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Making Malice Musical: Verdi’S Compositional Journey Through The Eyes Of Six Villains, Michael Chadwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Giuseppe Verdi is a pillar of the operatic world and had a profound impact on the evolution of the art form. From a rudimentary beginning, he developed over time from a popular creator of operas in the solita forma style of 19^th century Italy into a master craftsman of combining music, text, and theatrical drama. Verdi utilized the popular compositional formal convention of solita forma to begin his career. Over time he evolved beyond its boundaries and shifted his focus to the holistic theatrical presentation of the drama. Much has been written about this evolution through analysis of Verdi’s …

Early Instruments In 21st Century Composition And An Original Composition For Saxophones And Viols, Jacob Bitinas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers continually seek new timbres and sonorities to bend to their will. The early music revival of the twentieth century has resurrected dozens of instruments that have gone unutilized in contemporary composition for centuries. The historically-informed-performance movement has now evolved to a point where early instruments and period performance techniques can add extraordinary new characters to twenty-first century compositions. This thesis explores how composers effectively utilize early instruments like the viola da gamba, harpsichord, lute, and recorder in their compositions.

The document also contains interview transcripts from eight composers and performers, including Nico Muhly, Liam Byrne, Martha Bishop, David Loeb, …

Bloom: A 21st Century Mandolin Concerto, Ashley Hoyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have created a career performing various types of music on the mandolin. Very little of the concert repertoire, however, includes music originally written for the mandolin with most of it consisting of rearrangements of violin, cello, or piano music. This observation has led me down a path to learn why there is a lack of mandolin concert repertoire as well as to create new music specifically written for the instrument. In this thesis, an original mandolin concerto, Bloom, aims not only to add to the instrument’s repertoire, but bring it into the twenty-first century using contemporary compositional techniques. I …

Escape Beneath: An Original Game Score Inspired By An Analysis Of Garry Schyman's Music, Daniel Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video-game music has grown into a vast array of different styles, sounds, and applications. As a newer field of music, game scoring has begun to receive high acclaim. Garry Schyman has become one of the most successful composers within the video-game industry. His music has received many awards and nominations throughout the years. Despite this, research and analysis into his compositions and techniques are almost non-existent. This thesis studies his techniques within the video-game scores for BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Middle Earth Shadow of War, and Torn; and then applies them into an original …

"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 …

Listen To The River: Dolores, Ophelia, And Female Resistance In Opera, Daniel Aaron Barnidge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The music of female characters in the great masterpieces of opera often demonstrates resistance to and undermines the abuse they have historically received in opera plots. The Mexican folktale that my opera, The Tragedy of La Llorona, draws inspiration from plays on many of the same tropes historically found in female characters in opera including madness, sexuality, and lack of agency. This led to research into the portrayal of women in opera as part of my pre-compositional process and my desire to access this tale free from the traditional 'marianismo' and 'machismo' narratives it is associated with and which …

Grey Areas: Songs Of Memory, Imagination, Intellect, And Death For Baritone Voice And Mixed Instrumental Octet, Scott Stephen Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central element of this thesis is Grey Areas, a newly-composed dramatic piece in four movements for baritone and chamber ensemble. The work is highly personal in both its subject matter and its musical execution; it also contains a unique movement order that changes depending on the age of the baritone. Along with the written portion of this document and full score, I completed a studio recording of the entire composition as part of the project. Composers (by necessity) are more frequently functioning as their own recording and mixing engineers for their own works. I have been able to …

“Native American Folk Song Suite”: A Study Of Traditional Native American Melodies, The Role Of Music In Native American Society, And Its Translation To The Modern Wind Ensemble, Preston Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music holds a sacred place for the many Native American tribes of the United States. Over the past 150 years, ethnomusicologists Dr. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), Dr. Frances Densmore (1867-1957), and John Donald Robb (1892-1989) have preserved these songs by sitting down with indigenous Native Americans and recording their music straight from the source. Through these recordings, these ethnomusicologists created a springboard for composers, including myself, to study the past and create new music that honors the traditions and culture of Native Americans. I have applied my new knowledge of these musical techniques and traditions to create a work for wind …

From Choir To Band: Analysis And Application Of Adaptation Techniques As Demonstrated In Works By Whitacre, Ticheli, And Johnson, Deshmond D. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the adaptation techniques of composers Frank Ticheli and Eric Whitacre. As a means for that exploration, it includes an original choral work by the author as well as a band transcription that was done using adaptation techniques found in the Ticheli and Whitacre pieces. The application of those techniques sheds new light on the subject of band transcriptions by showing a variety of possible approaches. Musicians, conductors, and composers will be able to use these materials to enhance the composition and performance of a choral work and its band transcription.

An Analysis Of Musicals By Lynn Ahrens And Stephen Flaherty, And An Original Musical, Fly Like An Eagle, Donna Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have written musicals together for several decades. This thesis contains an in-depth discussion and stylistic analysis of several songs each from Once on This Island, Ragtime, and Seussical – three Ahrens & Flaherty shows chosen specifically because of their variety in style and subject matter. This analysis includes, among other things, the lyrics and lyric setting, textures, harmonic settings, accompaniment styles, rhythms, and harmonic progressions. The central portion of this document contains the music for nine songs of an original musical titled Fly Like an Eagle. This script is written by Daris Howard and is …

Complex Personalities: An Original Composition For Virtual Wind Ensemble And An Accompanying Exploration Of The Effects Of The Internet On Music Collaboration And Composition, Chris Kamerling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the impact that the internet has had on the esprit de corps of the musical community. As a mechanism for that exploration, it also includes an original composition comprised of three character pieces. The exegesis of the piece will describe the basis of these musical representations and explore the application of the piece as a vehicle for a shared musical experience across the internet. A virtual ensemble was created by crowd-sourcing from social media. Participants played different parts that were combined by computer manipulation into a final product.