Blah, Blah, Blah: Making Sense Of Nonsense In Irish Vocal Music, 2014 Covenant College
Blah, Blah, Blah: Making Sense Of Nonsense In Irish Vocal Music, Catherine E. Mullins
Musical Offerings
This paper seeks to provide a foundation for understanding lilting, a traditional type of vocal music found in Ireland that involves improvising non-lexical vocables to dance tunes, in order to help preserve this genre in its traditional form as well as encourage its transformation and incorporation into modern music. Through a case study, this research paper demonstrates certain features and patterns that may characterize traditional lilting. A recording of Seamus Fay’s performance of the traditional folk jig, “Humours of Ballyloughlin,” has been transcribed for analysis and examined for possible relationships of vocables or vowels to music and vocables to other …
Aspects Of Newtonianism In Rameau’S Génération Harmonique, 2014 The University of Western Ontario
Aspects Of Newtonianism In Rameau’S Génération Harmonique, Abigail Shupe
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation studies the influence of Newtonianism as a cultural phenomenon on the theoretical writings of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). Rameau’s Génération harmonique (1737) shows a change in his thinking from his earlier work that bears witness to the debates around Newtonian science in the scientific community. Scholars have discussed possible connections between Génération harmonique and Newton’s Opticks (1704) but none has studied this issue in detail. I argue that Rameau was influenced by Newtonianism rather than by Newton’s works, and that Rameau was not always aware of this influence. In order to situate Rameau’s work within the larger body of …
Toward A Postmodern Avant-Garde: Labour, Virtuosity, And Aesthetics In An American New Music Ensemble, 2014 The University of Western Ontario
Toward A Postmodern Avant-Garde: Labour, Virtuosity, And Aesthetics In An American New Music Ensemble, John R. Pippen
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation examines the aesthetic beliefs and labour practices of the American new music ensemble eighth blackbird (lower-case intentional). Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with the ensemble for the past six years, I show how the ensemble responds to specific cultural pressures endemic to the classical music scene, its new music vanguard, and to the contemporary United States. eighth blackbird, I argue, has created an ensemble identity and performance style designed to satisfy numerous audience positions, from experts well-versed in the intricacies of musical techniques to lay-persons unacquainted with the values and practices of new or classical music. This attempt …
Syntagma Musicum Ii: De Organographia, Parts Iii – V With Index, 2014 Wolfenbüttel
Syntagma Musicum Ii: De Organographia, Parts Iii – V With Index, Michael Praetorius, Quentin Faulkner Trans. & Ed.
Zea E-Books Collection
Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) achieved distinction as a practicing musician: as organist and Kapellmeister at Wolfenbüttel, Dresden and Magdeburg, and (in his later years) by incessant travel to fulfill commissions at various central German courts. Amid his travels Praetorius found time to publish an impressive series of collections of musical compositions, in all more than a thousand works. Praetorius’s three-volume Syntagma musicum (Musical Encyclopedia) belongs to the last years of his life. Volume I, Musicae artis analecta (1614/15, in Latin), treats principles and practices of religious music, from a decidedly Lutheran perspective. Volume II, De organographia (1619, in German) deals with …
A Document In Death And Madness: A Cultural And Interdisciplinary Study Of Nineteenth-Century Art Song Settings On The Death Of Opelia, 2014 University of Southern Mississippi
A Document In Death And Madness: A Cultural And Interdisciplinary Study Of Nineteenth-Century Art Song Settings On The Death Of Opelia, Jennifer Leigh Tipton
Dissertations
In the nineteenth century the character of Ophelia transformed from a minor role in Hamlet into one of the great muses of the Romantic period. Ophelia’s rise to an archetype of feminine madness was not a result of Shakespeare’s pen alone, but of the accumulation of interpretations of her character from actresses, artists, critics, writers, musicians, and social attitudes toward women. This paper focuses on nineteenth-century interpretations of her death, specifically art song.
A brief survey of the nineteenth-century European cultural and social climate pertaining to Ophelia is included in the paper:
*Shakespeare in France and Germany
*Nineteenth-Century Actresses in …
Les Vosges A Suite For Orchestra, 2014 University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Les Vosges A Suite For Orchestra, Glenn Robert Kahler
Masters Theses
Les Vosges, a programmatic suite for orchestra in three movements, features dance-like rhythms, folksong-influenced melodies, and formal characteristics and stylistic qualities that combine elements of modern composition with those reminiscent of Baroque dance. Les Vosges was composed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Music with a concentration in Composition from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
This paper offers a supplementary analysis of the Les Vosges while referencing influential compositions and composers of the last century (Milhaud, Grofe, Kodaly, and Holst) regarding musical parameters of form, melody, harmony, rhythm and meter, and genre.
Unmasking Wagner's Grail: Homoeroticism, Androgyny, And Anxiety In Parsifal, 2014 University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Unmasking Wagner's Grail: Homoeroticism, Androgyny, And Anxiety In Parsifal, Tyler Cole Mitchell
Masters Theses
Most readings of Wagner’s final music drama Parsifal seek to illumine a clandestine presentation of Wagner’s racist doctrine or make sense of a less-shrouded but still ambiguous panegyric to Christianity. However, little scholarly material addresses Wagner’s provocative account of sensuality and homoeroticism in this Bühnenweihfestspiel [Stage Consecration Festival Play]. This thesis explores desire and homosexuality within the drama and considers how and why Wagner masks these themes through the opaque mythos of religion, race, and community. Parsifal was partly informed by Wagner’s own complex neuroses: his sexual anxieties and scandals, amalgam of German philosophies, and confusion concerning Germanness. As filtered …
Sonic Environmentalism: God, Nature, And Politics In Olivier Messiaen's Des Canyons Aux Étoiles . . ., 2014 University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Sonic Environmentalism: God, Nature, And Politics In Olivier Messiaen's Des Canyons Aux Étoiles . . ., Ryan James Taussig
Masters Theses
Scholars often speak of Olivier Messiaen’s (1908-1992) use of birdsong as inspiration in his compositions. The avian vocalizations he dictated and catalogued while traveling throughout France and the world make appearances throughout his oeuvre. Other well documented influences upon his music include landscape and religion. In order to better comprehend the ecological, religious, and political underpinnings of Olivier Messiaen’s musical output, one must deduce how he drew upon nature and religion as inspiration. I propose that such an understanding can be reached through an in-depth examination of Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles . . . (1971-1974).
Through analysis of Messiaen’s …
A Song Without Music Or Music Without Song: Noise Music And Lexington’S Modern Avant-Garde, 2014 University of Kentucky
A Song Without Music Or Music Without Song: Noise Music And Lexington’S Modern Avant-Garde, Matthew H. Gibson
Kaleidoscope
While Lexington KY appears to be a fairly unassuming college town, it is actually a regional hub for noise, experimental, and improvisational music. This work explores the directions, motivations, and origins of Lexington’s experimental music scene through interviews with its artists, promoters, and participants. What I uncovered was a loose collective of fiercely independent artists who write their own music, create their own visual artwork, and organize their own performances in some of the most unlikely locations. These musicians and artists represent a peculiar contemporary folk art that emerges more from the psyche than the classroom and challenges all artistic …
Born To Conquer: The Fortepiano’S Revolution Of Keyboard Technique And Style, 2014 Cedarville University
Born To Conquer: The Fortepiano’S Revolution Of Keyboard Technique And Style, Rachel A. Lowrance
Musical Offerings
The fortepiano had a rough beginning. In 1709 it entered a world that was not quite ready for it; a world that was very comfortable with the earlier keyboard instruments, especially the harpsichord. Pianists and composers were used to the harpsichord technique and style, which is drastically different from the piano. This is because the harpsichord was actually a very different instrument than the piano, as is explained in this paper. This paper traces the history of the piano's rise to dominance over the harpsichord, and how its unique hammer action began creating an idiomatic piano style. The piano also …
Learning To Play: Cognitive And Physical Development Of Children And The Requirements Of Playing The Piano, 2014 Cedarville University
Learning To Play: Cognitive And Physical Development Of Children And The Requirements Of Playing The Piano, Amy Carmichael
Musical Offerings
Musical learning and performance has traditionally been understood as the process of cognitive ability and physical action. If a musician lacks or is underdeveloped in one of these areas it will either be harder or almost impossible to create music. In this presentation I will focus on the connection between them. Cognitive ability and knowledge increases with age as we gain more facts and experiences. Likewise, a child’s physical abilities expand and become more advanced with age. There is an increasing amount of evidence that cognitive abilities and physical developments are linked in children’s development.
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, 2014 Cedarville University
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, Kimberly Reitsma
Musical Offerings
One of the currently prevalent analytic approaches in academia is feminist theory and criticism. Its combination with musicology has influenced the field for the past four decades. The goal of the new approach, loosely termed “feminist musicology,” has been to discover, analyze, discuss, and promote the representation of women and the “feminine” essence in various disciplines of music. Today, feminist musicology is highly researched, published in books and journals, and presented as scholarly papers at various musicological conferences around the world. This new approach introduces the ideologies of feminism to the study of music.
Susan McClary and Marcia J. Citron …
Antiquarianism & Authority: The Period Instrument Revival Through The Lens Of Modernism, 2014 Lawrence University
Antiquarianism & Authority: The Period Instrument Revival Through The Lens Of Modernism, Maia W. Perez
Lawrence University Honors Projects
This thesis examines the Period Instrument Revival of early 20th century England through a lens of contemporaneous Modernist thought, specifically in how each movement addresses its conflicted relationship with the musical past. It centers on Arnold Dolmetsch, the primary instigator of the Revival, and through this exploration of his reception and his works in a Modernist context, unveils the Revival's continuous struggle to subvert Modernist societal isolation and instead actively attempt to connect with and influence both musical and larger English culture and society. Finally, it presents a case for the enduring influence of Arnold Dolmetsch not just as one …
How The Axe Falls: A Retrospective On Thirty-Five Years Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Performance, 2014 Boise State University
How The Axe Falls: A Retrospective On Thirty-Five Years Of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Performance, Linda Marie Zaerr
Accessus
This retrospective represents a new approach to using historical performance as a tool for understanding medieval narrative performance. The core of the article traces how an individual performer’s interaction with a stable medieval text both indicates directions medieval performers may have taken and suggests the limitations imposed by modern performance conventions. The discussion touches on issues of adaptation and translation, variation in troupe composition and audience, expectations of modern audiences, impact of costume choices, and limitations of audio and video recordings as documentation of live performance. Juxtaposing eight performances of a single passage clarifies how performance can transform a text, …
Antonio T. De Nicolás: Poet Of Eternal Return, 2014 Loyola Marymount University
Antonio T. De Nicolás: Poet Of Eternal Return, Christopher Key Chapple
Research Resources
This book includes essays in honor of Professor Antonio de Nicolas.
The Preservation Of Subjectivity Through Form: The Radical Restructuring Of Disintegrated Material In The Music Of Gerald Barry, Kevin Volans And Raymond Deane., 2014 Technological University Dublin
The Preservation Of Subjectivity Through Form: The Radical Restructuring Of Disintegrated Material In The Music Of Gerald Barry, Kevin Volans And Raymond Deane., Adrian Smith
Doctoral
This thesis examines Adorno’s concept of ‘disintegrated musical material’ and applies it to the work of the Irish composers Raymond Deane (b. 1953), Gerald Barry (b. 1952) and Kevin Volans (b. 1949). Although all three of these composers have expressed firm commitments to the ideal of creating new and radical works, much of the material in their music is composed of elements abstracted from the tonal past. This feature of their work would seem contrary to the views of Adorno, who is commonly seen as advocating progressive composition using only the most advanced means. This view comes across most strongly …
"A Song Workers Everywhere Sing:" Zilphia Horton And The Creation Of Labor's Musical Canon, 2014 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
"A Song Workers Everywhere Sing:" Zilphia Horton And The Creation Of Labor's Musical Canon, Chelsea Hodge
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Zilphia Horton, a college educated, middle class white woman from the rural American south, created the canon of music that would become central to the black freedom struggle in postwar America. Horton's work in the post-New Deal labor movement established the methods of incorporating protest music in movements of social justice that prevailed for the rest of the century. The work songs and hymns that she collected, arranged, notated, and published while music director at Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, TN--including "We Shall Overcome," "This Little Light of Mine," "We Shall Not Be Moved"--motivated generations of activists as they transformed …
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, 2014 Cedarville University
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, Kimberly Reitsma
The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)
One of the currently prevalent analytic approaches in academia is feminist theory and criticism. Its combination with musicology has influenced the field for the past four decades. The goal of the new approach, loosely termed “feminist musicology,” was to discover, analyze, discuss, and promote the representation of women and the “feminine” essence in various disciplines of music. Today, feminist musicology is highly researched, research is published in books and journals, and scholarly papers are presented at various musicological conferences around the world. This new approach introduces the ideologies of feminism to the study of music. Susan McClary and Marcia J. …
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, 2014 Cedarville University
A New Approach: The Feminist Musicology Studies Of Susan Mcclary And Marcia J. Citron, Kimberly Reitsma
Music and Worship Student Presentations
One of the currently prevalent analytic approaches in academia is feminist theory and criticism. Its combination with musicology has influenced the field for the past four decades. The goal of the new approach, loosely termed “feminist musicology,” has been to discover, analyze, discuss, and promote the representation of women and the “feminine” essence in various disciplines of music. Today, feminist musicology is highly researched, published in books and journals, and presented as scholarly papers at various musicological conferences around the world. This new approach introduces the ideologies of feminism to the study of music.
Engaging With Research And Resources In Music History Courses, 2014 CUNY Queens College
Engaging With Research And Resources In Music History Courses, Jennifer Oates
Publications and Research
With the ever-expanding sea of resources available to students today, it is now more important than ever to teach students how to navigate, assess, and interpret resources. Given the ease of access to information, students tend to seek out the path of least resistance, most often a Google search and/or Wikipedia. Their unfamiliarity with print resources, such as thematic catalogues, means they are missing out on significant music scholarship that is not available online or through Google. Today’s students have grown up searching the internet. The single-search approach of a web search leaves many students confused by terms like …