Heaven-Ravaged Song: Three Musical Settings
of Paul Celan's ''Psalm'' 
(.pdf)
(Ph.D. Dissertation, 2007)
[Left-click to open / Right-click to save]
Abstract:
This essay compares and contrasts three musical settings of a poem by Paul Celan entitled “Psalm,” from the 1963 collection, Die Niemandsrose.
Compositions by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Giya Kancheli, and Heinz Holliger are analyzed with special emphasis on the connections between musical text
setting, sonic atmosphere, and the thematic content of Celan’s poetry. Through a discussion of the poet’s life and work, aspects of his experience as
a survivor of the Holocaust become relevant as themes for musical consideration. These themes include confrontation and ritual incantation (Birtwistle),
loss and lament (Kancheli), and deconstruction and speechlessness (Holliger). It is the goal of this essay to examine the influence of Celan’s poetry on
these three composers, in order to reveal how their music enhances, illustrates, transmits, and/or interacts with Celan’s poetic voice. Also included is
a comprehensive list of contemporary composers who have set the poetry of Paul Celan.
