The poetics of the Lied in the songs in Portuguese by Alberto Nepomuceno: Mater dolorosa, Op. 14, no. 1

Abstract

The present article results from a research work which aims to deepen the perspective by which one can recognize the presence of the romantic Lied in the songs in Portuguese by Alberto Nepomuceno (1864–1920), showing that it is possible to identify, in a significant portion of them, a poetic notion inherited from that model. In order to establish a poetics of the Lied genre, different categories of musical expression are taken into account. They range from those that can be observed in the foreground level, such as melodic figures and local harmonies, to those that emerge from deeper connections between musical structure and the poem. This article discusses some of the main features of such poetic notion as well as an analysis of Nepomuceno’s song Mater dolorosa, op. 14 no. 1.

Keywords: Lied; Brazilian music; Alberto Nepomuceno