Download The interaction of text and music and its implication on the

The interaction of text and music and its implication on the performance of the song O
Pato (1993) by Ernst Mahle
Eliana Asano Ramos, Institute of Arts/Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Maria José Dias Carrasqueira de Moraes, Institute of Arts/Universidade Estadual de
Campinas
This poster is part of an ongoing doctoral thesis and has as main objective to present a
study of the interaction of text and music, and its implication on the performance of the song
O Pato/The Duck (1993), written by Brazilian composer Ernst Mahle with text by Vinicius de
Moraes (1913-1980), exponent of the Brazilian modernist literary movement. The analytical
approach has influence from the analysis model of the lieder proposed by Stein and Spillman
(1996), whose focus is the interaction of text, music and interpretative aspects. Musical
analysis has theoretical basis on Schoenberg (2008). Naturalized Brazilian, Ernst Mahle was
born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1929, and has been in Brazil since 1951. In Europe, he studied
with Johann Nepomuk David (1895-1987), with whom he acquired a solid base of harmony
and counterpoint. In Brazil, he was a student and assistant of the German composer HansJoachim Koellreutter (1915-2005), with whom he became acquainted with the new aspects of
modern composition, such as atonality, twelve-tone technique, concrete and electronic music.
He returned to Europe a few times more to study composition with Ernst Krenek (19001991), Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) and Wolfgang Fortner (1907-1987). Along the years,
Mahle started abandoning the avant-garde techniques and incorporating elements of the
Brazilian folklore. The resulting data, show a deep concern of the composer to combine text
and music, and offer significant subsidies for the performance of the song. The work
proposes a reflection on the analysis and performance of the twentieth century song, and
contributes to the dissemination of Brazilian music. For being an active composer in the
Brazilian music scene, the work becomes even more significant considering Mahle's
personal contribution, providing his personal files, giving interviews and clarifying
information. Supported by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foudantion).
REFERENCES
Mahle, Ernst. 1993. O Pato. Piracicaba: Manuscript.
Moraes, Vinicius. 1970. Poemas Infantis de Vinicius de Moraes: A arca de Noé. Rio de
Janeiro: Sabiá.
Schoenberg, Arnold. 2008. Fundamentos da Composição Musical. Trans. Eduardo Seincman.
São Paulo: EDUSP.
Stein, Deborah, and Robert Spillman. 1996. Poetry into Song: Performance and Analysis of
Lieder. New York: Oxford University Press.