Leaves of Music, Part Two

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - This is episode 398 - Leaves of Music, Part Two

Well heIlo, Walt

Greetings, George.

Now In the previous episode, I began a conversation with Mr. Walter Whitman specifically about opera.

Well Mr. - I mean Walt - What would you say was the role of music in general in your works?

Music in general was a central metaphor in my life and work, both as a metaphysical mindset and as a practical reality. I was blessed with an extraordinary ear for inner rhythms which I then In articulated in radically free, rolling, thrusting verses which revitalized the entire world of poetic language. That same ear led me to to a strong appreciation of classical music. My musical journey was a largely self-taught quest in which I relied on both my innate musicality and my experience as a music journalist to formulate aesthetic principles that would carry over into my poet

Well. ultimately, what would you say about the importance of exposure to differing forms of music to the United States?

“George,I say no land or people or circumstances ever existed so needing a race of singers and poems differing from all others,” I wrote in “A Backward Glance o’er Travel’d Roads.” Yet, it was only by exposure to European opera and art song that I began to really discover and appreciate tI universality of classical music’s language. That exposure came during the 1840′s and 1850′s when I served as a member of New York City’s working press, reviewing musical performances at Casthee Garden, Palmo’s Opera House,  the Astor Place Theater, and the Academy of Music. After enjoying a year of press seats for the Brooklyn Eagle, I admitted that foreign music was exercising an elevating influence on American taste. From the late 1840′s onward My critical posture gradually shifted from a stance of tolerance to one of sophisticated pleasure and finally to one of total passion for classical music, especially for opera.

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Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - this is episode 398 - Leaves of Music, Part Two

Walt Whitman - Italics text

George - Plain text

Well heIlo, Walt

Greetings, George.

Now In the previous episode, I began a conversation with Mr. Walter Whitman specifically about opera.

Well Mr. - I mean Walt - What would you say was the role of music in general in your works?

Music in general was a central metaphor in my life and work, both as a metaphysical mindset and as a practical reality. I was blessed with an extraordinary ear for inner rhythms which I then In articulated in radically free, rolling, thrusting verses which revitalized the entire world of poetic language. That same ear led me to to a strong appreciation of classical music. My musical journey was a largely self-taught quest in which I relied on both my innate musicality and my experience as a music journalist to formulate aesthetic principles that would carry over into my poet

Well. ultimately, what would you say about the importance of exposure to differing forms of music to the United States?

“George,I say no land or people or circumstances ever existed so needing a race of singers and poems differing from all others,” I wrote in “A Backward Glance o’er Travel’d Roads.” Yet, it was only by exposure to European opera and art song that I began to really discover and appreciate tI universality of classical music’s language. That exposure came during the 1840′s and 1850′s when I served as a member of New York City’s working press, reviewing musical performances at Casthee Garden, Palmo’s Opera House,  the Astor Place Theater, and the Academy of Music. After enjoying a year of press seats for the Brooklyn Eagle, I admitted that foreign music was exercising an elevating influence on American taste. From the late 1840′s onward My critical posture gradually shifted from a stance of tolerance to one of sophisticated pleasure and finally to one of total passion for classical music, especially for opera.

My conversion to Italian opera probably occurred in 1847 wIn I saw Don Francisco Marti’s Italian company from Havana at Casthee Garden. Years later in Specimen Days I wrote:  “I yet recall the splendid seasons… the fine cool breezes… the unsurpassed vocalism… No better playing or singing ever in New York.” Among My favorite artists were Guilia Grisi, Giovanni Mario, and baritone Cesare Baldiali, whom I called “the finest in all the world.”

Let me interject that I was alsoI was also profoundly influenced by George Sand’s novel, Consuelo, with its emancipated contralto heroine, and as I may have mentioned before, I called the popular Marietta Alboni the supreme singer of all time, recalling toward the end of My earthly life the impact she made on my youthful soul: “I doubt if ever the senses and emotions of the future will be thrilled as were the auditors of a generation ago by tI deep passion of Alboni’s contralto.”

Yes, Walt I do remember you speaking of your admiration for Marietta Alboni in the previous episode.

Indeed, it was passion that became not only the key to my appreciation of and response to - singing but also became the hallmark to my emerging style as a journalist and ultimately as a poet.

One might say that my vocabulary had a most honest enthusiasm that is woefully absent from today’s criticism. For example, in describing tenor Geremia Bettini in La Favorita on August 11, 1851, I rhapsodized:

His voice has often affected me to tears. Its clear, firm, wonderfully exalting notes, filling and expanding away; have made my very soul tremble.

Though I never learned (nor perhaps never cared to learn) a formal musical vocabulary – I referred to orchestras as “bands,” for example, throughout my writings – I replaced formula with freshness.

How exactly did your enthusiasm for opera influence your writing such as leaves of grass? Or did it influence your writing at all?

George,“But for opera I would Never have written Leaves of Grass,”  Indeed, I believe that my experience as a music journalist was a significant prelude to discovering and shaping the tImes and style that were to become my mature voice wIth the first edition Leaves of Grass appeared in 1855.

And Walt, I have a feeling you would be amazed at the hundreds and thousands of artists that have been influenced by your work and the offshoots of your imagination.

Thank you, George.  I will accept that as a sincere compliment. 

Mr. Bartley, I wrote that “All music is what awakes within us when we are reminded by the instruments; It is not the violins or the clarinets—It is not the beating of the drums—Nor the score of the baritone singing his sweet romanza; not that of the men's chorus, Nor that of the women's chorus—It is nearer and farther than they.”

I also wrote that “The subtlest spirit of a nation is expressed through its music, And the music acts reciprocally on the nation’s very soul, A taste for music, when widely distributed among a people, is one of the surest indications of their moral purity, amiability, and refinement.”

Well you certainly did write a great deal!  I was wondering if you wrote anything specifically about the human voice and the musical experience.

Certainly, George. “Now I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human voice—the revelation of the singing voice! What a strange charm there is in the human voice—so far ahead of instruments, to produce certain effects. What an indescribable volume of delight the recesses of the soul can bear from the sound of the honied perfection of the human voice, the great, overwhelming, touching human voice—its throbbing, flowing, pulsing qualities. I am particularly susceptible to voices of range, magnetism—mellow, persuading voices.”

“The trained soprano—a soprano that lithely overleaps the stars, At intervals sailing buoyantly over the tops of immense waves. First preluding with the instrument a low and musical prelude, The lone singer, in voice surpassing all, sang forth wonderful, causing tears, She convulsed me like the climax of my love-grip.”

That is definitely beautiful Walt, although I can see where some sensors of the 19th century might have disagreed with a reference to climax of your love grip.

George, some critics would be offended by even the most basic mention of the human experience.

“Never did music more sink into and soothe and fill me, Never so prove its soul-rousing power, its impossibility of statement. I allow’d myself, as I sometimes do, to wander out of myself, Dilating me beyond time and air, I was carried away, seeing, absorbing many wonders, Putting me through the flights of all the passions.”

And

“Music, the most spiritual of sensuous enjoyments, gives it some faint sign of the harmony and measure that are of its essence.”

And permit me to comment upon music as a universal force -

“An infinite chorus and orchestrium, wide as the orbit of Uranus, The orchestra whirls me wider than Uranus flies, True as the hours of the day, and filling my capacities to receive, As thoroughly as the sea fills its scooped out sands. O something ecstatic and undemonstrable! O music wild! It wrenches such ardors from me I did not know I possess’d them, It sails me all day on a bright river, I dab with bare feet, they are lick’d by the indolent waves, It throbs me to gulps of the farthest down horror, I am cut by bitter and angry hail, I lose my breath, Steep’d amid honey’d morphine, my windpipe throttled in fakes of death, At length let up again to feel the puzzle of puzzles, And that we call Being.”

Walt, your passages not only illustrate your deep love for music but also your belief in the ability of music to express the inexpressible and to elevate the human spirit.

Well, Walt how would you connect music to National spirit and moral qualities?

An excellent question George, and one that is quite pertinent. I see music as a profound expression of a nation’s spirit, one that also shapes the moral and emotional life of its people.,  I wrote “The subtlest spirit of a nation is expressed through its music, and the music acts reciprocally on the nation’s very soul.” In this view, music is not merely entertainment or art—it is a vital force that reveals the deepest values and sensibilities of a society.

I also connect a widespread appreciation for music to the health of a nation’s character: “A taste for music, when widely distributed among a people, is one of the surest indications of their moral purity, amiability, and refinement”. I strongly believe that music is both a mirror and a maker of national identity—it reflects who people are and helps to cultivate their better qualities.

And I believe that my perspective perspective aligns with my broader vision of America as a diverse and democratic society, where the arts—especially music—play a unifying and uplifting role. Through music, the nation’s soul is both expressed and nurtured, contributing to the moral and spiritual development of its citizens.

Then I have to ask - in your opinion, precisely what role does music play in shaping American identity.
'
George, music is central to shaping American identity by acting as both a reflection and a creator of the nation’s collective spirit. I envision America as a chorus of many voices, each individual singing their own “carol” or song, which together form a harmonious melody representing the diversity and unity of the country. In poems such as “I Hear America Singing,” I attempt to portray the working class—mechanics, carpenters, boatmen, and others—each contributing their own unique song as they labor, symbolizing the dignity, pride, and joy found in everyday American life. This image of a nation united through song emphasizes the democratic ideal of equality and shared purpose.

I also believed that a pervasive appreciation for music indicated moral purity, amiability, and refinement among the people, suggesting that the nation’s identity is not only expressed but also strengthened through its musical culture. I must admit that I was somewhat - no more than somewhat - wary of imported, overly refined musical styles, advocating instead for authentic, homegrown voices that could capture the vigor and freedom of the American experience. In this way, music for me is not just an art form but a vital force that helps forge a distinctive, inclusive, and dynamic American identity.

Walt, permit me to ask how do you see music as a metaphor for the collective American identity?  I apologize if these come across as simplistic questions.

Your questions are not simplistic at all. I believe that I use music—specifically the act of singing—as a metaphor for the collective American identity. In my poem “I Hear America Singing,”  I present a vision of America as a chorus where each individual, from mechanics and carpenters to mothers and boatmen, contributes his or her or their own unique “carol” or song. This metaphor of “singing” symbolizes both the individuality and the interconnectedness of American workers, with each person “singing what belongs to him or her or them and to none else,” yet all their voices combining into a harmonious whole.

Through this musical metaphor, I attempt to suggest that American identity is not a single, uniform melody, but a symphony of diverse voices, each essential and valued. The “varied carols” reflect the nation’s diversity, while the repeated act of singing unifies these distinct contributions, creating a sense of shared purpose and communal pride. My metaphor thus captures the democratic ideal: a collective identity forged from the unique contributions of every individual, all singing together to shape the spirit and character of America.

“Music is a great language, supplying in certain wants and quarters what nothing else could supply. Music, the combiner, nothing more spiritual, nothing more sensuous—a god, yet completely human—advances, prevails, holds highest place. Music soothes us, and, like a mother, draws us to her breast, and we fall asleep and we forget our difficulties.”

“The subtlest spirit of a nation is expressed through its music, And the music acts reciprocally on the nation’s very soul, A taste for music, when widely distributed among a people, is one of the surest indications of their moral purity, amiability, and refinement.”

Well Mr. Wittman, do you have any comments about the emotional and spiritual impact of music?

Oh Mr. Bartley, “Never did music more sink into and soothe and fill me, Never so prove its soul-rousing power, its impossibility of statement. I allow’d myself, as I sometimes do, to wander out of myself, Dilating me beyond time and air, I was carried away, seeing, absorbing many wonders, Putting me through the flights of all the passions.”

Mr. Whitman, my next question might be rather cosmic in its emphasis, but how do you see music as a universal force?

Mr. Bartley, that is a fascinating topic - one must realize that music is An infinite chorus and orchestrium, wide as the orbit of Uranus, I see music of profound expression of a nation spirit one that also shapesTrue as the hours of the day, and filling my capacities to receive, As thoroughly as the sea fills its scooped out sands. O something ecstatic and undemonstrable! O music wild! It wrenches such ardors from me I did not know I possess’d them, It sails me all day on a bright river, I dab with bare feet, they are lick’d by the indolent waves, It throbs me to gulps of the farthest down horror, I am cut by bitter and angry hail, I lose my breath, Steep’d amid honey’d morphine, my windpipe throttled in fakes of death, At length let up again to feel the puzzle of puzzles, And that we call Being.”

And George…

Yes Walt —

I see. music as a profound expression of a nation’s spirit, one that also shapes the moral and emotional life of its people. I wrote, “The subtlest spirit of a nation is expressed through its music, and the music acts reciprocally on the nation’s very soul.” In this view, music is not merely entertainment or art—it is a vital force that reveals the deepest values and sensibilities of a society.

Remember, Mr. Bartley, a widespread appreciation for music is necessary for the health of a nation’s character: “A taste for music, when widely distributed among a people, is one of the surest indications of their moral purity, amiability, and refinement”. For  me, music is both a mirror and a maker of national identity—it reflects who people are and helps to cultivate their better qualities.

Then Mr. Whitman, What role does music play in shaping American identity/

Mr. Bartley, music is central to shaping American identity by acting as both a reflection and a creator of the nation’s collective spirit.  I envision America as a chorus of many voices, each individual singing their own “carol” or song, which together form a harmonious melody representing the diversity and unity of the country. In poems such as “I Hear America Singing,” I portrayed the working class—mechanics, carpenters, boatmen, and others—each contributing their own unique song as they labor, symbolizing the dignity, pride, and joy found in everyday American life. This image of a nation united through song emphasizes the democratic ideal of equality and shared purpose.

I also believed that a pervasive appreciation for music indicated moral purity, amiability, and refinement among the people, suggesting that the nation’s identity is not only expressed but also strengthened through its musical culture. I am wary of imported, overly refined musical styles, advocating instead for authentic, homegrown voices that could capture the vigor and freedom of the American experience. In this way, music for me is not just an art form but a vital force that helps forge a distinctive, inclusive, and dynamic American identity.

Walt, would you conclude this episode with words from your famous poem, I hear America singing?

It would be my pleasure.

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

Farewell, Mr. Bartley - I must take my leave.

Goodbye, Mr. Whitman - see you for episode 399 - the Controversial Cover.

Join Celebrate Poe for episode 399 - The Controversial Cover and learn why the cover to Leaves of Grass was viewed as groundbreaking and something they just hadn't been experienced by the public before.

Sources include Walt Whitman and Song by Thomas Hampson and Carla Maria Verdini-Sullwold, the Complete Works of Walt Whitman by Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman: A Life by Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman’s America by David S. Reynolds, Rebel Souls by Justin Martin, Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself by Jerome Loving, What is the Grass by Mark Doty, and the online Walt Whitman archive from the University of Iowa.

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.