Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
The German Operatic Tradition and Ron Rash's The Cove
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Ron Rash’s The Cove (2012) is perhaps the most sonorous of his novels; in it, Rash pays special attention to the sounds of Appalachia, from birdsong to traditional music. But The Cove also expands the geography of Appalachian music by introducing the character of Jurgin Walter Koch, a German refugee and professional flautist stranded in New York at the outbreak of American involvement in WWI and later interned at a camp in western North Carolina. After Walter escapes the camp, he is sheltered by Laurel Shelton and her brother Hank, both of whom believe that Walter is mute and a native New Yorker. Walter’s flute playing helps to facilitate the connection between Walter and Laurel—a connection that eventually becomes a betrothal—as well as between Walter and other musicians in the Mars Hill community. This essay will examine the significance of Walter’s music as it connects the superficially disparate traditions of mountain music and the Western classical tradition, a disparity that is tellingly not noted even once by any of the characters, all of whom believe that Walter’s flute playing fits seamlessly with the guitars and dulcimers played by others. Explicating the musical aspects of the story also helps elucidate Rash’s artistic method (Walter’s Germanness and his attachment to an opera company underlines Rash’s apparent use of Wagnerian leitmotifs) and philosophy of education (Walter’s experiences at the Leipzig conservatory mirror Laurel’s own education, as well as her social barriers in the cove).
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
David McKay Powell is Assistant Professor of English at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. He has published or presented on a range of 20th Century American authors, including William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cormac McCarthy, and Elizabeth Madox Roberts.
The German Operatic Tradition and Ron Rash's The Cove
Ron Rash’s The Cove (2012) is perhaps the most sonorous of his novels; in it, Rash pays special attention to the sounds of Appalachia, from birdsong to traditional music. But The Cove also expands the geography of Appalachian music by introducing the character of Jurgin Walter Koch, a German refugee and professional flautist stranded in New York at the outbreak of American involvement in WWI and later interned at a camp in western North Carolina. After Walter escapes the camp, he is sheltered by Laurel Shelton and her brother Hank, both of whom believe that Walter is mute and a native New Yorker. Walter’s flute playing helps to facilitate the connection between Walter and Laurel—a connection that eventually becomes a betrothal—as well as between Walter and other musicians in the Mars Hill community. This essay will examine the significance of Walter’s music as it connects the superficially disparate traditions of mountain music and the Western classical tradition, a disparity that is tellingly not noted even once by any of the characters, all of whom believe that Walter’s flute playing fits seamlessly with the guitars and dulcimers played by others. Explicating the musical aspects of the story also helps elucidate Rash’s artistic method (Walter’s Germanness and his attachment to an opera company underlines Rash’s apparent use of Wagnerian leitmotifs) and philosophy of education (Walter’s experiences at the Leipzig conservatory mirror Laurel’s own education, as well as her social barriers in the cove).
