Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In addition to literature and language, film, poetry, and music have been significant in transmitting “Don Quixote” to communities that would otherwise not have experienced this work. A noteworthy milestone in the celebration of Cervantes, Don Quixote, and the Spanish culture is the 1933 film production of “Don Quixote,” by Austrian producer, G. W. Pabst, starring the renowned Russian bass, Feodor Chaliapin in the title role. This event stimulated the composition of art songs for voice and piano. Most notable were two song cycles: “Chansons de Don Quichotte” by Jacques Ibert and Maurice Ravel’s “Don Quichotte e Dulcinée.” Set to the poetry of Pierre de Ronsard, Alexandre Arnoux and Paul Morand, these works celebrate Cervantes’ novel by highlighting specific moments in Don Quixote’s adventures. Through musical performance and related commentary, I explore how the musical procedures of Ibert and Ravel illuminate the French poetry, introducing elements of Spanish culture through the adventures of Don Quixote. Among these are Spanish and Basque dance rhythms, guitar idioms, and the Roman Catholic musical traditions. The texts are rich with a variety of sound devices. With the intention of disseminating this information to diverse communities, the following questions will be explored: How does the music of Ibert and Ravel intensify the expression of the texts of Ronsard, Arnoux and Morand? How is the character of Don Quixote defined through the music of the songs? How do the sound devices of the poems contribute to the sonic resonance of the music?