Doctoral Dissertation Against the Grain: Modernism and the American Art Song, 1900 to 1950 Thesis Abstract:  Although the art song was a favorite genre for American composers at the turn of the twentieth century, its favor declined rapidly and significantly during and after the 1910s, and for the rest of the first half of the century the genre held a marginalized place in the output of the most significant American composers. Concomitant with this decline in song composition, song publication also declined considerably after 1920, and a significant percentage of the songs published thereafter were authored by composers who specialized in songs and shorter works expressly intended for the domestic song market and written in a conservative musical idiom which appealed to mass audiences. In contrast to these earlier declines, the number of song concerts in New York City and Chicago increased steadily until about 1930, even as the percentage of song concerts to other concerts held steady. After 1930, however, the number and percentage of song concerts in these two cities declined as well. The emergence of modernism on the musical landscape in the United States after 1915 was largely responsible for the decline in song publication and composition. Among other things, musical modernism valorized dissonance, melodic fragmentation, and objectivity; these characteristics ran counter to the largely Romantic orientation of the art song with its long-spun lyricism and subjectivity. As a revision of current thought, this study broadens the accepted corpus of modernist composers to include neo-Romantics such as Samuel Barber whose music retained an essentially Romantic character but was frequently imbued with modernistic elements. This study also shows that composers in certain stylistic, professional, and demographic categories wrote songs in significantly greater numbers those in others. For example, in looking at the total song output of over 100 American and transplanted composers, there was a direct correlation between musical style and song production; the more progressive a composer's musical style, the fewer songs he authored. In addition to the impact of modernism on the art song, these declines were also exacerbated by the art song's close association with other song types which lowered the art song's aesthetic credentials. Outline Prologue: General Introduction and Definition       Previous Work on the Subject       Defining the Art Song PART I: BACKGROUND Chapter One: Modernism and the Arts in Early Twentieth-Century America       Defining Modernism       Modernist Art       Modernist Literature       Modernist Music       Conclusions Chapter Two: History of the Art Song and its Reception in the United States       The Beginnings of Cultivated Art Music in the United States       The Emergence of Women Composers       Conclusions PART II: EVIDENCE OF THE AMERICAN ART SONG'S DECLINE Chapter Three: Song Recitals and the American Art Song       A Glance at Recital Reviews by Notable Critics       The Audience's Passion for Star Singers       Song Concerts in New York City       Song Concerts in Chicago       Conclusions Chapter Four: Musical Organizations and the Programming of Art Songs       American Music Guild       International Composers Guild       League of Composers       Pro Musica in Detroit       New Music Society       The Federal Music Project of the Works Progress Administration       Conclusions Chapter Five: The Composition and Publication of Art Songs in the United States       Songs Published by G. Schirmer       Songs by Significant American Composers       Songs by Major European Composers       Conclusions PART III: COMPOSER CLASSIFICATIONS, SONG OUTPUT, AND CONCLUSIONS Chapter Six: Art Song Composition by Major Composers in the United States       Classification by Musical Style       Classification by Profession       Classification by Demographic Category       Classification by Birth Year       All Categories Combined       A Glance at the Most Prolific Individuals       Published Versus Unpublished Songs       Conclusions Chapter Seven: Art Songs by the Composers Whose Songs Were Published Most Frequently       Classification by Musical Style       Classification by Profession       Classification by Demographic Category       Classification by Birth Year       All Categories Combined       A Glance at the Most Prolific Individuals       Conclusions Chapter Eight: Reasons for the Art Song's Decline       The Decline in Art Song Publication       Aesthetic Conflicts Between Modernism and Romanticism       Modernist Music and the Art Song       Modernist Poetry and the Art Song       Art Song Accessibility and the Modernist Aesthetic       The Art Song's Association with Lower Forms of Song       Conclusions APPENDICES Appendix A: Concerts Scheduled in the New York Times and    Chicago Tribune, 1900 to 1950 Appendix B: Songs Appearing on Concerts Presented by Musical    Organizations, 1922 to 1950 Appendix C: Songs Published by G. Schirmer, 1900 to 1950    According to Records in the OCLC Database Appendix D: Composer Song Output and Demographic Tables Appendix E: Demographic Data on the Composers Most Frequently    Published by G. Schirmer, 1900 to 1950 Click on the Appendix button below to view the charts and tables found in this study.  If you have any comments, suggestions, or further bibliographic information that you think would be helpful, please email me at Amlien@LienHome.net. Thank you! Home Biography Résumé Appendix Links