In everyday conversations about music, “song” is a term used rather loosely. The way people talk, it seems to apply to any sort of music we care to refer to.
However, when it comes to classical music, the word “song” gets a bit more specific. And this form of music is something identifiable enough for UCLA faculty composer Mark Carlson to say that it changed his musical life.
On Thursday, Carlson will have a chance to share this lesser known aspect of classical music in a concert of chamber music entitled “Chamber Music Songs and Other Pleasures.” After requests to head the programming of this performance, Carlson figured it would make sense to highlight an aspect of music that has been so inspiring during his career.
So what makes song a unique aspect of chamber music? First off, and most obviously, songs are sung. While much of classical music is of the purely abstract instrumental variety, songs focus on a verbal text, often a poem that moved the composer. Setting these words to melodies structures the form of the piece, and gives the music much of its meaning. And instead of focusing only on instrumental motives and moods, the composer of a song will spend most of his or her time trying to capture the essence of the words with music.
While still a young composer in graduate school, and one with nebulous goals and inspirations, Carlson was introduced to songs by a professor, and the effects have been lasting.
“I don’t want to say I was forced, because I enjoyed it, but a mentor had me listen to Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, and Ravel. I was 21 or so, and very suggestible, so these songs just entered my consciousness. (My teacher) had me write one of my own, and in that one piece, I just blossomed,” Carlson said. “Before that, I had no real direction as a composer.”
Some evidence of this impact is provided by Carlson’s own contribution to the program, his song cycle “Night will Blossom.” Although he laughingly notes that themes of aging may not be exactly what college students have on their minds, the cycle should provide a rather interesting introduction to the form.
It’s based on six poems, each concerned in some way with emotions related to the culmination of something, whether it be life, the seasons (e.g. autumn) or otherwise. With poems ranging from ancient Chinese ruminations about the loneliness of autumn to a celebratory Walt Whitman work to Maya Angelou’s take on October’s ability to bring new beginnings, the piece is a flowing change in perspective.
“The fourth song is a really transitional moment in the piece, which starts to paint aging as a terrible time when you lose everything you care about. But then, acceptance allows you to “˜make night blossom,'” Carlson said.
The concert will feature the works of other composers that shows they tackled just the same sort of challenges Carlson does, as well as riding similar inspirations. Included are works by Ravel, Samuel Barber, and Brahms. Two professor emeriti of UCLA, Elaine R. Barkin and Paul des Marais, will contribute the concert’s instrumental music.
Consistent with Carlson’s musical thoughts about the passage of time are the varied ages and experience levels of the performers. On some pieces, students will perform with faculty members, providing a chance for the students to grow alongside more experienced musicians. Yet this passing of knowledge is not one-sided, as Carlson notes.
“This is good for both sides, because the students benefit from the experience of the faculty, but the faculty gain new perspectives and freshness from the students.”
A difficulty that arises with composing to poetry ““ rather than composing for its own sake ““ is preserving that nature of the poem. Carlson notes the presence of this difficulty when it comes to both meaning and rhythm.
“Some really lyrical poems are very hard to set to music, because they are already so musical. It’s hard to find anything to add ““ a poet like this is Shakespeare,” Carlson said.
And although poems, and therefore songs, have a sort of automatic meaning that comes from their text, it is a challenge to interpret which aspects of a poem should be translated into music. The ambiguity and complexity of much poetry creates a twofold challenge: doing justice to the original intent and also making decisions about which aspects of the poem come out.
“It is challenging but fun to deal with the different kinds of meaning you can get from a good poem’s complexity, especially since you have to make decisions about what it means,” Carlson said.
But this is just the kind of challenge for someone whose favorite instrument is the human voice. Whether it’s the Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald or his own attempts, Carlson finds the human voice to be intensely expressive in a unique way.
“As human beings, we can all use our voices this way literally or potentially ““ it’s such a part of ourselves.”