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Dissonance Treatment in Fuging Tunes by Daniel Read from The American Singing Book and The Columbian Harmonist

Description: This thesis treats Daniel Read's music analytically to establish style characteristics. Read's fuging tunes are examined for metric placement and structural occurrence of dissonance, and dissonance as text painting. Read's comments on dissonance are extracted from his tunebook introductions. A historical chapter includes the English origins of the fuging tune and its American heyday. The creative life of Daniel Read is discussed. This thesis contributes to knowledge of Read's role in the develo… more
Date: May 1987
Creator: Sims, Scott G.
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Dmitri Shostakovich and the Fugues of Op. 87: A Bach Bicentennial Tribute

Description: In 1950-51, for the bicentennial of the death of J. S. Bach, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his collection of Twenty-four Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87. This thesis is a study of the fugal technique of Shostakovich as observed in Op. 87, in light of the fugal style of Bach as observed in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume One. Individual analyses of each of the twenty-four Shostakovich pieces yield the conclusion that Op. 87 is an emulation of Bachian fugal methods as observed in The Well-Tempered Clav… more
Date: August 1981
Creator: Adams, Robert M. (Robert Michael)
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Drafts, Page Proofs, and Revisions of Schenker's Der freie Satz: The Collection at the Austrian National Library and Schenker's Generative Process

Description: When Schenkerian theory began to influence scholarly circles in the United States, the primary - although not the only - work to which scholars had access was Schenker's last monograph, Der freie Satz. Reading textual passages and examining the many musical graphs in the companion volume of examples influenced their concept of the fundamental structure as Schenker understood it, as well as the relationship of the other levels (Schichten) to the larger structure. The problem is that most of th… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Auerbach, Jennifer Sadoff
open access

Form in Popular Song, 1990-2009

Description: Through an examination of 402 songs that charted in the top 20 of the Billboard year-end charts between the years 1990 and 2009, this dissertation builds upon previous research in form of popular song by addressing the following questions: 1) How might formal sections be identified through melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, and text? 2) How do these sections function and relate to one another and to the song as a whole? 3) How do these sections, and the resulting formal structures, relat… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Ensign, Jeffrey S.
open access

Formal Devices of Trance and House Music: Breakdowns, Buildups, and Anthems

Description: Trance and house music are sub-genres within the genre of electronic dance music. The form of breakdown, buildup and anthem is the main driving force behind trance and house music. This thesis analyzes transcriptions from 22 trance and house songs in order to establish and define new terminology for formal devices used within the breakdown, buildup and anthem sections of the music.
Date: December 2011
Creator: Iler, Devin
open access

Formal Organization in Ground-bass Compositions

Description: This thesis examines formal organization in ground-bass works. While it is true that many or even most works of the ground-bass repertoire are variation sets over a ground, there also exist many ground-bass works that are not in variation form. The primary goal of this thesis is to elucidate the various ways in which such non-variation formal organizations may be achieved. The first chapter of this work discusses the general properties of ground basses and various ways that individual phrases m… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Stevens, Bryan
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From Outward Appearance to Inner Reality: A Reading of Aaron Copland's Inscape

Description: About 8.3% of individuals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM) are diagnosed with comorbid depression, a higher rate than the general adult population. This project examined the differences of depression symptoms experienced between diabetic and matched non-diabetic individuals and the relationship of daily activity and nutrition behaviors with depression between these groups. The 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was utilized to assess: depression symptoms, d… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Ensign, Jeffrey S.
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Functions of Quotations in Steven Stucky's Oratorio August 4, 1964 and Their Placements within the Context of a Quotation Continuum: Cultural, Commentary, Remembrance, and Unity

Description: The oratorio August 4, 1964 is a twelve-movement work for orchestra, chorus, and four soloists written by Steven Stucky. The premise for the libretto, adapted by Gene Scheer, is the confluence of two events during one day (August 4, 1964) in the life of Lyndon B. Johnson. Although the main idea of the libretto focuses on these two events of this one day, many cultural references of the 1960's in general can be found as well, such as quotations from the well-known song "We Shall Overcome." Stu… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Davenport, Jennifer Tish
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The Fundamental Unity in Brahm's Horn Trio, Op. 40

Description: Different sections or movements of a piece are associated with each other and contain the composer essential thought. A vague affinity of mood and a resembling theme or form testifies to the relationship. However, the evidence is insufficient to reveal the unification of the different sections or movements since these are under restraint of external music proofs. In order to figure out the relationship, thus, identical musical substance should be discovered. In the study the substantial evidenc… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Kim, JongKyun
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Gewesener Magdeburgische Musicus: An Examination into the Stylistic Characteristics of Heinrich Grimm's Eight-Voice Motet, Unser Leben Wehret Siebenzig Jahr'

Description: Although Magdeburg cantor Heinrich Grimm was frequently listed among prominent musical figures of the early seventeenth century such as Heinrich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein, and Michael Praetorius in music lexica through the nineteenth century, he has almost disappeared from modern scholarship. However, a resurgence in Grimm studies has begun in recent years, especially in the areas of biographical study and compositional output. In this study, I examine the yet unexplored music-analytic pers… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Dobbs, Benjamin Michael
open access

Gualterio Armando's 34 Canciones Hispanoamericanas Para Canto Y Piano: a Comprehensive Edition and an Analytical Study of the Work’s Thematic Unity, Chromaticism, and Use of Musical Quotations

Description: During the 1930s, German-born music critic and composer Gualterio Armando (1887-1973), formerly known as Walter Dahms, set to music thirty-four poems by some of the most important Hispano-American poets from the latter part of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. In these songs, Armando tries to capture the spirit and idiosyncrasy of Hispano-American cultures while incorporating his own musical aesthetics. Armando’s 34 Canciones Hispanoamericanas para Canto y Piano (34 Hispan… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Pérez Torres, René
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Harmonic and Contrapuntal Techniques in the Late Keyboard Works of Cesar Franck

Description: This study examines the five late keyboard works of Cesar Franck: the Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue and the Prelude. Aria, and Finale for piano, and the three organ chorales. The study focuses on harmonic and contrapuntal techniques and their interrelationships, placing the discussion in the context of an analysis of the whole piece. The primary goal is to identify the salient characteristics of each piece; a secondary goal is to identify common harmonic and contrapuntal aspects of Franck's style. more
Date: May 1992
Creator: Cranford, Dennis R. (Dennis Ray)
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The Harmonic Interval of the Seventh in the Works of Representative Composers of Italian Madrigals, 1542-1614

Description: This study is an attempt to shed some light on the treatment of one dissonance—the seventh—in the works of the following composers: Cipriano de Rore (1516-1565); Philippe de Monte (1521-1603); Giaches de Wert (1535-1596); Luca Marenzio (1553-1599); Carlo Gesualdo (ca. 1560-1613); and Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643). The purpose of this thesis is to discover (1) the frequency of occurrence of primary (relatively accented) sevenths and their inversions (^ chords, etc.) in a selection of each compo… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Dowden, Ralph D.
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Harmony in the Songs of Hugo Wolf

Description: The songs of Hugo Wolf represent the culmination of the Romantic German Lied tradition. Wolf developed a personal chromatic harmonic style that allowed him to respond to every nuance of a poetic text, thereby stretching tonality to its limits. He was convinced, however, that despite its novel nature his music could be explained through the traditional theory of harmony. This study determines the degree to which Wolf's belief is true, and begins with an evaluation of the current state of researc… more
Date: August 1989
Creator: McKinney, Timothy R. (Timothy Richmond)
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Hugo Wolf's Interpretation of Paul Heyse's Texts: An Examination of Selected Songs from the Italienisches Liederbuch

Description: In a Romantic song cycle or songbook, songs tend to share many common ideas because they are used to set to the poems from one collection written or collected by one author. Many composers designed the same motivic or structural elements to a group of songs for unity, and sometimes they made chronological narratives for the series of poems. Music theorists have tried to find out a way of giving a sense of unity or narrative to the songs in a song cycle or songbook by analyzing its musical langu… more
Date: December 2010
Creator: Shin, Dong Jin
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Igor Stravinsky: An Analytical Study of Programmatic Design of His Symphony in Three Movements

Description: Stravinsky seldom explained the intended theme of his works; however, he chose to do so with his Symphony in Three Movements. Stravinsky describes the first movement as a reflection on war films documenting scorched-earth tactics in China. He also states that the third movement is a reflection on the newsreels of goose-stepping soldiers, depicting the plot of the war in its entirety. In his descriptions, Stravinsky left out the second movement of the work. However, the movement already had a li… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Anderson, Rachel (Rachel Anne)
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Imagined Sounds: Their Role in the Strict and Free Compositional Practice of Anton Bruckner

Description: The present study develops a dynamic model of strict and free composition that views them as relative to a specific historical context. The dynamic view espoused here regards free embellishments of an earlier compositional generation as becoming the models for a strict compositional theory in a later one. From the newly established strict compositional models, succeeding generations of composers produce new free embellishments. The first part of the study develops the dynamic conception of a c… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Brooks, Jonathan
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The Influence of Fredrik Melius Christiansen on Six Minnesota Conductor-Composers

Description: F. Melius Christiansen was very influential in the a cappella choral tradition. He started his career in Norway and brought his expertise to the American Midwest. Christiansen established a name for himself while working at St. Olaf Lutheran College as the head of the music department. It was the blended choral sound and precision he was able to achieve and display with his new choir in 1912 that caught everyone's ear. He continued to succeed with national and international tours, allowing him… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Armendarez, Christina Marie
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J. F. Daube's "General-Bass in drey Accorden" (1756): A Translation and Commentary

Description: General-Bass in drey Accorden (1756), the first of Johann Friedrich Daube's theoretical works, is a practical instruction manual in thorough-bass accompaniment. It consists of a sixteen page preface followed by 215 pages of text and musical examples. The twelve chapters begin with a presentation of interval classification and a discussion of consonance and dissonance. Daube then explains a theory of harmony in which all "chords" are derived from three primary chords. These are illustrated with … more
Date: May 1983
Creator: Wallace, Barbara Kees
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Jacques Ibert: an Analytical Study of Three Movements From Histoires

Description: Although many biographical studies are available on Jacques Ibert, few contain significant analytical commentary. In this study I examine three movements from Ibert’s Histoires for piano which was composed between 1920 and 1921 and was premiered in 1923. The three movements are “La menuese de tortues d’or,” “Le petit âne blanc,” and “La marchande d’eau fraîche.” I primarily use Schenkerian analysis to identify characteristics of Ibert’s compositional language. Significant aspects of impressio… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Waldroup, William Allan
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The Key to Unlocking the Secret Window

Description: David Koepp's Secret Window was released by Columbia Pictures in 2004. The film's score was written by Philip Glass and Geoff Zanelli. This thesis analyzes transcriptions from six scenes within the film in conjunction with movie stills from those scenes in an attempt to explain how the film score functions.
Date: December 2010
Creator: McConnell, Sarah E.
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Klangfarben, Rhythmic Displacement, and Economy of Means: A Theoretical Study of the Works of Thelonious Monk

Description: The purpose of this study is to investigate the theoretical causes of the stylistic results of both compositions and spontaneous improvisations of jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The specific topics chosen for analysis include Klangfarben (sound colors), rhythmic displacement (the relocation or complete removal of expected rhythmic events), and economy of means (the judicious use of silence, simplicity, and economy). All of the above topics are addressed with regard to the composer's… more
Date: December 1990
Creator: Kteily-O'Sullivan, Laila Rose
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The Lessons of Arnold Schoenberg in Teaching the Musikalische Gedanke

Description: Arnold Schoenberg's teaching career spanned over fifty years and included experiences in Austria, Germany, and the United States. Schoenberg's teaching assistant, Leonard Stein, transcribed Schoenberg's class lectures at UCLA from 1936 to 1944. Most of these notes resulted in publications that provide pedagogical examples of combined elements from Schoenberg's European years of teaching with his years of teaching in America. There are also class notes from Schoenberg's later lectures that ha… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Conlon, Colleen Marie
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Ligeti’s Early Experiments in Compositional Process: Simple Structures in Musica Ricercata

Description: This study examines the formation of a unique chromatic and formal language in Musica Ricercata by György Ligeti. The study begins by examining statements from an interview with Ligeti conducted by Ove Nordwall in 1979. The interview discusses his compositional experiments from the early 1950s, the period in which Musica Ricercata was composed. Working from Ligeti’s words, “simple structures” are defined as repeating formations of rhythms and intervals with easily discernable features. These fe… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Grantham, Daniel
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