Composition Commons^™

A Metrical Analysis And Rebarring Of Paul Creston's Sonata For Alto Saxophone And Piano, Op. 19, Christopher Kyle Sweitzer

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

The Sonata For Alto Saxophone and Piano Op. 19 is one of the most popular pieces in the saxophone literature, commonly played by professional saxophonists during their training. It features exciting rhythmic devices like irregular and mixed meter, the notation of which is the main focus of this paper. Although Creston often used irregular and mixed meter in his compositions, he rarely specifically notated them, choosing instead to use accents, beams, slurs, and other phenomenal cues at the musical surface to create the effect of these metric plans. Time signatures often remained constant throughout entire movements. Creston believed this would …

Beloved, Thou Hast Brought Me Many Flowers And Sifting Through The Ruins: An Analysis Of Two Chamber Song Cycles By Libby Larsen, Juline Erika Barol-Gilmore

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

American composer Libby Larsen is one of the most active, prolific composers living today. Although she is known for composing in many musical genres, her vocal works are among her most recognized compositions. When selecting song texts, Libby Larsen carefully chooses poems that speak to her personally, both in the rhythm of the language and in the text’s depth of meaning and spirit. In addition, a large number of her vocal works are based on texts by or about women.

In sum, authors and poets have profoundly influenced Larsen, specifically in her chamber song cycles Beloved, Thou Hast Brought Me …

'Some Quite Nice Little Tunes': An Overview Of The Preparation And Recording Of The Incipits For The Britten Thematic Catalogue, Jonathan Manton

Jonathan Manton

Solo Composition Recital (November 7, 2010), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

Faculty Compositon Recital, presented by Stephen Haddad (tuba, UTEP), Don Wilkinson (soprano saxophone, UTEP), Mark Schuppener (violin, UTEP), Sang-In Han (tenor, UTEP), the La Catrinao String Quartet (New Mexico State University), and Dominic Dousa (piano). Performances of the following original compositions:

"Musings of a Desert Evening"

"Little Suite, 'In Early Spring' "

"A Summer Pastorale"

"Psalm 23 (Korean)"

"Evocations from the Plains"

(Mvt 1 - Echoes from the Land, Lonely...and Grand)

(Mvt 2 - The Freedom of the Open Skies)

Composing Music In Constrained Search Environments, Jeffrey Keene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composing music with computers in constrained search environments adds complexities and problems not present in the traditional problem domain of generative music. The traditional and well researched mechanisms of Markov chains, genetic algorithms and data driven rule based systems do not directly map to a problem domain in which pitch choice and rhythm choice are likely to be highly limited.

We therefore explore several possible solutions to generating rhythms in extremely constrained environments with the goal of generating music that adheres to user specified constraints and is aesthetically pleasing.

William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast: Orientalism And The Continuation Of The English Oratorio, Elissa Hope Keck

Masters Theses

This study investigates aspects of Orientalism found within the genre of the English oratorio, specifically William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast (1931). Building on Edward Said’s research on Orientalism, analyses of Orientalist representations in music exploded the field of musicology in the 1980s and 90s. However, the examination of Orientalism in sacred genres remains lacking. Bringing forth cultural, political, and musical conflicts between East and West, Walton’s oratorio encourages further investigation in previously unaddressed genres. I argue that, by combining dramatic operatic elements with sacred text, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast reflects a continuation of Orientalist ideologies through binary opposition aimed at perpetuating the …

The Memory Of Persistence, Scott Pfitzinger

Graduate Thesis Collection

This composition for Wind Ensemble (like Concert Band but usually only one player on a part) was Scott Master's Thesis for completing a Master of Music degree in Composition at Butler University. Written in 2010, the piece is a combination of styles, philosophies, and techniques, all in balance with each other. Avant-garde and traditional techniques are used; tonality and atonality vie with each other, resulting in a combination of the two; specific musical directions are balanced by a degree of choice available to each participant.

“The Memory of Persistence” is about a journey. No specific personal story is presented, nor …

Seasons For A Cynic: A Compositional Process Utilizable For A Program Symphony, David Anthony Pegel

Masters Theses

The technique of symphonic composition requires a deliberate and methodical process by the composer; when the symphony is intended to aesthetically convey a specific subject matter, the compositional process must become even more deliberate. First a subject must be chosen and examined in a contemporary standpoint. Then the composer must determine how to reflect this subject through his or her composing. Ideally, the end result of this composition should encompass the subject matter as thoroughly as possible.

While the great majority of textbooks on music theory and composition centralize themselves on elements of pitch in music, the composer has many …

"Mountain Spirit Rising" For Solo Piano (Tucson, Az), Dominic Dousa

Dominic Dousa

A performance of my original composition by Nayeli Lopez (piano, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez).

Dmitry Shostakovich's Twenty-Four Preludes And Fugues Op. 87: An Analysis And Critical Evaluation Of The Printed Edition Based On The Composer's Recorded Performance, Denis V. Plutalov

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

This particular research is a tribute to Dmitry Shostakovich, who was not only a great composer, but also a great pianist and interpreter of his own works. Shostakovich is famous for the most part as a great symphonic and chamber composer. His piano works did not gain as much popularity as his large scale works. In fact they attracted very little attention from the modern generation of pianists. Shostakovich's Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues op. 87 stand out among his piano works as a unique cycle, equaling Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in its concept.

Chapter One provides an introduction to the subject …

Brahms, Opus 32: The Forgotten Cycles, Patrick Russell

Undergraduate Research Conference

A song cycle may be loosely defined as a set of works for solo voice and piano intended for performance as a whole, and in a predetermined order. Established by such composers as Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, cycles are typically characterized by a deliberate structure, the texts of which are almost without exception by the same author. So conventional is the practice of containing the settings of a single poet, it may be considered a prerequisite. Song cycles are also distinguished, therefore, by one or more unifying elements originating in the poetry, such as literary themes or narration. It is …

Music Compositions Student Presentations, School Of Music

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Woodwind Extension Through The Systematic Use Of Microtonality And Electronic Manipulation Of The Instrument, Seán Mac Erlaine

Conference papers

This research questions how the expressive range of the saxophone / bass clarinet can be extended in new ways by employing both a systematic use of microtonality and electronic manipulation of the instrument.

The use of digital signal processing (DSP) is well advanced among certain music practitioners, most notably electric guitarists, extending that instrument’s expressive powers considerably. Woodwind instrumentalists have a huge unexplored potential to engage with new technologies, furthering the range, polyphonic voicings, loops, reverbs and general signal manipulation.

The marraige of these two disciplines with conventional woodwind practice greatly deepens the expressive range of the instrument while offering …

2009-2010 New Music Festival, Kenneth Frazelle, Lisa Leonard

New Music Festival

Fourth Annual New Music Festival

• Kenneth Frazelle, Composer-in-Residence
• Lisa Leonard, Director

Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 4:00 pm

• Defining Modernism: Faculty Favorites

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 7:30 pm

• Spotlight: Young Composers

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7:30 pm

• Contemporary Music Forum

Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 7:30 pm

• Spotlight: Kenneth Frazelle

Commissioned Work

Gee's Bend Pieces for Trumpet, Percussion and Piano by Kenneth Frazelle. The full score is displayed in the Creative Works collection.

Every Day Is Christmas! - Men's Choir, Keith Rowley

Keith D Rowley

An original Christmas carol arranged for men's choir (TTBB) and piano

Every Day Is Christmas! - Mixed Choir, Keith Rowley

Keith D Rowley

An original Christmas carol arranged for mixed choir (SATB) and piano

Every Day Is Christmas! - Women's Choir, Keith Rowley

Keith D Rowley

An original Christmas carol arranged for women's choir (SSAA) and piano with words from an anonymous author.

In The Bleak Midwinter - Women's Choir, Keith D. Rowley

Keith D Rowley

An original Christmas carol arranged for women's choir (SSAA) and piano with words by Christina Rossetti.

Drei, Dai, Dry, Bruno Ruviaro

Music

Viola, violoncello and percussion. [ca. 11’00]

Three Fiddle Tunes | 20-95940, Robert I. Hugh, Henry Leck

Music Faculty Scores

Three Fiddle Tunes
Sail Away, Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark

Part Number:
20-95940

Price:
$1.95

Voicing:
Three-Part Treble

Arranged By:
Robert I. Hugh

Edited By:
Henry Leck with Fiddle (Violin)

Featured at:
2013 Meredith College Reading Session
2013 Villanova University Summer Clinic