Faculty Sponsor
Katharina Uhde
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Music, Musicology, History
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-28-2022
Abstract
My research revolves around Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů's (1890-1959) cantata The Field Mass H. 279 (1939) (based on various biblical and poetry by Jiří Mucha). Using the musico-literary concept and existing theories of elegy, this research discusses Martinů's choice of a dark and somber orchestration and timbre, a tonally-centered but post-tonally infused use of harmonic color, as well as military topical associations to argue that Martinů's The Field Mass represents a poignant tribute to those Czech Military Volunteers who put their lives on the line in WW1. Using the concept of Elegy, I aim to unpack the various musical, compositional, poetic, and aesthetic techniques that were employed by Martinu as a composer and Mucha as a librettist in order to better understand the grim nature of war through a poetic perspective of those who were on the front lines of battle, far from home. I want to accomplish this by exploring the relationship between the biblical text and Mucha’s poetry and the unique way in which Martinu paints these texts in a musical way that captures the grim sentiment of such a dark moment in human history. This research takes musicological works by Martinů scholars such as James F. Rybka and Jan Ledeč as well as scholarship on Jiří Mucha as a starting point and brings them together with music-analytical inquiry on the concept of elegy. By doing this research, the piece emerges in a new light particularly with regard to its humanity and creates a beautiful musical tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives for the greater cause of freedom and love of country.
Recommended Citation
Flasch, Zac, "Bohuslav Martinů's Cantata The Field Mass (Polní mše) (1939): A Musical Elegy for Czech Military Volunteers on the French Frontline in WWI" (2022). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1013.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1013
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Zac Flasch is a Junior Music Composition major at Valparaiso University. After performing a piece of music during his freshman year, he became interested in its origin from a historical and compositional standpoint, which led him to research the piece and its composer. Zac plans to attend graduate school after leaving Valpo for music composition.