Musicology Commons^™

Rudolph Süss’S Lyrische Suite No. 2, Op. 24, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article reproduces the Lyrische Suite no. 2, op. 24, by the Austrian composer Rudolph Süss, with a short introductory commentary. First published in Vienna around 1921, this suite is a fine example of the enthusiasm for the guitar in early twentieth-century Austria and Germany, which resulted in much music that has been overlooked, overshadowed as it was by the emerging Spanish repertoire.

The Double Silence: Reflections On Music And Musicians, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

A translation of EL DOBLE SILENCI, published in Catalan in 2003. The book is a compilation of essays originally published in Diario de Mallorca (2000-2003).

Etcètera Ii: Notes Sobre Música, Art I Literatura (2020-2022), Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

A compilation of essays on music, the arts, and literature previously published in Bellver, the arts section of Diario de Mallorca (2020-2022). This is the second part of ETCETERA.

J.N. Bobrowicz’S Grand Polonaise, Op. 24, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article presents an edited version of a Grand Polonaise by the Polish guitarist-composer Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz (1805–81), preceded by a short commentary and notes for performance. The commentary includes a translation of the biographical entry for Bobrowicz in Sowiński’s Les musiciens polonais et slaves (Paris, 1857).

Carlos Pedrell’S Al Atardecer En Los Jardines De Arlaja, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article reproduces Al atardecer en los jardines de Arlaja by the Uruguayan composer Carlos Pedrell, preceded by a commentary. Together with Pedrell's other guitar works, this piece enriches our picture of Latin American guitar repertoire in the early twentieth century. In the case of Pedrell, we have a work written by a composer who studied in Paris and who wrote for three of the major guitarists of his time—Segovia, Pujol, and Llobet.

New Information On Sor And Gil Blas, Erik Stenstadvold

Soundboard Scholar

A contemporary London newspaper report clarifies the extent of Fernando Sor's contribution to the operatic drama Gil Blas.

This letter is an addendum to Erik Stenstadvold, "Fernando Sor on the Move in the Early 1820s" Soundboard Scholar, no. 1 (2015), https://doi.org/10.56902/SBS.2015.1.7.

A Rondo Allegro By François Molino, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article presents an edited version of a Rondo-Allegro from Molino's Grande méthode complette (Paris, c. 1833). The rondo theme bears some resemblance to the famous melody "Das klinget so herrlich" from Mozart's Singspiel Die Zauberflöte. Ophee discusses the many versions of this theme to be found in the guitar's nineteenth-century repertoire, by composers such as Sor, Giuliani, and Paulian, drawing attention to composers' use of both the sung melody and the instrumental introduction.

How Sample Clearance Has Affected Hip-Hop Music-Making, Bryan J. Brewster

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper will explain how sample clearance has impacted hip-hop music-making. It will explain what a sample is and show the historical significance of sampling in hip-hop. I will briefly discuss the basics of copyright and the process of clearing a sample. This paper will also look into legal cases of copyright infringement to show the impact of specific cases and analyze data to determine if the amount of sample clearance has changed because of the decisions of the courts. The main goal of this paper is to highlight the significance of sampling in hip-hop, the inherent challenges of legally …

English And Russian Guitars In Poland: A Summary Of Sources Using Open-G Tuning, From The Nineteenth Century To The Present Day, Wojciech Gurgul

Soundboard Scholar

Polish sources related to the guitar in open-G tuning are a little-explored area of guitar scholarship — one, however, well worthy of introduction. We can distinguish two groups of such sources, according to the period and the type of guitar intended: the first group consists of publications and manuscripts for the English guitar from the first two decades of the nineteenth century; the second consists of publications for the Russian seven-string guitar from the first four decades of the twentieth century. These two instruments were cultivated in Poland contemporaneously with the Spanish guitar. The Spanish guitar, however, garnered a significantly …

Luigi Legnani's Missing Opus 9, Robert Coldwell

Soundboard Scholar

The guitar composer Luigi Legnani (1790–1877) published some 250 works with opus number, most of them for solo guitar. His catalog, however, contains many gaps. This article explores the particular circumstances of the discovery of Legnani's opus 9, focusing on Legnani’s possible contact with the French guitarist Luigi [Louis] Sagrini (1809–74).

"Now, Then, Then:" An Original Composition And Examination Of The Influence Of Blues, Bluegrass, And Rock In Western Concert Music, David Klock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines four pieces by three composers and one creative team, focusing on connections to bluegrass, blues, and rock music in each. The pieces are Raphael by Bryce Dessner, Cognitive Consonance II: Westering by Christopher Trapani, Bog Bodies and other Macabre Miniatures by Nicolas Lell Benavides, and “Three Dots and a Dash” by Punch Brothers. Each of these works uses distinct instrumentations, but every ensemble includes guitar in some fashion. This examination informs the original composition entitled Now, Then, Then, scored for violin, cello, electric guitar, and marimba. In this original composition, Klock uses devices found within these …

Analysis Of Robert Schumann’S “Fantasy Pieces For Clarinet And Piano”, Opus 73, For A Greater Understanding Of A Standard In Western Classical Solo Repertory, Kaleigh Alwood

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a mere two days, Robert Schumann composed a duet that would become a lasting symbol of romanticism in chamber music. “Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano”, Op. 73 is now a standard in clarinet repertoire. As such, the piece is frequently performed and analyzed. Schumann and his “Fantasy Pieces” are well known and broadly discussed, which leads one to wonder: how does one contribute to and interpret such a standard? To answer this question, it is proposed that research is utilized to examine the history surrounding the composer and the work alongside theoretical analysis to find and interpret key …

Matanya Ophee’S Contributions To Soundboard Magazine: A Retrospective, Stanley Yates

Soundboard Scholar

The guitar historian Matanya Ophee's writings in Soundboard span almost his entire career as a researcher. In this restrospective, Stanley Yates surveys Ophee's work in general before offering a bibliography and commentary on his contributions to Soundboard: articles, reviews, and columns.

An Overview Of The Major Developments In Early American Choral Education Methods: Notation-Centered Versus Sound Before Symbol, Aubrey Mangle

Senior Honors Theses

For the American choral music educator, knowledge of the beginnings and major developments of choral music education is valuable for both instruction and context. This project seeks to fill a gap in the resources available to choral music teachers by providing a brief yet comprehensive overview of the major developments in choral music education in the United States from the establishment of the Jamestown settlement in 1607 to the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929. The discussion will focus on the major figures, pedagogues, published works, and educational philosophies for singing instruction that promoted either notation-centered or sound before …

Becoming Camilla Urso: A Female Celebrity Violinist And The Transformation Of American Musical Culture, Maeve Nagel-Frazel

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Camilla Urso (1840-1902) was the first nationally famous female violinist in the United States. Between 1852-1902, Urso gave over a thousand concerts in the United States, becoming a musical celebrity on par with the Swedish soprano Jenny Lind. Through her public visibility, Urso transformed nineteenth-century American violin playing from a male-dominated field into an acceptable and even fashionable field for women. Despite her nineteenth-century fame, today Urso is mostly forgotten. Over the course of six chronological chapters, this thesis presents a contextual biography of Urso’s American concert career. Utilizing archival sources, digitized newspapers, and digital mapping methodologies, I argue Urso’s …

Tomorrow Our Seeds Will Grow: The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill And The Changing Landscape Of Hip-Hop, Emma Beachy

Musical Offerings

The release of Lauryn Hill’s 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was a watershed moment in the history of hip-hop and the intersection between music and race. On this album, Hill created a narrative that embraced Black love, attempted to educate audiences, and drew on Black musical heritage, elevating Black womanhood and nuancing perceptions of Blackness in American culture. Through musical and lyrical analysis, this paper explores the importance of Miseducation's narrative within the cultural milieu of the late 1990s and its continuing impact on hip-hop and Black American culture.

Joyful, Joyful! The Musical Significance Of Beethoven's Ninth, Allison N. Zieg

Musical Offerings

Almost everyone is familiar with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the famous four note motif that represents fate knocking at the door. His Third Symphony, or “The Heroic Symphony” that was originally written for Napoleon Bonaparte, enjoyed great success and helped shape the future of classical music. However, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which contains the well-known tune “Ode to Joy” most drastically impacted classical music’s future. Beethoven was a master at taking simple ideas and combining them with past musical traditions to create something extravagant and new. This is most evident in his Ninth Symphony. In this work, Beethoven did something that …

Medieval Methods: Guido D’Arezzo’S Innovative Approaches To Music Education, Lydia C. Kee

Musical Offerings

Music education has been influenced by many people throughout history, but arguably none of them have done so as much as the monk, Guido D’Arezzo. His teaching methods have been embraced and developed by music educators throughout the centuries. For example, it is recorded that Guido was the first to use the five-line staff as we use it today. This was especially groundbreaking in a world of rote memorization. Today it is used globally in music education. The roots of solfege are also found in Guido’s writings; his syllables have been adapted by Zoltan Kodály. Not only that, but John …

“An Attractive And Varied Repertoire”: Full-Data List, Christopher Page

Soundboard Scholar

This document presents the complete set of data analyzed in Christopher Page, “‘An Attractive and Varied Repertoire’: The Guitar Revival of 1860–1900 and Victorian Song,” Soundboard Scholar, no. 8 (2022), https://digitalcommons.du.edu/sbs/vol8/iss1/3.

“An Attractive And Varied Repertoire”: The Guitar Revival Of 1860–1900 And Victorian Song, Christopher Page

Soundboard Scholar

Most modern histories of the classical guitar are devoted to solo playing. They therefore forego a different kind of history based upon the guitar used as an accompaniment for a singer. This article explores how that alternative history might be framed with reference to England during the long reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). This is the ideal laboratory for such an experiment, not least because the compositions of Catharina Pratten (1824–1895), the most influential guitar player of the day, are often thought to reveal a late-Victorian public with little interest in the guitar as a solo resource. Yet the newspaper …