This dissertation contextualizes Brahms's vocal quartets within a largely forgotten discourse about Hausmusik that flourished in German-speaking lands in the second half of the nineteenth century. In numerous texts about Hausmusik from ca. 1848-1900, authors conceived the genre as an aesthetically and politically conservative expression of German identity and connected its accessible style to an ideal of social cohesion in the pre-industrial age. Similar issues of national identity and musical style arise in the reception of Brahms's quartets, which, I contend, was informed by the works' generic status as Hausmusik. Critics either praised Brahms's works for their simple, folk-like style or disparaged their complexity, artifice, and foreignness. Ultimately, I argue, Brahms sought to elevate the genre of Hausmusik in his vocal quartets by integrating aesthetic and cultural values associated with this genre with a more sophisticated musical style. The works' stylistic and generic ambiguity and the disparity in critics' responses reveal competing aesthetic, political, and cultural world views immediately before and after German unification. Chapter 2 shows how discourse about Hausmusik constructed German identity in the private sphere by promoting a folk-like aesthetic and accessible musical style over the perceived cosmopolitanism and commercialism of Salonmusik and other repertoires. Chapter 3 investigates the tension between Hausmusik and chamber styles and their associated opposing cultural values. Chapter 4 explores a similar conflict between folk and popular musical styles manifested in reactions to the Liebeslieder, which were interpreted as either Ländler or Viennese waltzes. Finally, chapter 5 demonstrates how reception of the Zigeunerlieder reflects the impulse to define German identity in opposition to a foreign "other" by sharply distinguishing between German and exotic musical styles. By relating these descriptive reviews of Brahms's works to largely prescriptive texts about Hausmusik, I define the genre by delimiting its boundaries and demonstrate the crucial role domestic music-making played in the expression of German identity in the second half of the nineteenth century.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1944297 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Anderson, Robert Michael |
| Contributors | Mondelli, Peter, Berry, Paul, Weber, Christoph |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Anderson, Robert Michael, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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