So Lit Song Lit

Another student of Nadia Boulanger, Louise Talma was an American composer who taught at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau as well as Hunter College. She was the first American female composer to have a full-scale opera performed in Europe. Terre de France uses traditional harmonies, but in the 1950s Talma started experimenting with serial techniques.

The score to Terre de France is available at Sheet Music Plus. We also mention her cycle Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird several times on the episode.

Recordings featured in this episode, performed by Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano, and Ellen Rissinger, pianist:
  • 1. Mère, voici vos fils (mistranslated in the episode! "Mother, here are your sons")
  • 3. Ballade
  • 4. Ode
  • 5. Adieux à la Meuse
Recorded at Morningstar Studios in Norristown, PA.

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So Lit Song Lit is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

You can follow Ellen and The Diction Police on Facebook and at www.dictionpolice.com.

You can follow Toni Marie on Facebook at Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano and Instagram @ToniMariePalmertree

You can find out more about Zach on his website, https://www.zacharydeansmith.com/

Creators & Guests

Host
Ellen Rissinger
So Lit Song Lit Creator & Co-Host
Host
Toni-Marie Palmertree
So Lit Song Lit Co-Host
Guest
Zachary Dean Smith
Season 2 Guest Co-Host

What is So Lit Song Lit?

This is So Lit Song Lit, where we reimagine the repertoire by introducing less familiar songs through sound clips and lively discussion! Together we’ll be exploring songs by composers that you may or may not have heard of already, showing how they compare to standard works, and giving you a taste of what they sound like. Join us down the rabbit hole as we expand the song canon!