Griegs swan songs

In light of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's frequent & bitter complaints regarding the translation of the Norwegian poems he set to music, coupled with his need for them to be performed in major European centers, existing German, French, & English vocal translations of one such so...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Semiotica 2002-01, Vol.142 (142), p.153-210
Main Author: Gorlee, Dinda L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Classical music
Composers
Edvard Grieg
Language
Linguistics
Semiotics
Songs
Translation
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Summary:In light of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's frequent & bitter complaints regarding the translation of the Norwegian poems he set to music, coupled with his need for them to be performed in major European centers, existing German, French, & English vocal translations of one such song, Henrik Ibsen's "En Svane" (A Swan), are critically examined in the framework of Charles Sanders Peirce's theory of semiosis with attention to intertextual differences in diachronic & diaspatial dynamics of performability. Linguistic problems arising from structural differences between Norwegian & the target languages include accent shift due to the replacement of suffixed articles with proclitics, the varying availability of suitable lexical equivalents that preserve themes of mystery & sadness conveyed by specific consonant & vowel assonances, & the semantic & aesthetic effects of groupings of words within melodic units. Comparison of early & recent translations also reveals an increasing divergence from the cultural context of Grieg's songs. 107 References. J. Hitchcock
ISSN:0037-1998
1613-3692
DOI:10.1515/semi.2002.071