Description: Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale preludes are varied and artistic not only in the treatment of chorale melodies, but also in the accompaniments of those chorale melodies. This study examines the accompaniments of Bach's long chorale preludes, focusing on identifying the various types and the characteristics that make them unique. This study investigates the two broad categories of accompaniments depending on whether the motives are chorale-derived or independent of the chorale. While the chorale prelude accompaniments in the first large group are closely related, the accompaniments of the chorale preludes in the second group stand independently and illustrate the vast range of Bach's compositional skill. Both groups demonstrate Bach's interest in expanding his predecessors' models, a trait that can be traced throughout all of Bach's compositional history.

Description: The Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Peter Maxwell Davies is one of his earliest works, and a notoriously difficult work to perform. While using serialism and other twentieth-century compositional techniques, this work also uses older historical forms, including sonata-allegro and sonata-rondo forms. An analysis of the work is presented, identifying the older historical forms, and considerations for performers when making decisions on how to perform the work are provided.

Description: Composed in 1927 and dedicated to Segovia, Ponce's Sonata III, one of the staples of the classical guitar repertoire, is the focus of this paper. To put this piece into proper perspective among Ponce's other works, biographical information leading up to the composition of the piece is presented first. Each of the three movements is then analyzed with regard to formal construction as well as harmonic and melodic language. Analysis is an important precursor to actually playing the piece, as Sonata III is a work that departs from Ponce's previous compositional style. The main portion of this paper addresses the preparation and interpretation of Sonata III. The insight gained through initial analysis of the piece is used to arrive at a musically satisfying interpretation of the work. Specific performance suggestions are included. Technical issues are addressed and possible solutions are presented. Alternate fingerings are provided to alleviate some of the common technical challenges the guitarist will encounter. A transcription and discussion of the Segovia revisions are also present. The paper concludes with general suggestions for improving performance that would be applicable to other works for guitar as well. This synthesis of biographical information, analysis, editorial options and performance suggestions, has ...

Description: Chen Yi's music is well accepted and recognized nationally and internationally through an increasing number of commissions and performances. Major symphony orchestras, choruses, institutions and companies request her compositions on many occasions in order to increase understanding and exploration of Chinese influences on western classical idioms. This study provides the first detailed discussion of her compositional mastery and her fusion of Chinese music with the language of western choral traditions. Chen Yi's reputation as a prominent orchestral composer does not restrain her passion to apply instrumental techniques and materials to her quality choral compositions. This study focuses on (1) how hardship and various life experiences during the ten-year Cultural Revolution shaped Chen Yi's musical inspirations; (2) how the influences of major musical genres, such as traditional Chinese folksong, jingju, model play, 19th-20th century nationalism, impressionism, and serialism are consolidated in her kaleidoscopic compositional techniques; and (3) the application of Chinese languages, pedagogical concepts, and extra-musical elements, such as Chinese poems, paintings, and calligraphies, revealed in her original, intelligent and resourceful choral creations.

Description: Whether provided by a composer, written out by a performer or completely improvised, the cadenza became a vehicle for performers' creativity, lyricism and technical prowess in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The debate about whether to notate or improvise cadenzas, a question as old as the cadenza itself, continues today. Saxophonists have not been involved in this debate, since the instrument is a product of the mid-nineteenth century and was in its infancy just as the practice of improvising cadenzas was fading. This study documents an unprecedented, recently-recorded, improvised cadenza in one of the most significant twentieth-century saxophone works: Jacques Ibert's Concertino da Camera for Alto Saxophone and Eleven Instruments (1935). Saxophonist Branford Marsalis's neo-cadenza for Ibert's composition presents an aggregate of the twenty-first-century performer improvising a cadenza to a twentieth-century work, in a tradition that was common centuries ago. The document begins with an inquiry into improvised cadenzas, and proceeds to an examination of the performance history of the cadenza for the Concertino da Camera. Twenty professionally-recorded versions of the cadenza are presented in order to understand the performance history of the cadenza, and to place the Marsalis cadenza into context. This research culminates in a transcription and analysis ...