Josephine Lang Her Life and Songs [Hardcover]

Josephine Lang (1815-80) was one of the most gifted, respected, prolific, and widely published song composers of the nineteenth century, yet her life and works have remained virtually unknown. Now, this carefully researched, compelling, and poignant study recognizes the composer for her remarkable accomplishments.

Based on years of study of unpublished letters, musical autographs, reviews, and the autobiographical poetry of Lang's husband, Reinhold K?stlin, the biographical portions of the book offer a stunning portrait of the composer as a woman and an artist.

In-depth musical analyses interwoven with the biography will be illuminating to scholars and to musicians of all skill levels. The analyses reveal Lang's sensitivity to her chosen poetic texts, as well as the validity of her claim that her songs were her diary; the authors demonstrate that many of the songs are directly connected to the events of Lang's life. The analyses are illustrated by an abundance of musical examples, including a number of complete songs. A companion website, featuring 30 songs by Lang recorded by the authors, complements the text.

Long overdue, a skillful blend of biography and musical analysis, with rewarding, close, and sensitive readings of many of Josephine Lang's Lieder, her acknowledged 'diary.' The Krebs' research should go a long way toward reclaiming an unjustly neglected composer and reminding us how much of nineteenth-century musical life remainsterra incognita. --R. Larry Todd, Arts & Sciences Professor, Duke University, and author ofMendelssohn: A Life in Music

Here it is: the first comprehensive study of this unduly neglected 19th-century composer. Krebs and Krebs offer a rich portrait of Lang's life and career, and especially open our minds and senses to her magnificent Lieder. With this book and companion CD, Lang's music finally gets the recognition it deserves and joins the ranks of great German art-song repertoire oflcI