Theses (Music)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/169

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 101

A tune by any other name: Jazz, musical works, and copyright
(2025) Brooks, Joshua; Luko, Alexis
This thesis explores musical ontology in jazz. Treating Lydia Goehr’s work concept as a starting point, I examine jazz by drawing on philosophical, musicological, and legal scholarship. I analyze the features of jazz that render it a compelling ontological puzzle using George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm and Duke Ellington’s Cottontail as examples. I explore the boundaries of musical identity in jazz with reference to jazz standards, contrafacts, and indeterminacy, and I address the various ways that jazz practice is at odds with Goehr’s work concept. With reference to the work of James O. Young and Carl Matheson, Andrew Kania, Nicholas Cook, Stephen Davies, and Brian Kane, I explore the positions that scholars have taken on musical ontology in jazz. I build on Brian Kane’s network-based ontological model by proposing melodic primacy as an important ontological feature of jazz and I trace its origins to the aesthetic and legal traditions that migrated to the United States from Europe. I apply Lydia Goehr’s historical method to conclude that ontology in jazz emerged in part from the legally mandated ontology of copyright law.
Conceptions of mode in Maurice Emmanuel’s XXX Chansons Bourguignonnes
(2024) Sheard, Edwin M.; Salem, Joseph
This thesis explores intellectual and ideological contexts surrounding the French composer Maurice Emmanuel’s (1862–1938) arrangements of Burgundian folk songs, published in the collection XXX Chansons Bourguignonnes (1917). Equal parts scholar and composer, Emmanuel believed that the songs in XXX Chansons substantiated his distinctive compositional methods and linked them to an “opulent” Indo-European heritage largely extinct in contemporary art music. Focusing on Emmanuel’s lifelong desire to rejuvenate diatonic practices, I compare his treatment of mode in music-historical writings with composition techniques in XXX Chansons. I suggest that XXX Chansons serves as an arena for Emmanuel to workshop and perform modal gestures that convey his attitude towards historical topics, formed largely in reaction to the institutionalization of common-practice tonality. Further, I situate Emmanuel’s work within a nineteenth-century French tradition of folk-song transcription and arrangement linked to the construction of music historical narratives. Given Emmanuel’s position as chair of music history at the Paris Conservatoire (1909–36), the relatively simple arrangements in XXX Chansons read as an unofficial treatise on modal harmonization in a contemporary context—particularly as a secular complement to his Traité de l’accompagnement modal des psaumes (1913). Through the lens of XXX Chansons, Emmanuel’s intellectual activity provides a unique insight into undercurrents in the development of French modernist musical aesthetics at the turn of the twentieth century.
Musique concrete : a translation and analysis of two essays of Pierre Schaeffer : L'experience concrète en musique, La musique écartelée
(1980) Zapf, Donna
The musical experimentation classified as concrete music arose at a pivotal time after the second world war. Artists were resuming their roles in a world that was visibly in f lux. It is not merely conjecture to interpret the music scenario in the early fifties as germinal to musical developments in ensuing decades, or to recognize its value in a broader context as reflective of societal attitudes. Moreover, as time provides an objective perspective, there is no reason that critical analysis of this period should not be undertaken. Within this context, the treatment of concrete music outside of France has been cursory at best. None of the literature concerned with the progenitive development of electro-acoustic music in France has been translated into English. As well there are few available recordings, the primary source of a music created on tape without score; inadequate bibliographies of composer's works; and a lack of accurate chronological data. The present study is a translation and critical analysis of the writings of the initiator of concrete music, Pierre Schaeffer. For over a decade before the advent of concrete music, Schaeffer had been involved in the technical, journalistic and theoretical aspects of the broadcast media at Radio Francein Paris (RTF). Out of the context of sound in radio, he conceived of concrete music and was uniquely responsible for the first experiments, the initial development of an aesthetic-theory, and a compositional methodology. As well, he chronicled its progression. His writings are the only primary source of information for the first years of this experimentation. The translation, L'Experience Concrète en Musique, was originally published in 1952 as the third section of a four part book, A la Recherche d 'une Musique Concrète. The first two sections are journals that outline the development of concrete music in the years of its inception, 1948-1951. These journals detail the experimentation with sound: the formal conundrums and the compositional results. They are imbued with the incredible excitement and bravado of open- ended research. L'Experience Concrète en Musique, written in 1952, is a reflection on the undertaking, an attempt to coalesce haphazard ideology and fortuitous accident into unified theory and methodology. It is in this section that certain axiomatic ideas, emergent in the first concrete experiments, become crystallized and conscious. Schaeffer unfurls the banner of "experimental methodology" over musical composition, and solidifies the remarkable concept of musical research. He expands field of musical material to include environmental sound, and espouses an empirical approach to composition, Optimally, constructional ideas would derive from sound rather than from preconceived formal patterns. Compositional material consisted of sound objects created by severing a sound from its causal context, and eliminating dramatic-literary allusion. This work i s also replete with a prescient phenomenology of music. This perspective is a primary aspect of Schaeffer's later work. His book, Traité des Objets Musicaux, 1966, as well as research in which he participated pursue a solfege of the sound object -- a detailed inquiry into the perception of sound. This phenomenological concern is present throughout this translation, and three of the seven chapters deal directly with a subject-object relationship in music. L'Experience concrète is exploratory -- a venture into unknown territory. Terminology is not pre-existent and must be invented or improvised. A sense of the obsolescence of the prevailing musical system pervades the work, lending it an eschatological cast Ca meditation on the musical apocalypse) , even as it speculates on new possibilities and artistic expansion. With all of its inconsistencies, it is a journalistic syncretism of considerable value. The second translation is a foil to the first. La, Musique Ecartelée published in this English translation in 1980, continues the premise of an experimental rather than an a priori approach to musical composition. In this instance, however, Schaeffer's thought is more clearly evolved. Illustrative references no longer range ever the arts as in L'Experience Concrete, but focus on contemporary music, using a hypothetical musical apogee (the eighteenth century) as a qualitative parameter. The article is an anatomy of musical experience rather than a presentation of a methodology of music. It provides a referential framework for A la Recherche de la Musique Concrète. This introduction to the translations will clarify terminology and provide contextual references to Schaeffer's thought. Specifically, it will explore those premises about music and the nature of musical experience that are endemic to concrete music and shapes its compositional direction. Tools of literary criticism are appropriate to the material and have been used in this study.
Aspects of death in the music of Franz Liszt : an examination of three representative solo piano works
(1997) Wynd, Korina Annalisa
The representation of death plays an important part in the music of Franz Liszt ( 1811 - 1886). Liszt's encounters with death profoundly shaped his view of life and provided him with much programmatic material for his compositions. 1l1is thesis will examine selected solo piano works by Liszt which were inspired by various aspects of death and which allow the expression of his sentiments on the subject of death. Through an examination of the role religion played in Liszt's life, the first chapter is designed to establish the root of his attitudes towards death and provide an appropriate context for a discussion on the representation of death in his music. The background and importance of religion in his life is discussed; as well, an overview of Liszt's personal thoughts on the subject of religion and death is given. A summary of Liszt' s various musical techniques for representing death as it relates to religion, that is diabolical and divine depictions of death, is also given. A discussion of the three piano works chosen for study constitutes the remainder of the thesis. Each of the works is representative of one of Liszt's early, middle, or late compositional periods. Each work offers a different aspect of thought on death, expressed musically, as Liszt matured as a composer and as a man. The connections with death of the 1833 work Harmonies poetiques et religieuses is examined in chapter two through a comparison with the source of its inspiration-a poem by Alphonse-Marie-Louis de Lamartine entitled Pensee des morts. The similarities between Liszt's piano piece and the poem are outlined. As well, an examination of the circumstances of composition of the work reveals a potentially strong influence of Lamennais and the Saint-Simonian movement on Liszt's creative process during the 1830s. Chapter three investigates the nature of death as a personal loss through a close study of the Weinen. Klagen. Sorgen. Zagen variations. Steeped in grief over the loss of his daughter, Blandine, in 1862, Liszt composed his set of variations based on a basso ostjnato from Bach's cantata of the same title (BWV 12). A discussion of the connection of the work to Blandine's death as well as an examination of the musical representation of grief is provided. The final chapter examines Liszt' s elegiac works, particularly from the last twenty years, which Liszt felt were of important therapeutic value. These works also reveal a great deal of experimehtation by Liszt with his harmonic Language. A closer examination of his Marche funebre from the third Annees de Pelerinage offers exemplary support of the musical devices Liszt employed, particularly in his late works, to represent death. Through the examination of the aforementioned piano works, Liszt's thoughts concerning the nature of death become clear. The subject was one that preoccupied him throughout his life and warrants in-depth examination.
The concept of harmony in Johann Crüger's theoretical treatises a practical distillate of seventeenth-century musical ideas
(1983) Unger-Burn, Rosalyn Kay Helena
Johann Crüger (1598-1662) wrote five theoretical treatises that are classified as instruction manuals. These works, entitled: Praecepta Muiscae Practicae (1625), and an expanded version republished in 1650 called Quaestiones Musicae Practicae; Kurtzer und verstendlicher Unterricht (1625); Synopsis Musica Continens (1630); Synopsis Musica (1654); and Musicae Practicae Praecepta (1660); deal with a great many musical concepts prevalent during the seventeenth-century in Western Europe. The harmonic concept was being revolutionized at this time, and Crüger's manuals give concise explanations and understandable musical examples of this issue. The study is divided into six major sections. A general background is given about Crüger, his works, and the musical, political, and social world he lived in. The term "harmony" will be defined and discussed in relation to modal and triad theory. The general concept of word/harmony relationship and the practice of Ornamentation and figured bass will be included so as to give explanations of performance practices of the day. Investigation of these treatises reveals that Crüger believes the triad found within the species of the modal scales forms the basis for composition. Harmony is conceived of modally on a triadic basis. It is hoped that this study of Crüger's concept of harmony will enlighten our knowledge of seventeenth-century pre-tonal composition and performance practices based on triadic harmony.
Nixon in China : grand opera and the "Avant-garde"
(1991) Thompson, Brian Christopherb
While the opera Nixon In China (1987), by John Adams, Alice Goodman, and Peter Sellars, has accumulated a great quantity of public and critical attention, material is currently limited to performance reviews. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to assess the dramatic success of the work, and examine its place in twentieth century opera and American culture. The Introduction includes biographical material on the composer, librettist and director, their collaboration, and a brief summary of the performance history of the work. The first half of the thesis examines the material of the opera: the text, the staging of the original production, and the musical style. The opening chapter is a description of the libretto and its staging (including a discussion of sets, costumes, stage action and a general description of the music), followed by a brief discussion of the poetic style. Chapter Two explores John Adams' musical language, examining the basic procedures by which the music operates, and includes numerous examples from the score. Where the first two chapters deal with the materials of the opera in a purely descriptive fashion, the second half of the thesis is an examination of critical and historical issues. In Chapter Three the critical reception of the opera is discussed and then assessed with analysis of specific passages. The use and effectiveness of the orchestra, stage action, and other methods of characterization are discussed, as well as the role of Act III. The fourth and final chapter is an examination of the place of Nixon in China in the history of opera and contemporary American culture. The use of political and historical subjects is examined as well as the division between tradition and the avant-garde in the twentieth century. The development of American minimalism and its aesthetic is also discussed--focusing on the stage works of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson. In concluding I have attempted to place Nixon in China into the larger context of late twentieth century culture by examining its relationship to popular culture and postmodernism. The primary source materials used in the preparation of this thesis have been the orchestral score, obtained through the promotion department at Boosey and Hawkes,* a video tape of the Houston production from a P.B.S. broadcast from 1988, and the Electra/Nonesuch sound recording (79177). Reviews of the opera from newspapers, and both general information and literary journals, such as Time, The New Yorker, and The Hudson Review, have been used as a point of departure for Chapter Three.
The influence of Spanish folk traditions on selected song cycles by Jésus Guridi, Rodolfo Halffter and Xavier Montsalvatge
(1992) Tinney, Lisa Dawn
"To sigh and to be sad" : an examination of sorrow as a Topos in the passionate ayres of Robert Jones
(1993) Szeker-Madden, Maria Anne Lisa
Robert Jones (fl. 1597-1615) represents one of the most admired and productive English composers of the early seventeenth century. Indeed, his music regularly formed part of state occasions and public theatrical performances. Modern scholarship, however, has sanctioned neglect of this important composer by perpetuating the belief that Jones' music lacks the passion of other Elizabethan works. In order to rectify the derision which has undermined serious consideration of Robert Jones, I will undertake a cultural/contextual examination of one category of his works, the passionate ayres. The methodology and terminology for the study, therefore, will be drawn predominantly from late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century oratorical, poetic, and musical treatises. The first chapter provides the background for the ensuing study by establishing sorrow as the topic, or topos, of the passionate ayre and by disclosing the elements necessary to define this topos. These criteria are then applied to the texts of Jones' works in order to verify the use of sorrow as the topos of his settings. In addition, my analysis reveals that the elements which define the topos of Jones' chosen texts are enhanced with only the most persuasive textual rhetorical figures. The second chapter considers the cadences, or musical distinctiones, which Jones uses in his settings . Examination of contemporary musical and grammatical treatises reveals that cadences should establish both the completion of and relationship between successive lines or sentences. Analysis of Jones' ayres confirms his keen perception of the function and power of cadences, since his musical distinctiones invariably enhance the syntax of his texts by demarcating the elements which define sorrow as a topos. The enhancement of this topos in Jones' works is explored further in the third chapter, which examines the composer's manipulation of elocutio, or musical-rhetorical figures. Consideration of contemporary musical treatises demonstrates the necessity for these devices in a musical composition. Moreover, my analysis of Jones' passionate ayres reveals that his application of musical figures surpasses mere conformance with convention and instead elevates the passion of his texts by intensifying the elements which define their topos. I have included complete vers i ons of the poems examined in this study in APPENDIX II, since they are not presented in their entirety within the body of the thesis. Furthermore, for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the vocabulary of Renaissance logic and rhetoric, I have included a glossary of all logical and rhetorical terms employed in this study. In addition, I have provided a table in APPENDIX I which divides the textual figures among three levels of intensity.
Nineteenth-century editions of Beethoven's piano sonata in E major, Opus 109.
(2002) Star, Allison
My thesis examines specific nineteenth-century editions of Beethoven's piano sonata Opus 109 as prepared by two groups of musicians: the piano virtuoso and the theorist/analyst. Study of these editions yields greater understanding of the two often conflicting approaches to editing that have profoundly influenced performance practice of Beethoven' s piano style right up to the present day. Due to the complex publication history of Opus 109 ( 1821 ), the first printed edition of the sonata contained very many serious errors; there is not one "ideal" edition that matches Beethoven' s intended vision as revealed through studies of hi s autograph, notes and sketches. The controversial first edition of Opus 109 set the sonata as a catalyst on the interpretive stage in the War of the Romantics. This thesis critically analyses several specific types of editions produced by theorists and pedagogues, incorporating historical and biographical research to enrich understanding of the editor's perspective, the need for specific types of editions, and as a reflection of society at the time.
The eleven chorale preludes Op. 122 Johannes Brahms
(1990) Shaw, John Abbott
Although Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is well known as a composer of orchestral and chamber music, of choral works and solo songs, he is not generally known as a composer of music for the organ. His interest in this field began under the influence of Robert and Clara Schumann while he was a young man but was set aside after the death of Robert Schumann. He did not turn again to the organ until almost the end of life. It is not known what caused his return to organ music at this time but the world of organ music has been greatly enriched by his essays in the form of the chorale prelude a genre made famous by outstanding German organist-composers in earlier centuries. The intent of this thesis is to analyse the contrapuntal and harmonic structures of these short compositions to discover the source of their unique attraction. To this end, following a short biographical sketch in the first chapter in which the meagre results of a search for Brahms' religious influences are recorded, the chorale melodies and Brahms' treatment of them are examined in chapter two, while in chapter three, the comparison between the chorale melodies, as found by Brahms, and his subsequent modifications of them are discussed, and shown in score in Appendix D. Since the chorale melodies on which the preludes are based are themselves a specialized development of German Volkslieder, a subject of life-long interest to Brahms, a brief comparison is made between his treatment of the sacred and secular forms of this genre as found in his 49 Deutsche Volkslieder. Analyses of the selected Volkslied melodies are contained in Appendix C. German texts have been included for all chorales and selected Volkslieder on the grounds that Brahms, to whom they would have had relevance, was as much a scholar of German literature, folk-song texts, and the Bible, as of music ancient and modern. Where English translations have been available they have also been included.These texts are included in Appendix E. The heart of the thesis is contained in the contrapuntal and harmonic analyses which form chapter four and its accompanying Appendices A and B. Because of Brahms's reticence about his religious beliefs, and because of his selection of enigmatic Biblical texts for his choral and vocal compositions, there has been great divergence among writers about Brahms' attitude toward Christianity. An attempt has been made to discover writings concerned specifically with his relationship to religion. A concise report of the finding is included at the end of chapter one. The fifth chapter comments on organs Brahms may have played, on organ registration and on performance, with particular reference to articles published in Music by Vernon Gotwals in April 1970, and by Robert Schuneman in September 1972, which discuss all editions of op.122, to which I have added some remarks about the most recent Henle edition prepared by George S. Bozarth. Also included is a short description of the similarities between selected preludes of op. 122 and certain works by Johann Sebastian Bach.
A stylistic analysis of the four Cantatas in Advent from the Cantata Cycle Der Harmonische Gottesdienst (1725/26) by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
(1992) Reul, Barbara Margaretha
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), the famous German composer of the late Baroque, is known today primarily for his enormous output of secular music including such favourites as the Concerto for Viola, Strings and Continuo and the Musique de Table. However, very few music lovers are aware of the fact that during his long and extremely successful career as the Kantor and städtischer Musikdirektor of Hamburg between 1721 and 1767, Telemann supervised and provided music for virtually all musical activities in the Northern metropole, including the five main churches in Hamburg, the performances of the collegium musicum, and the local opera house. Telemann was also an astute businessman who owned a publishing company and revolutionized the music market when inventing a mail order system on subscription basis which allowed musicians all over Germany and other parts of Europe to purchase his sheet music directly from him. The fact that the buyer would often receive a complimentary long distance lesson from the composer himself, as Telemann tended to include detailed instructions for the less skilled performer together with the music, indicate the composer's dedication not only to teaching but also to his fellow human being. After Telemann's death in 1767, however, the immense popularity of his music and personal fame declined quickly because of significant changes in the realm of church music. Telemann's once extremely fashionable compositions soon became outdated, with his musical productivity, according to various malicious nineteenth century critics, qualifying for nothing more than facile writing (Vielschrieberi), and Telemann the composer therefore being considered insincere and unworthy. Fortunately, two musicologists of the twentieth century, Max Schneider and Rolland Romain, disagreed with their predecessors' opinions and restored Telemann's reputation by successfully initiating a revival reputation by successfully initiating a revival of his music and a renewed interest in his life. Frequent performances of Telemann's music and the early music movement in particular have helped considerably to reestablish Telemann's place in the history of music. There are, however, still too many individuals who are afraid to rank Telemann among the top three German composer of the late Baroque, mainly because his style is supposedly not as sophisticated as that of J.S. Bach or G.F. Handel. The following document presents a stylistic analysis of the four cantatas in Advent from Telemann's cantata cycle Der Harmonische Gottesdienst (1725/26), Telemann's first and commercially most successful publication. For a better understanding of the subject matter, the first three chapters embrace important background material such as the changing perspectives of Telemann's music in the last 330 years, the history of the German sacred solo cantata and Telemann's life and work as städtischer Musikdirektor and publisher. The last two chapters deal exclusively with the cantata cycle Der Harmonische Gottesdienst, providing an examination of the preface and a detailed analysis of the four cantatas in Advent, with special attention being given to Telemann's compositional style. Finally, the concluding chapter examines Telemann's changing image and importance as composer in the twentieth century.
A comparative study of the two versions of Jean-Philippe Rameau's Zoroastre
(1977) Rice, Paul Francis
Jean-Philippe Rameau's penultimate opera, Zoroastre, exists in two versions: one dating from 1749 and the other from 1756. The object of the study was to analyze and compare the musical content of the two versions and to examine the stylistic changes to be found in the revised score. In addition, the effect of the Guerre des Bouffons (1752-1754) on the revised version of the opera has been undertaken. The study is divided into five main areas. These are: (1) observations on the history of opera in Paris 1687-1749, important singers in Rameau's productions, and Rarneau's position in the musical life of his times; (2) the growth of the operatic libretto from Quinault to Cahusac; (3) the musical structure of the two versions; (4) Rameau's treatment of the vocal Airs in the two versions; and (5) a summary of the effects of the Guerre des Bouffons, and stylistic trends of the revised score.
Aspects of cyclical structure in Schubert's Schwanengesang
(1990) Reintjes, Mikki
Schubert's Schwanengesang has never been understood as a song cycle in the same way as Die Schone Mullerin and Winterreise. Lacking a cogent narrative structure or unity of musical style, Schwanengesang has traditionally been considered a collected miscellany of Schubert's last compositions in the Lieder genre. Yet an examination of both the musical and poetic structures for the Rellstab and Heine halves of the manuscript reveals that the case is not quite so simple. There is considerable evidence to lend support to the thesis that the manuscript represents two musically and poetically integrated song groups. This thesis analyzes the musical and poetic structures of the two halves of Schubert's manuscript. The first half provides an examination of the Rellstab group in light of a recent and important study of the compositional practices in early 19th century song cycles, a subject which has traditionally received little scholarly attention. The second half of this thesis concentrates on the more complex and fascinating issue of Schubert's selection and treatment of poems from Heine's Buch der Lieder. Such an analysis reveals that Schubert's treatment of Heine's poetry is not only thoroughly characteristic of the Romantic world view, but furthermore, that the Heine Lieder should be rightly regarded as a musically and poetically integrated cycle of songs.
The embellished fast movements of thirty-two violin sonatas by Franz Benda
(1978) Poole, Elissa
The subject of this study is the collection of thirty-two embellished violin sonatas by Berlin violinist and composer Franz Benda, contained in Mus. Ms. 1315/15 of the Preussischer Kulturbesitz in West Berlin. .These sonatas, probably written sometime between 1733 and 1751, are a fertile source of information about mid eighteenth-century Berlin performance style and Benda's style in particular, in that both the embellishments and the articulations, two integral aspects of an eighteenth-century performer's style, have been carefully notated throughout the collection. Embellished slow movements are fairly numerous in eighteenth-century literature; however, there are relatively few embellished fast movements. This makes Ms. 1315/15, in which nearly all the fast movements are embellished, particularly valuable. Therefore, this study will be concerned only with embellishment and articulation in the fast movements. The third chapter of the thesis is designed primarily for the performer who wishes to incorporate embellishments into fast movements in the Berlin style. It is in two parts. In the first part, various melodic units have been isolated--such as long notes, anacrusis figures, scale and arpeggio fragments--and the embellishment possibilities for these units, as shown in the Benda collection, have been enumerated and presented in musical examples. In the second part, basic principles of rhythmic variation which can be applied to a given melodic or rhythmic unit are discussed and presented in musical examples, including such techniques as the filling in of rests, use of tempo rubato, the addition of syncopation, and variation in rhythmic motives. Because of the idiomatic instrumental writing of the sonata in Berlin, the embellishments are more or less excluded from vocal style. Furthermore, the virtuosic violinistic embellishments are often too florid to be executed on another instrument. However, the non-violinist will still find it useful to note the types and positions of melodic and rhythmic units which are available for embellishment and may then choose appropriate embellishments or simplify the more complex ones to suit his instrument. Since eighteenth-century composers frequently omitted the articulation indications in their scores, the performer has yet another responsibility, in addition to embellishment, if he is to render an authentic performance of the music. Articulations have been copiously included in this collection, making it of double value to the performer. The final chapter of this thesis consists of a compilation of musical examples and guidelines for articulating various types of common melodic and rhythmic units, both in term~ of the most frequently used articulations and articulation employed as a method of embellishment. While some of the articulations are violinistic, for instance, the size of interval and length of some slurred passages would not always be suitable for a wind instrument, the majority of the articulation principles are applicable to both wind and string players, for use in articulation of fast movements.
Narrative strategies in Schubert's settings of Schiller texts
(1994) Padmanabhan, Mekala
Franz Schubert's musical settings of Schiller texts have received little scholarly attention, although they form the second largest number of texts by a single poet that the composer chose to set. Due to the absence of substantial documentation about Schubert's views on Schiller's poetry and his mus1cal-narrat1ve procedures, Schubert's compositional approach to these texts cannot be easily ascertained. A brief survey of O.E. Deutsch's Thematic Catalogue reveals that nearly one hundred of Schubert's songs exist in multiple versions. Twenty out of the thirty-two Schiller poems were set to music more than once by Schubert, but have been largely ignored in Lieder literature. This study investigates Schubert's musical treatment of the poetry of Friedrich von Schiller and the composer's reworking of the Schiller settings. The thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter I examines Schubert's cultural orientation - in particular, the literary and musical influences- which might have triggered his affinity for Schiller poems. Chapter II, which is an analytical study of selected Schiller settings, illustrates that the narrative strategies employed by Schubert were dictated by the internal and external attributes of Schiller's poetic framework. The final chapter provides a comparative assessment of the multiple settings discussed and gives insight into Schubert's changing approach to Schiller texts throughout his compositional career.
Robert Schumann's illnesses and the stylistic shifts in his Lieder
(2002) Moore, Lindsay Ann
The quality of Robert Schumann' s compositional abilities in his last years of life has been called into question due to the conjecture that he died from a debilitating disease of the brain and nervous system, tertiary neurosyphilis. Drawing on correspondence, diary entries, visitors' accounts and medical records, a different conclusion is reached - that Schumann died from bipolar disorder combined with a fatal form of anorexia melancholia, and not a disease of the brain. A survey of Lieder from across Schumann's lifetime proves that there is merely a stylistic shift in his late songs, and not a decline of abilities as has been suggested by other musicologists. Songs and cycles analyzed are selections from Myrthen (Op. 25), Liederkreis (Op. 39), Soldatenlied (WoO), Liederalbum fur die Jugend (Op. 79), Minnespiel (Op. 101), Sechs Gedichte (Op. 90), Sechs Gesiinge (Op. 107), Drei Gedichte (Op. 119) and Gedichte der Konigin Maria Stuart (Op. 135).
The genesis of Beethoven's Piano sonata in A flat, Op. 110
(1993) Matheson, Lynn Marie
Although Beethoven's Piano Sonata in A flat, Op. 110, is one of his outstanding compositions, it has not been exhaustively discussed in the literature. In particular, aspects of the genesis of the work are in need of clarification. One body of sketch materials has remained unknown to previous scholars and is examined here in detail for the first time. Study of the sources in question--Paris Manuscripts 51, 51/3 and 80--makes possible a reevaluation of Beethoven's compositional process. The thesis assesses the work of other scholars who have written about the sonata, placing emphasis on studies of the primary sources. Various manuscripts are examined in detail and their relation to one another clarified. Important as well is the examination of the structure and chronology of the source materials--including the autograph scores. Both the physical structure and musical content of the source materials require close attention. Robert Winter's source study in The Beethoven Sketchbooks (Oxford, 1985) is reconsidered here against the evidence of the original manuscripts. The largest part of this thesis concerns the genesis of the sonata as documented in manuscripts held in Berlin and Bonn, as well as Paris. Various stages of the compositional evolution are traced in the sources, with special attention given to the complex final movement of the work, for which many layers of revision are preserved in the manuscripts. Certain sketches for this movement are surprisingly different from the final version and can therefore offer a new basis for analytical insight into the finished work.
The sarabande in seventeenth century France
(1987) McCleave, Sarah Yuill
The sarabande underwent significant development, in both its music and its dance, in seventeenth century France. The sarabandes of Chambonnieres, Louis Couperin and D'Anglebert demonstrate many of these changes, as well as revealing much about the evolution of a harpsichord idiom during the later seventeenth century. The theatrical sarabandes of Lully also provide interesting examples of the development of the sarabande, and, being written for a string ensemble, demonstrate a different approach to the dance than does the music of the clavecinistes. The purpose of this study is to examine these differences, and their significance to the relationship of music and dance. This thesis is divided into five chapters. These are: (1) the role of music and dance in society, and how seventeenth century attitudes influenced these arts; (2) the dance style in seventeenth century France; (3) the evolution of the sarabande during this period, focusing on the pieces by the four composers; (4) a comparison of idiomatic developments in the works of Lully and the clavecinistes; and (5) how the music of the four composers supports the dance.
Cipriano de Rore's second book of four-voiced Madrigals, 1557
(1991) Mackenzie, Pierre Henri Parnell
The present study is an investigation of the musical style of Cipriano de Rore's Second Book of Four-voiced Madrigals of 1557. The madrigals of this collection are specifically mentioned by composers and theorists of the late 1500s as being significant to the new emerging styles of composition of this period. The study will use as an analytical resource, Le Istitutioni Harmoniche, 1558 of Gioseffo Zarlino, in an attempt to isolate the musical characteristics which made this collection noteworthy in the eyes of later generations. Chapter I presents the thesis and the method of organization of the study Chapters II to V analyse the madrigals from the different perspectives of melody, vertical intervals, mode, and text setting Each of the analysis chapters begins by summarizing the guidelines of Zarlino's treatise, then compares these to the musical language of the madrigals. Chapter VI concludes the thesis. This final chapter begins by integrating the various perspectives of the analytical chapters. What may be concluded is that Rore's musical language is the same as Zarlino's, but Rore's use of the elements of the musical language is substantially different. The musical examples and the madrigal texts and their translations form Appendices A and B.
Formal and developmental procedures in the independent variations of Johannes Brahms
(1985) Lister, Laurie-Jeanne
Within the decade, 1853-1863, Brahms composed seven sets of independent variations for the piano. The earliest works show a marked influence of his contemporaries, such as Schumann, while the later sets, although often composed as a homage to a particular composer, display the work of a more mature and original Brahms. Ten years after the composition of the last of these large-scale works, Brahms returned to the genre, and wrote his grandest and most successful variation set, the Variationen uber ein Thema van Joseph Haydn Op. 56. This work exists in two versions: two pianos (four hands) and orchestral, and in many ways represents the culmination of Brahms's contribution to the genre of the theme and variation set. Divided into three sections, this thesis explores the salient characteristics of Brahms's variation style through both a general overview and an in-depth examination of selected works. Chapter I deals with the genre of theme and variation as it existed up to the time of Brahms. It investigates various influences on the composer's style, both past and contemporary, and outlines the procedures Brahms employs to unify individual variations in such large-scale works. Chapters II and III explore ·these techniques in depth using two specific variation sets as examples: the Variationen uber ein eigenes Thema Op. 21 No. 1, a relatively early work, and his final independent variation set, the aforementioned Haydn Variations. These two works provide the source for an engaging study of Brahms's compositional techniques. Through study of these works, the development of the composer's style can be traced, and some insight into his creative process can be gained.

Browse

Recent Submissions