Composition Commons^™

Benjamin Britten's Contribution To Church Music, Marcella Rauch

OBU Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover Benjamin Britten's contributions to church music in his sacred music written during the period 1943-1963.

First, a study was made of his personal philosophy from all available literature on the subject; next, a study was made of his choice of texts, from the same sources; finally, a study was made of the music to which he had set these texts, from the scores and from recordings.

These studied revealed that his personal philosophy was one of moral concern for fellow human beings, and that he believed in communication and involvement between composer, …

A Study Of The Concert Arias For Bass By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jerry Wayne Thompson

OBU Graduate Theses

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed many arias for inclusion in his operas which were controlled in length and development by the physical conditions existing in an operatic production. However, in addition to those arias, Mozart also composed ten concert arias for the bass voice. These bass arias were intended primarily to be performed in concert with varied accompaniment, and without the additional personnel and scenery which is characteristic of an opera. It is the purpose of the writer to study these arias and present some of them in public performance.

The purpose of this study is to present a detailed investigation …

Triptych For Brass And Percussion, Henry Harmon Dempsey

OBU Graduate Theses

In the repertoire of the modern percussionist, the number of compositions which are worthy of performance is very small. The reason for this lack of repertoire is that the percussion ensemble as a unit itself is a relatively new medium. To bring out the qualities of the percussion section, music must be produced that is specifically intended for the percussion instruments. The author set out to achieve this goal in his composition which is written for brass and percussion instruments.

This composition was influenced by jazz, rhythmically. The composition was influenced harmonically by devices used by contemporary composers. In form, …

A Study Of Aaron Copland And Ralph Vaughan Williams Through Analysis Of Copland's "In The Beginning", And Vaughan Williams' "Sancta Civitas", Minerva Ann Phillips

OBU Graduate Theses

The problem of this study is to analyze a significant choral work of two modern composers to determine the compositional techniques and styles as they apply to textual and musical content. The works which are analyzed are Aaron Copland's In The Beginning, and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sancta Civitas.

The biographical studies made on Copland and Vaughan Williams include: (1) their musical training; (2) influences which affected their compositional styles; (3) the different style-periods of their composing; and (4) the influence the two composers have made up on the musical growth in their countries -- Copland in America and …