Composition Commons^™

Transformations Of Chant In Marcel Grandjany's Rhapsodie Pour La Harpe, Caitlin A. Thom

Celebration of Learning

Marcel Grandjany’s Rhapsodie pour la Harpe is a standard in pedal harp literature. This essay explores Grandjany’s use of the Gregorian Easter Chant Salve festa dies.

8scenes, Spencer G. Perkins

Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music

This work explores the juxtaposition of a live ensemble, and pre-collected field recordings. The material for the ensemble is divided into eight sections, or “scenes,” which unfold one after the other without pause, at times blending musical material to where it is unclear when the music has transitioned to the next section. The field recordings are divided into three main sections, which are defined by the underlying loop as follows: “sunny day recording”; “people talking recording”; and “rainy day recording.” Atop these structural loops, it is the responsibility of the “electronics player” to que other recordings in a manner that ...

Six Blake Songs, Willyn Whiting

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Six Blake Songs is a song cycle for Soprano and mixed chamber ensemble (Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Violin and Viola). The work sets several texts by the English poet William Blake (1757-1827), which all share the central theme of Time. Nearly all of these texts are excerpts from larger works, with the exception of the poem Ah, Sunflower, which is presented at the work’s conclusion. Discrete collections of frequencies, which are derived from either the frequency modulation of two notes or from the overtones of a single fundamental, provide the pitch content for the entire piece. In addition, many of ...

Capriccio For Mixed Ensemble And Piano, André Mcevenue

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Capriccio is a 12 minute, single movement “mini concerto” for piano and small chamber ensemble. The music is of a virtuosic and capricious nature; at times it is dance-like and rhapsodic, at others, pensive and introspective. The formal construction concerns the techniques of fragmentation and pitch symmetry. My interest in these techniques is informed from the study of works by Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók. Therefore, the title is reminiscent of Stravinsky’s own work, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. In my piece, a symmetrical pitch collection is used as the main musical material. Small repeating fragments of this collection ...

The Old House, Eric Swiatoschik

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Old House is a programmatic children's suite in four movements based on a short story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The story is about a young boy who befriends a man who lives in an old house on his street. The narrative of the music focuses on the beginning of the story when the boy enters the house for the first time with each movement musically depicting something the boy sees. The piece utilizes straightforward programmatic elements in conjunction with Neo-Romantic harmonic and melodic content to appeal to younger audiences (children), while still maintaining the ...

The Donnelly Opera, Joshua L. Richardson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Donnelly Opera is a one-act chamber opera based on an infamous Southwestern Ontario event: the murder of the Donnelly family in 1880. The libretto was written with the consultation of various historical sources. Modern text setting practices are utilized with careful attention to the use of perfect rhymes and natural syllabic emphasis to help maximize audience comprehension. The opera uses traditional vocal archetypes of aria, recitative, and ensemble singing. The focus of the opera is the dramatic portrayal of the events that took place leading up to the second murder trial. It is written for four vocalists (soprano, mezzo-soprano ...

Palestrina’S Polyphony, Dawson Tillman Dowdy

Undergraduate Research Conference

The intention behind my composition (Kyrie) was to emulate Palestrina’s style by following a set of specific guidelines derived from the common characteristics of his compositions. Ultimately, my goal was to craft a piece that served as a 21st century interpretation of Palestrinian polyphony. Although I took some liberties in terms of harmonic language, I ensured that the essential elements of textual clarity, imitation, stepwise motion, and fluid melodic structure were strictly executed.

Job: An Oratorio For Voices And Chamber Ensemble, Kevin Gibson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Job is a dramatic oratorio consisting of twelve individual movements, with an approximate duration of twenty minutes. It is a summarization of the plot and prose contained in the biblical book of Job (English Standard Version). The events of the oratorio depict Job, a devoted and prosperous man, being tested to the limits of his faith by acts of God, who was incited first by Satan. Throughout the oratorio, the philosophical and theological elements of humanity versus divinity are represented musically by intervallic relationships. Job is written for seven principle vocalists and a narrator, accompanied by an instrumental ensemble consisting ...

Requiem For Orchestra And Choir, Luciano Vaz Correa

LSU Master's Theses

Five Movements of a Requiem is a composition for orchestra, solo soprano, solo alto, solo tenor, solo bass and choir, and is approximately 20 minutes in length. To compose it, I’ve studied many different requiem masses from Renaissance polyphony to our days, works from Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Missa Pro Defunctis to Schnittke’s Requiem. In this study, I’ve tried to understand which techniques they used in their compositions, and how these techniques could be useful on helping me to express my own music. In Christian liturgy, Requiem masses are offered for the dead and the ...

Cedarville Review Artist Spotlight: Calvin Hitchcock, Brandon Best, Calvin Hitchcock

Cedarville Review

No abstract provided.

Music Next To Theology: The Impact And Influence Of Martin Luther's Reformation On Johann Sebastian Bach, James Ryan

The Research and Scholarship Symposium

The artistic figure and music of Johann Sebastian Bach looms large in the history of Western arts and culture. His influences were many, but one strong influence in his life’s work was that of the Protestant Reformation and the theology of the Lutheran church. Through this research, it is evident that Bach strongly held to the doctrines and theology of the Lutheran church and that his employment in the Lutheran church was not merely a vocation for him, but an outward expression of his inward religious and theological conviction. This position is evidenced by the writings and teachings of ...

Film Music And The Cinematic Experience, Brian Campbell

The Research and Scholarship Symposium

Ever since the invention of cinema, film producers have always played music with movies. The addition of quality music to a well-crafted film can change the feel of the entire film. Over its one hundred and thirty years of existence, cinema has evolved into an extremely diverse art form that addresses a wide array of subjects. Given all these factors, this paper explores how film music is extremely diverse and can be used in a wide variety of ways to enhance, affect, and contribute to the way we experience a film. It explores storytelling methods as a narrative device, mood ...

Sondheim: His Influence On Musical Theatre, Jordan Fredericks

The Research and Scholarship Symposium

Since its beginning with The Black Crook in 1866, American musical theatre has undergone huge directional shifts. Conceptually, the music and story of Oklahoma! from the 1940s is almost entirely different from the music of [title of show] and Ordinary Days from the mid-2000s. When investigating this dramatic transformation of the genre, the root of the change appears strongest at the 1950s. These years were the beginning years of Stephen Sondheim’s entrance into the realm of musical theatre. Comparatively, Sondheim brought in a new approach to the genre and published shows that revolutionized musicals that had not been seen ...

The Doctrine Of Affections: Emotion And Music, Kristen E. Jarboe

The Research and Scholarship Symposium

The Doctrine of Affections originated in and is interpreted into the musical realm of the Baroque Era in the music of Bach, Handel, and others. The Doctrine of Affections is a theory created in the Baroque era that seeks to explain the effect that music has on the body. It seeks to personify music, and prove that music itself has the ability to produce a particular feeling, independent of the listener. This theory assumes that music has the ability to be an emotion, and that the particular emotion is located in the properties of the music itself. Johann Mattheson, the ...

Symphony No. 1, Jingyu Xu

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract

Symphony No.1, created on December 10, 2017. It was finally completed on February 1, 2018. This is a music representation of the environment using music. The composer of this symphony believes that at present it is a world of diversity, many different environmental factors and many different music senses and imagination are different. We can’t just stick to traditional music research and modern music research. The author of this music thinks that should complement each other and merge them totally different music materials, representing the three different styles of music materials, representing the three different styles of ...

From Swing King To Swing Kids: The Jazz Era Of ‘Big Band Orchestras’ In World War Ii, Katie Victoria Burnopp

Student Scholar Showcase

Known as the ‘King of Swing’, clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (1909-1986) threatened the Nazi cause during WWII. With intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate swing music during World War II. The particular problems of this study were to: (1) identify how the swing music of Benny Goodman (1909-1986) influenced adolescents in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany; (2) explore the Nazi party view on ‘swing’ music of the era; (3) examine how the music of Charlie and his Orchestra became used as a tool for Nazi propaganda; and ...

A Rhythmic Transcription And Spectral Analysis Of Luciano Berio's Thema (Omaggio A Joyce), Christopher C. Mccardle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Thema (Omaggio A Joyce), composed by Luciano Berio resides within a tempo of 80 beats per minute. The discovery of a constant tempo allowed for a precise rhythmic transcription to be created which found musical structures including large formal sections, subsections, phrases, rhythmic and melodic motives, layers, and dialogue. Analysis of the rhythmic phrases shows that electroacoustic music can have a controlled structure and that these structures earned Thema an enduring legacy of masterpiece. The transcription provides a road-map to compare and contrast different elements that reoccur throughout Thema. The work was composed with a well thought-out and planned structure ...

Cultivating "Musical Wildflowers": A Look At Parcy Grainger's Linconshire Posy, Sierra Westberg

Scholars Day

The legacy left by Percy Grainger is that not only of his innovative compositional styles, but also that of his role as a “music-activator in a changing world.” By diligently seeking out, listening to, and recording the songs of often forgotten folksingers, Grainger gave a voice to those who society failed to acknowledge. Through the examination of one of his most wellknown works, Lincolnshire Posy, it will be shown that the encouragement of musical development in students of all ages can be beneficial to their understanding of the world around them while equipping them to then impart their knowledge to ...

21 Modes, Adam Bodine

Senior Thesis Compositions in Music

21 Modes
by Adam Bodine

In three movements.

Performed by Quartet Nouveau
April 19, 2018
French Parlor, Founders Hall
University of San Diego

Batya MacAdam-Somer and Missy Lukin, violins
Annabelle Terbetski, viola
Elizabeth Brown, cello

21 Modes was inspired by curiosity. I wanted to know how many scales would result from reordering the half and whole steps of the major scale. As it turns out there are 21. I composed each of the three movements to explore the sonorities of each scale. The first movement is inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The aggressive eighth note string texture became ...

Anxiety And Alternative Facts: An Arts-Based Critical Social Improvisation Project, Rebecca Zarate, Nancy Beardall, Talaye Zarafshandardaky, Brooke Rutstein

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

According to Grayson and Meilman (2011) the stakes are too high in current campus culture to not acknowledge the social roots of mental health issues such as anxiety, and concerns of students as related to campus safety. This arts-based, music performance project responded to concerns on campus from recent political and social events. More specifically, it aimed to explore the concept of “alternative facts” and how this idea plays with the collective concepts of truth and falsifications. It explored applications of clinical improvisation and the concept of collective anxiety as a social phenomenon expressed through arts including music, dance, and ...