Arts and Humanities Commons^™

In Search Of The Armorial Aesthetic: The Counter-Reform Of Ariano Suassuna And The Compositional Techniques In Clovis Pereira’S Suite Macambira, Wagner De Oliveira Duarte

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, in the wake of the Week of Modern Art in São Paulo in 1922, Brazil grappled with defining its national identity, distinct from European influences. While eminent figures such as Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, and Francisco Mignone provided foundational narratives in this quest, the Armorial movement emerged as a unique and emblematic response to these nationalistic aspirations.

Originating from the creative vision of Ariano Suassuna, the Armorial movement, though often perceived as a regional initiative, epitomized a broader endeavor to represent Brazil's diverse cultural tapestry. Central to understanding this movement is the work …

A Synthesis Of Contemporary Music Composition Pedagogy Practices For The Undergraduate And Graduate Level Sequences, And An Exploration Of Time, Sound, And Space: An Aleatoric Event Score In Collaboration With The Lsu Museum Of Art, Jeremi Wayne Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part consists of a synthesis of contemporary music composition pedagogy practices for the undergraduate and graduate level sequences. A conversation of the study of music composition pedagogy is used to investigate current pedagogical practices in music composition and present those findings as a resource guide for new and future teachers. The second part presents an Exploration of Time, Sound, and Space, an Aleatoric Event Score Collaboration with the LSU Museum of Art. This event score is a product of the development of this dissertation commenced with a straightforward question; can we experience/consume …

Bendit_I/O: A System For Extending Mediated And Networked Performance Techniques To Circuit-Bent Devices, Anthony Thomas Marasco

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Circuit bending—the act of modifying a consumer device's internal circuitry in search of new, previously-unintended responses—provides artists with a chance to subvert expectations for how a certain piece of hardware should be utilized, asking them to view everyday objects as complex electronic instruments. Along with the ability to create avant-garde instruments from unique and nostalgic sound sources, the practice of circuit bending serves as a methodology for exploring the histories of discarded objects through activism, democratization, and creative resurrection. While a rich history of circuit bending continues to inspire artists today, the recent advent of smart musical instruments and the …

Symphony No.2 And The Text Setting Of Henry Purcell's Dido And Aeneas, Sungho Kim

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work is conceived as a unit that has two parts. Part one is an original composition, Symphony No. 2. This piece is scored for symphony orchestra and it is a sequel of the composer’s master thesis, a symphonic poem titled Moonlight Sprite, which describes the various landscapes of imaginary sprites in nature. The compositional techniques include whole tone scale, octatonic scale, pentatonic scale, atonality, bitonality, polytonality, tone clusters, and minimalism. The piece’s orchestration style and techniques are mainly influenced by Stravinsky, Bartok, Schoenberg, Webern, Penderecki, Charles Ives, and Dinos Constantinides.

Part two is an analysis of the text …

Concerto For Violin And Orchestra And "Nevertheless, She Composed: A Contemporary Survey Of Women Composers Of The Twenty-First Century", Elizabeth Anne Knox

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts: the first part includes an original composition titled, “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.” This twenty-minute work is composed for traditional orchestral instrumentation and solo violin. Motivic variation is the primary focus of this piece with a goal to show evidence of a thorough understanding and use of this technique. In music composition, variation is a technique achieved by restating musical material in an altered form. Schoenberg describes a motive as, “a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece.” Therefore, motivic …

Analysis And Utilization Of Hip-Hop Techniques In Classical Music, William Francis Montgomery

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

As of January 4^th, 2018, R&B/Hip-Hop (including rap) had overtaken rock and roll as the most popular genre among music fans. Nielsen Music reported that rap had surpassed rock in terms of total consumption with rappers such as Drake and Kendrick Lamar leading the charge. This would lead to the second-highest growth of any genre of music, spiking at 25% over the previous year.[1] This came as a very big surprise to many, especially when we take into consideration the rocky at best relationship that rap has had with public perception.

There are many misconceptions and …

Mobile Music Development Tools For Creative Coders, Daniel Stuart Holmes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project is a body of work that facilitates the creation of musical mobile artworks. The project includes a code toolkit that enhances and simplifies the development of mobile music iOS applications, a flexible notation system designed for mobile musical interactions, and example apps and scored compositions to demonstrate the toolkit and notation system.

The code library is designed to simplify the technical aspect of user-centered design and development with a more direct connection between concept and deliverable. This sim- plification addresses learning problems (such as motivation, self-efficacy, and self-perceived understanding) by bridging the gap between idea and functional prototype …

Insights Into The Collaborative Process Between Electronic Music Composers And Commissioning Saxophonists, Taylor Barbay Assad

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This monograph gives information about the collaborative process that takes place between commissioning saxophonists and composers of electronic music. It focuses specifically on music for solo performers and works for electronics, either with prerecorded tape or live electronics. The core of this paper centers on interviews conducted with composers of works for saxophone and electronics and professional saxophonists about the nature of their collaborations on new music for solo saxophone and electronics. The composers and performers selected had previously worked together on preparing and premiering a piece. Questions were developed for interviews of the composers and performers. The questions were …

Old School For The New School: Discussing The Importance Of Motown Records In American Music History, Crystal Darcell Birdsong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to look at the contribution of Motown Records within music history and American history, as well as why it should be of great importance to those who study 20^th century music. It tends to be overlooked in the world of academia, despite efforts to bring the subject to the forefront of today’s classwork and courses at the collegiate level. It is not so much that it does not exist, but it is not nearly as prevalent as it should be, seeing as its contribution to music history and history in general is so …

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 name is derived from the …

Teaching College Writing To High School Students: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Dual Enrollment Composition Students' Writing Curriculum And Writing Self-Efficacy, Erin Dena Scott-Stewart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to use a quantitative survey to assess the relationships between the credit pathways students choose to earn first-year, first-semester (FYFS) university writing credit (i.e. dual enrollment, Advanced Placement, university courses, and ACT/SAT exemptions) and several writing experiences and outcomes, including writing curriculum, self-efficacy, self-regulatory strategy use, and course performance. The same survey was also used to explore relationships between these writing experiences and outcomes and preexisting student characteristics (i.e. race/ethnicity, gender, and parents’ education). For dual enrollment (DE) students only, the following aspects of the participants’ writing experiences were also investigated using …

Concerto For Cello And Orchestra And A Comparative Study Of The Pedagogical Methods Of Nadia Boulanger And Dr. Dinos Constantinides, Harold Curtuss Mims

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation is an original music composition for orchestra entitled, Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. In studying the life of pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim (November 15, 1942-), I discovered a recording of his beautiful and gifted wife Jacqueline Mary Du Pré, (January 26, 1945 – October 19, 1987) performing Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85. This experience was the beginning of a love triangle between Elgar, Barenboim, and Du Pré. An attraction to Jacqueline goes deeper than just the music and the cello. Her career was not long due to multiple sclerosis …

Joshua: Symphonic Suite No. 2 And James Aikman, The Violin Concerto, And The Principle Of Limited Economy, Chad Edward Hughes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to present an original work that represents this writer’s perspective as a composer and to examine the work, Violin Concerto No.1, by American composer and educator, James Aikman. The first component of this dissertation is this writer’s composition Joshua: Symphonic Suite No. 2. This work, which portrays the Old Testament Bible story of Joshua, son of Nun, is a neo-tonal ballet, which features the violin extensively. The ballet is divided into four movements, each of which corresponds to a segment of Joshua’s story, including “Joshua and Caleb,” “Rahab and the Spies,” “The River Jordan,” …

Musical Explorations In Creation And Performance: A School's Alternative Approach To Music Education, Laterence Edward Varnado

LSU Master's Theses

Students have various opportunities to participate in school music. The large ensemble model that follows the Western Classical music tradition is the most commonly used model for music education in secondary schools; however, many students in secondary schools do not participate in school music. Recently, alternative approaches (i.e. popular music, world music, guitar, etc.) have been proposed as valuable music experiences that may increase student participation in school music. The aim of this study was to examine the philosophical foundations and pedagogical practices used at a secondary school that has implemented alternative approaches. I also explored student experiences with these …

You Are Set Free, Jennifer Leigh Mitchell

LSU Master's Theses

You Are Set Free is a four-movement orchestra work depicting the story of the disabled woman in Luke 13. The first movement is a picture of her inner conflict of hope and hopelessness she had as a disabled person during the time of Jesus. Her hope is represented in tonal melodies, while her hopelessness is represented in harsh harmonies. In the next movement, the woman’s inner conflict continues. Hopelessness is represented by a twelve-tone row and hope is represented by a tonal melody drawn from movement one. The third movement encompasses the meeting of Jesus and the woman. Jesus is …

Precarious Positions: Toward A Theory And Analysis Of Rhetorical Vulnerability, David Riche

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this project, I develop a framework for treating rhetoric as a system for managing vulnerabilities to and through discourse. I contend that, through rhetoric, we are all put into a fundamentally precarious position, an unavoidable state of exposure to material, social, institutional, and rhetorical forces that work to condition us as both agents and audiences. Rhetoric is not simply something we use; it is also something that we respond to, something to which we are continuously exposed, whether we like it or not. There is, in other words, a necessary concern for vulnerability at the heart of rhetorical theory …

Symphony No. 1: On The Creation And Chromaticism And Harmony In Henry Purcell's Sacred Music, Joshua Adam Carver

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation is a musical composition for orchestra entitled Symphony No. 1: On the Creation. Each movement depicts one of the first four days of Creation as it is recorded in Genesis 1 of the Bible. The music is programmatic throughout; melodies, textures, colorations, and even forms serve this purpose. The entities and creations involved in the story each appear with a specific motive, mode, and tonal area, similar to Wagner’s leitmotifs. The movements have various forms, which often derive from the literary form of the particular day’s creation account in Genesis. The second part of …

Moonlight Sprite, Sungho Kim

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT Moonlight Sprite is a piece of orchestral music in a single movement. As a symphonic poem, this work describes the various landscapes of imaginary sprites in the moonlight in the huge mountain and forest. This imagination was inspired by composer’s overnight camping at Zion Canyon National Park in 2010. The composition is comprised of three main themes, which are developed and varied. The first theme describes the cheerful and playful aspects of sprites. The second theme describes elegant and mysterious character of sprites. The last theme describes grand and ancient sprites. At the end, all three themes come together. …

"Cinematic Suite For Orchestra" And Notable Composers In The Evolution Of Film Music From Hollywood's Golden Age To The Present, Edward C. Anderson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The composition Cinematic Suite for Orchestra is composed for full orchestra. This Suite, in three parts, was inspired by the works and compositional influences of several select classical and film composers who have greatly inspired my personal aesthetic towards symphonic music as they have for many composers of my generation. This work is not necessarily intended to sound purely like the works of these earlier composers but instead, to borrow from their compositional techniques, aesthetics, and overall sonic influence as needed to serve the purpose of my own personal muses. The First Movement was inspired by the grand symphonic style …

Toward A Redefinition Of Musical Learning In The Saxophone Studios Of Argentina, Mauricio Gabriel Aguero

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The academic teaching of saxophone in Argentina is a recent activity compared with the teaching of others instruments. The curricula have been modeled in European schools, covering exclusively classical music and, therefore, setting aside the particularities Argentine society express through its own music. Composers have written several works for saxophone including local elements, such as folkloric rhythms and tango language; but the students in the academy are not able to learn them in a methodical manner. The aim of this research is to bring to the surface the gap between what is taught in the saxophone classrooms and what the …

Subtle Shifts: Using The Brightest To Darkest Modal Concept To Express Jazz Harmony, John Anthony Madere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this paper, I will outline a method of composition that I believe has been highly under-used in jazz composition. I have studied the work of composers Ron Miller and Maria Schneider, and have used their concept of brighter to darker modes to further my modal exploration. With explanation and musical examples, I will explain two possible ways to achieve 12 modes that progress from bright to dark, and then from dark back to bright. Another purpose of this paper is to provide a compositional aid to other composers interested in this concept and the subtle shades of major and …

An Original Composition, Vestiges Of Kubla And An Analysis Of George Crumb's Quest For Guitar, Soprano Saxophone, Harp, Contrabass, And Percussion, John Manuel Crabtree

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Vestiges of Kubla is scored for the following instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, 3 percussionist, guitar, and strings. Structured differently than a traditional concerto form, the overall architecture of the work is a large-scale sonata-allegro form in which the first movement is an exposition, the second movement is a slow development, and the third movement is a recapitulation of musical ideas from in the first, followed by a concluding coda. Although the concerto is unified by thematic, motific, and harmonic content presented in the first movement - …

An Original Composition, Diamundo, And A Historical Survey Of Music Spatialization, Amaro Borges Moreira Filho

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is divided in two parts. Part one is an original composition, Diamundo, for percussion, winds, strings, and loudspeakers, based on the poem of the same name by the Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade. It is scored for a chamber orchestra with a main ensemble formed by strings, piano, percussion, and guitar, plus electroacoustic sounds, and four solo wind instruments: flute, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. The ensemble and the eight-channel loudspeakers are spatialized. The piece is divided in six movements without interruption. The first five movements are separated by 4 cadenzas for the solo instruments. Most of the …

Symphonic Revelations, Carlo Vincetti Frizzo

LSU Master's Theses

Symphonic Revelations is scored for 3-3-3-3, 4-3-3-1, 1 timpani, 3 percussionists, harp, piano, and strings and is approximately 20 minutes in length. It is a single movement symphonic work that consists of three major sections and is built from the pitch class set [0, 1, 3]. The first section’s overall form resembles both a large crescendo and an accelerando. The music begins softly and slowly and over time gradually builds becoming louder and faster. Eventually in bars 225 to 229, the section comes to an end with a tutti passage that marks one of the loudest and fastest moments in …

An Original Composition Symphony No. 1 "Night Symphony" And An Analysis Of Selected Traditional And Non-Traditional Elements Of Harmony In Credo By Krzvsztof Penderecki, Aaron Edward Johnson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The first part of this dissertation is an original composition Symphony No. 1 "Night Symphony." It is a three-movement work scored for large orchestra. Each of the three movements is subtitled with a descriptive aspect of a different part of the night: 1. Twilight, 2. Nocturne, and 3. Waning Darkness. The work is not a musical narrative of the night cycle and does not include night sounds. The subtitles are only meant to suggest the general mood I associate with particular stages of the night. The tempi of the movements fall into a fast-slow-fast arrangement. The outer movements are scored …

An Original Composition, Symphony No. 1, Pollock And An Analysis Of The Evolution Of Frank Zappa's "Be-Bop Tango", William Morris Price

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Part one of this dissertation is an original composition, Symphony No. 1, Pollock. It uses as a conceptual impetus the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock’s paintings from the 1950’s. It employs the following instrumentation: (2-2-2-2, 4-3-3-1, 3 percussion, piano, harp, and strings). The work is composed in one movement, which is divided into four major sections (A-B-A/C-B) that are distinct from each other with respect to style and tempo. The first major section of the composition serves as a slow introduction. The second major section serves as a contrast and is based conceptually on Pollock’s abstract works and formally on …

Text And Structure In Schoenberg's Op. 50, And An Original Composition, Symphony #1, Thomas, Jr. Michael Couvillon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Part One of this document provides an analytical study of Schoenberg's final opus, Op. 50, three religious choral works written in the serial style: Driemal Tausend Jahre, Op. 50a (1949), De Profundis, Op. 50b (1950), and Modern Psalm, Op. 50c (1951). This study is divided into five chapters: an introduction, a conclusion, and a chapter of analysis for each of the three pieces. Analysis of these pieces reveals three significant conclusions: 1) Schoenberg consistently incorporates areas of relative consonance and pitch emphasis into his serial structures; 2) these areas of pitch emphasis, together with other musical devices are used to …