Hello everyone! This is week 8 of Laying Down the Sound. In this video, I highlight the various constituent guitar, vocal, and percussion parts that comprise the second half of my song “Unraveling.” Most of the video features commentary on recordings present within Ableton, but some segments are instead dedicated to demonstrating how certain guitar parts are played. The entire second half of the song is here covered, meaning that this video marks the last episode of the series focused on “Unraveling.” I did not intend for this video to be so long, but I hope you enjoy the in-depth dive! Thanks for watching!
poco piano: davidsbündlertänze part I
Davidsbündlertänze is a piece written by Robert Schumann that I’ve been working on lately. I’ll be playing it on my senior recital next year and also using it for graduate school auditions.
Davidsbündlertänze is one of the crown jewels of the romantic piano literature. It’s a work composed of eighteen character pieces divided into two books, each representative of Florestan or Eusebius– Schumann’s characters. Florestan represents the manic, masculine, and passionate side of Schumann while Eusebius represents the dreamy, melancholy, and introverted side. Throughout Schumann’s music and life these characters are used to express his opinions on music (he was a music reviewer for a journal). In fact, these characters are fleshed out in the earlier more well known piece Carnaval. It seems impossible to separate the composer’s life from his music. Music was Schumann’s life. His family had wanted him to study law, yet while doing so, he was irresistibly drawn to making and writing music.
These two characters are different sides of the same coin. Florestan and Eusebius guide use through the eighteen movements which are noted with either or both of their initials at the end of each movement much like a writer would sign his letters.
I’m playing the original version of the piece which is the one more often played. Schumann revised this work but somehow excised the most original and innovative material, as if in rejection of his manic genius. This work is a culmination of Schumann, his personality, his love, and his despair. I want to focus on his love: his love for Clara and his love for music. To understand this all consuming love, we first have to understand his personality and the characterization of Florestan and Eusebius. Florestan is the masculine side of him, the conquering hero of the legend, powerful and fearless. Eusebius is his feminine side, a quiet poet, spinning dreamy and ethereal tales of love and despair.
What in the music indicates these two opposing characters?
The Piece is prefaced with this quote
Alter Spruch
In all und jeder Zeit
Verknüpft sich Lust und Leid:
Bleibt fromm in Lust und seid
Dem Leid mit Mut bereit
Old saying
In each and every age
joy and sorrow are mingled:
Remain pious in joy,
and be ready for sorrow with courage.
Opening
The opening movement is a movement that portrays both F and E. It also incorporates a quote from a Mazurka written by Clara Schumann in the very opening. The “motto von C.W.” is referring to the piece that Clara Wieck (maiden name) wrote. As you can see, it’s a direct quote.
This is a homage to his future wife and is in a way paying respect to her. It’s quite the choice to open with such a strong and masculine opening. It contrasts and balances with the feminine idea of her character. In his eyes, she is the ideal woman that drives his desires and is ultimately the end goal. Clara is a child prodigy, the daughter of his piano teacher, and his future wife. He had to fight to marry her as her father was very opposed to their union.
So why exactly is the representation of Clara in this piece so masculine driving?
Robert felt emasculated by Clara in many ways. She was the hands down the better pianist. She was world famous and would tour Europe on the regular. Robert dreamed of her life and skill at the piano- yet ended up injured and becoming more of a writer and composer instead. Clara was also a working woman- capable of making more money than Robert could.
Perhaps the inclusion of the quote is just to keep Clara on his mind as he wanders through his psyche and the night of music to be held. With this opening movement, he introduces three characters, Clara, Florestan and Eusebius. F and E trade remarks throughout the first page, melding into each other. They use the same phrase and notes, as if they are talking and using the same words but with a completely different meaning and context. The only divergence that indicates either character is the different harmony and dynamic.
2. innig (intimate/heartfelt)
The expressions of his future with his Clara are seen through the lens of each Florestan and Eusebius. With each movement, we see a different future, thought, or feeling that he has on his future marriage.
with 2. Innig, we see his doubts creeping in. A sense of impending loss and despair are in these lines. Eusebius is lost in thought, dreaming of happy future yet unable to realize it or act upon it. He’s not the conquering hero, he’s the damsel in distress here, filled with anxiety and despair of his current situation.
It’s a simple movement with a plain melody. Yet the complexity of his emotions are seen in the repetitions, dark harmonies, and undulating accompanying material.
It’s as if he pines for her but their future together is unknown.
3. Etwas Hahnbüchen (somewhat cockeyed)
As if in direct retaliation and opposition from the previous, Florestan here bursts of bravado and tomfoolery. The large jumps and independence between the hand are quite hard to nail down. To me, it sets the mood for the rest of the character pieces that are under Florestan’s influence. The fiery passion and bouts of naïveté are very typical of a young man. It’s as if Schumann is portraying this ambitious passion as himself yet still failing to convince himself it’s him. It has a strange inflation of dynamic here. It’s always getting louder, getting bigger, yet a performer would strain themselves to follow his markings religiously and continuously get louder and bigger. 
In the first book, (1) 3,4,6,8,(9) are all under Florestan’s name. 1 is under both F and E while 9 is unmarked. Personally, I think that 9 is full of passion and eagerness that is definitely very Florestan. The first book of Davidsbundlertanze is dominated by Florestan and his male energy. The exceptions are the intermittent breaks brought about by 2, 5, and 7.
Eusebius foils Florestan and brings some calm to the overall structure. No. 5: Einfach (simple) brings a childlike joy and melody to all of the passion and seriousness of love. It has a simple feminine nature that cannot be sullied by a performer’s indulgence. I have been scolded several times by my professor to keep it simple and not to dirty it with too much rubato or time.
What makes 5 seem feminine to me?
I think the simpleness and the frankness of the music that just speaks without the frills or bravado is feminine. Its also a movement that sings the most. It sings kindness that is very appealing. It doesn’t have that Seductive Feminine nature but perhaps a hint of coquettishness.
Art Biz with Liz: Shaping Creative Lineage
This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending an event called “Shaping Creative Lineage: A Poetry Reading + Writing Workshop with Carlina Duan.” The event, presented by Multi Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA), featured Asian-American poet and educator Carlina Duan. While I hadn’t read one of Ms. Duan’s poems until this past year, it was wonderful to hear her read from her collections I Wore My Blackest Hair (Little A, 2017) and Alien Miss (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2021). The event was a great opportunity to learn more about what inspired her poems and have a conversation on writing about our own experiences.
In I Wore My Blackest Hair, Duan’s poems tackle topics related to ancestry, identities, and belonging. They also reflect on themes of racial consciousness and growing up. Duan’s second collection of poems, Alien Miss, reflects on the experience of growing up as a diasporic, bilingual daughter of immigrants, introducing tales of both love and survival. It was exciting to hear from both of these collections, especially since Alien Miss came out just this year.
I promise this blog post isn’t just an advertisement, though my excitement may come off as such. The event made me consider what it means to write about our identities. It also encouraged me to reflect on the power our creative action holds. For artists like Duan, the question of responsibility is raised. What pressures and influences do we have in creating art when existing representation may be limited? For art so language-based, how can we create care and active thinking in the language we use within our communities? These questions raise more questions regarding what we owe to ourselves and our own vulnerability.
While I still enjoy it, early literature of Asian Americans is often wrapped around imagery of chopsticks and white rice. These concepts alone don’t capture the complexity that is the human experience, and people like Duan are disrupting some of these images through their art. I was impressed with how she uses poetry as an expansion of historical archives, infusing her words with other texts and lineages. When it came to “creative lineage,” however, I was a little confused by what she meant. I assumed it must refer to our ancestral line, the history that gave way to who we are today. I learned that creative lineage is not just our ancestors, but the people who inspire you. These individuals could be people who came before you, but it can also be your friends.
To generate discussion on the topic during the event, Duan raised several questions: Who are you accountable to? Who lives in your creative lineage? Who are the thinkers, makers, and people who you carry with you each time you enter a room for solace, support, community? When I sit down to write, I often consider myself alone with my thoughts. But that’s not necessarily true. When I write, there are often a chorus of people in the room with me, hundreds of memories and experiences impacting who I am and what I create. Creative lineage is talking about these people as well as the spaces I live in and am descended from.
I’ve discussed my unfamiliarity with poetry before on Arts, Ink. I generally consider myself a beginner when it comes to interpreting and writing poetry; however, I still hold an appreciation for the medium it provides in exploring the complexities of identity, emotions, and experiences we hold. I also believe the lessons and questions raised in Duan’s workshop—including the concept of creative lineage—can be applied to all kinds of art, not just poetry. Moving forward, I’d like to consider this idea of creative lineage in my own work. Perhaps you will, too.
Looking Forward: Thus Spoke Ann Arbor
Happy Friday, arts, ink!
This week I had the pleasure of talking to Feiran Li, President of Thus Spoke Ann Arbor and Director of their upcoming show.
Thus Spoke is a Chinese drama group that typically hosts two shows per year. The winter show is bigger than the fall, usually involving 20-25 people compared to the 10 or so earlier in the year. This year, however, Thus Spoke has opted to perform only one show due to COVID. This show has a staff that is mixed remote and in-person, with weekly testing and masking/distancing policies on the Ann Arbor campus. This testing regimen is something that Feiran is quite proud of, explaining that they asked their members to participate in weekly testing a bit earlier than the university did. The show has also moved from being an in-person event in Mendelssohn to being completely virtual.
Although they have found a successful model to publish the show despite the pandemic, Feiran told me that he misses the in-person audience interaction. This has been a theme across student organizations that I’ve spoken to this year. Just being able to perform together in-person is not quite enough; the audience participation and reaction is half of the performance. The energy of the performers buildsoff of the audiences’ cheers, and comments on Zoom or YouTube are just not the same, especially when the performance has to be recorded prior to the premiere.
Next year, Thus Spoke is looking forward to returning to in-person meetings and performances, hoping that the distance of this year will help them appreciate the benefits of being together even more than before. If you’re interested in getting involved in Thus Spoke, there are many opportunities! They tend to recruit in the Fall and Winter semesters, and you can keep updated with what they’re doing by subscribing to their YouTube channel, liking their Facebook page, or reaching out via their Maize Page. They also incorporate new members into their productions, so you could have the opportunity to be a part of one of their shows your first year in the organization!
That’s all from me this week! Thanks so much for reading.
Stay safe,
Lucy
Artist Spotlight: Cooking with Lynja
I don’t believe I’ve ever written about a YouTuber/TikTok star/Social media personality before, but there is truly no other than Cooking with Lynja. Her bios explain that she’s “just a regular mom with killer cooking skills,” but watching her cooking videos will have you mesmerized for hours.
I first discovered Lynn Davis through TikTok earlier this year, and her short, quirky, meme-filled videos filled me with delight. As a passionate beginner cook myself, her humorous but helpful videos were a hit to me. I dove into more research to find out about the intriguing Lynja and was even more pleasantly surprised: she’s a retired engineer, an MIT and Columbia alum, and a former long-time employee of AT&T Labs. Now, she films videos with her son Tim.
Lynja and her son began filming videos at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, and have amassed an impressive 3.3 million TikTok followers, 1.25 million YouTube subscribers, and 360k Instagram followers. I think it’s safe to say she deserves the title of “TikTok’s ultimate grandma.” With delicious video tutorials such as homemade whipped cream, lemon pepper wings, and carbonara ramen, Cooking with Lynja is sure to delight any college student or budding chef.
What stands out about Lynja’s brief videos is how much personality and humor can be packed into as little as 25 seconds–her raspy voice, infectious positivity, and top tier pop culture references make the video shine. Kudos to Lynja and her son, they have some seriously amazing editing skills! Give her accounts a look if you haven’t already!
The Magician’s Diaries: Familiars
Hello, my children,
Today we must speak on the immense ocean that is familiar ownership. I must assume that some of you are quite familiar with the concept, yet to others it remains my obligation to educate. Familiars, admittedly, are a trendsetter’s magic– some traditionalists even perceive it to be on the level of lowly minstrels in terms of the flamboyant, magical whimsy required to conjure and subsequently tame such fey spirits. I, on the other hand, see it no different as the realm’s court magician walking the streets with their guard composed of flesh and bones. Whatever you surround yourself with, however you hope to express your practice, it matters little when the result is the same: a pickpocket will find it harder to approach when you have an owl on your shoulder turning its head back and forth in constant vigil.
Common familiars as possible by the first domain of spellcasting are conjured fey spirits, yet they take the form of any mundane animal one can think of: dog, cat, owl, rat, hawk, whatever your natural reference deems useful. Familiars, more often than not, are another set of eyes in which a mage may see-through. One can evoke this power by letting them roam free as you sit in your bed, supposedly drifting to sleep. At the very same time, your cat may slip into a courtesan’s mansion where your colleague asks of their escorts just the most outrageous, diabolical, salacious favors one would never hope to be revealed to the public.
Familiars too, once one finds their way to an elevated magical understanding, can be used as focusses for one’s magical energy. The stronger one becomes the more capable they are of summoning creatures that may heal you, may enchant others, or may even have the capacity to kill. Other, rarer such things include spectral spiders, fairy dragons, and imps of the underworld.
Students will ask me whether or not their pre-trained, mundane pets may still convert into a familiar. This is a question predicated on one’s already strong bond with an animal, and I understand that it may be important for one to be working in the field with a creature they can trust. I suppose that many animals possess the same function as familiars, but riddle me this: is it preferable to leave the rat you told stories to under the floorboards in their cage, or would you rather see it squashed under the boot of a random passerby.
Animals cannot be reconstituted in the same way as familiars. If you are so inclined you may spend the resources to recover the lost soul of your pet to its former mortal vessel, yet I believe the matter may be so petty that The Mother would cast a curse upon you and your lineage for disturbing her eternal slumber. Familiars, since they are fey spirits, are tied to a different coil of existence. If they die, then one must simply summon them back to our plane (yet this does not excuse the frustration and anger from having gotten them into that position of death in the first place).
Well, this has been a brief introduction to familiars and the wonders of fey ownership. Who knows what next week may bring, and I encourage you all to remain curious and studious as always.
Until next time,
-The Magician
