Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben: The Transformative Power of Music and Text

 

In this early Valentine’s Day offering at Green College, Catherine Bartlett and Emily Logan will explore the transforming power of word and music in Schumann’s 1840 setting of Adalbert von Chamisso’s cycle of poems, Frauenliebe und Leben (“A Woman’s Love and Life”). Schumann’s careful setting of the poems allows both the piano and voice to unite as conveyers of heartfelt emotion. Moreover, the poems transformed his compositional style. The presenters will talk about the work’s meaning and historical context, and the musical elements that enable audiences viscerally to experience the alterations of a self through the power of love. The complete song cycle will be performed live.

Soprano, Catherine Bartlett (née Fitch), from Moncton, NB has had an extensive career as a soloist, director and teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education from Mount Allison University and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from UBC where she studied with Prof. Donald Brown. She has performed across Canada, in the UK and USA and has adjudicated music festivals and competitions in Atlantic Canada.

Emily Logan is currently a student in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance program at the University of British Columbia, where she studies solo piano with Dr. Terence Dawson and Collaborative Piano with Professor Rena Sharon. Emily received a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Music from Mount Allison University. As a performer, she has given solo, collaborative, and chamber music recitals, and was guest artist and lecturer at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in March 2015. Her research interests lie in the area of performance psychology and musician injury prevention.

 

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