Classical Feminist

Glenn Gould's Harem

2008-06-30T22:01:00.007-04:00

I recently purchased the cd pictured, because it was the only recording I could find of Hindemith's Das Marienleben. Glenn Gould was one of the most famous pianists of the 20th century, and he accompanied three vocalists on this recording. I was browsing through the liner notes and skimmed through an article about the many sopranos (and one contralto) that Gould had collaborated with over his career. (It was written by Michael Stegemann and apparently translated by Stewart Spencer.) The title of this short piece was...

A DOZEN DAMES - GLENN GOULD AND HIS FEMALE SINGERS

If I had known better, I would have thought that the article was an overview of Gould's experiences collaborating with other professional musicians (who happened to be women). But the title leads me to believe that Gould is in fact the alpha male in a harem made up of sopranos. A very scary thought.

Another conundrum is this quote from the paragraph on the soprano who recorded Das Marienleben. "Whether Gould ever had an affair with Roxolana Roslak, as his producer Andrew Kazdin and others have indicated, is ultimately irrelevant. What matters is the music itself." Really? Then why mention the possible affair at all?

P.S. What on earth is the male equivalent of the word "dame?" How would this author have titled an article about all the tenors Gould played for?

Very poor taste.

If you're a dead white dude put your hands up (or...I guess not if you're dead)

2008-06-25T22:21:00.007-04:00

We all know our textbooks are full of them. But what about an entire college course that features nothing but dead white men? I took a survey music history class last semester, and I was just archiving my notes when I noticed the overwhelming dead white dude factor. (We did not use these textbooks, by the way. I just used the pictures.)

To be fair, this course attempts to whip through about a thousand years of western music in less than four months. To be fair, we did cover Philip Glass in the last week, and though he is a white man, he is not, in fact, dead. To be fair, our instructor did mention in passing that Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (dead white women) were also talented, just like their more famous husband and brother, respectively.

The instructor explained that there just wasn't time to delve into other areas of music such as women composers, jazz, or ethnomusicology. (I've recently figured out that ethnomusicology means any music that wasn't made by a dead white man. It's also not required coursework for many masters programs.)

The message, in case you missed it: dead white men make the most important music. The other stuff is cool, but we can only talk about it if we have time left to kill.

Who knew cupid was so violent?

2008-06-23T10:28:00.003-04:00

Here's a look at another standard art song called "Nel cor piu non mi sento." This one is short, fun, and accessible to young singers. While it might be hard to argue that the lyrics are misogynist, it's still another example of subtle violence in song lyrics.






No longer do I feel
youth blazing in my heart;
The cause of my torment,
my love, is you!
You sting me, you poke me,
you pinch me, you chew me.
Alas, what is this thing?
Pity, pity, have pity!
My love, it is certain
that you make me despair!

translation by Loretta Casalaina

An anonymous commenter noted, "As a teenager, I always thought it was odd to sing about the pinching, poking and chewing." I would agree. Especially about the chewing!

It's interesting to consider parents' reactions to art songs their kids are learning in a formal setting vs. rock or pop songs that may also contain violent imagery. The "classical" stuff is probably not scrutinized as heavily. (It probably helps too that art songs are often in Italian!)

Thanks for the comment!

Batti, batti (Beat me, beat me)

2008-06-21T17:44:00.014-04:00

My very first blog on my brand new Classical Feminist!

I thought for my first post that I'd return to my very first encounter with blatant misogyny in classical music (or at least the first instance I really paid attention to). The aria "Batti, batti" is probably the reason I got into women's studies.

Mozart's Don Giovanni, according to operaamerica.org, is number seven on their list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America. Composer Charles Gounod called it “a work without blemish, of uninterrupted perfection.” It is just one of many works inspired by the infamous character Don Juan.

From Wikipedia, a very short synopsis:

"Don Giovanni, a young nobleman, after a life of amorous conquests, meets defeat in his three encounters: with Donna Elvira, whom he has deserted but who still follows him; with Donna Anna, whose father, the Commendatore, Giovanni kills in escaping from an unsuccessful attempt at rape and as a result postpones her marriage to Don Ottavio; and with Zerlina, whom he vainly tries to lure from her fiancé, the peasant Masetto. All vow vengeance on the Don and his harassed servant Leporello. Elvira alone weakens in her resolution and attempts reconciliation and hope that the Don reforms. Don Giovanni's destruction and deliverance to hell are effected by the cemetery statue of the Commendatore, who had accepted the libertine's invitation to supper."

Before the "Batti, batti" scene, Don chances upon Zerlina and Masetto's marriage procession. He manages to get himself alone with Zerlina, and Masetto is jealous. Donna Elvira interrupts the near-seduction, and Zerlina attempts later to pacify Masetto with this "charming" aria. This translation is from aria-database.com.

Beat me, dear Masetto,
beat your poor Zerlina.
I'll stand here as meek as a lamb
and bear the blows you lay on me.
You can tear my hair out,
put out my eyes,
yet your dear hands
gladly I'll kiss.
Ah! I see you've no mind to:
let's make peace, dearest love!
In happiness and joy
let's pass our days and nights.

Translation by Camila Argolo Freitas Batista
(camila@infonet.com.br)

My voice teacher asked me to learn this aria last year, and when I looked up the translation I was a bit stunned. I didn't really want to learn or perform it, and I wasn't sure how to handle that with my teacher. Fortunately, all I had to do was focus on my other literature, and my teacher forgot that she had assigned me "Batti, batti." I posted a note on myspace about it, and I got some interesting responses. This one is from a friend's sister, who has a master's in voice from the Boston Conservatory. (I hope she doesn't mind if I quote her here.)

"...with opera, she needs to delve further into the story and characters, not just a superficial read-through. She also needs to consider the attitudes of the time. In that famous aria, Zerlina is playing Massetto like a violin. She knows full well he won't beat her. She's not seriously asking him to. Zerlina manages to wind him around her little finger, and gets exactly what she wants by manipulating him. She's also pretty cagey with rich seducer Don Giovanni. No easy prey, Zerlina! The aria should be sung with that in mind.....flirtatious, conniving....think Lolita! She's a canny peasant girl. She's calling the shots, not those dumb men! Other strong women characters are Dona Elvira and Dona Anna, who pursue Don Giovanni like the proverbially avenging furies. To view the opera Don Giovanni as an exercise of 'poor put upon women' is to woefully misunderstand it."

I completely agree that the aria makes some sense when you consider the time and the context of the story. But unfortunately, in university music programs we are constantly taking arias out of their context. We sing arias for juries, master classes, auditions, etc., and often all we do to introduce them is say who wrote them and which work they came from.

I also agree that Mozart's women are usually clever, and often call the shots from behind the scenes. But even if the aria is just a clever way for the character to get what she wants, you can't deny there is some pretty violent imagery here.

I certainly do not want to censor Mozart in schools. But what bothers me about "Batti, batti" is that it is so frequently assigned to young singers without a second thought, or at least a discussion of the feminist implications. I imagine possibly hundreds of young women who spend possibly hundreds of hours perfecting their technique and memorizing lyrics that ask a man to beat them and gouge out their eyes while they stand there meek as a lamb...you have to admit it's kind of creepy.

I'll leave you with one more gem from the same opera...this one sung by Leperello, Don Giovanni's servant. I think it speaks for itself.

Madamina, il catalogo e' questo

My lady, this is the list
of the beauties that my master has loved;
a list that I made myself;
Look here (and) read with me.
In Italy six hundred and forty;
In Germany two hundred and thirtyone;
One hundred in France, in Turkey ninetyone;
But in Spain there are already a thousand and one.
There are among these peasant girls,
Servants, townspeople,
There are countesses, baronesses,
Marquesses, princesses.
And there are women of every class,
Of every shape, of every age.
With the blondes he usually
Praises their manners,
With the brunettes their faithfulness,
With the gray-haired ones their sweetness.
In the winter he wants the heavy ones,
In the summer he wants the slim ones;
The big ones are majestic,
the little ones are charming.
He goes after the old ones
for the pleasure of putting them on the list;
His overriding passion
are the young beginners (adolescents).
He doesn't care if a woman is rich,
if she's ugly, if she's pretty;
as long as she has a skirt on,
you know what he does.

Translation by Leonora McClernan
(Inday314@aol.com)