The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
1996
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243520112 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu12435201122021-08-03T05:56:05Z The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre Strader, Nikola Dale <p>Benjamin Britten's War Requiem (1962) has been viewed by several scholars (e.g., Peter Evans, Michael Kennedy, and Arnold Whittall) as a culmination of sorts, a compositional and stylistic high point after which his later works would be composed and heard in new ways. Britten's stunning and effective handling of the opposition of two languages, the skillful juxtaposition of Wilfred Owen's war poems with the texts of the Requiem Mass, and the deft coordination of three soloists, two choirs, and two orchestras were tributes to his compositional genius. Under the circumstances, it was almost inevitable that War Requiem would be regarded as a turning point; whether it was at the same time a culmination is one of the questions that this dissertation addresses.</p><p>To determine where War Requiem stands within Britten's stylistic development, several characteristics of his style (e.g., specific textual themes, extensive motivic recall and development, variation forms, semitonal and tritonal relationships, and non-serial manipulation of twelve-tone aggregates) have been identified in works spanning his entire career. The stylistic portrait thus produced has been as a framework within which an analysis of the texts, text-music relationships, and other musical characteristics present in War Requiem could be conducted.</p><p>Comparison of the traits of War Requiem with the larger picture of Britten's style reveals that War Requiem cannot be considered a culminating point or "watershed." Instead, it is a highly impressive, emotionally-charged masterpiece that falls squarely within a stylistic development that continually sought new ways of synthesizing musical techniques from a variety of sources with lifelong personal ideals and convictions.</p> 1996 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243520112 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243520112 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| author |
Strader, Nikola Dale |
| spellingShingle |
Strader, Nikola Dale The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| author_facet |
Strader, Nikola Dale |
| author_sort |
Strader, Nikola Dale |
| title |
The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| title_short |
The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| title_full |
The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| title_fullStr |
The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The stylistic placement of War Requiem in Benjamin Britten's Oeuvre |
| title_sort |
stylistic placement of war requiem in benjamin britten's oeuvre |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
1996 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243520112 |
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