"My songs are my diary" : an investigation of biographical content in the Köstlin settings of Josephine Lang
Date
2001
Authors
Krebs, Sharon
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Abstract
The German Lied composer Josephine Lang ( 1815-1880) is frequently quoted as having said that her songs are her diary . Although this statement has coloured virtually all analytical work on her songs, it has not been subjected to a critical and thorough evaluation. Focusing on Lang 's settings of her husband ' s poems, this thesis investigates the following: 1) Lang's verbal notes on the song manuscripts as a diary in the literal sense; 2) Lang's choice of texts for her songs; 3) the significance of Lang's textual modifications of the poems she set; and, 4) the biographical inferences that may be drawn from the music of Lang' s songs. Lang' s entries in her "song diary" range from straightforward to veiled. By examining four possibilities for making entries in a "song diary" and by synthesizing information from a number of previously unexplored primary sources, a number of new insights into Lang' s life and work are gained. The thesis fills gaps in her biography; corrects errors in earlier writings about Lang; demonstrates the complexity of her text selection; presents groups of songs with particular biographical significance; and uncovers information about Lang 's critical stance, her convictions and her perceptions. Lang's famous statement is shown to be true on a number of levels.