J Briton Anderson and Dr. Michelle James, Germanic and Slavic Languages

Luise Greger, a talented and accomplished composer in Germany during the 20th Century, has largely been overlooked as an important voice in music history. Her impressive opus of art songs, in addition to an operetta, was quite popular during her day, as is evidenced by several contemporary newspaper reviews. The Sophie Project sponsored a well-received performance of Greger’s collected art songs in 2003, which established the value of performing her music. Because of the significance and quality of Greger’s music, my ORCA proposal was to help fill the lack of serious research on Greger’s life and music by preparing a critical edition of her operetta, Ganseliesel, along with a biographical and musicological introduction, and making it available for performance purposes once again.

This project is still in the process of completion. Many factors have altered the timetable in which I had hoped to complete the scholarly edition of Greger’s operetta. An important tool necessary to the progress of my project was the software program, Finale. This software was the means by which a digital transcription of the score was to be created in order to provide a more legible resource. However, I was unable to begin the transcription until the software had been ordered and installed. Once this was accomplished, and after a few technical difficulties with the installation, we discovered that the transcription would proceed much more smoothly with the addition of a MIDI capable electronic keyboard. The MIDI keyboard would enable me to enter notes from the score into the program by playing the chords on the keyboard. The time it took to find a suitable keyboard and have it installed further delayed the completion of the transcription.

In addition to my efforts to complete the musical transcription of the score, it also took quite some time and effort to locate someone who was able to decipher and transcribe the text from its original old German handwriting. The handwritten lyrics of the score are very difficult to read, and required a specialist to accomplish the transcription. Dr. James was able to find someone to transcribe the text in the summer of 2009, and we now have a complete transcription of the text.

Now that the software and MIDI keyboard are installed and functioning properly, and we have a transcription of the text, the musical transcription of the score is proceeding smoothly. I now have approximately three-fourths of the score transcribed, and will continue to work on the piece. Once the musical transcription is accomplished the music and the text will be properly correlated and prepared for publication. I will also prepare the biographical and musicological introduction to accompany the published score. This completed critical edition of the score will serve as an authoritative, easily accessible resource, which we will then make available for performance use.

Despite the many delays and setbacks we have encountered with this project, it has been an enjoyable and educational experience so far. I have learned to adapt to unforeseen circumstances and to continue working persistently to ensure the completion of the project, especially with the help of Dr. James. I look forward to the finished product.