Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Sing To The Lord A New Song: John Calvin And The Spiritual Discipline Of Metrical Psalmody, Brandon J. Bellanti

Musical Offerings

The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the way that psalmody - specifically metrical psalmody - serves as a sort of spiritual discipline. In other words, this essay seeks to demonstrate how the singing of psalms can be a tool to aid in spiritual growth. Much of the research for this essay focuses on the theological writings of the Protestant reformer John Calvin, as well as the way in which he incorporated metrical psalmody into his liturgical framework. The research also comprises primary writings from Aristotle, Plato, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil, and Saint Augustine - all of whom …

Ancient Worship Wars: An Investigation Of Conflict In Church Music History, Michael J. Wood

Musical Offerings

The purpose of this research is to prove that conflict in church music is nothing new. Even in the time of the early church fathers, dissenting views on what were acceptable and unacceptable practices in church music were present. The music of the 2nd century through the 14th century is examined.

The method used to find specific conflicts in church music history involved reading early Christian literature on music. When possible, both sides of the conflicts included in the project are presented. However, oftentimes only one side of an argument can be found since there is not an abundant supply …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.