UNT Theses and Dissertations - 145 Matching Results

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Mail Order Music: the Hinners Organ Company in the Dakotas, 1879-1936
Founded in 1879 by John L. Hinners, the Hinners Organ Company developed a number of stock models of small mechanical-action instruments that were advertised throughout the Midwest. Operating without outside salesmen, the company was one of the first to conduct all of its affairs by mail, including the financial arrangements, selection of the basic design, and custom alterations where required. Buyers first met a company representative when he arrived by train to set up the crated instrument that had been shipped ahead of him. Tracker organs with hand-operated bellows were easily repaired by local craftsmen, and were suited to an area that, for the most part, lacked electricity. In all, the company constructed nearly three thousand pipe organs during its sixty years of operation. Rapid decline of the firm began in the decade prior to 1936 during which the company sold fewer than one hundred instruments, and closed in that year when John's son Arthur found himself without sufficient financial resources to weather the lengthy depression. The studies of the original-condition Hinners organs in the Dakotas include extensive photographs and measurements, and provide an excellent cross section of the smaller instruments produced by the company. They are loud, excellently crafted, functionally attractive, tonally typical of the early twentieth-century American Romantic organ, and utilize designs and materials typical of this era. Only recently has it been acknowledged that these Hinners organs represent a "meat and potatoes" class of instrument, as it were, an honest meal without the pretense of delicate appetizers, vintage wine, and gourmet dessert. In this way the company offered churches a serviceable and respectable musical alternative to grandeur, and was able to fulfill the needs and meet the budget of a small congregation without the expense of a custom instrument.
A Study of Style and Influence in the Early Schools of Violin Making Circa 1540 to Circa 1800
Chapter I of this thesis details contemporary historical views on the origins of the violin and its terminology. Chapters II through VI study the methodologies of makers from Italy, the Germanic Countries, the Low Countries, France, and England, and highlights the aspects of these methodologies that show influence from one maker to another. Chapter VII deals with matters of imitation, copying, violin forgery and the differences between these categories. Chapter VIII presents a discussion of the manner in which various violin experts identify the maker of a violin. It briefly discusses a new movement that questions the current methods of authentication, proposing that the dual role of "expert/dealer" does not lend itself to sufficient objectivity. The conclusion suggests that dealers, experts, curators, and musicologists alike must return to placing the first emphasis on the tradition of the craft rather than on the individual maker.
The Choral-Orchestral Works of Hector Berlioz
In this study the choral-orchestral compositions produced by Hector Berlioz are examined in detail for characteristics of musical form, textual setting, and methods of scoring for chorus and orchestra. Reasons for the preponderance of the choral-orchestral medium in Berlioz' output are examined in two introductory chapters. The initial chapter concerns Berlioz' personal experiences as an observer, conductor, and critic of choral music, while the second is devoted to Parisian customs in regard to the choral-orchestral medium during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Included in the historical chapter is a discussion of the haute-contre (high tenor or countertenor) voice preferred in French choruses of that period plus a short review of French orchestral practices, operatic choruses, the French Chapel, Parisian concert societies, and the Paris Conservatory. Especially important is the segment on revolutionary musical fetes which fostered grandiose compositions for chorus and instruments of extremely simple structure. Berlioz' sense of form was governed by his Gallic heritage and for this reason many critics have accused him of formlessness, when in fact his compositions invaribly revolve around a succinct formal plan, admirably executed. Berlioz added to the conservative French tradition which favored the strophe and the Rondeau (an unvarying refrain following disparate couplets) a decidedly learned and classical approach to music structuring; unfortunately, this unique combination of academic compositional techniques and Gallic forms has been a source of perplexity for analysts in search of traditional Germanic forms. Surprisingly, Berlioz makes frequent use of such complex compositional devices as augmentation, fugato, canon, pedal point, and even cantus firmus.
Representative Nineteenth-Century Choral Symphonies
This study is concerned with the examination of choral symphonies by major nineteenth-century composers. Its purpose is to delineate the common characteristics which these works have. Emphasis is given to the investigation of the choral elements in the symphonies. Detailed musicological studies of nineteenth-century music are minimal; there has. been a particular lack of interest in nineteenth-century works for chorus. Therefore, the principal sources of data for this study were the full scores of the following nine symphonies: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Berlioz' Romeo and Juliet and the Funeral and Triumphal Symphony, Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, Liszt's Faust Symphony and Dante Syrmphony, and Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 2., 3, and 8. Other important sources included major biographies of the composers of the symphonies listed. chapter is devoted to each of these composers, subdivided as follows: a general survey of the composer's other works for chorus and/or orchestra; the historical facts connected with the composition and first performance of the individual symphonies; analysis; and conclusions.
Drama and Characterization in Opera Settings of "A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream" by Britten and Siegmeister
Although Shakespeare deliberately downplays characterization in his moonlit dream fantasy, both Britten and Siegmeister exploit this dramatic element as the basis of their opera settings of the play. Through the operas, the shallow characters take on new dimensions, creating musical experiences existing quite independently of Shakespeare, while at the same time retaining the atmosphere of a dream-fantasy. Placing emphases upon varying aspects of the play, the two composers create entirely different revelations from the Bard's dream. This paper presents a study of the way in which drama and characterization are treated in the operas, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Night of the Moonspell.
The Lute Music and Related Writings in the Stammbuch of Johann Stobaeus
The Stammbueh or album of Johann Stobaeus, MS Sloane 1021 in the British Library, is dated January 8, 1640. Stobaeus, its owner, was Kapellmeister in Konigsberg, East Prussia. The album contains 164 pieces for ten- or eleven-course lute, including dances, secular pieces with generic titles, and settings of chorale tunes. Other major material includes two short sets of lute instructions; instructions for singers of liturgical music; poems by members of the Komgsberger Diahterkre's; and short rhymes and epigrams, many of which concern the lute. The dissertation presents a complete modern edition of the lute music and lute instructions, with commentary; biographical data concerning Stobaeus, with background material about Konigsberg and East Prussia; a selection of poems and epigrams, featuring all poems concerning the lute; and commentary on the literary material, especially the evidence it provides that the manuscript might have been compiled in its entirety around the written date of 1640, even though the music is old-fashioned.
Michael Nyman: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Composer Michael Nyman wrote the one-act, minimalist opera The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, based off the neurological case study written by Oliver Sacks under the same title. The opera is about a professional singer and professor whom suffers from visual agnosia. In chapter 1, the plot and history of the opera are discussed. Chapter 2 places The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat alongside a selection of minimalist operas from Philip Glass and John Adams. Chapter 3 contains a history of the Fluxus art movement and shows where Fluxus-like examples appear in the opera. Chapter 4 includes Nyman's usage of minimalism, vocal congruencies, and Robert Schumann as musical elements that convey the drama.
"Santa Eulalia M. Md. 7": a Critical Edition and Study of Sacred Part Music from Colonial Northwestern Guatemala
Santa Eulalia M. Md. 7, dated January 20, 1600, is part of the San Miguel Acatán Repertory, which originated in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala and is presently owned by the Lilly Library of Indiana University. The manuscript contains thirty-four four-part songs and dances, two thirds of which are villancicos for Christmas, Easter, the Eucharist, and the feasts of All Saints and St. Michael. The remaining third consists of Latin biblical texts in either fabordón or contrapuntal settings, three pieces with Náhuatl texts, and an instrumental pavana. The thesis contains a modern edition of Santa Eulalia M. Md. 7 with critical notes and commentary, a comparison of the pieces with villancicos and fabordones of European origin, and a survey of several aspects of Mayan culture.
A Translation of and Commentary on The Noble Art of Music, by Juan Miguel Urtasun de Yrarraga
This study is a translation of and commentary on an eighteenth-century treatise written by Juan Miguel Urtasun de Yrarraga. Its purpose is to contribute to the field of knowledge of eighteenth-century Spanish materials, making an original work of that era accessible to the reader unfamiliar with the Spanish language.
Beyond the Human Voice: Francis Poulenc's Psychological Drama La Voix humaine (1958)
Francis Poulenc's one-character opera La Voix humaine (1958), a setting of the homonymous play by Jean Cocteau, explores the psychological complexities of an unnamed woman as she experiences the end of a romantic relationship. During the forty-minute work, she sings in a declamatory manner into a telephone, which serves as a sign of the unrevealed man at the other end. Poulenc uses musical motives to underscore the woman's changing emotional states as she recalls her past relationship. The musical dramaturgy in this work resignifies Debussy's impressionist symbolism by collapsing devices used in Pelléas et Mélisande in a language that shifts between octatonicism, chromaticism, harmonic and melodic whole tone passages, and diatonicism. This late work recontextualizes elements in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites (1953-56), and the end of the opera provides a theme for his Sonate pour Clarinet et Piano(1962), as Poulenc reflects on his youthful encounters with Cocteau, Erik Satie, and Les Six.
Opera at the Threshold of a Revolution: Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (1953-1956)
Francis Poulenc’s three-act opera Dialogues des Carmélites (1953-1956) depicts the struggles of the novice nun Blanche de la Force during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The use of Latin liturgical music at critical points in the opera conveys the ritualistic nature of Catholic worship. The spiritual message of mystical substitution, along with the closely related notion of vicarious suffering, imbue the opera with a spirituality that offers a sharp contrast to earlier operatic settings of Catholic texts, particularly during the age of grand opera. Marian devotion also plays an important role in the opera. The final tableau of the opera stages the execution of Blanche and her sisters, complete with the sound of a guillotine, with the nuns singing the Salve Regina as they proceed to the scaffold. The multivalence of the final tableau highlights the importance of voice and its absence. While the nuns, onstage spectators, and the guillotine are audibly present in the scene, the priest participates solely through gesture. The surfacing of the Lacanian Real in the silent moment of traumatic shock that follows the guillotine’s first fall allows for intertextual references to the opera in Poulenc’s Sonate pour Flûte et Piano (1957) to function as a work of remembrance.
Mus. Ms. 1511b: A Historical Review of a Lute Manuscript in the Herwarth Collection at the Bavarian Library, Munich
The purpose of this paper is to create a modern transcription/edition and an historical study of Munich Mus. Ms. 1511b thereby helping to define the social and pedagogical ramifications of lute repertoire from the mid-sixteenth-century. Because of the amateurish nature of the compositions, the conclusion of this study is that a member of the Herwarth family probably used the manuscript for learning purposes. Dance, grounds and other related forms found in the manuscript are discussed. Also included is an incipit concordance that can be used as a cross-reference for further research.
Wagner's Das Liebesverbot
Wagner's second opera Das Liebesverbot, composed in 1835 and first performed in Magdeburg in 1836, could be termed Wagner's "Italian" opera. It represents Wagner's attitudes and feelings at the time of its composition. During this period in Wagner's life the composer had become particularly enchanted with Italian music and also with the Italian way of sensuous and carefree living. At the same time his disillusionment with German conservatism and pedantry also had an influence on the composition of this opera.
The Program Symphonies of Joseph Joachim Raff
Joseph Joachim Raff, a nineteenth-century composer of Swiss-German descent, emerged during the 1870's as one of the leading composers of the symphony and was heralded by his peers as the successor to the symphonic tradition of Schumann. Of the eleven symphonies published between 186U and 1883, nine are program symphonies. Hired as an amanuensis by Liszt during the latter part of 181+9, Raff became involved in the New Weimar School surrounding Liszt, but disenchantment with their dogmas and a need to preserve his own identity caused Raff to resign his position with Liszt in 1856. Although his symphonies reflect the programmatic philosophy of the Weimar school, they also maintain a strong affinity to the classicism of Beethoven, a quality inherent in Raff's more conservative outlook. In order to become familiar with this large body of orchestral literature which is virtually unknown today, both a programmatic and formal analysis for each symphony has been presented, although in some instances the two could not be separated. The symphonies have been grouped according to related programmatic content. Because of the wider acceptance of symphonies 1, 3 and 5 during Raff's lifetime and the programmatic relationship of nos. 6 and 7 to these, form and thematic charts have been correlated with their more detailed, analyses. The other symphonies discussed are nos. 8-11 which comprise the Seasons cycle. These were Raff's last symphonic works which he composed between 1876-79
Centonization and Concordance in the American Southern Uplands Folksong Melody: A Study of the Musical Generative and Transmittive Processes of an Oral Tradition
This study presents a theory of melodic creation, transmission, memory, and recall within the Anglo- and Celtic-American culture of lower Appalachia, from the time of the earliest European settlers until the present. This theory and its attendant hypotheses draw upon earlier published ideas, current theories of memory and recall, and the results of applying a computer-supported analytical system developed by the author. Sources include previous studies of folksong melody, song collections, and earlier investigations of the psychology of memory. Also important are portions of an anonymous treatise on traditional Celtic musical scales and an authoritative, modern interpretation of this document. A final body of sources is a small group of sound-recordings.
The Welsh Crwth, Its History, and Its Genealogy
In the early years of the nineteenth century, when bowed string instruments were assumed to have reached the apex of their development, there arose among antiquarians and scholars a widespread interest in tracing the ancestry of the violin and related members of the chordophone family. This task proved to be exceedingly formidable not only because of the enormous amount of often obscure evidence which had to be taken into consideration but also because of the manner in which many items of evidence seemed to contradict each other. The issue is still not resolved to the complete satisfaction of every party concerned. Literally scores of different and often conflicting arguments have been advanced, and it could perhaps be justly said that the only furtherance thus far realized has been that of the confusion rather than the resolution of the issue.
Belle Musique and Fin' Amour: Thibaut de Champagne, Gace Brulé, and an Aristocratic Trouvére Tradition
Many consider Gace Brulé (c1160-c1213) and Thibaut IV, Count of Champagne, (1201-1253) to have been the greatest trouvères. Writers on this subject have not adequately examined this assumption, having focused their energies on such issues as tracking melodic variants of individual works as preserved in different song-books (or chansonniers), the interpretation of rhythm in performance, and creation of modern editions of these songs. This thesis examines the esteem enjoyed by Gace and Thibaut in both medieval and modern times which derives from their exemplarity of, rather than difference from their noble contemporaries.
A Study of Three Related Works by Michael Tippett: A Child of Our Time, The Vision of Saint Augustine, The Mask of Time
Three works by Tippett stand together among his compositions because of their similarity of subject and performance medium. All are large works for soloists, chorus and orchestra, on meditative librettos, and intended for unstaged presentation. Only A Child of Our Time is given the genre designation "oratorio" by Tippett. An in-depth analysis of these works and the model for A Child of Our Time, Handel's Messiah, reveals that though they neither present religious subjects nor, in the case of The Vision of Saint Augustine and The Mask of Time, exhibit traditional formal divisions associated with oratorio, Tippett's works do indeed belong to the oratorio repertoire of the twentieth century.
The Prodromus Musicalis of Sébastian de Brossard
Sebastien de Brossard (1655-1730) was a French priest, a zealous collector and historian, a musician of merit, and the author of one of the first dictionaries of musical terminology, the Dictionnaire de musigue of 1703. Largely self-taught in music, Brossard studied theology and philosophy at Caen. He was appointed curate at Strasbourg A in 1687 and maitre de musique in 1689. In 1698 he was made grand chapelain and mattre de musique at Meaux, where he remained until his death. His complete works and immense personal library are contained in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. The first edition of Brossard's solo motets was published in 1695 under the title Elevations et motets a voix seule, avec la basse continue. The title Prodromus Musicalis was used for the second edition, published in 1702, and may be loosely translated "Musical Forerunner" or "Musical Prelude." The motets contain a vocal line with text and a figured bass. The present edition presents a faithful rendering of the figured bass and was prepared from a second edition copy contained in the North Texas State University Music Library. In order to enhance the performance and understanding of the eight motets, much of the prefatory material included in the first edition is translated, the formal and tonal structures are analyzed, and English versions of the texts are given. The many ornaments emplayed in the vocal line are categorized, and their execution is explained.
"Marvelous Accidents": The Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra of John Cage
John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1950-51) holds a unique position within the composer’s oeuvre as the first work based in part on chance-derived compositional procedures. Cage entered into such practice gradually, incrementally abandoning subjective taste and personal expression through the course of the work. Drawing from the philosophical framework provided by Cage’s "Lecture on Nothing" (1950) and "Lecture on Something" (c. 1951-52), this thesis explores the aesthetic foundations of the concerto and examines Cage’s compositional methodology throughout its three movements. Special attention is paid to the procedure underlying the first movement, whose analysis is based largely on the composer’s manuscript materials for the work.
Transcendentalism and Intertextuality in Charles Ives's War Songs of 1917
This thesis examines a collection of three songs, "In Flanders Fields," "He Is There!," and "Tom Sails Away," written by Charles Ives in 1917, from primarily a literary perspective involving Transcendentalism and intertextuality. Ives's aesthetic builds upon the principles of Transcendentalism. I examine these songs using the principles outlined by the nineteenth-century Transcendentalists, and Ives's interpretations of these beliefs. Another characteristic of Ives's music is quotation. "Intertextuality" describes an interdependence of literary texts through quotation. I also examine these songs using the principles of intertextuality and Ives's uses of intertextual elements. Familiarity with the primary sources Ives quotes and the texts they suggest adds new meaning to his works. Transcendentalism and intertextuality create a greater understanding of Ives's conflicting views of the morality of war.
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: An Exponent of the Parisian Symphonie Concertant
The symphonie concertante, a product of the late eighteenth-century Parisian concert societies, provided a vehicle for display of the virtuoso style sought by contemporary audiences. The works of the Chevalier Joseph Boulogne de Saint-Georges, one of its chief exponents, served as strong influences on the development of the form and its diffusion throughout Europe. The symphonies concertantes of Opus VI, No. 1 and Opus X, No. 2 (according to thematic numbering of Barry S. Brook) date from ca. 1775 and 1779 respectively. A complete set of parts for each is to be found in the private collection of M. Andre Meyer in Paris (Opus VI) and in the Universitetsbiblioteket at Lund (Opus X). The thesis contains background material on contemporary Parisian musical society and the life of Saint- Georges, and a modern scoring of the above symphonies concertantes with analysis and conclusions.
“Sounds for Adventurous Listeners”: Willis Conover, the Voice of America, and the International Reception of Avant-garde Jazz in the 1960S
In “Sounds for Adventurous Listeners,” I argue that Conover’s role in the dissemination of jazz through the Music USA Jazz Hour was more influential on an educational level than what literature on Conover currently provides. Chapter 2 begins with an examination of current studies regarding the role of jazz in Cold War diplomacy, the sociopolitical implications of avant-garde jazz and race, the convergence of fandom and propaganda, the promoter as facilitator of musical trends, and the influence of international radio during the Cold War. In chapter 3 I introduce the Friends of Music USA Newsletter and explain its function as a record of overseas jazz reception and a document that cohered a global network of fans. I then focus on avant-garde debates of the 1960s and discuss Conover’s role overseas and in the United States. Chapter 4 engages social purpose and jazz criticism in the 1960s. I discuss Conover’s philosophy on social responsibility, and how his contributions intersected with other relevant discourses on race on the eve of the civil rights movement. I argue that Conover embodied two personas: one as jazz critic and promoter in the United States, and the other as an international intermediary. In chapter 5 I discuss how Conover presented the avant-garde to his overseas audience. I argue that through his efforts to broadcast jazz impartially, he legitimized avant-garde and emphasized its qualities as art music. In chapter 6 I explore fandom studies as they apply to the formation of Music USA as a global fan network. I discuss the early roots of Conover’s interest in science fiction fandom as a motivation for the implementation of the Friends of Music USA (FOMUSA) groups. Chapter 7 concludes in a discussion of the deification of Conover though the medium of radio in the midst of the Cold War. …
The Waning of Victorian Imperialism: Stylistic Dualism in Gustav Holst's One-Act Opera Sāvitri (1908-9)
Gustav Holst's one-act opera Sāvitri (1908-9) represents a turning point in his compositional style, which came at a significant time in British history. Holst combines a simpler style informed by his work with English folksong with the Wagnerian style that permeated his earlier compositions. Although influenced by a British imperialist view of the world, Sāvitri renders Hindu-Indian culture in positive terms without relying on the purely exotic, offers a perspective on gender relationships that does not depend solely on convention, and presents the commoner as the British ideal rather than romanticizing the aristocracy. The result is an opera subtle in its complexity, approaching the profound themes of love, death, and spirituality with emotional restraint and self-control.
Opera and the Galant Homme: Quinault and Lully's Tragedie en musique, Atys, in the Context of Seventeenth-Century Modernism
The tragedie en musique of Quinault and Lully was a highly successful new genre, representative of contemporary Parisian life. However, it is still largely viewed in the negative terms of its detractors, the proponents of classical tragedy. The purpose of this study is to redefine the tragedie en musique in terms of seventeenth-century modernism. An examination of the society and poetry of the contemporary gallant world provides the historical framework for an analysis of both the libretto and music of Quinault and Lully's Atys (1676). This study attempts to bridge the historical and cultural distances that until now have hindered accessibility to this major new genre in seventeenth-century literature and music.
Transatlantic Crossings: Nadia Boulanger and Marion Bauer
In the summer of 1906, Marion Bauer (1882-1955) boarded a ship to Paris to meet with Raoul Pugno, a French pianist and composer. Juliette Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) was also close with Pugno around the same time. Living with the Pugno family in Gargenville during the summer, Bauer was able to travel to Paris, where she met several important musicians of the time and also nineteen-year-old Boulanger. Pugno, who worked closely with Boulanger, asked her to teach counterpoint and harmony to Bauer. Boulanger agreed and reportedly asked Bauer for English lessons in payment. Both women went on to become important music pedagogues, teaching hundreds of students. Their meeting allowed Bauer and Boulanger to share their ideas on teaching and music with each other. As time passed, the relationship between the two women fade from collective memory, but Boulanger's teaching principles of harmony, hearing, la grande ligne, and music history and literature live on through her students and fellow teachers and composers. Bauer's writings demonstrate similarities to these four key principles. Using Kimberly Francis and Emily Green's understanding of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural production and an analysis of Boulanger's pedagogical principles, I believe that Boulanger's early accumulation of cultural capital and experience was shared with Bauer, assisting Bauer in her future role as American music pedagogue.
A Study of the Vocal Chamber Duet Through the Nineteenth Century
In this study of vocal chamber duets the various approaches used in duet writing from the late sixteenth century through the nineteenth are examined. Various meanings attributed to the terms "vocal duet" and "chamber duet" are considered, and an appropriate delineation of the genre is determined. The study begins with examination of bicinia, dialogues, and concertato madrigals of the late sixteenth century, three kinds of works related to the continuing lines of interest in duets of later centuries: pedagogical duets, dialogue duets, and duets shaped by general musical trends. After a foundation has been laid in the sixteenth century, examples of duets of various kinds for the next three centuries are considered. It is seen that a discontinuity in the history of the vocal chamber duet occurs during the Classical period. Operatic and chamber duets prior to this time show great similarities in style. Operatic and chamber duets of the nineteenth century show distinct differences in style. At the same time that differences between operatic and chamber duets were increased, the differences between solo and duet chamber works by the same composer were decreased.
Accessibility and Authenticity in Julia Smith's Cynthia Parker
In 1939, composer Julia Smith's first opera Cynthia Parker dramatized the story of a Texas legend. Smith manipulated music, text, and visual images to make the opera accessible for the audience in accordance with compositional and institutional practices in American opera of the 1930s. Transparent musical themes and common Native Americans stereotypes are used to define characters. Folk music is presented as diegetic, creating a sense of authenticity that places the audience into the opera's Western setting. The opera is codified for the audience using popular idioms, resulting in initial but not lasting success.
Finding the "Indian" in Amy Beach's Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, op. 80.
Music that is categorized as part of the Indianist movement in American music (ca. 1890-1925) typically evokes Native American culture, ritual, story, or song through compositional gestures. It may also incorporate Native American tunes. Amy Beach (1867-1944) is considered to have composed five Indianist works, but her Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, op. 80 has not been included as one of them. This thesis rethinks categorization of the piece, seeking the "Indian" in it through examination of its gestures, instrumentation, and relationship to contemporary Indianist compositions.
The Famous Mr. Keach: Benjamin Keach and His Influence on Congregational Singing in Seventeenth Century England
Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) was a seventeenth-century preacher and hymn writer. He is considered responsible for the introduction and continued use of hymns, as distinct from psalms and paraphrases, in the English Nonconformist churches in the late seventeenth century, and is remembered as the provider of a well-rounded body of hymns for congregational worship. This thesis reviews the historical climate of seventeenth-century England, and discusses Keach's life in terms of that background. Keach's influence on congregational hymn singing, hymn writers, preaching, and education is also examined. Keach's writings and contributions to hymn singing are little known today. This thesis points out the significance of these writings and hymns to seventeenth-century religious life.
Johann Anton Kobrich's Wohlgeübter Organist
Johann Anton Kobrich (1714-1791) was the priest and organist of the parish church of Landsberg am Lech in upper Bavaria from 1730 until his death. A prolific composer, Kobrich wrote several works for organ, including the Wohlgeubter Organist (1762), a three-part collection of preludes, fugues, and toccatas. The major portion of this thesis consists of an edition of twenty-six selected pieces from the original fifty-eight in this collection. Also included are a bibliography of Kobrich, a discussion of his significance among other contemporary composers, and a survey of the organs and organ music of eighteenth-century southern Germany. In addition, there is an analysis of the Wohlgeubter Organist and a commentary on its significance.
The Recorder Tutors in 't Uitnement Kabinet
Paulus Matthysz, a prominent music printer in Amsterdam during the seventeenth century, published Jacob van Eyck's Der Fluyten Lust-hof and a collection entitled 't Uitnement Kabinet. Three extant copies of Lust-hof include a tutor Vertoninge...op de Handt-fluit, presumably by Matthysz, and a tutor by Gerband van Blanckenburgh, Onderwyzinge...op deHandt-Fluyt. Their content is not correlated with Lust-hof, and they were presumably designed for inclusion in the Kabinet II. Confusion over the tutors' conception has led to published misinformation jeopardizing their historical worth. The casual generalizations regarding the two tutors can be refuted by reestablishing the interrelationship between the tutors and the two collections. This paper employs a comprehensive study into their origins in order to rectify how the tutors are referenced in the twenty-first century.
The Most Expressionist of All the Arts: Programs, Politics, and Performance in Critical Discourse about Music and Expressionism, c.1918-1923
This dissertation investigates how German-language critics articulated and publicly negotiated ideas about music and expressionism in the first five years after World War I. A close reading of largely unexplored primary sources reveals that "musical expressionism" was originally conceived as an intrinsically musical matter rather than as a stylistic analog to expressionism in other art forms, and thus as especially relevant to purely instrumental rather than vocal and stage genres. By focusing on critical reception of an unlikely group of instrumental chamber works, I elucidate how the acts of performing, listening to, and evaluating "expressionist" music were enmeshed in the complexities of a politicized public concert life in the immediate postwar period. The opening chapters establish broad music-aesthetic and sociopolitical contexts for critics' postwar discussions of "musical expressionism." After the first, introductory chapter, Chapter 2 traces how art and literary critics came to position music as the most expressionist of the arts based on nineteenth-century ideas about the apparently unique ontology of music. Chapter 3 considers how this conception of expressionism led progressive-minded music critics to interpret expressionist music as the next step in the historical development of absolute music. These critics strategically—and controversially—portrayed Schoenberg's "atonal" polyphony as a legitimate revival of "linear" polyphony in fugues by Bach and late Beethoven. Chapter 4 then situates critical debates about the musical and cultural value of expressionism within broader struggles to construct narratives that would explain Germany's traumatic defeat in the Great War and abrupt restructuring as a fragile democratic republic. Against this backdrop, the later chapters explore critics' responses to public performances of specific "expressionist" chamber works. Chapter 5 traces reactions to a provocative performance of Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony, op. 9 (1906) at the Berlin Volksbühne in February 1920. Chapter 6 examines the interplay of musical-aesthetic and sociopolitical issues in critical …
The Sonatas of Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690) in San Petronio MSS G.I: 3-9
Domenico Gabrielli's seven trumpet sonatas are among seventeenth-century trumpet repertoire predominant in the instrumental tradition of the basilica San Petronio, which flourished roughly from the election of Maurizio Cazzati as maestro di cappella in 1657 until the dissolution of the orchestra of the church in 1695. Fostered by numerous occasions for performance, the Bolognese trumpet works tend to exhibit a uniform musical style imposed by musical academies. After a discussion of the probable cause of the termination of the instrumental tradition and of the role of musical academies, this paper will be primarily concerned with formal aspects of fast movements of Gabrielli's sonatas. Despite the fact that the predominant organizing principle of the fast movements appears to be textural, a step toward ritornello form is taken in some of the movements, in which tutti and solo sections are independently developed. In particular, the recurrence of identical material in tutti confirming different keys, the thematic relation between tutti and solo, and the symmetrical and balanced tonal plan are unmistakable seeds of full ritornello form. The text is followed by critical notes and transcriptions of the seven sonatas.
Reading Handel: A Textual and Musical Analysis of Handel's Acis and Galatea (1708, 1718)
The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: one is to analyze the narratives of Acis and Galatea written by Ovid, and the two libretti by Handel's librettists including Nicola Giuvo (1708) and John Gay (1718) with John Hughes and Alexander Pope; the other is to correlate this textual analysis within the musical languages. A 1732 pastiche version is excluded because its bilingual texts are not suitable for the study of relationships between meaning and words. For this purpose, the study uses the structural theory- -mainly that of Gérard Genette--as a theoretical framework for the analysis of the texts. Narrative analysis of Acis and Galatea proves that the creative process of writing the libretto is a product of a conscious acknowledgement of its structure by composer and librettists. They put the major events of the story into recitative and ensemble. By examining the texts of both Handel's work, I explore several structural layers from the libretti: the change of the characterization to accommodate a specific occasion and the composer's response to contemporary English demand for pastoral drama with parodistic elements, alluding to the low and high class of society. Further, Polyphemus is examined in terms of relationships with culture corresponding to his recurrent pattern of appearance.
Searching for Songs of the People: The Ideology of the Composers' Collective and Its Musical Implications
The Composers' Collective, founded by leftist composers in 1932 New York City, sought to create proletarian music that avoided the "bourgeois" traditions of the past and functioned as a vehicle to engage Americans in political dialogue. The Collective aimed to understand how the modern composer became isolated from his public, and discussions on the relationship between music and society pervade the radical writings of Marc Blitzstein, Charles Seeger, and Elie Siegmeister, three of the organization's most vocal members. This new proletarian music juxtaposed revolutionary text with avant-garde musical idioms that were incorporated in increasingly greater quantities; thus, composers progressively acclimated the listener to the dissonance of modern music, a distinctive sound that the Collective hoped would become associated with revolutionary ideals. The mass songs of the two Workers' Song Books published by the Collective, illustrate the transitional phase of the musical implementation of their ideology. In contrast, a case study of the song "Chinaman! Laundryman!" by Ruth Crawford Seeger, a fringe member of the Collective, suggests that this song belongs within the final stage of proletarian music, where the text and highly modernist music seamlessly interact to create what Charles Seeger called an "art-product of the highest type."
Dubuisson: A Study of His Music for Solo Bass Viol
Dubuisson (fl.1666-c.1685) is the sole French viol player-composer between Nicolas Hotman (1613-1663) and Le Sieur de Sainte-Colombe (d.c.1700) whose works are extant. His four suites from a Library of Congress manuscript (1666) are the oldest dated French music for the bass viol; his approximately 125 pieces are contained in five manuscript sources. This thesis brings together, for the first time, all the music from the five sources for study and analysis. Together with the few biographical details, this material is used to assess his position within the French viol school. Brief histories of the viol and the suite in France precede a discussion of Dubuisson's contributions to the evolution of the genre.
Reconsidering the Lament: Form, Content, and Genre in Italian Chamber Recitative Laments: 1600-1640
Scholars have considered Italian chamber recitative laments only a transitional phenomenon between madrigal laments and laments organized on the descending tetrachord bass. However, the recitative lament is distinguished from them by its characteristic attitude toward the relationship between music and text. Composer of Italian chamber recitative laments attempted to express more subtle, refined and sometimes complicated emotion in their music. For that purpose, they intentionally created discrepancies between text and music. Sometimes they even destroy the original structure of text in order to clearly deliver the composer's own voice. The basic syntactic structure is deconstructed and reconstructed along with their reading and according to their intention. The discrepancy between text and music is, however, expectable and natural phenomena since text cannot be completely translated or transformed to music and vice versa. The composers of Italian chamber recitative laments utilized their innate heterogeneity between two materials (music and text) as a metaphor that represents the semantic essence of the genre, the conflict. In this context, Italian chamber recitative laments were a real embodiment of the so-called seconda prattica and through the study of them, finally, we more fully able to understand how the spirit of late Renaissance flourished in Italy in the first four decade of the seventeenth century.
Clavichord Traits in Selected Late Eighteenth-Century Keyboard Pieces
Several late eighteenth-century keyboard composers indicated that some of their works were written specifically for the clavichord, as opposed to the harpsichord or pianoforte. This demand was indicated by a composer's commentary, remarks made by a contemporary, or by Bebung and Tragen der Tone indications in the music. The thesis examines selected works of C.P.E. Bach, Johann Eckard, Nathanael Gruner, Johann Hassler, Christian Neefe, F.S. Sander, and Daniel Tt*rk, and discusses elements of the music that seem particularly suited to clavichord performance. These elements are Bebung, Tragen der TOne, finely nuanced dynamic indications, certain types of melodic writing, and a thin textural composition.
Zweyer Gleich-Gesinnten Freunde Tugend- und Schertz-Lieder by Johann Jacob Löwe and Julius Johann Weiland
The purpose of this thesis was to make available for performance and study an edition of the twenty-two secular songs published in this collection by Johann Jacob Löwe and Julius Johann Weiland in 1657. The thesis contains twenty-two secular songs for one, two, or three voices with continuo accompaniment and ritornellos for one or two violins, and/or viola, as well as translations of Lowe's preface and dedication and a poem to Lower and Weiland by Heinrich Schaffer. The work contains three chapters, the first covering Lowe's life and work and association with Weiland, the second the state of German secular song in 16050, and the third a critical commentary on the editing of the songs. Editorial corrections are included.
Eighteenth-Century French Oboes: A Comparative Study
The oboe, which first came into being in the middle of the seventeenth century in France, underwent a number of changes throughout the following century. French instruments were influenced both by local practices and by the introduction of influences from other parts of Europe. The background of the makers of these instruments as well as the physical properties of the oboes help to illuminate the development of the instrument during this period. The examination of measurements, technical drawings, photographs, and biographical data clarify the development and dissemination of practices in oboe building throughout eighteenth-century France. This clarification provides new insight into a critical period of oboe development which has hitherto not been exclusively addressed.
The String Quartets of Franz Berwald
This thesis is concerned with the historical context and evaluation of the string quartets of Franz Berwald. It will establish the environment within which Berwald composed these quartets, and show the results of his efforts. The material for this investigation was gathered from musical scores and literature about music. Chapter I gives an introduction to the thesis and a short biographical sketch of Berwald. Chapter II surveys the string quartet in the first half of the nineteenth century, citing the work of major composers. This chapter concludes with an examination of the influences on Berwald's musical styles. Chapter III surveys Berwald's musical output and describes the Quartet in G Minor. Chapter IV describes his last two quartets. The evaluations and conclusions are presented in Chapter V.
Melodic Organization in Four Solos by Ornette Coleman
The thesis presents annotated transcriptions and detailed analyses of four improvised solos by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, a leading figure within the free jazz movement. The four solos, all of which were recorded in 1959, are: "Ramblin', " "Lonely Woman," "Congeniality," and "Free." -The focus of the analyses is upon Coleman's techniques for creating melodic continuity and development. Introductory chapters survey Coleman's career and examine his original theoretical system, "Harmolodics. " The thesis concludes with an annotated bibliography and discography.
Criticism of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony in London and Boston, 1819-1874: A Forum for Public Discussion of Musical Topics
Critics who discuss Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony often write about aspects that run counter to their conception of what a symphony should be, such as this symphony’s static nature and its programmatic elements. In nineteenth-century Boston and London, criticism of the Pastoral Symphony reflects the opinions of a wide range of listeners, as critics variably adopted the views of the intellectual elite and general audience members. As a group, these critics acted as intermediaries between various realms of opinion regarding this piece. Their writing serves as a lens through which we can observe audiences’ acceptance of ideas common in contemporaneous musical thought, including the integrity of the artwork, the glorification of genius, and ideas about meaning in music.
Polyphonic Harmony in Three of Ferruccio Busoni’s Orchestral Elegies
This dissertation focuses on three of Busoni’s late orchestral works known as “orchestral elegies”: Berceuse élégiaque (Elegie no. 1, 1909), Gesang vom Reigen der Geister (Elegie no. 4, 1915), and Sarabande (Elegie no. 5, 1918-19). The study seeks to provide a better understanding of Busoni’s late style as a crucial bridge from late nineteenth-century chromaticism in the works of Liszt, Wagner, and others to the post-tonal languages of the twentieth century. At the heart of this study lies a particular concept that forms the basis of many characteristic features of Busoni’s late style, namely the concept of polyphonic harmony, or harmony as a cumulative result of independent melodic lines. This concept is also related to a technique of orchestration in which the collective harmony is sounded in such a way that the individual voices are distinct. In the highly personal tonal language of Busoni’s late works, passages often consist of a web of motives weaved throughout the voices at the surface level of the music. Linear analysis provides a means of unravelling the dense fabric of voices and illustrating the underlying harmonic progressions, which most often consist of parallel, primarily semitonal, progressions of tertian sonorities. Chapter 1 provides a backdrop for this study, including a brief summary of Busoni’s ideas on the aesthetics of music and a summary of his influence and development as a composer. Chapter 2 addresses the concept of polyphonic harmony in more detail, some theoretical ideas related to it, and characteristics of Busoni’s late style that reflect this concept. Chapter 3 is dedicated to analytical methodology, addressing concepts which emerge from various linear approaches to the analysis of some twentieth-century music. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 are each dedicated to a specific work, the purpose being to illuminate through linear analysis compositional characteristics and techniques related …
Keyboard Tablatures of the Mid-Seventeenth Century in the Royal Library, Copenhagen: Edition and Commentary
In the history of seventeenth-century European music the court of Christian IV (r. 1588-1648) occupies a position of prominence. Christian, eager for fame as a patron of the arts, drew to Denmark many of the musical giants of the age, among them the lutenist John Dowland and the composer Heinrich Schltz. Sadly, except for financial records and occasional letters still in the archives, few traces remain of these brilliant years in Denmark. The music composed and played during this half century has largely disappeared, most of it probably in the tragic fire of 1794 that destroyed the old Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen and with it the court music archives. Except for the recently-discovered Clausholm Fragments, only three specimens of keyboard music from the period remain: Ny kgl. Saml. 1997 fol. (Obmaus Tablature), Gl. kgl. Saonl. 376 fol. (Copenhagen Tablature), and mu 6703.2131/6 (VoigtlaJnder Tablature). It has generally been assumed that the manuscripts were of German origin. The present study, however, demonstrates a probable Danish origin for the third, possible Danish connections for the second, and establishes that the first is of Austrian provenance. The Obmaus Tablature is an amateur's preservation of a German keyboard style already outdated. This slender manuscript, dated 1637, contains a total of ten "archaic" pieces exhibiting the peculiarities of keyboard dances and song settings from the late sixteenth century. The awkward style of the pieces leads to the conclusion that they were transcribed for keyboard--more literally than imaginatively--from lute originals. The Copenhagen Tablature, consisting of thirty-four folios, is of primary importance for its evidence of the spread of the French claveqin style and the development of the keyboard suite. Of the sixty-nine pieces the majority are French dance forms, several with doubles; also included are preludes, German dances, and settings of chorales, psalms, and secular songs. …
French Theories of Beauty and the Aesthetics of Music 1700 to 1750
Studies of eighteenth-century French musical aesthetics have traditionally focused on questions of taste treated in the critical literature of the day. During the first half of the century, however, certain French writers were dealing with aesthetics in the stricter sense of the word, proposing theories of beauty that suited existing philosophical values. The treatises in which these ideas were set forth--Jean-Pierre de Crousaz' Traité du beau, Jean-Baptiste DuBos' Réflexions critiques sur la poësie et sur la peinture, Yves-Marie André's Essai sur le beau, and Charles Batteux' Les Beaux arts réduits à un même principe--are among the first learned writings to present the musical experience in something other than a mathematical or pedagogical light. This study investigates not only the role music played in these theories of beauty, but also the methodological problems inherent in translating this data into historical information.
Scoring for the Specter: Dualities in the Music of the Ghost Scene in Four Film Adaptations of Hamlet
This document's purpose is to analyze dualities found in different films of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Each version brings different ideas to it. By analyzing each version and focusing on the Ghost Scene, comparisons of the scene's symbolism are made between the musical scores. The beginning chapters provide a history of film, film music, the play, and events up to the ghost scene. After these chapters come analyses of the scene itself. Each version uses different parts of the play for its own purposes, but there are many commonalities between them. The score for each version of the Ghost Scene will be analyzed independently of each other. This work will contribute to musicology, film research, Shakespeare studies, and English scholarship.
The sixteenth-century basse de violon: fact or fiction? Identification of the bass violin (1535-1635).
Research on the origins of the violoncello reveals considerable dispute concerning the existence and identity of its ancestor, the bass violin. This study focuses on the classification of the sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century bass violin by means of the following criteria: construction, early history and development, role due the social status of builders and players, use within the violin band, performing positions, and defining terminology. Accounts of inventories, organological treatises, music theoretical writings, lists of households and royal courts, descriptions of feasts, reports of choreographies and iconographical examples confirm the bass violin's presence in the late sixteenth century and beyond. Three of the earliest unchanged extant organological examples embody, complement and corroborate the bass violin's identification, and conclude the essay.
An Edition of Verse and Solo Anthems by William Boyce
The English musician William Boyce was known as an organist for the cathedral as well as the Chapel Royal, a composer of both secular and sacred music, a director of large choral festivals, and the editor of Cathedral Music, the finest eighteenth-century edition of English Church music. Among Boyce's compositions for the church are many examples of verse and solo anthems. Part II of this thesis consists of an edition of one verse and three solo anthems selected from British Museum manuscript Additional 40497, transcribed into modern notation, and provided with a realization for organ continuo. Material prefatory to the edition itself, including a biography, a history of the verse and solo anthem from the English Reformation to the middle of the eighteenth century, a discussion .of the characteristics of Boyce's verse and solo anthems, and editorial notes constitute Part I.
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