For Allen Sapp, the lute was a rich word, referring to an instrument and beautiful performer in 15th to 17th-century art, inviting the composer with its pure, musical, and resonant sound.
Composition History
Allen Sapp composed three song cycles, including "The Lady and the Lute" and "Nursery Rhymes," during the summer of 1952 while housesitting in Boston.
Compositional Technique
In his 1983 work "Affliction," Allen Sapp sets the climactic final song to the melody and transformed harmony of J. S. Bach's "Komm, süßer Tod," in counterpoint with his own ascending melodic lines.
Performer Biography
Chelsea Hart Melcher, the soprano on this album, is the Director of Opera and Musical Theater at Capital University Conservatory of Music and co-founder of Red School of Music.
Composer Biography
Allen Sapp, the composer, studied with notable figures like Walter Piston, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger.
Interpretation
Allen Sapp preferred piano accompaniment for "The Lady and the Lute" because the harpsichord lacked the necessary 'bite' and sustaining quality for the keyboard part's harmonic nature.
Notable Performances
The first performance of Allen Sapp's "Herrick songs" (The Lady and the Lute) was in 1952 at Harvard, with soprano Jean Lunn and Norma Sapp on piano.
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