A Researcher's Guide: Jules Massenet's Eve

Abstract

Jules Massenet's Eve (1875) shares a new interpretation of the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Set for orchestra, chorus, and three soloists, the French oratorio contains typical textures of the Late-Romantic and Impressionist eras. Beyond the written music, Massenet includes numerous uses of symbolism to reflect the text and characters who are represented. Most importantly, Eve is characterized by the musical note B; there are multiple examples that justify this theory, ranging from text-painting, key-relationships, and melodic phrasing. The paper has a short discussion on the connection between the oratorio and the changing attitudes towards Christianity in Paris during the late nineteenth century. Lastly, this project includes a complete score analysis of Eve with chord progressions, phrase charting, text-translation, and a symbolism chart.