Exploring portrayals of homosexuality in Germany in Jake Heggie's For a look or a touch: a combined practice-led and hermeneutic study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the portrayals of homosexual experiences of men living in Germany before and during World War II in Jake Heggie’s song cycle For a look or a touch. The cycle was a collaboration between Heggie and Gene Scheer (the librettist), and was commissioned for one of the Holocaust Remembrance Day concerts in Seattle, D.C., in 2007. Even though there has been great progress towards equality, there are still many places in which homosexuality is a crime, punishable by fines, imprisonment, and sometimes, the death penalty. Given that this oppression is still happening today, it is important that the experiences of homosexual victims of the Holocaust be heard. By researching and performing For a look or a touch, readers, audiences, and performers alike are given an opportunity to mourn and remember the atrocities faced specifically by the homosexual community, both past and present. The literature review focuses on the experiences of homosexuals during the interwar period and WWII, which allows for a deep delve into the experience of living in Nazi Germany. Hermeneutic and practice-led methodologies were combined to answer the research questions. Hans Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutic circle, and the cyclical approach thereof, informed the close reading of For a look or a touch. The close reading was historically informed, while I offer technical and interpretative insights that I gleaned from learning the song cycle for my MMus performance recital. As part of the close reading, the recordings of Morgan Smith’s performance of the cycle were analysed and his interpretation was compared to my own. Through this comparison, more than one perspective is offered, which allowed me to clearly paint how Heggie’s musical style allows for differing interpretations.