Grounded: Meaning, metaphor, and folksong reinterpretation in performances of works for voice and guitar
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Research Statement
Research Background
This project involved the curation and creative development of a transnational recital program for guitar and voice exploring the nexus between folksong and art song. It focussed on how folk material or inspiration can ‘ground’ a work with connections to place, breadth of appeal, deeply felt emotion, and interpretative multivalency—endemic within folksong and its metaphors (see Toelken, 1995), and integral to mediation/re-interpretation.
Research Contribution
The performers sought to transcend normative performance traditions and create revisionist versions grounded in an exegetical unpacking of the interaction of text and music, focussing on how composer’s recasting of folk material can suggest alternate meanings. For instance, Britten’s dark setting of “Bonny at Morn” (linked to the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue”) hints at undertones of postnatal depression, enhanced through a targeted aggression of articulation in performance. In de Falla’s Siete canciones, the deeply-felt Andalusian musical roots were underscored with a tinge of anger that drew attention to the underlying metaphor (hinting at the unfair treatment of women). The program was innovative in its global relevancy, leveraging works from England (Britten, Braid), USA (Joni Mitchell), Spain (Tàrrega, de Falla), and Latin America (Brouwer, Villa-Lobos), demonstrating that folk music is both deeply rooted, transnational in appeal, yet culturally mediated.
Research Significance
The project was a collaboration between guitarist Jonathan Paget and renowned soprano Rachelle Durkin (ex the Met, New York), and extended understandings of folksong and multivalency. It occurred by special invitation of Musica Viva Australia, and formed part of their high-profile 2021 national online ‘Discover’ recital series, involving streamed podcasts (by subscription). The event was filmed alongside a live studio audience at Cullen’s Winery (Margaret River), receiving press via SeeSaw Magazine.
Non-Traditional Research Output
Live Performance
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2021
Location of the Work
Margaret River
Publisher
Musica Viva Australia
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
RAS ID
43564
Event Title
Rachelle Durkin and Jonathan Paget
Event Dates
November 29, 2021
Event Venue
Cullen's Wines, Margaret River
Duration
50 mins
Comments
Paget, J., Durkin, R. (2021). Grounded: Meaning, metaphor, and folksong reinterpretation in performances of works for voice and guitar. [video files]. Livestreamed podcast, Cullen's Wines (Margaret River).