Milton Babbitt's Philomel
Encyclopedia
Philomel, a serial composition composed in 1964, combines synthesizer
with both live and recorded soprano voice. It is Milton Babbitt
’s best-known work and was planned as a piece for performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, funded by the Ford Foundation
and commissioned for soprano
Bethany Beardslee
. Babbitt created Philomel in the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Center, of which he was a founding member.
’s myth of Philomela, a maiden without the capability of speech, her escape from King Tereus
, and her transformation into a nightingale. In the second section, John Hollander
, the librettist, has Philomel communicate with some of the inhabitants of the woods in echo verse. In fact, Hollander had written a book on Echo Poetry, so the section is written not in straight echo but in very elaborate and intricate poetry. The third section is a series of five arias where Philomel finally regains her voice and sings about her life.
John Hollander, a poet at Yale University
, wrote the libretto
for Babbitt under specific conditions – it would be for solo soprano and would be performed with at least four sets of speakers around the performance hall. Essentially, Babbitt would record the soprano’s voice and edit it through a synthesizer.
To produce the piece, Babbitt had to create the sounds from the synthesizer. Then he had to tape the soprano voice in sections, however, for a large portion of the time, she sang straight but answered herself as she was recorded. The vocal part was fairly straight-forward since the soprano was producing the part within the confines of the human voice, but Babbitt wrote for Beardsley in a way that he could not have written otherwise because so much of it depended on what was happening electronically. Philomel was written, as most of Babbitt’s music was, on four tracks, with the set-up for the recording at the Macmillan Theatre. The piece could not have been attempted with live performers.
According to Milton Babbitt himself, “I could produce things faster than any pianist could play or any listener could hear. We were able to work with greater speeds. That was one of the things that interested me the most - the timbre, the rhythmic aspect. And we learned a great deal. It was an analog device and it was given digital information and switching instructions…passing over very expensive gold wires that scanned the information and then recorded it on tape. I could change certain qualities of a tone while keeping other qualities, like the pitch, consistent.”
New ways of combining musical and verbal expression were devised by the composer and poet such as: music is as articulate as language and language (Philomel’s thoughts) is transformed into music (the nightingale’s song). The work is an almost endless range of similarities and differences between speech and song, and word-music puns which were not achievable without the use of the synthesizer.
The composition is "a re-interpretation of a scena drammatica with its distinct recitative
—arioso
—aria
layout".
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
with both live and recorded soprano voice. It is Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
’s best-known work and was planned as a piece for performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, funded by the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and commissioned for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Bethany Beardslee
Bethany Beardslee
Bethany Beardslee is an American soprano particularly noted for her performances of contemporary classical music....
. Babbitt created Philomel in the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Center, of which he was a founding member.
Synopsis
The three sections of the piece are based on OvidOvid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
’s myth of Philomela, a maiden without the capability of speech, her escape from King Tereus
Tereus
In Greek mythology, Tereus was a Thracian king, the son of Ares and husband of Procne. Procne and Tereus had a son, Itys.Tereus desired his wife's sister, Philomela. He forced himself upon her, then cut her tongue out and held her captive so she could never tell anyone. He told his wife that her...
, and her transformation into a nightingale. In the second section, John Hollander
John Hollander
John Hollander is a Jewish-American poet and literary critic. As of 2007, he is Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University...
, the librettist, has Philomel communicate with some of the inhabitants of the woods in echo verse. In fact, Hollander had written a book on Echo Poetry, so the section is written not in straight echo but in very elaborate and intricate poetry. The third section is a series of five arias where Philomel finally regains her voice and sings about her life.
Methods of composition
The piece, an example of combined live performance with tape, was one of the first compositions on the synthesizer and shows Babbitt’s use of the human voice as an integral part of the beginning of the electronic genre.John Hollander, a poet at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, wrote the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
for Babbitt under specific conditions – it would be for solo soprano and would be performed with at least four sets of speakers around the performance hall. Essentially, Babbitt would record the soprano’s voice and edit it through a synthesizer.
To produce the piece, Babbitt had to create the sounds from the synthesizer. Then he had to tape the soprano voice in sections, however, for a large portion of the time, she sang straight but answered herself as she was recorded. The vocal part was fairly straight-forward since the soprano was producing the part within the confines of the human voice, but Babbitt wrote for Beardsley in a way that he could not have written otherwise because so much of it depended on what was happening electronically. Philomel was written, as most of Babbitt’s music was, on four tracks, with the set-up for the recording at the Macmillan Theatre. The piece could not have been attempted with live performers.
According to Milton Babbitt himself, “I could produce things faster than any pianist could play or any listener could hear. We were able to work with greater speeds. That was one of the things that interested me the most - the timbre, the rhythmic aspect. And we learned a great deal. It was an analog device and it was given digital information and switching instructions…passing over very expensive gold wires that scanned the information and then recorded it on tape. I could change certain qualities of a tone while keeping other qualities, like the pitch, consistent.”
New ways of combining musical and verbal expression were devised by the composer and poet such as: music is as articulate as language and language (Philomel’s thoughts) is transformed into music (the nightingale’s song). The work is an almost endless range of similarities and differences between speech and song, and word-music puns which were not achievable without the use of the synthesizer.
The composition is "a re-interpretation of a scena drammatica with its distinct recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
—arioso
Arioso
In classical music, arioso is a style of solo opera singing between recitative and aria. Literally, arioso means airy. The term arose in the 16th century along with the aforementioned styles and monody. It is commonly confused with recitativo accompagnato....
—aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
layout".