heggie, personal interview.
184
Heggie, personal interview.
48
colors evident, and the poetry is so simple and accessible that if you just tell the stories, it
will work.”185
Heggie took a little more than a month to complete the song cycle, finishing it in
January of 1998. Frederica von Stade and pianist Martin Katz premiered the cycle during
the Ravinia Festival, on Aug. 20, 1998, in Martin Theatre. The first half of the recital
consisted of songs by Gabriel Fauré and Richard Strauss as well as Alberto Ginastera’s
Five Argentine Popular Songs. The second half included the world premiere of Songs to
Here is what John von Rhein, music critic of the Chicago Tribune, had to say
The great American mezzo-soprano has reached the stage of her career where she
can sing anything she wants to and know exactly how it will sound and the effect
it will produce in her adoring listeners. Yet, paradoxically, the effect is never of
calculation but of the utmost spontaneity, as von Stade reaches across the stage to
gather her audience in the warmth, charm and simple candor of her singing. She
inspires instant affection, a gift given to very few singers.186
Songs to the Moon, a cycle of children’s fairy tales drawn from writings by
Vachel Lindsay, is the third and latest in a series of collaborations between the
San Francisco composer and von Stade. Musically, the idiom slips in and out of
classical, blues and jazz styles; song, speech, scat-singing and rhythmic clapping
made surprisingly happy bedfellows. Never mind that the cycle boasts more
theatricality than musical substance. Heggie has captured von Stade’s personality,
as artist, entertainer and mother. The performances of the singer and pianist were
just like the songs—clever, charming, amusing, eager to please. The composer
was present to share in the audience’s enthusiastic response.187
185
von Stade, e-mail.
186
John von Rhein, “Von Stade beguiles with the charm, candor of her singing” Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 1998 1:22.
187
von Rhein, 1:22.
49
Obviously the song cycle was well received by Mr. von Rhein and the audience.
Accompanist Martin Katz recently commented on his partnership with von Stade as well
I have accompanied von Stade for over 30 years now, and it has been a distinct
pleasure, delight and privilege from the beginning. I am proud to be her partner. I
remember the songs were received well and with significant enthusiasm. They
didn’t change anyone’s life, but they entertained and prettified.188
Since the premiere performance, other critics have responded positively to the
A cycle of eight Songs to the Moon by the talented San Francisco composer Jake
Heggie was wonderfully full of fun, both in the singing and in Heggie’s
exploration of the possibilities of the original poems from Fairy Tales for the
Children by the American poet Vachel Lindsay. The ideas are witty, both as
comedy and music, and full of the unexpected. Lindsay, who believed in strong
rhythms and gestures, would probably have been pleased (April 27, 2000).189
Olin Chism of the Dallas Morning News wrote an article entitled, “Composer
Voice of Change recital honors the creator of Dead Man Walking. The most
immediately appealing of Heggie’s works was a vocal cycle called Songs to the
Moon. These are witty, charming verses closely matched in tone by Heggie’s
music. The melodies are attractive and seem much closer to Broadway than to
European art songs. By turns jazzy, folksy and bluesy, they are backed by clever
and by no means predictable piano accompaniments (February 26, 2002).190
In 1999 Heggie released a CD entitled The Faces of Love that contained 26 of his
art songs. Four of these songs were from the Songs to the Moon cycle, specifically Once
More to Gloriana, Euclid, The Haughty Snail King, and What the Gray-Winged Fairy
Said. Most of the reviews of the CD have been favorable. One music critic for USA
Today wrote:
188
Martin Katz, e-mail to the author, 4 Sept. 2003.
189
The Official Website of Jake Heggie.
190
The Official Website of Jake Heggie.
50
Clearly Heggie is a young talent with more original things to come. But these
friendly songs have an open-heartedness not often heard since Samuel Barber and
a what-the hell-let’s-try-it quality usually found only in the early summer of a
composer’s creativity.191
F. Paul Driscoll’s review of the CD in Opera News is the only one to specifically
Von Stade is at her very best in the Vachel Lindsay cycle Songs to the Moon: it’s
a delight to listen to one of opera’s blue bloods, bump, grind and growl her way
across the rather louche landscape of The Haughty Snail-King.192
John Boyer’s review in the American Record Guide is perhaps the most critical:
Perhaps the point could be made that the song cycle is not musically
think sophistication was Heggie’s intention. His main goal was to musically enhance
Lindsay’s childlike poems in a way that would do them justice while providing a
theatrical outlet for Ms. von Stade. In this regard, he was very successful. I think this
song cycle works best as a light-hearted ending to a recital of more serious music. It is
sure to leave the performers and audience members with smiles on their faces. I agree
I believe Songs to the Moon to be among Heggie’s best efforts, and it surely is my
favorite of the songs of his I’ve played. I think it has a good chance for obtaining
a place in the repertoire for the future.194
191
D.P.S, “Classical Review of Jake Heggie: Faces of Love,” USA Today, 28 Sept. 1999.
192
Savage 74.
193
John Boyer, “Heggie:Songs,” American Record Guide, Volume 63, no. 1, (Jan./Feb. 2000),
109.
194
Katz, e-mail.
51
CHAPTER 5
This chapter contains both a poetical and musical analysis of Songs to the Moon
that will provide performers with a solid base from which to build their own
interpretations. The poetical analysis will begin with a basic summary and explication of
each poem. In his book, How to Read a Poem, poet and author Donald Hall defines
explication tries to account for the whole poem by attending to its sounds, and its minute
and naming everything in the poem that affects us.”195 The explications of the eight
poems of Songs to the Moon will concentrate on Lindsay’s use of imagery and metaphor.
The musical analysis will show how the music relates to the poetry and how
Heggie’s settings interpret and illustrate the poems. Specific musical aspects to be
discussed include motive, harmony, chromaticism, jazz elements, tempi, text painting,
melody, and form. The overall objective of the musical analysis is to show how the
195
Donald Hall, To Read a Poem, 2nd ed. (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College
Publishers, 1992) 1.
52
musical setting supports and illustrates the text, in order to assist the singer in the
Vachel Lindsay wrote more than one hundred “moon” poems throughout his
his moon poems to be published in a series, “as a set of waves, each separate piece a new
wave of fancy dashing upon the reader, and not quite like the one before.”196
The majority of these poems were written as the result of an experience during his
walking tour of 1912. Lindsay records the story in his prose book, Adventures while
Preaching The Gospel of Beauty, published in 1914. On July 31, 1912, Lindsay found
himself wandering in the town of Orchard Park, Colorado. He had been refused lodging
at three different shanties, and it was getting late. Around 9:00 pm, he came upon a
country hotel run by a friendly man with a Scandinavian accent who had a wife and five
small children. Lindsay offered the man a choice of an evening’s entertainment or half a
day’s work in the morning in exchange for one night’s stay. The man chose the evening’s
entertainment, and the children sat near Lindsay with eager expectation.197 Here is
To come out of the fathomless, friendless dark and almost in an instant to look
into such expectant fairy faces! They were laughing, laughing, laughing, not in
mockery, but in companionship. I recited every child-piece I had ever written-(not
many). They kept quite still till the end of each one. Then they pounded the table
for more with their tin spoons and their little red fists. So with misgivings, I began
to recite some of my fairy-tales for grown-ups…I decide to recite six jingles about
the moon, that I had written long ago…The success of the move was remarkable
because I had never pleased either grown folks or children to any extent with
those verses. But these children, through the accumulated excitements of a day
196
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 857-58.
197
Lindsay, Adventures Rhymes and Designs, 198.
53
that I knew nothing about, were in an ecstatic imaginative condition of the soul
that transmuted everything.198
After Lindsay retired for the evening he was awakened by the sounds of the
children running through the hallway repeating the poetry, “in horrible solemn tones,
Lindsay wrote, “Thereupon I made a mighty and a rash resolve. I renewed that same
resolve in the morning when I woke. I said within myself, ‘I shall write one hundred
poems on the moon!’”200 Within a month he had written fifty new moon poems and
The eight moon poems Heggie chose for his song cycle were written during the
summer of 1912 or a short time afterward. Seven of the poems were published in The
Congo and Other Poems in September of 1914. All seven are listed in a sub-section of the
book titled, “Twenty Poems in Which the Moon is the Principal Figure of Speech.” An
additional heading above the poems reads, “First Section: Moon Poems for the
Children/Fairy-Tales for the Children.” The sixth poem in the song cycle, What the
Scarecrow Said, is the only one of the eight to be included in General William Booth
Enters Into Heaven and Other Poems, published in November of 1913. The five moon
poems included in this book are introduced with the following statement. “How different
people and different animals look upon the moon: Showing that each creature finds in it
198
Lindsay, Adventures Rhymes and Designs, 199-201.
199
Lindsay, Adventures Rhymes and Designs, 202.
200
Lindsay, Adventures Rhymes and Designs, 203.
201
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, 163.
54
The first poem in the song cycle, To Gloriana, was written in May 1914 and
alludes to the poet Sara Teasdale, who was Lindsay’s love interest at the time. There
were two earlier versions of the title, the first one being, For Gloriana, Poet of St. Louis,
and the second, Once More—For Gloriana. The final version was published in his 1915
Collected Poems. In the first published version, line five reads “mists and clouds” instead
of “snowy clouds.” This is the only variation in the body of the poem. In all three
publications, Lindsay used this poem as an introduction to his other moon poems.202
Vachel Lindsay and Sara Teasdale wrote letters to each other before they were
actually introduced by Harriet Monroe. At the time, Sara was 29 years old and living with
her wealthy parents in St. Louis, Missouri. She had an oval face with red-gold hair and
wide-set brown eyes that Lindsay referred to as golden.203 She wasn’t considered to be
beautiful, but she had unique charm and a quick wit that drew others to her.204 After they
met, Lindsay was quite taken with her and commonly called her his “Gloriana.” Sara had
feelings for Lindsay, but eventually chose another suitor after laboring over the decision
for three months. Lindsay was naturally upset by her final decision, but never developed
bitter feelings toward her, and the two remained friends. He wrote to Harriet Monroe,
“She has kept my deep respect and love. Certainly the God that made her sent me an
202
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 857-58.
203
Brenner 217.
204
Ruggles 220.
205
Ruggles 231.
55
1. Prologue: Once More – to Gloriana
Poetical Analysis:
Lindsay wrote the poem as an expression of his love for Sara Teasdale. He begins
by describing three physical characteristics he admires about her, specifically her eyes,
the sound of her voice/laughter, and her throat. Next he lists many majestic scenes in
nature that he will give her, in an attempt to pay tribute to her and her admirable qualities.
He implies that the incredible beauty found in nature cannot compare to the wonderful
The physical qualities he mentions at the beginning and end of the poem seem to
offer an accurate description of Sara. Photographs reveal her large deep-set eyes, pale
complexion and long slender neck. Also, in reading about her life there are many
references to her soft-spoken voice and ready laugh. Lindsay makes mention of Sara’s
laughter in some of his other writings. One of his poems describes the sound of her
laughter as “pulsating, and delicate,” which are certainly qualities associated with a bird-
song.207
206
Dennis Camp, ed., The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry
Press, 1984), 228. Used by Permission.
207
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, 219.
56
Lindsay frequently uses visual imagery in this short poem. The use of the
romantic feelings. Lindsay cannot literally “bring” Sara “gold and silver moons” and
“prairie skies” but these images help to convey the depth of his feeling for her. The
phrases “burning golden eyes” and “snowy throat” describe so much more than just the
colors of yellow and white—they include all the emotions associated with these words.
Other visual images include the phrases “diamond stars” and “snowy clouds.” It is
interesting to note that he also describes the clouds as “mists that float. “ This gives us
not only a visual image but a tactile one as well because the reader can image how the
mist’s condensation feels on the skin. An image of sound is also found in the description
The use of imagery helps to create the overall tone of the poem, which is both
romantic and magical. Other contributing aspects are the use of alliteration, assonance,
and meter. While alliteration generally refers to repeating consonant sounds at the
beginning of words, it can also be used to refer to repeating consonant sounds in the
middle and at the end of words.208 Lindsay uses both types of alliteration together with
assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds, to help the words sound as romantic and
Lindsay also uses meter to contribute to the romantic tone of the poem. The poem
contains one stanza with eight lines that has the rhyme-scheme of ABCB/DEFE. Each
line is consists of eight syllables, arranged as iambic tetrameter. The first foot of the
opening line contains an initial inversion, which is quite common in English poetry. (An
208
Hall 69.
57
iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, while an inversion is
a sudden reversal of the stressed and unstressed syllables for a rhythmic and dance-like
effect.)209 The gentle iambic lines give a graceful, flowing rhythm to the poem.
Musical Analysis:
Heggie knew from the onset that he wanted the poem, Prologue: Once More to
Gloriana, to be the first song in his cycle Songs to the Moon.210 Even though Lindsay
wrote the poem to express romantic love, Heggie chooses to view it as an expression of
maternal love. The mother enters her daughter Gloriana’s bedroom at bedtime, sees the
moonlight shining through the window and hears a redbird singing in the distance. To
help her fall asleep, she begins to sing a lullaby with genuine love and affection for the
child. By the end of the first poem, Gloriana is still awake, and the remaining seven
poems in the song cycle become the various stories the mother and other family members
tell as they attempt to entertain her. By choosing this basic premise, Heggie is able to
thematically connect all eight poems together for a coherent song cycle. The idea of the
relatives trying to entertain the child also lends itself nicely to a very theatrical, dramatic
Musically, Heggie ushers the listener into the mood of the poem through the use
of a two-part “redbird/moon” motive that occurs twice in the first four measures of the
piece. The “birdcall” is expressed in the accompaniment with the pitches Eb and A in the
right hand and A and D in the left hand and is in the form of a sixteenth-note/dotted
eighth-note rhythmic pattern. The “moon” portion of the motive is reflected in the drone-
209
Hall 81.
210
Heggie, personal interview.
58
like Eb of the left hand, intended by Heggie to be a musical expression of the moonlight
In measure 50, the redbird motive returns a final time in the accompaniment at the
precise moment the singer is singing, “redbird song”. The motive is identical to the
211
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Music by Jake Heggie, Words by
Nicholas V. Lindsay, Copyright © 1999 by Associated Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International
Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
59
Fig. 2: Gloriana, m. 49-51212
of many of Heggie’s songs. He writes in the key of G major, but does not follow
traditional harmonic progressions and occasionally borrows chords from the parallel key
the chords are similar in their basic structure, they move fluidly from one to another.
These unresolved seventh chords give a very mystical or ethereal quality to the piece and
effectively express the text. The viiº7 and V7 chords occur several times, sometimes
consecutively as in the opening statement and sometimes separately. Examples of this are
found in measures 31-33 with the text “silver moons and diamond stars, and mists that
float,” and again in measure 48 as the mother is commenting lovingly on “the golden
212
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
60
Heggie’s use of the bVI M7 chord, heard several times throughout the piece, is
another example of how he toys with tonal ambiguity. It is important because it is built
on Eb, the pitch associated with the moon motive, and also because of its unique
harmonic color. Like the V7 and viiº7 chords, it has a magical, or mystical quality that
The bVI M7 chord is first found in the accompaniment of measure 5. The chord is
borrowed from the key of G minor but it can also be analyzed as the Neapolitan chord of
V (D). The Neapolitan chord (a major triad built on a bII,) would normally resolve to the
dominant (A). Instead of leading to the A chord, Heggie makes the interesting choice of
resolving the chord to a G major tonic. This occurs specifically in measures 5 through 8,
213
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
61
One of the few exceptions to this is found at the very end of the piece in measures
58 through 60. In these measures the bVI M7 leads to a viiº7 chord instead. Heggie
maintains a sense of tonal ambiguity by choosing to end the piece on an unresolved viiº7
It is not until measure 8 that the first hint of a G major tonic appears with the
introduction of the B§ in the left hand of the accompaniment. Finally, the G major tonic is
heard in root position in measure 12, the measure before the voice enters. The strength of
the tonality is emphasized in this measure, as the left-hand accompaniment drops from
To keep the piece somewhat grounded in the key of G major, Heggie makes use
piece while many interesting and unusual harmonic changes occur around it. The
function as a G major pedal in measure 14 and continue until measure 29. The pattern
again functions as a pedal in the final measures of the piece (58 and 59.)
In addition to using the tonality of the piece to communicate the text, Heggie uses
the technique of having the piano accompaniment completely drop out while the voice
continues. By having the voice continue unaccompanied, Heggie highlights the mother’s
emotional vulnerability. This is a technique Heggie employs in order to pull the listener
It is a deliberate musical and theatrical choice. Just as in the opera (Dead Man
Walking) there were times when the music just stopped and there was a single a
cappella line or spoken line. It suddenly jolts you into a different place and
62
theatrically that is a very important thing to be able to do, and to have at your
disposal.214
Heggie uses this technique three separate times in this song. The first one is on
beat three of measure 49, the next one on beat three of measure 51, and the final example
All three examples occur in the final section of the song as the mother becomes
Heggie also uses the technique of text painting. The first example is found in
measures 31 and 32. In these measures he sets the word “float” on a D that is held for
three beats before moving up a half-step to Eb. The Eb is held for another four beats and is
214
Heggie, personal interview.
215
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
63
Fig. 5: Gloriana, m.30-33216
By setting this word on a high pitch that ascends a half-step and sustains, Heggie
creates a clear aural picture of the floating mists. The other example of text painting is the
The texture of the piece is very transparent and fits the context of the poetry well.
The syncopated legato accompaniment contrasts with the even, melodic line of the voice
and gives the piece a gentle/rocking effect well suited to a lullaby. Quite often, Heggie
sets both hands of the accompaniment in the treble clef, which gives these sections a
The tempo changes also contribute to the overall mood by giving fluidity to the
piece. He tends to use poco ritardano and a tempo markings to segue gracefully between
sections. Instances of this can be found in measures 11 and 12 right before the voice
enters, and also in measures 32 through 34, and measures 43 and 44.
The phrases of this piece are long and legato, which is typical of Heggie’s style.
The vocal line generally moves stepwise, although he does make use of ascending and
216
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
64
descending fourths and fifths and even an ascending major seventh, which is found in
measures 24 and 25. In this case, the major seventh is used to express the excitement the
mother feels about bringing her daughter the gift of “silver moons”.
The overall form of the piece can be described as ABA¹. Heggie has notated the
end of each major section with double bar-lines. The A¹ section is much shorter than the
opening section and contains previously stated and new melodic material in the
65
2. Euclid
Poetical Analysis:
Lindsay’s Euclid was written in the summer of 1912 and first published in Poetry
Magazine, July 1913. The poem contains an allusion to Euclid of Alexandria (ca. 325
BC-ca. 270 BC) a Greek geometer who is considered to be the most prominent
mathematician of antiquity. He is credited for writing The Elements, the world’s most
definitive text on geometry. This treatise was used as a mathematical textbook in Western
The poem shows the difference in perspectives between the intellectuals and the
child. The first eight lines of the poem focus on the brilliant Euclid and his fellow
mathematicians. The old men are drawing geometrical shapes in the sand, arguing and
pontificating over various mathematical theories. The child, on the other hand, is silently
watching them. He is awed and amazed at the beautiful “moon pictures” they have
created. The poem reflects Lindsay’s belief that viewing life from a creative and artistic
217
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 228. Used by Permission.
218
Eric Weisstein’s World of Science Website, <http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/search/>
66
perspective is often more rewarding and beneficial than taking a merely intellectual
approach.
Unlike many of Lindsay’s moon poems, Euclid does not contain metaphor or
imagery. Instead, Lindsay draws the reader to his conclusion by contrasting the
differences between the men and the child in two short, narrative scenarios. One obvious
difference between the men and the child is age. Lindsay describes Euclid as “old” and
his associates as “greybeards” which literally means “old men.”219 Another difference is
how they choose to express themselves. The men have been talking and arguing for hours
while the child is silently observing. They also perceive the world around them quite
differently. The “solemn” men are only concerned with diagrams and proving theories,
while the child finds in the same diagrams, beautiful works of art. Together, the two
ABCB/DEFE/GHIH. The lines alternate between seven and six syllables and are
arranged as iambic trimeters. All of the seven syllable lines, except line two, have
line.)220 Line two ends this way because it begins with a three syllable anapestic foot. (An
anapestic foot has three syllables, two unaccented syllables followed by an accented
syllable.)221 The use of meter and rhyme-scheme gives a rhythmic lilt that works well
219
The Merriam Webster Dictionary (Springfield, Massachusetts:Merriam-Webster, Incorporated,
Publishers, 1995) 227.
220
Hall 82.
221
Hall 78.
67
Alliteration is another element that contributes to the rhythmic flow of the poem,
though it is used rather sparingly. A particularly pleasing example is line five’s “his set of
solemn greybeards.”
Musical Analysis:
written by composer Raymond Scott (see Appendix A). Many of Scott’s tunes are easily
recognizable because they were used extensively in Warner Brothers’ cartoons. In 1943
the studio’s music director, Carl Stalling, began using adaptations of Scott’s Quintette
compositions to underscore the studio’s Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated
shorts. In time, Scott’s music became synonymous with cartoons and continues to be
associated with them today.222 Scott’s popular Powerhouse is made up of two distinct and
unrelated sections described by Scott scholar, Irwin Chusid, in the following manner,
“the first, uptempo passage evokes a coyote-chasing –Roadrunner melee; the second,
222
Irwin Chusid, “Raymond Scott: Accidental Music For Animated Mayhem,” Animation World
Magazine, Issue 4.4, July 1999.
223
Chusid. Animation World Magazine.
68
Fig. 6: Powerhouse, m.105-112224
224
Excerpt from Powerhouse, Composed by Raymond Scott, © Music Sales Corporation/ASCAP,
All Rights Reserved, Used by Permission, Special thanks to Irwin Chusid.
225
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
69
The music from both is similar in that it uses the same basic melodic material.
standard jazz pattern of “two eighth notes equal a dotted eighth note/ sixteenth note,” it
becomes clear that they are also similar rhythmically, especially in the right-hand
accompaniment.
The main differences between the two are found in the left hand of the
accompaniment. In the original, Scott uses a two-measure ostinato chromatic bass pattern
that continues to repeat throughout the entire statement of the melody. Heggie, on the
other hand, uses a tonic pedal that sometimes contains the leading tone for added color.
The keys of the pieces differ as well, with Heggie’s Euclid in G minor and Scott’s
throughout the piece. This motive is first introduced in the opening measure and repeated
in measure 3.
226
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
70
Rhythmically, the motive consists of a dotted eighth/sixteenth pattern followed by
two eighth notes, with the final eighth note tied to a dotted half-note. This is similar to the
rhythm found in the quotation in measure 24. Melodically, the motive begins on beat
three with the pitch D. It then moves to a C# on beat four, and finally to C§ on beat four
and a half. The same melodic pattern is found in the quotation beginning in measure 23
on beats two and three and on the downbeat of measure 24. Harmonically, the three
chords of the motive are similar to chords found in the quotation, though not identical. In
the motive, a G minor chord moves to A major and then to a Neapolitan chord. In the
Elements of this chromatic motive can be found throughout the piece. In measures
5, 6, 7, and 8, Heggie elongates the motive by lengthening the three chords over a four-
measure span.
227
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
71
Rhythmic elements of the motive are also present in much of the piece, and the
dotted eighth-note/sixteenth-note pattern is found in measures 9, 14, 16, 19, and 20.
Examples of additional chromatic movement can also be found in measures 14, 21, 22
music, that are used to express the text and overall character of this piece. They include
vocal scatting, use of the dotted eighth/sixteenth note rhythm pattern, syncopation,
walking bass lines, “bouncing” octaves, and accents and slurs indicated in both the
accompaniment and vocal lines. There are many obvious examples of these elements
Heggie acknowledges that much of his compositional style has been influenced
What has influenced me most about jazz was the sort of freedom of line. What
you see on the page is not what you hear. I think this is a very important aspect to
the performance of my songs. It is not about a metronomic beat with everything
falling on the right beat. It is about freedom of interpretation, pushing here,
pulling there and being comfortable enough with the character and the style of the
piece that you really make it your own.228
Not only does Heggie use compositional techniques associated with jazz, but he
also creates the “freedom of line” by varying the tempo markings to highlight the poetry.
Through the use of the chromatic motive, jazz elements and tempo changes, Heggie
successfully captures the essence of the characters and creatively communicates the text.
The overall form of the piece can be described as AB. Even though the basic
melody of the vocal line is similar in both sections, the musical treatment of each varies
in order to reflect the profound differences between the old men and the child and how
228
Heggie, personal interview.
72
they view the world around them. In the first section, we are introduced to the character
of Euclid, the brilliant mathematician, and his following of ancient scholars described as
Heggie musically depicts the old men in the following manner. First, he uses the
chromatic motive heard at the beginning of the piece to represent both Euclid and his
colleagues as they argue and philosophize together. It is interesting that he uses such
light-hearted and “cartoonish” music to express their intellectual ramblings, but this is
Heggie’s humorous way of telling the listener not to take the men too seriously. Then,
when the singer first mentions the “solemn greybeards” in measure 14, the tempo
broadens into “half-tempo,” and Heggie notates “rather heavy” in the accompaniment. By
making these changes, he portrays quite accurately the slow, methodical and pompous
intellects. The slur added on the word “greybeard” and marcato accents on the word
musical intensity through the doubling of the tempo in measure 18. In addition, he creates
a more complex accompaniment and adds a crescendo to help convey their excitement.
The building momentum leads to the climax of their quarreling, which is musically
represented in the quotation from Powerhouse. During this section, the singer doubles the
melody of the quotation on various scatting syllables added by Heggie to the original
poetry. Heggie adds the scatting to communicate the excessive noise made by the
greybeards.229
229
Heggie, personal interview.
73
In the B section of the piece, which begins in measure 31, we are introduced to
the character of the child. Like the first section, Heggie expresses the basic nature of the
character through his treatment of the music. Though the first four measures of the B
section are virtually identical to the opening measures of the piece, slight musical
variances project an entirely different mood. First of all the piano accompaniment is
taken up an octave, in both hands, and the child is heard for the first time on a
contemplative hum, above the chromatic motive of the quarrelling men. The piano
accompaniment continues in this higher tessitura throughout the remainder of the piece,
which contributes to the peaceful, tender and childlike mood of this section. Also, when
the tempo switches to “half-tempo” in measure 35, this setting is light and gentle
compared to the heavier feeling associated with the previous “half-tempo” section.
high bell-like G6 in the right-hand consistently sounds on beats two and four. Because it
is such a high pitch, it produces the same kind of magical quality heard in the
“birdcall/moon motive” of the previous piece. As the bell sounds, the rest of the
accompaniment smoothly shifts on the first and third beats of each measure. The steady,
slow rhythms and the treble-clef tessitura give a gentleness and tenderness to the final
section, perfect for expressing the child and her love of the beautiful “moon” pictures.
When the “greybeards” motive returns in the final measures of the piece, it is
appropriately written in the higher octave associated with the child. It is also interesting
to note that Heggie halts the accompaniment when the singer sings about the “pictures of
74
Heggie utilizes text painting in measures 12 through 14 as the singer sings about
the various mathematical angles the men are discussing. The octaves in the piano
accompaniment, marked with accents and slurs, provide a musical representation of the
angles.
The short, choppy melodic phrases in the piece are appropriate for this light-
hearted poem and communicate the text well. This is especially true when expressing the
The harmonic make-up of the motive gives the piece its unique chromatic color.
One of the chords in the motive is the Neapolitan chord. It is found in the quotation of
Powerhouse (beat one of measure 24) and is a chord that Heggie often uses in his songs.
In this piece, it is used not only as a passing tone in the motives, but also as an actual
harmonic progression. This can be seen first in measure 8 as Heggie elongates the
230
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
75
motive. It resolves to a g minor tonic in measure 9, which is the same type of unusual
resolution he used in the previous piece. The Neapolitan chord has a jazzy quality that
The most colorful harmonies are found in measures 36 through 41 during the
child’s main section. The harmonies switch every two beats and move for the most part
by intervals of major or minor seconds. These harmonic changes, with the bell-like G
A few times throughout the piece, Heggie uses the pitches F# and G together (the
leading tone and tonic) to create an interesting and jazzy dissonance. The first time this
occurs is in beat four of measure two, right after the first statement of the opening motive.
Also, in the final measures of the piece (45 and 47), the pitch G is heard on the first three
beats of each measure in the left hand of the accompaniment, while the final beats of both
measures end on an F#. The piece ends similarly to the first song in the cycle in the sense
76
3. The Haughty Snail-King
(What Uncle William Told the Children)
Poetical Analysis:
Uncle William Told the Children) was written sometime between 1912 and 1914. It was
first published in Reedy’s Mirror, June 12, 1914. Reedy’s Mirror was a liberal literary
The subtitle (What Uncle William Told the Children) is important to the
explication of the poem because it tells us that Lindsay viewed this poem as a story for
entertaining children. The fictional character of “Uncle William” creates for the reader an
image of a good-natured uncle enjoying his storytelling the way Lindsay must have
231
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 228-29. Used by Permission.
77
enjoyed reciting to the five children in Colorado. The main title, The Haughty Snail-King,
personality before the poem even begins. The word “haughty” is defined as “disdainfully
The story begins with the twelve snails taking a walk after dark. They move
extremely slow and have to rest often. After traveling a little over an inch, they have to
stop and catch their breaths. When they do, their eyes’ bulge, and they pant and gasp
from exhaustion. The corpulent and aging king leads the way as they travel. Uncle
William (acting as narrator) comments that the snails are so dull of sensibilities that their
king doesn’t even have proper royal attire. Instead of a crown, he wears a ridiculous
paper hat. When the king has a thought, the words come very slowly. After a long time,
in grandiose language, he earnestly asks his court attendants for the gift of a golden
crown, a crown that sparkles like the moon. As the king struggles to collect his thoughts,
Uncle William comments that the pompous snails are practically inarticulate. It is clear
the arrogant king and his snail friends have no idea how silly they must appear to the rest
of the world. Perhaps Lindsay wanted his poem to remind children, in a humorous way,
that acting arrogant and conceited does not impress others but makes people look silly
instead.
The poem is narrative in form and humorously relates the mannerisms and actions
of the snails, in order to provide an effective character study. He achieves this by using
232
The Merriam Webster Dictionary 238.
233
Hall 35.
78
One of the main attributes Lindsay expresses is their extreme slowness. After
“creeping an inch or so” the snails are so exhausted, they have to stop. Lindsay uses the
phrase, “Then stop and bug their eyes and blow” as a successful alliteration to describe
Lindsay’s use of rhythm and linebreak also reflects the snails’ slowness. One way
this is done is through the practice of enjambment. Enjambment is when the sense of the
sentence of a poem runs over into the following line.234 An example of this is found in
lines four and five, “Then stop and bug their eyes (next line) and blow.” When reading an
enjambment one generally makes a slight pause before preceding to the next line, but
maintains the energy and dynamic so that the continuity of the line is retained. The slight
pauses affect the overall rhythm and flow of the poem. In this case, it is fitting because it
illustrates the slow nature of the snails. Other examples of enjambment are found in the
final stanza when the snail-king is delivering his speech. A specific example is found in
lines twelve and thirteen, “I feel a thought (next line) within.” Lindsay also indicates
pauses by the use of ellipses. Both practices depict the king’s painfully slow and labored
The physical account of the snail-king, along with the words of his impromptu
speech, reveal much about his character. Physically, he is old and fat and dons a funny-
looking paper hat. In his speech, the “haughty” essence of the king’s personality comes
across quite convincingly in Lindsay’s choice of grandiose words. Phrases like, “I feel a
thought within…It blossoms soon” and “I crave a pretty boon,” are indicative of the
234
Hall 64.
79
The poem contains mostly eight-and six-syllable lines, arranged in the form of
significantly to the rhythmic flow because of Lindsay’s use of enjambments and ellipses,
which purposefully slow the overall pace. These various poetical aspects contribute to the
Musical Analysis:
For The Haughty Snail-King (What Uncle William Told the Children), Gloriana’s
Uncle William arrives on the scene and assumes the role of storyteller. He tries his hand
at entertaining the child with his delightful tale of the arrogant snails. What makes the
story even more entertaining is that Uncle William has had a bit too much to drink. As a
result, the singer has the daunting task of portraying the tipsy Uncle William as he acts
Heggie clearly depicts the characters of the Snail-King and his courtiers in his
musical setting. In the left hand of the accompaniment, Heggie writes “dull and heavy”
over the heavily accented chords meant to resemble snails cumbrously trudging along. In
the right hand, he uses ascending and descending chromatic patterns to illustrate the
slippery/sliding movement of the snails. The result is a very humorous and accurate
portrayal of the snails. This accompaniment pattern begins in the first measure and
80
Fig. 11: Snail-King, m.1-4235
Heggie communicates the action of the story, or lack of it, through text painting.
This occurs first in measure 8 on the word “stop.” The word itself is accented and
followed by a rest with a fermata, in order to illustrate the snails suddenly coming to a
halt. While this is happening the left-hand chords and right-hand chromatic patterns stop
as well. The accompaniment does not start again until the snails resume their movement
in measure 10. A few measures later, Heggie writes a glissando and crescendo on the
word “blow” that stretches over three measures. This illustrates the increasing size of the
bugging eyes and blowing cheeks of the snails. Heggie then has the accompaniment drop
out to emphasize the phrase, “Some folks are deadly slow.” He stresses the word
“deadly” by writing a glissando that takes the singer from an E4 all the way to a low G3,
which is not only the lowest pitch of the piece, but of the entire cycle. On the word
“slow,” Heggie indicates that the singer take a “big gasp for air” and that the word be
235
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81
Fig. 12: Snail-King, m.12-14236
236
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82
Throughout the piece, Heggie writes descriptive phrases or sub-text above certain
include “pompously,” “as though reading a royal proclamation,” and “thinking very
hard.” They are extremely helpful to the singer for dramatic interpretation.
The harmonies of the song also reflect the snails. Like the conservative physical
progression of the snails, harmonically the piece does not move very far from the tonic.
6
By progressing from i minor chord to the ii half diminished 5 chord instead of V,
Heggie illustrates the slow progression of the snails who can’t quite reach their
destination of the dominant. This same progression occurs often in measures 1 through 7,
In measure 27, Heggie changes the key to d minor and makes some interesting
harmonic choices. In the left hand of the accompaniment, we find an A major chord, the
dominant in the key of d minor, and at the same time the supertonic chord, an e
diminished triad (iiº) is found in the right-hand accompaniment. In the previous section,
he used the ii half-diminished chord in c minor to substitute for the dominant (G major).
Now that we are in a different key, we hear the iiº and the V sounding at the same time.
This is Heggie’s way of showing that essentially, these chords are interchangeable in
83
Fig. 14: Snail-King, m.27238
This not only occurs in measure 27 but also in measures 29 and 31.
Like the previous piece, this song contains many elements of jazz music. Heggie
even writes above the singer’s opening line that the piece should be performed “with a
jazzy, bluesy feel.” The jazz elements include extensive use of chromaticism, accents and
slurs, walking bass lines, flexible tempi, fermata, and phrases marked “ad lib.”
Heggie’s use of chromaticism is prevalent in the piece, not only in the right hand
in measure 33 with an a minor chord, then progresses to a Bb major triad, C major triad,
The vocal line contains relatively short, jazz-styled phrases that move mostly
chromatically, stepwise or in intervals of thirds. Heggie also makes use of the flatted fifth
of the scale (the pitch of Gb), which adds to the melody’s bluesy sound. The B section
238
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contains the snail-king’s proclamation and is recitative-like in its structure. Similar to
operatic recitative, the vocal line closely matches the pitch and rhythmic structure of the
spoken phrase.
The form of the piece is ABA¹ with a three-measure transition between the B
section and the final A¹. Heggie separates the major sections and the transition with
double bar lines. Just like the previous piece, the final A¹ is much shorter than the initial
A section.
After the vocalist’s final phrase, there is a five-measure piano postlude with the
direction “the snails march out of sight into the night” written above. To illustrate this
musically, the melody of the singer’s opening line, “twelve snails went walking after
85
4. What the Rattlesnake Said
Poetical Analysis:
What the Rattlesnake Said was written during the summer of 1912 and first
published in The Congo and Other Poems in 1914. The original title found in Lindsay’s
The poem is a brief commentary on how the conceited rattlesnake views the
world around him. To the snake, the enormous and iridescent moon is as harmless as a
common prairie-dog, barking and shaking with fear. During the day he sees the powerful
and awe-inspiring sun as a horse so terrified of the snake that all he can do is tremble. He
not only assumes the sun and moon are frightened of him, but everything else as well.
Somehow he has convinced himself that all living creatures are afraid of him. Perhaps
Lindsay is making another light-hearted statement about the dangers of arrogance and
The central poetic elements in this short poem are Lindsay’s use of metaphor and
imagery. Metaphor is defined as a figure of speech in which a word for one idea or thing
239
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 229. Used by Permission.
240
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 858.
86
is used in place of another to suggest a likeness between them.241 We find the first
metaphor, “the moon’s a little prairie-dog,” in the opening line. At first reading, the
metaphor seems unexpected and rather unusual. What could these two things have in
common? Metaphors, however, work by contrasts as well as comparisons. Hall makes the
statement that differences usually affect readers more strongly than similarities. If the
poet can take two seemingly incomparable things and show compatibility, the result is
quite gratifying.242 In this poem, Lindsay chooses to emphasize the incompatibility of the
ideas in order to show that the snake has a distorted perception of reality. By saying the
enormous moon is really just a lowly prairie-dog, the snake makes himself appear more
important and powerful than he actually is. Perhaps he is really afraid of the moon, but by
pretending it is something less frightening, he can overcome his fear. Maybe the snake is
reacting the same way an insecure person might by “talking big” to overcompensate for
his insecurities.
The same logic applies to “the sun’s a broncho.” Again, the snake takes a
powerful force and reduces it to something much less intimidating. In the final stanza, his
afraid of him.
A clear picture of the prairie-dog is created mostly through visual images but also
by images of sound and motion. The visual image in the first stanza is of the prairie-dog
sitting on a hill. An image of motion is created by the verb “shivers” and an image of
sound through the crying or howling of the prairie-dog. Visual imagery and images of
motion are also found in the second stanza with the description of the trembling broncho.
241
Hall 34.
242
Hall 35.
87
Images of motion related to the snake are created by the verbs “spring” and “sting.” Like
the poem about the snails, personification is used to project human qualities on the
animals.
Lindsay also makes effective use of alliteration. One interesting example can be
found in lines three and four. Note the flow of the “s’s” and “h’s” in “He sits upon his hill
and cries.” Another particularly pleasing example is found in lines seven and eight. The
“m’s” and “n’s” trip nicely on the tongue in “And trembles, morning, noon, and night,”
The “s’s” of line eight are especially interesting because they create the hissing sound of
Meter, like alliteration, contributes to the strong rhythmic flow of this poem. The
eight lines alternate between eight and six syllables. The eight-syllable lines are in the
form of iambic tetrameter, while the six-syllable lines are arranged as iambic trimeters.
There are no variations to the forms, so the flow of the rhythm is steady throughout. The
Musical Analysis:
Like the second and third songs of the cycle, Heggie’s setting of What the
Rattlesnake Said reflects the central character of the poem, in this case the conceited
chromatically or step wise, giving a slithering “snake-like” quality to the line. Heggie
also uses the tango/dance rhythm of the left-hand accompaniment to illustrate the
243
Heggie, personal interview.
88
Chromaticism is a very important harmonic element in this piece. Many of the
chromatic sonorities are not meant to function in a traditional harmonic sense. In other
words, the harmonies themselves don’t specifically lead anywhere, but exist for color and
character. For instance, from measure 3 until the key change in measure 26, the piece is
in the key of f minor and alternates mostly between I major triads and V7 chords. These
chords, however, contain many chromatic-sounding, non-chord tones that help create a
unique harmonic color. Even though the key changes to Db major in measure 26 and back
to f minor in measure 40, the chords continue to alternate between the i/I and V7, with
chords that occur three separate times in the piece. They first appear in measures 1 and 2
and were written to immediately indicate a change of mood.244 These augmented chords
help create a sense of tonal ambiguity yet can be tied to the two keys of the piece, f minor
and Db major.
244
Heggie, personal interview.
89
Fig. 15: Rattlesnake, m.1-2245
The chords are also found in measures 37 and 57. The first augmented triad is
built on an Fb, which is just a half-step away from the f minor triad. The second
augmented triad relates to the key of Db major because it contains the Db and F§ from a
Db major triad as well as a Bbb (A§), which is one-half step away from an Ab normally
found in a Db major triad. Heggie also uses half-step relationships between the two
augmented chords. The Fb in the first triad leads to an F§ in the second, the Ab in the first
to a Bbb in the second, and the C in the first to a Db in the second. By using the chords in
this way, Heggie ties together the two separate keys of the piece while continuing his
theme of chromaticism.
The vocal line, like the right hand of the accompaniment, also mimics the snake.
The intervals are generally small, with chromatic and step-wise motion. Heggie also uses
slippery sounding trills and slides as well as sharp syncopated rhythms. Glissandos occur
in measures 13, 18, and 50, and rhythmic trills can be found in measures 13, 36, and 51.
245
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Heggie’s use of text painting in measures 18 and 19 includes an accent and a
glissando on the word “cries,” which creates the effect of someone actually crying. In the
phrase, “Lest I should spring” found in measures 38 and 39, the word “spring” is
emphasized by allowing three full beats on the pitch of Fb5, which is the highest note of
the song. The accompaniment also helps reflect the springing snake by using ascending,
Heggie’s final use of text painting comes on the word “sting” in measures 42
through 44. The singer is asked to speak/hiss the “sss” sound of “sting” for three beats as
she crescendos to an accented G on the second half of the word, effectively expressing a
hissing snake.
246
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The form of the piece is ABA¹. The B section begins in measure 26 as the key
changes to Db major, and the final A¹ section begins in measure 40 with the return to f
minor. Like many of Heggie’s songs in this cycle, the A¹ section is extremely short.
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5. The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky
(What the Little Girl Said)
Poetical Analysis:
The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky, (What the Little Girl Said) is probably the
culture decades after Lindsay’s death. The poem appeared in the nationally syndicated
comic strip, “B.C.” on Sunday March 29, 1981. In recent years, inspired by the poem,
artist Sara Morton created a digital collage entitled Moon Cookie. In 2003 Lindsay’s
poem returned to print in the children’s book, Lullaby Moons and a Silver Spoon: a book
The poem was written in the summer of 1912 and first published in Reedy’s
Mirror on June 12, 1914. The original title was What the Little Girl Said. In the first
printing of the poem, line seven contained the word “hungry” instead of “greedy.” This
was the only change to the body of the poem after its first publication.248
This short poem tells us what the clever little girl thinks of the moon. The moon,
she says, is really an enormous cookie in the sky. The mean old North Wind nibbles away
247
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 229. Used by Permission.
248
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 858.
93
at it little by little until the pieces are so tiny they crumble and completely disappear.
When this happens, the kind South Wind bakes another cookie, with clouds as the main
ingredient, and puts it in the sky once more. When the selfish North Wind sees the crisp
new cookie, he begins to eat it all over again! The child’s delightful story gives a creative
imaginative poem. The metaphor comparing the moon to the cookie is exceptionally
clever. On the surface, the objects are extremely different. Lindsay, however, with his
imaginative storyline creates plausible similarities. For instance, the shape of a full moon
is as round as the cookie at the start of the story. He then “personifies” the North Wind by
giving him an appetite for the cookie. As he nibbles away at the cookie, its shape changes
like the various moon phases until it reaches its “new moon” phase and completely
disappears. By the end of the first stanza, Lindsay has shown how the two very different
The visual images created by the cookie/moon metaphor in the first stanza are
also very effective. The phrase “a rim of scraps” in particular is a wonderful description
In the second stanza, Lindsay compares the South Wind to a baker. The South
Wind is “personified” like the North Wind in the first stanza. He takes on a human
occupation and bakes away, until the cookie is crisp and full once more. The newly baked
cookie signifies the completion of one lunar cycle, and the whole process starts over as
the “greedy North Wind” (another example of personification) begins to nibble again.
94
One of the most interesting examples of imagery in the second stanza is in the
personification of the South Wind as the baker. The phrase, “he kneads clouds in his den”
uses both visual imagery and images of motion to create an imaginative picture. Lindsay
chose to italicize the words in the phrase, “that greedy North Wind eats again” and add
ellipses in order to slow the pace and emphasize the punch-line ending.
The meter of this poem has the strong rhythmic feel of a child’s rhyme. The
number of syllables in each line varies from six to nine. The first line in each stanza
contains feminine endings and all of the lines are arranged as iambic trimeter, except for
Musical Analysis:
Heggie uses the subtitle of the poem, The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky (What
the Little Girl Said) to give Gloriana an opportunity to tell a story of her own. When the
child remembers an interesting rhyme she learned on the school playground, she
enthusiastically begins to sing it for her mother. The performer should assume the
character of the child, treating the two A sections as “a hopscotch or jump-rope” song in
relatively simple and consists primarily of f minor tonic and C major dominant chords.
What gives the chords their chromatic flavor is Heggie’s inclusion of the minor second
interval. In measure 12, on beat two, the pitch Ab moves down a half-step to a G in the
left-hand accompaniment. At the same time he uses half-steps vertically in the chord with
an Ab against the A§. As a result we essentially have an f minor chord and an F major
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Fig. 17: Cooky, m.12249
This same situation occurs several times throughout the piece in measures 13, 14,
15, 18, 19, 34, 35, 36, and 37. Heggie also ends the piece chromatically by writing both
Elements of jazz are also found throughout the piece. Some examples include
syncopated rhythms, flexible tempi, use of accents and, of course, vocal scatting. Heggie
also indicates in the music that the B sections be performed “freely, with an easy, jazzy
feel.”
The overall form of the piece is ABAB¹ with the major sections divided by double
bar lines. The A sections are unique in the sense that the pianist does not accompany the
singer on the piano but uses rhythmic foot stomps and hand claps instead. The result is
both humorous and effective. The audience is taken by surprise and instantly transported
into the child’s world. The two B sections contain piano accompaniment as well as jazzy
vocal lines set to scatting syllables not found in Lindsay’s original poem.
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6. What the Scarecrow Said
Poetical Analysis:
What the Scarecrow Said was written sometime during 1912 and 1913. The
Illinois State Register printed the poem in its September 19, 1913 issue with the title, The
Proud Scarecrow. Lindsay changed the title to its present form when his book, General
William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems, was released two months later.251
The original title gives us important insight into the scarecrow’s character.
The poem is narrative in form and expresses the scarecrow’s idealized view of the
world around him. He refers to the crows as “spirits” of the night that live only to please
and serve him faithfully. They live in the shrubbery that surrounds the garden and when
the scarecrow waves his arms, they do whatever he pleases. They bring him glittering
robes made of shadows and cowslip-wine, made from flowers. But best of all, they dig up
a piece of treasure called the moon and place it in the sky for him. They do all these
250
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 164. Used by Permission.
251
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 850.
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things just to show how much they honor him as their king. In reality, the proud
scarecrow has created a fantasy world to rationalize why he isn’t scaring any of the crows
away. Instead of admitting he is a failure, he creates his own version of the truth to make
magical feel to the scarecrow’s dream world. Lindsay refers to the crows as “dim-winged
spirits of the night,” and this phrase creates a wonderful and mysterious visual image.
The assonance present in the phrase, “dim-winged spirits,” makes it sound appealing as
well. The verb “creep” in line three refers to how the spirits move. This word adds to the
Two of the most effective phrases in the poem are found in lines seven and eight,
the image of the birds flying overhead, casting silver moonlight shadows on the
scarecrow below. Both phrases paint beautiful visual images and contain effective
alliteration.
In the final stanza, Lindsay refers to the moon as buried treasure, retrieved and
held up by the spirits in the sky. The result is another magical visual image.
Personification is also used throughout the poem to humanize the kingly scarecrow and
The meter of the poem remains the same for all three stanzas. The twelve lines
alternate between eight and six syllables, arranged as iambic tetrameters and iambic
similar to the pattern of What the Rattlesnake Said and contains no variations from start
98
to finish. The strong and steady rhythm of the poem helps reflect the scarecrow’s
confidence.
Musical Analysis:
Debussy’s music and is rather understated compared to his settings of the previous four
poems. Instead of depicting the character with strongly defined musical imagery, he
chooses to create the overall atmosphere of the poem instead. This is done primarily with
his treatment of the piano accompaniment. In the opening A section (measures 1-28), the
accompaniment consists of a series of ascending octatonic scales that sound like wind
The repetitive scales also create a feeling of fluidity and timelessness. As the
sonorities begin to change with the B section in measure 28, the ascending scale passages
252
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continue, but the vocal line becomes more declamatory in order to express the
scarecrow’s various commands in the text. Beginning in measure 37, the ascending scale
express the magical imagery of the words, “shimm’ring shadow robes.” This in turn
The shortened A section returns in measure 51 with the same sonorities and
ascending scale patterns of the earlier section. In measure 67, the accompaniment
King.” The three rolled chords that finish the piece, especially the final D major, have a
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100
regal sound that complements the text. Above the final chord, we hear the scale passage
that occurred at the beginning of both A sections, resulting in another unresolved ending.
With the exception of the two short declamatory phrases in the B section, the
vocal lines are constructed of long flowing phrases moving mostly by intervals of
seconds and thirds. At times there are wider intervals, some as large as a major seventh.
Like many of Heggie’s songs, this piece is tonally ambiguous and difficult to
4-3 suspension throughout much of the piece. He also emphasizes the sixth scale degree
the piece, repeating them in measures 5, 7, and throughout most of the song. However in
the beginning, the hands alternate with a D and a G in the left hand and an Eb and a Bb in
the right hand. The Bb in the right hand blends with the G to make a G minor chord,
while the G§ from the left hand blends with the Eb and Bb to make an Eb major triad. We
can only tell if the chords are major or minor when both hands are played together.
Heggie changes the accompaniment after the opening statement in order to make it easier
throughout the entire song. In measure 4 alone, there are three examples that include low
throughout the two A sections heard first on beats two and three of measures 4 and 5
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Heggie also chooses to emphasize the sixth scale degree of a particular sonority.
For instance, the piece begins in g minor, and the Eb is consistently stressed through the
first 28 measures. In measure 37, the sonority changes to D major, and once again Heggie
uses the sixth scale degree to color the harmony (in this case the non-chord tone of B
natural). Also, the singer’s highest and longest note of the piece, the A5, (the sixth scale
degree of C) is heard in measures 41-45 and used as a pivot pitch to change into the
sonority of C major in measure 46. This high A occurs numerous times in the piano part
as a non-chord tone.
Debussy. One aspect is in the area of rhythm and meter. In Debussy’s music the feeling
of bar line is often erased, and the piano accompaniments are generally flowing with
there is a definite freedom of line in both the accompaniment and vocal line. Debussy
also uses elements of polyrhythms, which Heggie uses as well. Specifically, Heggie uses
hemiola rhythms. This three against two pattern between the vocal line and piano
Harmonically, Debussy tends to move away from a fixed key or tonal center,
especially in his middle and late songs. His harmonic structures are very fluid with
tonalities that are constantly shifting. In Heggie’s song, the sonorities change so often and
remain for such a short period of time that they can’t really be classified in a specific key.
diatonic and pentatonic scale patterns. While Heggie doesn’t use these scales specifically
in this piece, he does use a lot of chromatic movement and octatonic patterns that mix
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diatonic and chromatic scale patterns. The cumulative effect creates a subtle musical
103
7. What the Gray-Winged Fairy Said
Poetical Analysis:
What the Gray-Winged Fairy Said was written during the summer of 1912 and
The mysterious gray-winged fairy narrates the poem to an attentive child. The
moon, she says, is really an enormous gong. The beautiful sounds of the gong create little
songs loved by fairies everywhere. Its music is so magical and mysterious that mere
mortals can’t hear it at all, only fairies. The gong beats throughout the night and drowns
This magical poem is narrative in form and uses elements of metaphor and
imagery.
The central metaphor compares the moon to a magical gong. The premise is
logical because Lindsay creates a believable world of fairies that can see and hear things
The moon/gong metaphor helps create an effective visual image. The reader can
easily picture the silver gong beating against a black sky. The poem also uses images of
254
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 230. Used by Permission.
255
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 858.
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sound to communicate the story of the poem. The beating of the gong creates the
haunting fairy songs heard over the faint birdcalls of the doves and whippoorwills.
Meter contributes to the steady, lilting rhythm of the poem and suits the text. The
eight lines alternate between eight and six syllables, and are arranged as iambic
tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Like the poems about the snake and the scarecrow, the
meter of this poem contains no variations and remains constant throughout. The rhyme-
scheme of the poem is ABAB/CDCD. It is the only poem of the song cycle that rhymes
every single line. All of these aspects contribute to the magical and mystical tone of the
poem.
Musical Analysis:
Like songs one and six, Heggie’s setting of What the Gray-Winged Fairy Said is
His main influence in setting this poem was Mélisande’s aria from Act III, scene
1 of Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande. The aria takes place on a summer evening as
Mélisande combs her long hair in front of a window near the top of the tower of the castle
she shares with her husband Golaud. As she combs her hair, she begins to sing a haunting
tune. Golaud’s half-brother Pelléas comes out from the shadows beneath her window and
is enchanted by her singing. As the opera progresses, the two fall in love. Eventually,
Golaud discovers their secret and murders his brother in a jealous rage.256
Heggie associates the character of Mélisande with Ms. von Stade because she has
performed this operatic role numerous times. While reading the poem, the image of the
256
Richard Osborne, liner notes, Pelléas et Mélisande, by Claude Debussy, CD, Berlin
Philharmonic, EMI, 1978.
105
austere tower in the moonlight came to him and inspired his musical setting. As a result,
The harmony in Debussy’s tower aria is similar to Heggie’s in that both are
tonally ambiguous. In Debussy’s aria, the tonalities are constantly shifting between the
keys of G major, E minor, and E major. The soprano’s a cappella sections are even built
on a G Lydian mode. Heggie, however, stays in the key of F minor, but uses colorful
major seventh chords difficult to describe in terms of functional harmony. These major
seventh chords are used throughout the song to create a magical dissonance well suited to
Two of these major seventh chords, the VI M 4 and VII 4 , make up the gong
3 3
motive heard on beats two and three of the opening statement. The chords mimic the
ethereal, resonating quality of the gong. Preceding the gong motive is a motive
representing the moon. It occurs on the first beat of the statement and consists of low
octave Fs, with a Bb and Cb pedal tones sounding high in the treble clef. The treble
quality and dissonance between the Bb and Cb , reflect the starkness of the moonlight.
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Fig. 20: Fairy, m.1-2257
These chords return several times throughout the song. The gong chords are heard
again on beats two and three of measures 4 and 5, beats nine and eleven of measure 6,
beats two and three of measure 7, and beats two and four of measure 18. The moon
In addition to the chords in the gong motive, Heggie uses other major seventh
chords that are more difficult to analyze. They give a sense of tonal ambiguity and help
create the song’s specific harmonic color. The chords are generally written in succession
and move in parallel motion. Examples can be found in measures 5 through 9 and
measures 15-21.
Unlike Heggie, Debussy does not use major seventh chords, but he often uses the
In order to portray the suspense the child feels as the mysterious fairy tells her
tale, Heggie creates a sense of anticipation and timelessness by altering tempi, using
fermata and by adding beats to measures 3, 6, and 13. He also indicates that the singer
257
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should “take time” in specific places and to sing “freely” and in a “chant-like” fashion.
His use of quarter-note rhythms adds to the feel of time passing slowly. This occurs quite
effectively in measures 13-19 of the accompaniment, as the octave Cs imitate the ticking
sound of a clock.
Debussy’s aria contains a similar freedom of line that carries over the bar lines
Heggie utilizes text painting to emphasize specific words. One example is found
the sound of a beating heart, as the singer sings the word “beats”. Another example, in
measure 12, highlights the word “still” when the singer sings about the night growing
still, by halting the steady rhythm of the previous measure until the last beat of measure
13.
258
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Fig. 22: Fairy, m.10-13259
The final example reflects the sound of the whippoorwill’s call in the vocal line of
measure 16. The singer imitates the call of the bird with a sixteenth-note G/Bb/G motive
(see Fig. 21). This minor third pattern returns in the final two measures on different
The vocal lines of this song are long and sustained. They move primarily in
intervals of seconds, thirds and fifths. The interval of the fifth occurs mostly from F4 to
C5, and helps give the chant-like melody a haunting quality, similar to Mélisande’s solo.
The overall form is ABA¹ with the B section beginning in measure 8 and ending
in measure 13. The vocal line of the first A section is shortened in the A¹ section, but is
259
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109
8. Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be
(What Grandpa Told the Children)
Poetical Analysis:
Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be (What Grandpa Told the Children) was written
during the summer of 1912 and first published in Poetry Magazine on July 13, 1913. The
title was altered to The Moon’s a Griffin’s Egg in the Illinois State Register a couple
months later, but was changed back to its original form when The Congo and Other
The poem contains an allusion to a mythological creature called the griffin, which
is described as a monster with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.262
The subtitle of the poem introduces the reader to the character of Grandpa, who
serves as the poem’s narrator and chief storyteller. Like Uncle William of The Haughty
King-Snail, Grandpa is enjoying his storytelling as much as the children. By adding the
character of Grandpa, Lindsay gives added energy and excitement to the poem.
260
Camp, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, (Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press,
1984), 230. Used by Permission.
261
Camp, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3, 858.
262
Webster Dictionary Website, <http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/griffin>
110
The poem begins with Grandpa telling the children that the moon is really a
griffin’s egg on the verge of hatching. Just think how excited all the boys will be to see
the shell break and the enormous griffin begin to walk across the sky! The boys, he
continues, will all laugh, and the little girls might even become so frightened they start to
cry. But the giant griffin will not be vicious or scary, but sweet and gentle instead. He
will act like a gentleman and gracefully walk up to the Milky Way and begin to lap it up
imagery, and personification. The opening metaphor compares the moon to a griffin’s
egg almost ready to hatch. Grandpa then proceeds to tell the children exactly what will
The imagery created as the story progresses is extremely vivid. In one of the most
picturesque phrases, “to see him break the shell and stretch and creep across the sky,” the
verbs “stretch” and “creep” conjure a clear visual image of the scary beast moving across
the night sky. The “s’s” create an example of alliteration that sounds pleasing as well.
Images of sound are also used in the description of the laughing boys and crying girls.
When the griffin hatches, we realize that he is not ferocious after all, but “gentle”
and “decorous.” This is a clear example of personification. The final phrase in lines
eleven and twelve creates another example of effective imagery. In a very calm manner,
he “walks up to the Milky Way and laps it like a cat.” Not only does the phrase create a
magical image of motion, but it uses both alliteration and assonance as well. Alliteration
is found in line eleven with its repetition of “w’s,” and assonance is found in line twelve
111
with the short [a] sound in “laps” and “cat.” As a result, the sound of the phrase is as
Once again the meter of the poem contains alternating eight-and six-syllable lines,
arranged as iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The only variation consists of an
ABCB/DEFE/GHIH. The lilting rhythm gives energy to the magical poem. All of these
Musical Analysis:
In his setting of the final poem, Yet Gentle will the Griffin Be, Heggie uses the
alternative title (What Grandpa Told the Children) to introduce the final performer of the
song cycle, Gloriana’s fun-loving grandfather. Having overheard some of the bedtime
stories, Grandpa enters Gloriana’s room determined to top them all with his spooky tale
In his music, Heggie expresses the characters and action of the story by utilizing
text painting, varying tempi, glissandi and accents. He also expresses the story
The piece is divided into four major sections, ABCB¹, that are marked with the
descriptive phrases “rather creepy, ” “rather wild (spooky),” “mysterious,” and “fast.”
ascending/descending triads and subtle mystical sounding harmonies. When the vocalist
enters in measure 8 with the question, “The moon?,” the bell-like octave Cs in the right
moon.
112
Fig. 23: Griffin, m.8-12263
While the first section’s tempo is rather slow and free, the B section is suddenly
fast and “rather wild” as Grandpa launches into his exciting story. To help convey his
excitement, Heggie adds accent marks and glissandi throughout the vocal line. An
example of his use of glissandi as text painting is found in measures 32-35 on “delight.”
The word begins on a middle C and then slides up the octave and a half-step as it
crescendos. This expresses the excitement the boys feel as they watch the egg begin to
hatch.
263
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
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113
Fig. 24: Griffin, m.29-35264
Heggie has also added additional text to Lindsay’s original poem to express the
emotional reactions of various characters in the story. After the text, “and how the little
boys will watch with shouting and delight,” he adds a line of “Ha-has!” On these words
he uses glissandi and accent marks to help simulate the sound of laughter. The melody
used in the vocal line for the added laughter returns in the piano accompaniment of
measures 57-60 immediately preceding the phrase, “The boys will laugh.” After the text,
“The little girls, I fear, may hide and cry,” he adds a line of “wahs!” which are marked
with descending glissandi, effectively mimicking the sound of the sobbing girls.
264
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
114
Fig. 25: Griffin, m.70-75265
The third section is marked “much slower” and “mysterious.” The text reveals
that the newly hatched griffin is not mean and ferocious as one would expect, but actually
very gentle. The magical innocence of the griffin is reflected quite nicely in Heggie’s
Heggie employs text painting once again to depict the griffin “walking up to the
Milky Way” by setting the words on an ascending vocal line. He also uses his technique
of having the accompaniment drop out in order to emphasize the final line of the original
265
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
115
Fig. 26: Griffin, m.86-98266
The last section of the song is marked “fast” and contains additional “Ahs!” set to
a shortened version of the music that previously accompanied the boy’s laughter in the
first B section. Heggie intended these final “Ahs!” to represent Grandpa’s laughter and
and half-step dissonances, is another important aspect of expressing the text and overall
mood of the song. The ascending chromatic movement is effective in building tension
and increasing the suspense as the story enfolds. A clear example of this can be found in
266
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
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267
Heggie, personal interview.
116
Fig. 27: Griffin, m.18-25268
“creepiness” of the first section is depicted with ascending chromatic movement that
consists specifically of a group of parallel ascending and descending triads over a tonic F
268
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
117
Fig. 28: Griffin, m.3-4269
similar version of this motive is found in measures 53-55, appropriately as the singer
269
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
270
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
118
Heggie’s half-steps dissonances also create a magical and mysterious quality that
suits the whimsical poetry well. The first example is found in the very first measure of
the piece. Here we find an F minor triad that contains an added E§. In this case the E§ is
not functioning as the seventh of the chord but just adds color.
In measure 6, we also find half-step dissonance between the Bb/B§ of the vii°7
chord. Additional examples in the first section include Bb/B§ in measure 10, E§/Db in
measure 11, as well as E§/Eb in measure 12 (see Fig. 23). Many more examples can be
found throughout the song and are too numerous to mention. Some even include multiple
half-step dissonances in a single chord. For instance the chord in measures 49 and 50
271
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
119
Fig. 31: Griffin, m.49-50272
In the beginning of the C section, Heggie continues to experiment with the idea of
half-step tensions by moving from a tonic F minor chord to an E major chord, which is
built on the leading tone. The third of both chords is enharmonically the same (Ab in the
F minor chord and G# in the E major chord). In measures 77-83, the vocalist sings an Ab
while the harmonies in the accompaniment alternate between these two chords. As a
result, the Ab/G# becomes the pivot pitch that connects these dissonant tonalities together.
272
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI), International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
120
Fig. 32: Griffin, m.76-84273
273
Excerpt from Songs to the Moon from The Faces of Love, Copyright © 1999 by Associated
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121
CHAPTER 6
This chapter will discuss the overall structure of the song cycle and compositional
similarities between the individual songs. The purpose is to show how the songs fit
The eight songs of Heggie’s Songs to the Moon can be divided into two separate
categories in terms of basic style. The first category consists of songs that are
impressionistic and subtle in tone, namely songs one, six and seven. Their musical
settings suggest the text by creating the overall mood and atmosphere of the poem. The
second category includes songs that are strongly descriptive in their musical depiction of
the text. The characters and actions in these poems are vividly and specifically portrayed
in the music. The songs in this category include three, four, five and eight. Song two is
The impressionistic songs are similar in the sense that all have fluid
accompaniments and long flowing vocal lines; however, the accompaniments differ
accompaniment, while song seven and the B section of song two have accompaniments
with slow, steady rhythms moving mostly on the strong beats. Song six varies from the
previous pieces in the use of rapid moving, eighth-note passages. All four
122
accompaniments include sections in which both hands are written in the treble clef to
help create a tender and/or childlike quality, which complements the text.
Influences of Debussy’s music are clearly heard in these songs. Parallel motion, a
device often used by Debussy, is found in song seven as well as the B section of song
two. While Debussy used whole tone, pentatonic, and chromatic scale passages, Heggie
creates a similar tonal quality by using octatonic scales. These scales occur in song six,
and are constructed of alternating whole steps and half steps. Another influence of
Debussy’s music can be seen in Heggie’s use of hemiola rhythms. Generally, all four
Debussy’s music.
Tonal ambiguity is another device shared by Debussy and Heggie. The harmonies
of Heggie’s songs are dissonant and difficult to analyze in terms of functional harmonies.
Each song differs slightly in harmonic make-up. Songs one and seven generally favor
seventh chords. Song one primarily uses the viiº7, V7 and the bVIM7 chords to create its
dissonance, while song seven consists almost entirely of major seventh chords. The
colorful, chromatic harmonies in the B section of song two are created by a group of
triads and seventh chords moving in intervals of minor and major seconds. Song six, on
the other hand, uses dueling sonorities, suspensions, and chords (mostly triads) with
added chromatic non-chord tones. The common denominator is that the harmonies
provide colorful dissonances that create an ethereal or magical quality to all four songs.
Despite his use of exotic harmonies in the accompaniments of these pieces, the
vocal lines of all four are essentially tonal and fit within the general harmonic structure.
123
These vocal phrases are mostly long and sustained, with the exception of the first two
The descriptive songs, which include the A section of song two as well as songs
three, four, five and eight, have recurring motives that represent the central characters of
the humorous text, as well as short vocal phrases. Heggie also uses elements of
chromaticism and jazz in the construction of these motives and in the musical settings in
general.
The A section of song two features the chromatic motive derived from the
greybeards. The motive contains the jazzy sounding Neapolitan chord set to a dotted
eighth/sixteenth pattern, which is a standard jazz rhythm. Other jazz elements include
vocal scatting, syncopation, walking bass line, bouncing octaves, and accents and slurs in
both the accompaniment and vocal lines. The vocal line consists of short, choppy phrases,
In song three, the snails are musically represented through heavily accented
motive in the right hand. Together they depict the laborious, slippery/sliding movement
of the snails. Chromaticism is used in the motive as well as the overall harmonic
structure. The many elements of jazz found in this song include accents, slurs, walking
bass lines, flexible tempi, flatted fifth degree of the scale, and the use of fermata and
phrases marked “ad lib.” The vocal line contains relatively short, jazz-styled phrases that
124
In song four, the snake is illustrated in the slow chromatic or stepwise movement
of the right-hand accompaniment, as well as the rhythmic tango motive found in the left
hand. Both reflect the slithering movement and self-confidence of the snake. The piece
not only contains chromaticism horizontally, but harmonically as well. Although the
harmonic structure alternates between i/I and V7 chords throughout most of the piece,
they contain numerous chromatic non-chord tones that give the song its unique chromatic
color. Overall, the song has more of a Latin than a jazzy feel, but includes some aspects
of jazz such as syncopated rhythms, glissandi, and accents, flexible tempi. The song
consists of short vocal phrases that mimic the snake through its use of trills, slides and
In song five, the childlike nature of the little girl is expressed through the
rhythmic foot stomps and handclaps in the A sections. Her spoken text, together with the
child at play. The B sections are basic in their harmonic construction, with mainly f
minor tonic and C major dominant chords, but as in song four, they are chromatically
colored through the addition of non-chord tones. Elements of jazz are also found in these
B sections and include vocal scatting to be performed “freely, with an easy jazzy feel” as
Song eight contains ascending and descending triads to reflect the spooky and
mysterious griffin. Harmonically, the piece contains much chromatic motion occurring
primarily in the accompaniment, which effectively builds tension and increases suspense
as the story enfolds. The piece sounds more mysterious than “jazzy” but makes use of
heavy accents, glissando and strong accented rhythms associated with jazz.
125
Heggie uses several compositional techniques that are found in almost all of the
songs in the cycle. These techniques include text painting, unaccompanied singing,
spoken text, repetition of the opening statement and unresolved endings. Text painting is
used in all of the songs with the exception of song five. Spoken text is used in songs
three, four, five, six and eight, while all but six and seven contain instances of
unaccompanied singing. Most of the pieces repeat the opening statement, except for
songs three and five. Heggie says he uses the repeated opening statement to allow the
listener to “step over the threshold and suddenly enter into the new music and story of
each song.”274 Song eight is the only one in the cycle that ends on a resolved chord and
The form of the individual songs of the cycle is similar in the sense that the final
sections of each contain previously stated material. Heggie tends to repeat melodic
material, especially when the messages of the poems are simple, like those in Songs to
the Moon. “Because these songs are little jewels and short statements trying to say one
thing, I will tie the lyrical material together to show that they are expressing one
thought.”275 Songs one, three, four, six and seven, have the same ABA¹ construction, in
which the second A section is a shortened version of the first. The structure of both five
and eight is ABAB¹ and, like the previous pieces, the final sections of each are
abbreviated. Even though the form of the second song is AB, the final section contains
music heard earlier in the song. Specifically, the final four measures of the B section
contain the greybeard motive, which is first introduced in the opening measures of
section A.
274
Heggie, personal interview.
275
Heggie, personal interview.
126
The keys of the eight individual songs are listed in the order they appear in the
cycle: G major, G minor, C minor, F minor, F minor, G minor, F minor, and F minor. For
the most part, the songs progress to closely related keys. The only exception is the F
minor/G minor relationship between songs five/six and six/seven. Heggie admits he
doesn’t consider the overall key structure ahead of time, but likes the pieces to flow
naturally together.276
Heggie arranges the songs in a logical order to give interest and continuity to the
song cycle. For the first song, he chooses the poem Once More to Gloriana to set up the
scenario for the rest of the song cycle. It establishes that the mother has come into her
daughter’s room at night to sing her a lullaby. The following songs in turn become the
various bedtime stories told by the mother and other relatives in an attempt to entertain
the child. The texts of the songs are also similar in that they all contain references to the
moon.
The impressionistic first song is an effective opener, which expresses the tender
bond between the mother and child. This song is followed by the humorous story of
Euclid, a vivid contrast with its jazzy, descriptive opening section and subtle,
impressionistic final section. The third and fourth songs are both descriptive in style, with
humorous texts about the arrogant snails and the confident snake. Uncle William’s tipsy
rendition of the third song provides added variety and interest. The fifth song is
appropriately positioned in the middle of the song cycle when the audience’s attention
span has the potential to waver. It is so interesting and unexpected with the handclaps and
chanting of the little girl, the audience has no problem staying engaged. This song is
276
Heggie, personal interview.
127
followed by the two impressionistic settings about the scarecrow and the gray-winged
fairy. By placing them sixth and seventh in the cycle, Heggie provides an effective
contrast to the more energetic songs. The final song about the mysterious griffin,
performed by the vivacious Grandpa, is the most suspenseful and exciting song of the
cycle. It is very descriptive in style and provides a theatrical and satisfying ending to the
piece.
musical settings of the individual songs are composed and organized in such a way that
128
CHAPTER 7
PERFORMANCE NOTES
Jake Heggie says the most important aspect of performing Songs to the Moon is to
effectively communicate the characters in each song. “These pieces are all about
character…You should sing them as though they are the most important thing in the
world to you. To really have a sense of character, you shouldn’t put on the character but
be the character.”277
In order to gain a true sense of character, the performer must first read and study
the poetry. In this particular song cycle, it is helpful to understand not only Lindsay’s
conception of the poems, but Heggie’s interpretations of the poems as well. After reading
both views, the performer can then create her own interpretation and make an informed
decision as to how she will portray each character. The more specifics the performer
understands about the character and text, the more fully realized and successful her
Heggie was pleased with Ms. von Stade’s interpretation of his song cycle. Of the
premiere performance, he said, “Flicka was so into each song. She put all the character
that I knew she would put into them.” He then shared how Ms. von Stade prepared for the
performance:
277
Heggie, personal interview.
129
She starts with the text, and she really thinks about it. She told me once that if it
says in a song that the leaves are falling off the tree then she would ask, “What
color are the leaves?” Also, “Is the tree dead? Is it because of the time of year? Is
it in my imagination that it is happening?” She wants to know what all of it means
and why it is important to the song. She really goes way inside. And by doing this
she makes it something very personal that she can commit to. As a result her
performances are extremely committed.278
Answering specific questions about the text helps the performer create a solid
foundation for her performance. By employing this technique to construct a very specific
and detailed world, the artist is more apt to fully commit herself to the performance and
I think that one of the big problems in recitals today is that so often you will go
and be bored out of your mind because you are sitting in a theater and nothing
theatrical is happening. If the performer is not having a good time, then no one
else is. And the only way you are going to have a good time is if this means
something to you…If you are not committed to it and feel that there is no real
reason why you have to sing these songs, then there is no point to do them.279
Martin Katz agrees with Heggie that the performer should have a clear
understanding of the text and character of each song in order to give a successful
performance. In his coaching session, he explained that the music alone is not enough to
carry the performance—the singer must pay a great deal of attention to text and character
and develop an overall plan. To help get a true sense of the text, he suggests the
performer speak the poetry to a child. He recommends a child of about six or seven who
still believes in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. When reciting the poetry, the performer
should try to do whatever is necessary to keep the child’s attention. Through this
278
Heggie, personal interview.
279
Heggie, personal interview.
130
exercise, the performer can get a true sense of how her presentation connected with the
child. What she learns from reciting the poetry can be transferred and included in the
sung performance.280
This song cycle is just pages of music that has to be brought to life… The story
telling is the most important aspect. A special kind of story telling that is
unlimited. Especially a fantastic world like this! It is like the world of The Wizard
of Oz where scarecrows talk and walk about… What is interesting is that nothing
in these stories could really happen; they are complete fantasy. So what can you
do wrong? The only thing the performer can do wrong is not to do anything.281
The rest of the chapter will address performance suggestions as they pertain to the
individual songs of the cycle. The information was gained from coaching sessions and e-
mail contact with Mr. Heggie, Mr. Katz, and Ms. von Stade. Other suggestions included
are from my own personal work on the songs. These suggestions are intended to aid
Both Heggie and Katz stress the importance of expressing the deep bond of love
the mother has for her child. Katz recommends creating a scenario that allows the
performer to experience these feelings. He suggests that perhaps Gloriana is feeling badly
about herself because she is different from other children. Because of this, the mother is
singing to her in order to build her self-esteem.282 I found this suggestion to be helpful. I
envision the little girl as having a physical disability that causes the other children to treat
her differently. As her mother, I want to convince her that to me she is the most special
little girl in the world. At the same time, I want to give her all these magical and make-
believe gifts to cheer her up and help her feel better about herself.
280
Katz, coaching session with author, 16 Sept 2003.
281
Katz, coaching session.
282
Katz, coaching session.
131
Heggie encourages the performer to take time through the transitions in the song.
It should never feel like you are in a hurry. It should be sung, he says, as a lullaby to a
beautiful child who you love more than anything else in the world. Also, the singer
should wait for the accompaniment to completely stop before coming in with the phrase,
“I bring you gold” in measure 23. Extra time should also be taken to bring out the word
“eyes” in measure 49, and on the three fermati on the word “so” in measure 54.283
Heggie gives further instruction by saying the text in the B section should be sung
as if the mother is coming up with the words immediately before she sings them. (Katz
recommends really making something of the breaths during the unusual rests in this
section to clearly convey this idea.) Also, the final section beginning with the phrase, “to
feebly praise your golden eyes” in measure 44, should be full of a resigned and
Katz agrees with Heggie that the piece should be performed with rhythmic
flexibility. Since the singer’s entrance is difficult to judge, Katz recommends listening for
the quarter notes in the left-hand of the accompaniment in measure 12. I found this
ensemble problems, so he concludes it should be the pianist’s job to follow the singer in
The vocal range and tessitura of this song is ideal for the lyric mezzo-soprano
voice. The vocal range is from D4 above middle C to high G5 at the top of the staff, yet
283
Jake Heggie, coaching session with author, 11 Sept 2001.
284
Heggie, coaching session.
132
The song, as well as the others in the song cycle, is relatively easy for the singer
to learn, especially when compared with atonal twentieth-century art songs. Despite
Heggie’s use of chromatic and unusual harmonies in the accompaniment, the vocal line is
very lyrical and closely tied to the overall harmonic structure of the accompaniment.
2. Euclid
Since the mother is singing this song in an attempt to entertain Gloriana, Martin
Katz says the performer should begin the piece as if she is telling the greatest story in the
world.
Really make a lot out of the words and exaggerate everything you are saying.
Really stress the words “arc” “circumference” and “diameter” since these terms
were new during Euclid’s time. Don’t say them like you would an ordinary word
like “supermarket.”285
It is also important, he says, to have a clear subtext for the scatting phrases.
According to Heggie, the scatting sections were intended to represent the old
greybeards arguing loudly with one another.286 With this subtext in mind, I decided to
perform these sections as a pompous old professor delivering a lecture. The effect of an
intense professor expressing himself with scatting syllables is quite humorous, and
Heggie says the performer should transition into the character of the child
beginning with the hum in measure 3. The subtext on this hum should be, “I have no idea
what these men are saying, but aren’t these circles beautiful!” He also wants the singer to
285
Katz, coaching session.
286
Heggie, coaching session.
133
ignore the phrase marking that connects measures 30 and 31, and take a breath after the
fermata. This will help make a clean break into the child’s section.287
Both Heggie and Katz recommend that the B section should be performed as
childlike as possible. Katz says that, even though the breath after the word “because” in
measure 40 may seem awkward, it makes sense because this is what an excited child
might do. He also encourages the singer to only use natural speech-like rhythms from
measure 40 to the end. If the rhythms are too accurate, he says, it won’t sound like natural
English. For instance, the performer shouldn’t hold the fermata on the last syllable of
“pictures” like it is written, but put it on the entire phrase instead. He also advises against
taking too much time on the words “of the” in measure 43. “The performer should reject
From the singer’s standpoint, this song is very easy to learn. The vocal range
extends from D4 to F5, and is well within the lyric mezzo’s comfortable range. The
challenging aspect for the classically trained vocalist is to freely express the “jazzy”
storyteller. To express the character of Uncle William, Heggie suggests the performer
give a “sluggish feel” to the performance rather than attempting to slur the words.
Specifically, he recommends exaggerating the “bl” of the word “blow” in measure 10 and
to “think drunk” on the glissando on the same word in measures 10 through 12. He also
287
Heggie, coaching session.
288
Katz, coaching session.
134
says to point out the “sh!” in measure 26 as if the audience is making too much noise for
Martin Katz warns that the drunken interpretation of the song can lead to sloppy
diction. Because of this, the singer must do whatever is necessary to make sure the words
Ms. von Stade tried various vocal colors for the Snail-King’s text, in order to
express his arrogant personality. In the premiere, she used a “covered” and “hooty”
sound, but in later performances she used a brighter, more operatic sound. According to
Heggie also like the way Ms. von Stade performed the final “sh!” at the end of the
piece.
She sat on a stool for the entire song and at the end just stared in front of her like
she was actually watching the snails walking across the stage. At the same time
she put her hand out to the audience as if to say, ‘Wait until they are gone.’ The
effect was very humorous.292
Heggie says the more character the singer can work into the piece, the better the
performance will be.293 Martin Katz agrees. “This piece is not very challenging vocally.
You have to use your imagination and sell it. The piece will not sell itself.”294
The song is easy to learn, especially in terms of pitches and rhythms. The vocal
range extends from low G3 below middle C to F#5. The low G may prove problematic
289
Heggie, coaching session.
290
Katz, coaching session.
291
Heggie, coaching session.
292
Heggie, coaching session.
293
Heggie, coaching session.
294
Katz, coaching session.
135
for sopranos or mezzos without a strong low register. Dramatically, the most difficult
aspect of the performance is to portray the intoxicated Uncle William with clarity and
confidence.
In this song, Gloriana’s mother resumes the role of storyteller. Heggie said the
music in the first two measures is very different from the rest of the song, because he
intends these measures to transport the audience into the world of the new poem. Martin
Katz says that, for these two measures, the mother is considering which story she should
tell. She makes up her mind at the first hint of the new music in measure three, and
Heggie is very specific about how he would like the piece to be performed. The
character of the snake, he says, should be portrayed in a way that is both self-confident
and seductive. “Just envision this sexy and self-satisfied snake who thinks he owns
everything and that everyone is afraid of him.”296 He was pleased with Ms. von Stade’s
interpretation of the character. “The first time we read through the piece together, she was
able to get the character right away. She just started doing this motion with her shoulders,
and it was perfect. Her whole body was into the performance.”297
the character. Another idea that worked for me was to think of the snake as the character
of Carmen. This image helped me to convey a sense of confidence and sensuality that felt
295
Katz, coaching session.
296
Heggie, coaching session.
297
Heggie, coaching session.
136
Other interpretive suggestions from Heggie include the following comments. The
performer should speak the word “bite” in measure 23 as a “sexy whisper reminiscent of
Rita Hayworth.”298 Also, the “ah’s” in the last ten measures of the piece are meant to
communicate a sense of sorrow, in order to show that beneath the snake’s confident
dramatically. It felt awkward to suddenly switch from very confident to lonely. When I
expressed my concern to Martin Katz, he said the following: “I would say that is almost
impossible to do…There is nothing in the text or the piano part during the final section to
make the audience think the character should be feeling anything differently.”300 He
suggested I keep the feeling of pride and arrogance through to the end of the song.
I think it is important for performers to be open to, and at least try, all of the
composer’s suggestions. If a particular concept fails to work for the singer after several
attempts, then the performer should feel free to explore other possibilities. If a singer
does not identify with the composer’s dramatic ideas, yet stays with them instead of
developing her own, it would not be enough to secure a convincing performance. I think
most composers, including Heggie, would be open to other interpretations of their music,
must find the ideas that work best for her in order to ensure a believable performance.
298
Heggie, coaching session.
299
Heggie, coaching session.
300
Katz, coaching session.
137
The song is relatively easy to learn in terms of basic rhythms and pitches. The
vocal range is very comfortable for the singer and extends from middle C4 to an Fb5. The
most challenging aspect of this song, like the previous piece, is in the area of
5. The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cooky (What the Little Girl Said)
This song is the only one in the cycle that is performed by the character of
Gloriana. Heggie indicates that the performer should chant the spoken text as “a
‘hopscotch’ or ‘jump-rope’ song” in a way that is both childlike and energetic. He also
says the accompanist can feel free to vamp the opening measures if the singer needs a
little extra time before her first entrance. I noticed that Mr. Katz did this on the premiere
recording.
When asked about his subtext for the scatting sections, Heggie replied that the
first scatting section should communicate the child’s pride at how well she is chanting
and playing the “jump-rope” game. The second scatting section should express the
excitement she feels from winning the game. In this section, Heggie uses a softer
dynamic level to show the girl is attempting to subdue her emotions in order to spare the
To give more punch to the ending text, Heggie encourages the accompanist to hit
the piano, either on the top or underneath, on the third beat of measure 31, instead of
301
Heggie, coaching session.
302
Heggie, coaching session.
138
emphatic delivery will help communicate the child’s frustration and give appropriate
A practical suggestion by Katz is for the singer to do something with her hands as
she speaks the word ‘kneads” in order to communicate the meaning to the audience.
Otherwise the word “kneads” might be mistaken for the more common “needs.”304
The piece is very easy for the singer to learn in terms of notes and rhythms. The
pitches range from a comfortable C4 to F5. Like so many of Heggie’s songs, character
portrayal should be of utmost importance. If the character of the little girl is not
convincing, the performance will not be effective. The singer should be willing to
In this song, Gloriana’s mother acts out the story of the arrogant scarecrow.
Heggie says it is important for the performer to know that the “dim-winged spirits” refer
to the crows that are flying around the scarecrow’s cornfield. “He is so arrogant that he
actually thinks he’s in charge of them.”305 The performer should maintain an arrogant
attitude until the final line of the song, “Because I am a King.” At this point, the
scarecrow’s insecurities begin to surface. He doesn’t believe the words are really true, but
speaks them aloud in an attempt to try and convince himself they are. Because of the new
subtext, Heggie encourages the singer to take time on the final phrase. “Wait a bit before
303
Katz, coaching session.
304
Katz, coaching session.
305
Heggie, coaching session.
139
you begin the last statement. Also, take your time as you speak the phrase because they
are expecting you to sing it. The audience needs time to get it.”306
Even though Heggie thinks the singer should stress the word “am” in the final
phrase, Martin Katz disagrees. He doesn’t think the “insecure” subtext works well with
When you stress the word “am” it sounds like he doesn’t believe it, and although
that is the subtext Heggie intended, it isn’t promoted by the music or text.
Stressing “am” almost sounds like someone is threatening him and up until now,
the crows have done everything he asked. They even created a moon and put it up
in the sky for him! I suggest stressing the word “I” or “King,” but to stress “am”
doesn’t make sense to me.”307
When I first heard Ms. von Stade on the recording, I thought the final phrase
sounded a bit odd. When I met with Mr. Heggie and discovered his intended subtext, I
tried incorporating it into my practicing, and stressing the word “am” of “I am” as he
suggested. It still seemed unnatural to me. After meeting with Mr. Katz, hearing his
opinion, and working some on my own, I came to the conclusion that I would borrow
from both Katz’s and Heggie’s suggestions. After working with a mirror, I decided it was
most natural for me to say the final statement with confidence, stressing the word “King”
as Katz suggested, but then using the music immediately following the statement to
express my insecurity over the statement. This way I can perform the song in a way that
makes sense to me from a dramatic standpoint, yet still stay true to Heggie’s subtext.
I found the hemiola rhythms to be the most challenging aspect of the song,
306
Heggie, coaching session.
307
Katz, coaching session.
140
thinking of the measures in beats of one instead of three. However, he says the rhythms
Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be perfectly two against three. I really don’t care
about that…It is more important that it has freedom so that the words are clear.
Whatever works best for you. I don’t want it sung like a robot, strictly in tempo.
You have to make sure that is very natural and speech-like.308
Martin Katz agrees that the song needs rhythmic flexibility. “You have to have a
little flexibility, especially in the measures with four words in it, like measure 29. You
This piece is definitely the most difficult of the entire song cycle, both
rhythmically and in terms of vocal production. The vocal line ranges from an Eb4 above
middle C to a high A5. The problem is not with the range itself, but with the way the
pitches occur in the context of the phrase. One of the most challenging phrases of the
song is “and bring me shimm’ring shadow robes” in measures 33 through 45. This
lengthy phrase ascends to the climactic A, which is held for five measures. This A can be
difficult for the mezzo-soprano voice to sustain with an acceptable quality, especially at
the end of such a lengthy phrase. To help the singer, Heggie has added an accelerando.
“The singer should feel free to accelerando through the tough phrase with the high A. The
pianist can move it as much as needed.” He also gives the singer the option of singing the
alternate pitch of E§ instead of the high A. When asked if he prefers singers to take the
original note, he responded, “Not at all. They should sing whatever note sounds best and
feels best to them. You wouldn’t want to suddenly distract the listener and take them out
308
Heggie, coaching session.
309
Katz, coaching session.
141
of the world that you’ve created because something awkward has happened.”310 As
helpful to follow Mr. Heggie’s suggestions of thinking the measures in beats of one.
In this song, the mother continues as the storyteller. Heggie’s inspiration for the
song was Mélisande’s tower aria from Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande.311 The
performer can capture the mood of the song by envisioning herself as the mysterious fairy
Martin Katz says the key to singing this piece is to be as free as possible.
Don’t be afraid to make it free. Some of the other songs in the cycle have
complicated accompaniments and specific directions, but this is the only one that
is marked ‘freely’. Enjoy being free! English is not a straight language like French
or some other languages. It is very up and down. If you make it too steady, it
doesn’t sound like English.312
He believes the best way to do this is by speaking the phrases aloud and deciding
which words are the most important. When singing, the performer should stress the
important words by giving them more length. By all means, he says, don’t stress
unimportant words, or treat all words the same.313 By speaking the text, I was able to
310
Heggie, coaching session.
311
Heggie, coaching session.
312
Katz, coaching session.
313
Katz, coaching session.
142
Heggie encourages the performer to take time throughout. “Above all, don’t rush.
It is such beautiful text, so make sure you fight the temptation to speed up. There has to
Both Heggie and Katz offer some practical suggestions. Heggie asks that the
performer sing a glottal on the word “ear” in measure 7 so the word can be clearly
understood. He also encourages the singer to emphasize the “f” of “fairy” to stress the
magical quality of the word.315 Martin Katz recommends breathing before the word “is”
in measure 9 and carrying it through to the word “beats.” Doing this, he says, will help
This song is relatively easy to learn in terms of pitches and basic rhythms. It is
also within the mezzo’s comfortable range (Eb4 to G5). The most challenging part is in
committing to the free style of the song as well as maintaining a fine legato line in the
8. Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be (What Grandpa Told the Children)
enjoying his attempt to scare Gloriana with his tale of the spooky monster. For a
successful performance, the singer should embody Grandpa’s high level of energy and
excitement.
When asked about the subtext for the “ahs,” Heggie responded that those
beginning in measure 36 are the boys’ response, whereas those from measure 100 until
314
Heggie, coaching session.
315
Heggie, coaching session.
316
Katz, coaching session.
143
Grandpa is still a boy, a very old boy! He is having fun scaring Gloriana…The
sliding “ahs” in particular are really representative of Grandpa teasing Gloriana—
maybe he is even trying to tickle her. The story is creepy, but you know Grandpa
is just teasing and having fun.317
became more comfortable when I thought about the menacing subtext and used a
crescendo through the glissando to the high G. As a result, the G did not sound “tight” or
“choked” but was much more energetic. On the other hand, Katz says the purpose of the
“ahs” is not necessarily to sound beautiful, but as Heggie suggested, to imitate the teasing
Grandpa.318
Katz says the whole story would be extremely entertaining to a child. Imagine
watching a monster pop out of an enormous egg! Because of this, the singer should take
time on the phrase “and walk up to the Milky Way” because the audience has no idea
what is going to happen next. This will help build the suspense so the punch line really
works.319
This song is well within the mezzo’s comfortable range (middle C to Ab5) and is
relatively easy to learn in terms of rhythms and pitches. The only rhythmic challenges are
Grandpa’s syncopated “ahs” in the final measures of the piece. Martin Katz gave me a
wonderful suggestion to help manage this difficult section. Beginning in measure 107
through 109, he recommends drawing a bar line every second beat so the beats are
divided into groups of two instead of groups of three. As a result the singer’s “ahs” will
always be on beat two, and the entrances will be much easier to manage.
317
Heggie, coaching session.
318
Katz, coaching session.
319
Katz, coaching session.
144
Above all, text and character portrayal should be the most important aspects to
This piece is all about character, character, character! That is what is really
important along with the words. So make sure they are clear and really exaggerate
the consonants.320
When asked to rate the overall difficulty of Songs to the Moon for the average
pianist, Mr. Katz responded that it is slightly above average difficulty, both technically
and in terms of ensemble. He responded that the most challenging aspect of the cycle was
When I asked Ms. von Stade what was most challenging for her, she said the
following:
The transitions are a little tricky, and at one point I thought it would be fun to say
the title of the song before each song. I think you might consider sitting on a stool
and pretending that you are singing for children, so that everything can be a little
larger than life.322
Mr. Katz thinks her idea is an interesting possibility. He says speaking the titles
before all the songs, with the exception of the first one, could be helpful in setting each
In my practicing, I sang through the song cycle both with the spoken titles and
without. I came to the conclusion that I preferred it without speaking the titles. Part of the
reason for my decision had to do with the opening measures in songs 4 and 6. Because
these measures have music that is different from the music that follows, the singer can
give the impression, as Mr. Katz suggested, that she is still coming up with the idea for
320
Heggie, coaching session.
321
Katz, e-mail.
322
Frederica von Stade, e-mail to author, 17 Jan 2002.
323
Katz, e-mail.
145
the next story. If the singer speaks the titles before the song, it wouldn’t make sense that
she would be coming up with the idea after the fact. Since I enjoyed having this dramatic
tool at my disposal, I decided not to speak the titles. Also, since the audience would have
a program, they would already know what’s coming next, so speaking the titles might
prove to be redundant. Each performer should decide which approach works best for her.
I also decided that it works better for me to stand rather than sit during the song
cycle, with the exception of The Haughty Snail King. Because the singer is acting
intoxicated, pulling up a stool for support makes sense for this character. This prop
helped me to keep my body relatively stable while acting drunk. For the other songs, it
felt more comfortable to remain standing, especially from a vocal standpoint. This is
The final question I put to Ms. von Stade in our e-mail interview was, “What
advice would you give to a young mezzo planning to perform this song cycle?” Here is
her response.
Jake has made the colors evident in his music, and the poetry is so simple and
accessible. All that the singer really needs to do is just tell the stories and it will
work…Above and beyond all, have fun!!! If you do, everyone else will. This
cycle can be very touching as well, so really relish those moments.324
324
von Stade, e-mail.
146
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brenner, Rica. Poets of Our Time. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1941.
Camp, Dennis, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1 Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River
Poetry Press, 1984.
Camp, Dennis, ed. The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 3 Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River
Poetry Press, 1984.
Chusid, Irwin. “Raymond Scott: Accidental Music For Animated Mayhem.” Animation
World Magazine. Issue 4.4, July 1999.
“Classical Review of Jake Heggie: The Faces of Love.” USA Today 28 Sept. 1999. 1970.
Dennis Camp, Dennis. Introduction, The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay, vol. 1, ed. Dennis
Camp. Peoria, Illinois: Spoon River Poetry Press, 1984. xx-xxii.
Flanagan, John T. “Vachel Lindsay: An Appraisal,” Profile of Vachel Lindsay. Ed. John
T. Flanagan. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1970.
114-122.
147
Gorman, Herbert S. “Vachel Lindsay: Evangelist of Poetry.” Profile of Vachel Lindsay.
Ed. John T. Flanagan. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company,
1970. 10-15.
Gray, Paul H. “Performance and the Bardic Ambition of Vachel Lindsay.” Text and
Performance Quarterly 9 (1989): 216.
Hall, Donald. To Read a Poem. 2nd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College
Publishers, 1992.
Heggie, Jake. The Faces of Love: The Songs of Jake Heggie, book 2. Milwaukee:
Associated Music Publishers, Inc., 2000.
Kimball, Carol. Song: A Guide to Style & Literature. Seattle: Pst…Inc., 1996.
Lindsay, Vachel. Adventures Rhymes and Designs. Ed. Robert F. Sayre. New York:
Eakins, 1968.
Lindsay, Vachel. Letters of Vachel Lindsay. Ed. Marc Chénetier. New York: Burt
Franklin, 1979.
Mermelstein, David. “He’s Got a Song in His Art.” Los Angeles Times 10 Nov. 1996:
54.
Moses, W.R. “Vachel Lindsay: Ferment of the Poet’s Mind.” Profile of Vachel Lindsay.
Ed. John T. Flanagan. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrel Publishing Co., 1970.
Osborne, Richard. Liner notes. Pelléas et Mélisande. By Claude Debussy. CD. Berlin
Philharmonic, 1978.
148
Ruggles, Eleanor. The West-Going Heart: A Life of Vachel Lindsay. New York: W.W.
Norton and Company Inc., 1959.
Savage, Tom. “High Scorers: Jake Heggie.” Opera News Jan. 2000: 11-13.
Sayre, Robert F. “Vachel Lindsay: An Essay.” Adventures Rhymes and Designs. Ed.
Robert F. Sayre New York: Eakins, 1968.
von Rhein, John. “Von Stade beguiles with the charm, candor of her singing.” Chicago
Tribune 22 Aug. 1998 1:22.
Ward, John. “Walking to Wagon Mound: Composing Booth.” Western Hum Rev 40 (Fall
1986): 230-244.
INTERNET RESOURCES:
Blue, Robert Wilder. “Composer’s First Opera Is a Triumph.” U.S. Operaweb July 2000
<http://www.usoperaweb.com/2001/july/heggie.html>.
149
APPENDIX A
Ernst Bacon was an American composer who was born May 26, 1898 and died
March 16, 1990. He was the recipient of three Guggenheim Fellowships and a Pulitzer
Prize for his First Symphony. His body of works includes symphonies, piano concertos,
chamber music, ballets and more than 250 songs. He also wrote several books about
music. His chief aim as a composer was to express the spirit of America in music as
Whitman, Emerson, Melville and others did in literature. According to the New Grove
Dictionary of American Music, Bacon is best known for his songs, especially his settings
of texts by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, which show sensitivity to the color and
Canadian-born Johana Harris was a gifted piano performer and teacher whose
career spanned almost 70 years. She performed on more than 200 recordings, was seen on
television productions, composed piano works and accompaniments for folk song
collections and was a devoted teacher of hundreds of advanced piano students, including
her second husband, composer Jake Heggie.325 She attended conservatories in Canada,
325
Stephen M. Fry, “Johana Harris: IN Memoriam (1913-1995),” International Alliance for
Women in Music Journal, June 1996 48-49.
150
New York and Berlin, and was the youngest student to be accepted at Julliard in the mid-
1920s. In 1928 she was appointed as a faculty assistant before her 16th birthday. She
taught piano at Cornell and other institutions, and in 1969 she came to UCLA. She met
and married composer Roy Harris while at Julliard. Their marriage lasted 43 years until
Composer Raymond Scott was born in Brooklyn on September 10, 1908 and died
February 8, 1994. His name at birth was Harry Warnow, but he changed his name early
in his career. As a child, he was gifted on the piano and fascinated with the subject of
One of the musical inventions he created is the Clavivox, which is a keyboard that allows
Scott was the leader of the Raymond Scott Quintette (RSQ) from 1937-1939. The
group consisted of six musicians including Scott, who played the piano, and five others
who played sax, clarinet, trumpet, drums and bass. They performed Scott’s original
compositions and were extremely popular on the radio, as well as the concert stage. He
also wrote musical scores for several films. Scott scholar, Irwin Chusid, wrote:
His music was difficult to categorize, drawing on jazz, pop, classical, ethnic, and
fourth dimensional elements. Although the RSQ sold millions of 78s, they were
not highly regarded by jazz purists, one of whom dismissed their offerings as
“screwy, kittenish pseudo-jazz.”328
326
Fry 48-49.
327
Chusid, Animation World Magazine.
328
Chusid, Animation World Magazine.
151
Scott’s song titles were very descriptive and as unusual as the compositions
themselves. Some titles include Dinner Music For a Pack of Hungry Cannibals, New
Many of Scott’s tunes are easily recognizable because they were used extensively
in Warner Brothers cartoons. In 1943 the studio’s music director, Carl Stalling, began
using adaptations of Scott’s Quintette compositions to underscore the Looney Tunes and
Merrie Melodies animated shorts. In time his music became synonymous with cartoons
329
Chusid, Animation World Magazine.
152
APPENDIX B
STYLE SHEET
MELODY
• phrase length alternates between long and flowing and short and jazzy (chromatic),
passages
• uses text painting, spoken text, vocal scatting, and unaccompanied singing
HARMONY
RHYTHM
• tempo markings included in most songs along with descriptive phrases indicative of
mood
• songs are written in simple, compound, and irregular meter, and many of his more
153
• vocal lines contain relatively simple rhythms
• uses syncopation, dotted rhythms, accents, ostinati in order to set the mood or reinforce
text
ACCOMPANIMENT
• textures are generally light and clear but will thicken to enhance the drama of the text
• uses melodic and rhythmic motives that recur throughout the song
• uses a wide range of traditional and contemporary poets, including Hart Crane, Paul
Laurence Dunbar, A.E. Housman, Amy Lowell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy
Parker, Rainer Maria Rilke, Siegfried Sassoon, Sir Philip Sydney, Maya Angelou,
Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, Kevin Gregory, John Hall, Philip Littell, Armistead Maupin,
Heather McDonald, Terrence McNally, Sister Helen Prejean, Gini Savage, Frederica
• musical settings follow the natural flow and rhythm of text, but occasionally
FORM
154
APPENDIX C
OPERA
My Grandmother’s Love Letters (2000) Full chorus (SATB) and orchestra; poetry
by Hart Crane
I Shall Not Live In Vain (1995, rev. 1998) Mezzo-soprano solo with girls chorus
(SA), hand bells and piano; poetry by
Emily Dickinson
155
Faith Disquiet (1987) SATB chorus a cappella; three poems by
Emily Dickinson
Soprano
Songs and Sonnets to Ophelia (1999) Four songs for soprano; text by Heggie
and Edna St. Vincent Millay
Mezzo-Soprano
The Deepest Desire (2002) Four songs for mezzo-soprano, flute and
piano; text by Sister Helen Perjean
Countertenor
Medium Voice
156
Baritone
The Moon Is a Mirror (2001) Five songs for baritone and piano (three
songs orchestrated for full orchestra);
poetry by Vachel Lindsay
On the Road to Christmas (1996) Seven songs for mezzo-soprano and string
orchestra; texts by various authors
Three Folk Songs (1994, orch. 1997) Three songs for mezzo-soprano and full
orchestra
From Emily’s Garden (1999) Four songs for soprano with flute, violin
and cello; poetry by Emily Dickinson
Before the Storm (1998) Four songs for mezzo-soprano, cello and
piano; texts by various authors
My True Love Hath My Heart (1996) Song for soprano, cello and piano (also
arranged as a duet for soprano, mezzo,
cello and piano); poetry by Sir Philip
Sidney
157
Individual Songs with Piano
My True Love Hath My Heart (1996) Song for soprano; poetry by Sir Philip
Sidney
Ample Make This Bed (1999) Individual songs for soprano; poetry by
The Sun Kept Setting (1999) Emily Dickinson
It Makes No Difference Abroad (1998)
I Shall Not Live in Vain (1995)
As Well as Jesus? (1995)
At Last, to Be Identified! (1995)
If You Were Coming in the Fall (1987)
Why Do I Love You, Sir? (1987)
Here, Where the Daisies Fit My Head (1987)
In Lands I Never Saw (1987)
She Sweeps with Many-Colored Brooms (1987)
All That I Do (1987)
White in the Moon (1990) Song for medium voice; poetry by A.E.
Housman
To Say Before Going to Sleep (1988) Song for medium voice; poetry by Rainer
Maria Rilke
158
APPENDIX D
DISCOGRAPHY
Dead Man Walking – A Complete Live Recording of the World Premiere at San
Francisco Opera (ERATO), 2000. Patrick Summers conducts the San Francisco Opera
Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Susan Graham (Sister Helen), John Packard (Joseph
de Rocher), Frederica von Stade (Joseph’s Mother), and others.
The Faces of Love – The Songs of Jake Heggie (BMG/RCA Victor 63484), 1999.
Features Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, Jennifer Larmore, Frederica von Stade, Nicolle
Foland, Zheng Cao, Kristin Clayton, Carol Vaness, Brian Asawa, Jake Heggie, piano and
Emil Miland, cello.
Holy the Firm – Essay for Cello and Orchestra, 2002. World Premiere recorded live at
Oakland’s Paramount Theater. Emil Miland, cellist and the Oakland East Bay Symphony,
Michael Morgan, conducting.
159