When Music and Words Collide

Fordham Newsroom

Until the mid-to-late 20th century, discussions about words and music in opera and art song—vocal music with lyrics drawn from preexisting poetic texts— often focused on which medium was more important. However, with advances in recording technology and the rise of popular music, that began to change.
“Instead of thinking about which medium should dominate or take priority, the question became what their relationship is and how they interact with each other to create expressive effects, cultural meanings, and new musical forms,” said Lawrence Kramer, Ph.D., an accomplished composer and Distinguished Professor of English and Music.
“I think the relationship between words and music operates with a great deal of resonance and power, and with much more reach than it customarily gets credit for.”
In his new book, Song Acts: Writings on Words and Music (Brill, 2017), a collection of previously published essays spanning over two decades, Kramer examines art song, opera, and the intricate ways that words and classical music interconnect. Song Acts, Kramer’s 13th book about music, touches on music and poetry, sexuality, war, mourning, romanticism, and cultural change, among other topics.
For Kramer, music is a meaningful cultural activity—not just a pleasant pastime.
“The thing that I’ve been interested in doing over the years is asking how one can look at particular musical works and styles, even particular moments in musical performance, as barometers of complex cultural situations,” said Kramer, who previously published the trilogy, The Thought of Music (University of California Press, 2016), Expression and Truth: On the Music of Knowledge (University of California Press, 2012) and Interpreting Music (University of California Press, 2010). 

In one essay in Song Acts, “Little Pearl Teardrops,” originally published in 2002, Kramer explores the significance of tears in the music of romantic composers Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. He cites 18th-century literature, where crying was a sign of cultivation and “ ...

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