LITTLE WOMEN, LONG SHADOWS: AN ART SONG RENAISSANCE INSPIRED BY EMILY DICKINSON AND AMY LOWELL TEXTS, REIMAGINED THROUGH A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY DIGITAL LENS

Abstract

Art songs are an expression of our innate humanity. They capture the hearts and minds of audiences from all walks of life. It is with thoughtful employment of twenty-first century technology used to deliver timeless texts and music that artists today can reach a broader viewership than ever before. This project explores strategies of audience engagement and technological integration in performance, delivered through the literary legacies of nineteenth century American female poets: Emily Dickinson and Amy Lowell. Though social outliers in their own lifetimes, today these women are considered trailblazers of their craft. This dissertation consists of two live lecture recitals of monodramas by Judith Shatin and Steven Lebetkin, and a webinar series of video performances available on YouTube with works by Robert Baksa, Aaron Copland, John Duke, Juliana Hall, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Edie Hill, Lori Laitman, Libby Larsen, Emily Lau, Andre Previn, and Richard Pearson Thomas. Beyond the bounds of academia, classical art song is perceived as a niche interest. Many of the barriers preventing a more wide-spread commercial interest in classical art song performance were brought into high relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, when performance practices pivoted to largely remote “live-streaming” rather than in-person audiences. This project confronts barriers of access to and engagement with classical art song by repackaging performances in a format idiomatic to digital consumption.