Music Commons^™

A Tribute To Vladimir Morkov (The Czar’S Guitars), Ellwood Colahan

Soundboard Scholar

A review of A Tribute to Vladimir Morkov, by The Czar’s Guitars (John Schneiderman & Oleg Timofeyev) (Hänssler Classic HC20018, 2020, 2 compact discs).

Archetypes (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad, Third Coast Percussion), Nathan Cornelius

Soundboard Scholar

A review of  Archetypes, by Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad, and Third Coast Percussion (Cedille 201, 2021, 1 compact disc).

On The Need For A Scholarly Edition Of Tárrega’S Complete Works, David J. Buch

Soundboard Scholar

In this guest editorial, the author provides evidence of the unreliable nature of the majority of Tárrega’s first editions, and the substandard quality of most modern editions. The author argues that in light of the recent availability of formerly inaccessible primary sources, the time is right for a scholarly edition of Tárrega’s complete works with state-of-art editorial methods.

The Guitar In America As Mirrored In Cadenza (1894–1924), Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

Remembering Tom Heck And His Legacy, Robert Ferguson

Soundboard Scholar

An obituary of Thomas Heck (1943–2021), outlining his contributions to guitar scholarship, especially with reference to his seminal biography of Giuliani and his research into musical iconography. This article also describes his contribution to the classical guitar community in the United States, as the founding visionary of the Guitar Foundation of America.

An Online, Open-Access Journal, Jonathan Leathwood

Soundboard Scholar

The editor explains the journal’s migration to an online, open-access platform and provides an introduction to the contents of this issue.

Of Self And Circumstance: Music And Representation In The Works Of Rodrigo, Walter Aaron Clark

Soundboard Scholar

Though Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-99) is renowned for his guitar works, especially the Concierto de Aranjuez, less well known is the fact that his compositions embrace a wide variety of genres, styles, and media, from piano solos to art songs and from orchestral tone poems to film scores. This article proposes a novel way of organizing and comprehending the roughly 200 works in his catalogue. Rather than the standard method of organization by chronology or medium, it surveys his oeuvre through multiple lenses, including literary, folkloric, virtuosic, sacred, historical, theatrical and descriptive. Each of these categories represents the salient dimension …

How I Got Into This: Toward A Social History Of The Guitar In America, Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

An introduction to a series of five articles by Peter Danner on the history of the guitar in the United States from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Written between 1977 and 1994, these articles first appeared in early issues of the GFA’s magazine Soundboard. They are reprinted here in tribute to Danner’s pioneering contribution to guitar research and to bring them to the attention of a new generation of scholars. The author has generously provided this newly written introduction to the series.

Notes On Some Early-American Guitar Concerts, Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

The Catalan Guitar, Part 1: Four New E-Books By Brian Jeffery And Josep María Mangado, Richard M. Long

Soundboard Scholar

A review of four new biographical studies of Fernando Sor:

• Brian Jeffery, Fernando Sor: Composer and Guitarist, 3rd edition (N.p.: Tecla, 2020), PDF or ePub
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 1, Aportaciones biográficas (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2020), PDF
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 2, Documentos inéditos: Reflexiones e hypótesis (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2018), PDF
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 3, La actividad guitarrística en París (1825–1839) (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2010), PDF

The Flight Of The Maiden: Representations Of Women And The Guitar In Brazilian Culture, Cláudia Araújo Garcia

Soundboard Scholar

This article examines the relationship between women and the guitar in the context of both Brazilian literary discourse and the instrument’s culture and history. To this end, I have sought out texts that illustrate intersections between women and the guitar from the perspective of both female and male authorship. We see that the guitar provides a vehicle for the woman’s voice in all its restlessness, violation, and libertarian desire; but equally, it enables the perpetuation of stereotypes linked to the mirroring of the guitar and the female body. In the absence of literary and historic records of the guitar in …

Reginald Smith Brindle’S Concept Of Tonal-Atonal Equilibrium In Theory And Practice, Oliver Chandler

Soundboard Scholar

In an attempt to explain how post-tonal harmonic progressions might “make sense,” Reginald Smith Brindle formulated theories of tension flow and tonal-atonal equilibrium in his 1966 textbook, Serial Composition. The former theory compares the number of consonant and/or dissonant intervals between chords, albeit without providing a consistent means of distinguishing between similar sonorities; the latter observes that various musical passages strike a balance between functional and non-functional harmony, albeit without explaining the nature of said balance. While his ideas are evocative, they lack theoretical finesse. Placing them in dialogue with recent developments in post-tonal scholarship helps to unlock their …

A Noteworthy Early-American Guitar Treatise: James Ballard’S Elements Of 1838, Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

The Guitar In Nineteenth-Century America: A Lost Social Tradition, Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

This article is one of a series of five by Peter Danner on the history of the guitar in the United States from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Written between 1977 and 1994, these articles first appeared in early issues of the GFA’s magazine Soundboard. They are reprinted here in tribute to Danner’s pioneering contribution to guitar research and to bring them to the attention of a new generation of scholars. The author has generously provided a newly written introduction to the series.

Return With Us Now: Featured Facsimiles, Peter Danner

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

Ars Longa (Kenny), Jocelyn Nelson

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Ars Longa: Old and New Music for Theorbo, by Elizabeth Kenny, theorbo (Linn CKD 603, 2019, 1 compact disc).

The Catalan Guitar, Part 2: Two New E-Books By Josep María Mangado, Richard M. Long

Soundboard Scholar

A review of two studies by Josep María Mangado of the history of the guitar in Catalonia:

• Josep María Mangado Artigas, La guitarra en Cataluña, 1769–1939: Con especial referencia a los guitarristas José Ferrer (1835–1916), Sor, Brocá, Viñas, Bosch, Costa, Más, y otros, version 2.0 (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona): Self-published, Tecla, 2010), PDF
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Los conciertos de guitarra en el Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona): Desde sus inicios en 1908 hasta el estreno en 1940 del Concierto de Aranjuez (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2018 [2019?]), PDF

"For Andrés Segovia": Francisco De Lacerda’S Suite Goivos (1924), Pedro Rodrigues

Soundboard Scholar

Suite goivos by Francisco Lacerda (1869–1934) stands out not only as one of the first examples of symbolist literature for guitar but also as the first work written for guitar by a Portuguese non-guitarist composer. So far, however, it has remained in relative obscurity. In this article, I first explore the suite’s context and history: its origin in meetings and correspondence between Lacerda and the work’s dedicatee, Andrés Segovia; its place among new works commissioned by Segovia from non-guitarist composers; and available manuscript sources for the work. I then argue for the work’s importance as music, highlighting its innovative features, …

"The Lutenist!": Anxieties, Ambiguities, And Deviations In Julian Bream’S Discography, Sidney Molina

Soundboard Scholar

The recent passing of English guitarist Julian Bream (1933–2020) has prompted a reevaluation of his artistic legacy by critics around the world. In this article, I propose a way of reading Bream’s discography in relation to that of his predecessor, Andrés Segovia, utilizing Harold Bloom’s theory of influence, a methodology that I first proposed in application to music in 2006. After dividing Bream’s fifty albums into phases inspired by Bloomian categories, I examine the works that Bream chose to record more than once, with a focus on those to which he returned three or more times.

Spanish Guitarists In Nineteenth-Century São Paulo, Flavia Prando

Soundboard Scholar

This article explores the presence and activities of guitarists in nineteenth-century São Paulo. Drawing on reviews written by the pianist Alexandre Levy in 1890, I analyze concerts by Martínez Toboso and Gil-Orozco, two Spanish guitarists whose duo seems to have been the first to perform formal concerts in São Paulo. I also investigate Gil-Orozco’s subsequent work in São Paulo, where he lived for seventeen years (1890–1907), playing an essential role in the guitar’s development in the city.

Guitar Double Concertos: Works By Puerto, García Abril & López De Guereña (Trápaga Et Al.), Diogo Alvarez

Soundboard Scholar

A review of Guitar Double Concertos, by Miguel Trápaga and Teresa Folgueira, guitars; Ángel Luis Castaño, accordion; Fernando Arias, vibraphone; Oviedo Filarmonía; Óliver Díaz (Naxos 8.573816, 2019, 1 compact disc).

Soundboard Scholar No. 7: Cover

Soundboard Scholar

Cover image: José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899), O violeiro (The Guitarist). Oil on canvas, 1899. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Cover design by Colleen Gates.

The Analysis Of Gospel Drumming: Its Influence On Live Performances Of Secular Music, Brandon Prigg

Recital Papers

An analysis on the evolution of gospel drumming and its influence on the live performances of secular music.

Fred And Dinah Gretsch School Of Music Newsletter, Georgia Southern University

School of Music: News & Publications (2017-2023)

• Greetings from the Chair

Material Format Preference Of Music Faculty At Kennesaw State University, A. Carey Huddlestun

Faculty Articles

Historically, collection development has focused on what material to purchase. However, with the maturation of web-based music audio databases, web-based video databases, online music scores, electronic books and reference material, and commercial audio/visual streaming services, the format of material is also now an important collection consideration. Faced with difficult collection development decisions due to the Performing Arts Library’s (PAL) limited space being filled beyond capacity with physical material, PAL librarians at Kennesaw State University (KSU) sought to discover the material and format preference of music faculty. This was done to see if faculty would use digital material, requiring no physical …

Words, Music, Memory: An Exploration Of Four Soprano Song Cycles By Lori Laitman Based On Poetry By Victims Of The Holocaust, Sheena Ramirez

Dissertations, 2020-current

This Doctor of Musical Arts document is an exploration of the four soprano song cycles by Lori Laitman based on text settings from victims of the Holocaust, with a specific focus on the compositional and performance devices that both underpin the power of words to bear witness to lived experience and ensure the process of musical commemoration as an act of historical preservation. Lori Laitman (b. 1955) has composed ten distinct song cycles commemorating victims of the Holocaust, of which four are included in this study – I Never Saw Another Butterfly, In Sleep the World is Yours, The Ocean …

Five Songs By Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960): From Nostalgia To Christian Hope And The Assurance Of Heaven, James K. Richardson

Dissertations, 2020-current

During the first few decades of the twentieth century, prolific composer, teacher, and conductor, Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960), was well-regarded for his contribution to the landscape of English art song. However, against the backdrop of Modernism and the tumult of the Second World War, his musical style was deemed “out of touch.” In a 1943 chain of correspondence with fellow songwriter Roger Quilter, Gibbs describes feeling “exceedingly sore and discouraged at neglect at the hands of the critics.” He further explains, “Just because we both write music that is intelligible & frankly tries to aim at beauty, we are considered beneath …

Singers’ Experiences Of Community In The Shenandoah Valley Children’S Choir, Heidi B. King

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the music and education fields, researchers have explored the ways people experience community in classroom and ensemble settings; however, few studies have focused on the ways adolescents experience community in the children’s choir setting. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore singers’ perspectives of their experience of community in the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir. Fifteen singers participated in focus group interviews to generate primary data; rehearsal observations and document analysis served as secondary data sources. Analysis revealed that participants’ goals and motivations aligned with the stated goals of the organization, and that these shared goals gave …

Xero Tolerance: A Critical Look At The Complicated Legacy Of Type O Negative, Brandon Futernick

Capstones

Type O Negative have been one of my favorite bands for nearly half my life. They were the soundtrack for some pivotal moments in my adolescence, and I’ve held them near and dear to my heart into my adulthood. But after some time away, revisiting their music in 2021 revealed some ugly sides to their lyrical content that gave me pause. So I conducted an in-depth, critical review of my relationship to their discography to see if I could reconcile my lifelong appreciation for them with some of their more problematic tendencies.

Link: https://brandonfuternick.medium.com/xero-tolerance-a-critical-look-at-typ-226f16682e50

Cross-Pollinating Music: The Past, Present And Future Of Genre-Blending Experimental Musicians, Vanessa Ague

Capstones

Recently, experimental music that mixes popular genres with academic styles has skyrocketed into the mainstream. Part of that’s because of the democratizing power of the internet, part of that’s because it’s a style that’s slowly become more prevalent over many years. This essay explores the different ways experimental musicians blend popular genres into their compositions, providing a succinct timeline of the style’s history and a playlist that features musical examples. Link to full capstone project: https://medium.com/@vanessa.ague/cross-pollinating-music-the-past-present-and-future-of-genre-blending-experimental-musicians-83f0d2ba9f2d