Music as Text: Longfellow, Dvorak, and Authenticity By Patricia J. McIntyre, M Ed. The story of Dvorak s career and how he came to be in the United States in 1893 can be a little confusing. Most biographies of the composer state that Dvorak was persuaded to travel to America by Mrs. Jeanette Thurber, a wealthy patron of the arts who offered to pay Dvorak the unheard of sum of $15,000.00 (equivalent to approximatley $385,000.00 in 2012) to be the head of the new National Conservatory of Music in New York. As the story is usually told, Dvorak turned down Mrs. Thurber s offer because he did not want to leave his native Czech home. Already a world-renowned composer, Dvorak had a comfortable life with his wife and seven children, and therefore had little motivation to journey to America. According to most resources, Dvorak eventually was convinced to come to the United States because of the large salary he was offered. An alternate explanation for Dvorak s change of heart, however, is provided by Bolotin and Laing in their extensively researched history, The World s Columbian Exposition. Bolotin and Laing state: In the cultural arena, Anton Dvorak composed his New World Symphony for a production that was to be enacted in a 12,000-seat Spectatorium, with twenty-five moving stages, planned for the exposition. Unfortunately, the sponsor ran out of money after spending $500,000, the building was never finished, and the symphony was never heard at least not at the fair. (158). Dvorak s symphony is nearly always described as having been inspired at least in part by the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha. The poem was translated into Czech in 1869 by a Bohemian writer, J.V.Sladek, during a visit to Caledonia Wisconsin. It is a fact that Dvorak read Sladek s translation of Longfellow s epic when it was published in Prague (1872), long before he came to the United States. Dvorak found the poem deeply inspiring, and he intended to compose an opera based upon the story of Hiawatha. It is believed that the spectacle planned for the Chicago fair was to have been this Native American-inspired opera, and that it was this possibility, not the money of New York s Mrs. Thurber, that drew Dvorak to explore his professional opportunities in America. In the end, Chicago had won the battle to host the fair, but New York won its place as being the location in which The New World Symphony debuted in December of 1893. Dvorak did visit the Columbian Exposition, and conducted another of his compositions, his Eighth Symphony, before an enormous and enthusiastic World s Fair audience..
Lesson Plan for : Music as Text: Longfellow, Dvorak, and Authenticity Time Required: Depending upon the size of the group, and the age and ability levels of the students, this lesson can be completed in two to four forty minute sessions. Target Age Group: Grades 6-12 Discipline: Social Studies or English Language Arts., Objective: Students will know and be able to discuss the definitions of composition, epic poem, opera, authentic, voice, stereotype, text, speaker, audience, and purpose. Critical thinking element: for more advanced learners Students will be able to identify the causes (cultural bias, limited experiences) for the effects (stereotypical depictions of Native Americans) they identify in the poem by Longfellow and the music of Dvorak. Students will understand that the limitations of the poet and the composer do not negate the fact that both men, though of European descent, made sincere and important efforts to explore, understand, and pay tribute to the Native Americans they clearly admired. Materials Copies of article, Lonfellow, Dvorak and Authenticity, by Patricia J. McIntyre, M Ed., one for each student. Copies of Text Comparison Chart, one for each student. Copies of Lesson Vocabulary Sheet, one for each student. Sound recording of Dvorak s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, downloadable on YouTube. Copies of Longfellow s Song of Hiawatha,, available online from The Guttenberg Project. Process: Introduce to students the concept of text, emphasizing that a text is a communication device through which a message is conveyed. Although usually contained in or represented by a physical object such as a book, painting, or sign, any composition can be considered a text. Brainstorm with the students as a class, or have the students work in small groups to write down five examples of texts that fit the definition you have just provided. Distribute Lesson Vocabulary Worksheets. Have students write the definitions of the terms. You could have the students look the terms up, but it is preferable to tell your students the specific definition (direct instruction) in your explicit terms, so that they will know exactly what definition you will be expecting them to apply in formative or summative assessments. This should conclude the first session of the lesson.
Session Two Distribute copies of article, Longfellow, Dvorak, and Authenticity. As review, warm-up, or sponge activity, ask students to explain how this article is a text. This could be done orally, or as a quick write, on a piece of scrap paper. Have students read the article. This can be done as individual silent reading, popcorn style (taking turns) oral reading, or partner reading. The boldfaced terms are words from the lesson vocabulary sheet, or terms with which some students may not be familiar. As the students read, they should highlight in the article any terms that they feel could be identified as texts. The list will include epic poem, opera, composition, translation, and history. After the students are finished reading, check for understanding by discussing the concept of text, and how each highlighted term can be a text. Have students listen to the second movement (Largo, common time, D-flat major, then C- sharp Minor) of The New World Symphony, which was said by Dovrak to be a sketch or study for a later work, either a cantata or opera which will be based upon Longfellow s Song of Hiawatha. Have students Listen to the third movement (scherzo, molto vivace Poco sostenuto, ¾, E minor), which Dvorak stated in 1893 was, suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance. Have students respond to the following questions. Again, this can be done in writing as individual written work, a journal entry, in small groups, or in a whole class discussion during which the students take notes upon the responses of their peers. Feel free to cut and paste the questions below into a word document that is formatted to the needs of your students. Explain how well do you think Dvorak s composition brings across the rhythms and movements of what you think of as Native American dances. Does it sound stereotypical? How? In what way? What would you change in Dvorak s composition to make it sound more authentic? Having read the words of the poem that inspired the musical composition, compare the two as texts that have a speaker, an audience, and a purpose. Use the chart, Comparing Texts, provided to list your ideas. Look at the answers on your chart. How well did Longfellow and Dvorak do in communicating accurately the experiences of Native Americans? What factors may have added to or taken away from their ability to do so?
Have students listen to a recording of authentic Native American (preferably Ojibwe or Iroquois) music (numerous samples are available for download on YouTube). Have students modify their written answers to the above questions, using a second color of ink so that they can see how listening to authentic Native American music may have changed their responses. You should point out to the students that they themselves were like Dvorak in that they may not have ever heard authentic Native American music until they listened to the recording you presented, and that their own ideas of what Native American music should sound like was probably influenced by their cultural biases. Longfellow, too, did not witness Native American life first hand; he built his poem upon what he had heard about Indians, and what he imagined their lives to be.
Comparing Texts Worksheet After listening to the largo and the scherzo of Dvorak s New World Symphony and reading the excerpt for Longfellow s Hiawatha, use the following chart to compare the two as texts. Text: a text is a communication device through which a message is conveyed. Although usually contained in or represented by a physical object such as a book, painting, or sign, any composition can be considered a text Speaker Hiawatha Epic Poem Longfellow New World Symphony Symphony Dvorak Audience Purpose Authentic Traits Stereotypical Traits
Vocabulary Worksheet for Longfellow, Dvorak, and Authenticity Using a dictionary or the definitions your teacher has given you, please complete the following Study Guide. composition epic poem opera authentic voice stereotype text speaker audience purpose