Music Commons^™

A Performer's Guide To Gwyneth Walker's Settings Of Poetry By Lucille Clifton- No Ordinary Woman! And Three Songs For Lucille, Ebony Darshay Preston

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

No Ordinary Woman! is atypical of Walker’s style in that the composer employs jazz elements as the building blocks for this composition. From ballads to scat singing, each song is representative of a different style of jazz. The cycle, consisting of five songs, explores the poet’s journey of contemplation regarding various aspects of her life, predominantly her physical appearance. In No Ordinary Woman! and Three Songs for Lucille, the poet reflects on and ultimately celebrates her physical appearance. This document contains information about the lives and works of composer Gwyneth Walker and poet Lucille Clifton, the commissions, premieres, compositional processes, …

Polyfocal Structures In Franz Schubert's Lieder, Matthew Steinbron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Before the later nineteenth century, the principle governing nearly all earlier tonal composition was monotonality. Monotonality explains the structure of most tonal compositions, but there are numerous examples for which monotonal analysis is inadequate, especially in music of the later nineteenth century. Deformations of monotonality often arise from off-tonic openings, but some compositions may be understood in terms of two or more co-equal tonics, making monotonal models insufficient. Such compositions exhibit polyfocal tonality, also known as directional tonality. In order to adequately address polyfocal structures, I propose a new method of analysis that combines Schenkerian analysis with interpretive approaches derived …

The Performance Production Process Of An Outstanding High School Choir, Kathy K. Rolsten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the interest in and importance of producing high quality choral performance, the question "How is superior performance produced?" has not been addressed in a holistic and naturalistic way. A synthesis of previous research findings suggests that a combination of actions, interactions, relationships, and conditions produce superior choral performance. Yet a holistic examination of this multi-faceted production process has not been conducted. In order to identify all factors contributing to the production of superior performance and how these factors work together, I comprehensively examined an extreme case of superior performance. This extreme case of superior performance was one high school, …

Self-Efficacy In Music Performance: Measuring The Sources Among Secondary School Music Students, Michael S. Zelenak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a greater understanding of self-efficacy in music performance. I sought to (a) contribute to fundamental knowledge of self-efficacy in music performance, (b) determine whether scores from the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale (MPSES) were valid and reliable, and (c) provide insights for developing self-efficacy among secondary school music students. Participants (N = 290) were middle and high school students in band, chorus, and string orchestra ensembles from 10 schools in the southeast and western regions of the United States. Participants completed four online questionnaires: (a) Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale, (b) Sources of Middle …

Leading Unconducted Chamber Vocal Ensembles: A Case Study Of The University Of Northern Iowa Varsity Men's Glee Club Camerata, David Hoobler

Honors Program Theses

Recently, unconducted chamber vocal ensembles have emerged as one of, if not the most popular forms of vocal performing groups. TV shows such as "The Sing Off' and "Glee" showcase the musical abilities of this type of ensemble. Barbershop quartets enjoy high levels of popularity. Professional groups such as Voces8 and other groups on many college campuses are constantly in demand for performances. In addition, educators find it necessary to learn how to lead these groups especially in the state of Iowa where quartets are used for All-State auditions, and the popularity of Show Choir necessitates an unconducted vocal ensemble …

Differences In Depression Levels Among Tenors, Baritones, And Basses, Rhiannon Jane Talbot

Honors Program Theses

Music and speech are closely related to one another. Both have specific elements, such as average fundamental frequency, pitch variation, and speed, to accurately communicate emotion. Some emotions have characteristic speech patterns; in the case of sadness, a low mean fundamental frequency, slow speed of speech, and minimal pitch variation are common. Both music and speech also utilize physical metaphors (up/down, high/low, etc.) to express positivity and negativity. The study was intended to determine whether male vocal register correlated with levels of depressive symptoms. Specifically, tenors were expected to have lower levels of depression than baritones and basses. Participants (16 …

Musical Eating And Culinary Listening: Composing With Sounds And Flavors, Isaac Brockshus

Honors Program Theses

My interests in music are wide-ranging. While the majority of my energies as a student are invested in the mastery of music that is more or less conventional, I also find myself obsessing over ideas intended to clear new avenues of expression while establishing new perspectives on the familiar. My experimental side thrives in a vast playground of extant musical constructs, free to be exploded, reassembled, and reexamined. Within these constructs come certain audience expectations for the music. The presence of these expectations and the practical issues resulting from a clash of expectations served as instigators of creative thought throughout …

Bad Reputations: A Discussion Of Gender Norms And Personas Created And Performed In Courtly (And Not So Courtly) Lyrics, Rebecca Ann Bohnet

Honors Program Theses

From 1000 CE to 1250 CE in Occitan, a literary tradition developed in the culture of the nobility and the courts. The courtly lyric tradition grew out of a unique cultural setting that allowed for the growth of a group of poets known as troubadours to write their courtly love lyrics in praise of the idealized lover. These were performed at the courts for the nobility as a source of entertainment and dealt with themes of angst, jealousy, and of course, love, among others. These troubadours produced a large number of works, in a wide range of genres, such as …

Regina Caeli, Gustavo Leone, Martin Schmid S.J.

Department of Fine & Performing Arts: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish colonies in South America in 1767, leaving behind a remarkable musical legacy that was buried for over two hundred years. But the music did not disappear completely. Thanks to the Chiquitos people of Bolivia, the music was played and preserved throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1985, Swiss architect Hans Roth discovered 9,000 of these musical manuscripts and in 1990 UNESCO declared the churches of the Chiquitos a “patrimony of humanity”. Dr. Gustavo Leone of Loyola University Chicago's Department of Fine and Performing Arts has painstakingly retrieved and restored several of these …

Rotational Strategy In Selected Works By Béla Bartók, Robert C. Keller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy regard rotational form as “an overriding structural principle, an Urprinzip that in the instrumental genres may control the progress of movements organized according to more familiar Formenlehre categories such as sonata form or rondo”, in the dissertation that follows I propose a framework for rotational analysis that is sufficient as a self-standing analytical structure. This step back from the more familiar Formenlehre is necessary in Bartók’s post-tonal repertoire to avoid confusion with the generic expectations that often accompany labels such as principal theme, subordinate theme, exposition, development, recapitulation, etc. Also, as rotational form is …

Learning And Teaching Conducting Through Musical And Non-Musical Skills: An Evaluation Of Orchestral Conducting Teaching Methods, Jose Mauricio Valle Brandao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current state of conducting as an academic and professional pursuit shows a plethora of conventional traditions and techniques that are accepted without question, but a dearth of ideas and approaches that will develop the skills essential to producing an effective conductor. This profile is especially apparent in the field‘s literature. This monograph will compile a list of these titles and annotate each one, in order to determine the common threads that run between them. This information will be distilled into categories, identifying levels of approach and target audience. Evaluation of these data may lead to a discovery that many …

A Performance Guide To Libby Larsen's Sifting Through The Ruins For Mezzo-Soprano, Viola And Piano, Kori Lea Jennings

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this document is to offer a performance guide of Libby Larsen’s song cycle, "Sifting Through the Ruins," for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano. The letters and photos, which inspired the texts for this song cycle, were discovered in New York City by mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer while she was struggling to comprehend the events of the World Trade Center attack which took place on September 11, 2001. Chapter 1 discusses the life and vocal works of Libby Larsen. Biographical information is presented, followed by a discussion of Dr. Larsen’s compositional process, her musical style, and the importance she places …

Musical Allusion To The Rite Of Spring In Four Contemporary Works For Solo Bassoon, Scott Miller

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The bassoon solo that begins The Rite of Spring has had a profound and lasting influence on the treatment of the bassoon as a melodic instrument, both in the context of the orchestra and as a solo instrument. It has been alluded to and directly quoted in many works over the past century, and has become associated with the modern concept of the bassoon as a solo instrument. Four works for solo bassoon by contemporary composers—Canto XII by Samuel Adler, Metamorphoses by Leslie Bassett, Paisagem sonora no. 5 by Rodrigo Lima, and From Rite to Rite by Claudia and Maíra …

Interpretation And Expressive Imagery In The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto On Double Bass: Transcribed By Yung-Chiao Wei, Min-Tzu Chao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research paper is to show the interpretation of the Chinese piece—The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto—through expressing imagery. The concerto is composed by Chen Gang (陳鋼) and He Zhan-hao (何占豪) in 1959. In 2004, Yung-Chiao Wei, a double bass professor at Louisiana State University transcribed the piece for double bass. It is a very useful repertoire for double bass players to experience Chinese music through the plot’s expressing imagery. The Chinese musical language is different from Western music language in the concept of pentatonic scale, tone color, and tempo. I believe that double bass players can effectively …

The Vocal Works Of Charles Lloyd, Jr.: A Performer's Guide To Selected Dramatic Works, Art Songs, And Spiritual Art Songs, Charis Kelly Hudson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

African-American composer Charles Lloyd, Jr. has written some of the most beautiful and challenging solo vocal works of the present day. His abilities as a composer have awarded him the opportunity to work with names such as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, and Veronica Tyler. He has also written and published a number of works which include the art song Compensation, published in the Anthology of Art Songs by Black Composers and his first collection of spiritual art songs which appear in The Spiritual Art Song Collection by Charles Lloyd, Jr. Even more, his Psalm 30: Cantata for Soprano and Piano …

A Comparative Study Of And Performer's Guide To Selected Songs By The Swiss Composer Othmar Schoeck, Travis Archie Richter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This written document compares three songs settings of Othmar Schoeck to three other settings, written to the same text, by Hugo Wolf, Alban Berg, and Franz Schubert. The three pairings discussed are as follows: Schoeck’s Er ist’s (1937) as compared to Hugo Wolf’s setting, 1888; Ergebung (1918) as compared to Alban Berg’s setting Es wandelt, was wir schauen, 1908 (both settings were set to the same text); Rastlose Liebe (1909-1914) as compared to Franz Schubert’s setting, D. 138 (1815). Each comparison discusses how the respective composers treated text, dynamics, melody, harmony, and various other musical elements. The comparisons will show …

Spatialising Threads/Hallucinations: Closing The Gap Between Installation And Performance, Catherine A. Hope, Kynan Tan

Research outputs 2011

Threads/Hallucinations is a musical work that combines sound installation and live performance using an eight-speaker array. The work uses spatialisation as a means to control the performance, provide an immersive listening experience and extend musical composition parameters. The work draws on spatial and electronic music composition techniques, sound art installation and site-specific sounds. This paper will outline some key influences on the creation of this work as well as outlining concepts and methodologies for incorporating spatial techniques within the field of electronic music.

Multidimensional Data Sets: Traversing Sound Synthesis, Sound Sculpture, And Scored Composition, Stuart James, Catherine Hope

Research outputs 2011

This article documents some of the conceptual developments of some various approaches to using multidimensional data sets as a means of propagating sound, manipulating and sculpting sound, and generating compositional scores. This is not only achieved through a methodology that is reminiscent of some of the systematic matrix procedures employed by composer Peter Maxwell Davies, but also through a generative signal path method conventionally termed Wave Terrain Synthesis. Both methodologies follow in essence the same kind of paradigm - the notion of extracting information through a process of traversing multidimensional topography. In this article we look at four documented examples. …

Processes In Composition And Performance Leading To Performance, Catherine Hope

Research outputs 2011

This paper contemplates different processes and results developed by ‘programming composers’ as compared to composers who use programmers to facilitate or realise compositional components of their works. Different models for the relationship between music composition and computer programming are examined, as are the outcomes for composers and performers. For music programmers the compositional process varies according to the composer and the work they wish to create. Complex musical configurations involving sound synthesis, processing, aleatoric and improvisational approaches may be guided by conceptual ideas that do not always originate with programming skills, and can be outsourced within differing levels of collaboration. …

Manifesting Meaning From A Performance Of Cruelty: Parallels In The Musical Experimentalism Of Antonin Artaud And Sub Ordnance, Cat Hope, Sam Gillies

Research outputs 2011

No abstract provided.

The Evaluation Of Nonlinear Musical Structures, Lindsay Vickery

Research outputs 2011

No abstract provided.

The Possibilities Of Novel Formal Structures Through Computer Controlled Live Performance, Lindsay Vickery

Research outputs 2011

Computer controlled performance opens a range of novel structural possibilities. This paper explores the mechanisms and ramifications of this approach, and its potential to expand the repertoire of formal structures available to the composer. Traditional and computer coordinated performance models are compared. Modes of computer control, permutation, transformation and generation are discussed and their implications are evaluated. The range of implications of this approach to the performance environment are given together with illustrations from the author’s own work.

Screen Scores: New Media Music Manuscripts, Cat Hope, Lindsay Vickery

Research outputs 2011

This paper examines the screening of music notations and the impact of this configuration in a live music performance situation. Before the development of graphical computing, Traditional music notation, was rarely shared with the anyone other than other musicians, composers and analysts; let alone displayed during the performance. However, some composers experiment with scores and their visual presence in performance by employing automated ‘score-players’ or actual films specifically developed to be interpreted by musicians. This paper raises some questions and possibilities for this new way of sharing musical qualities of composition and performance.

Musical Parameter Manipulation Possibilities Of A Homemade Reactable, James Herrington, Lindsay Vickery

Research outputs 2011

Musical parameter control is an important part of live interactive electronic computer music. Due to the increasing availability and affordability of music technology, including powerful computer software, advances in this area are being made to enable easier and more effective parameter control. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and discuss the musical parameter manipulation possibilities of a homemade instrument with a tangible tabletop interface based on the technology of the reacTable. The design and construction of the instrument is documented, including the physical build as well as the software component of the system, which incorporates the computer software …

New Possibilities For Electroacoustic Music Performance, Cat Hope

Research outputs 2011

Western Australian new music ensemble Decibel has an ongoing research project dedicated to performing music that combines acoustic and electronic instruments. In the process of revitalising pieces that have been considered un-performable due to limitations in technology at the time of composition, or certain technologies becoming obsolete, Decibel has developed a unique approach to new music performance involving electronic and acoustic instruments. This has also involved the reworking of electronic pieces not intended to be performed live, works that have previously proved difficult to perform, and the ‘electroacoustification’ of acoustic works. The ensemble combines old technologies such as reel-toreel tape …

Visualising The Score: Screening Scores In Realtime Performance, Cat Hope, Lindsay Vickery

Research outputs 2011

This paper examines the screening of music notations and the impact of this configuration in a live music performance situation. Before the development of graphical computing, Traditional music notation, was rarely shared with the anyone other than other musicians, composers and analysts; let alone displayed during the performance. However, some composers experiment with scores and their visual presence in performance by employing automated ‗score-players‘ or actual films specifically developed to be interpreted by musicians. This paper raises some questions and possibilities for this new way of sharing musical qualities of composition and performance.

Organicism In Live Experimental Electroacoustic Music, Mark Mcmahon

Research outputs 2011

This paper explores the potential for an organicist or relational holistic approach to experimental electroacoustic music composition that is indeterminate with respect to performance. It follows a phenomenological interpretation of the musical work as the product of dynamic, temporal or relational processes involving the performers, their instruments, the sounds themselves, the whole acoustic space and the audience. An analysis of an electroacoustic composition and Decibel ensemble performance is offered for which organic indeterminacy is described in terms of a performative openness towards the creation of experimental music.

What's In A Name? Is The Term "Third Stream Music" Truly Representative Of The Music It Is Supposed To Describe? Would The Term "Jazzical" Be Just As Appropriate?, Matthew Styles

Research outputs 2011

No abstract provided.

Graduate Recital In Voice, Channing Connell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Channing Connell, soprano, presented a graduate voice recital on Monday, March 21, 2011 at 8:00 PM in Davis Hall of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa. The recital was performed in collaboration with pianists Korey Barrett and Polina Khatsko and presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music in Vocal Performance. The recital featured Cinq poemes de Baudelaire by Claude Debussy (1862-1918), select works from the Jtalienisches Liederbuch by Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) and selections by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873- 1943), each of which is briefly summarized in the body of this abstract.

Time Out Of Mind As Distant Past Beyond Memory; Bob Dylan And His "Late Style", Koji Matsudo

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.