Music Performance Commons^™

Improvisation, Consciousness And Cosmos: An Integral View Of Jazz Research, Ed Sarath

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

Ed Sarath on improvisation, consciousness and cosmos, as well on integral theory.

Introduction To The Iasj Journal Of Applied Jazz Research, Wouter Turkenburg, Kurt Ellenberger

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

Jazz research started as a duplicate of classical music research. As became clear during the Ongoing Dialogues during the annual IASJ Jazz Meetings that started in 1990, jazz research needs a dimension and a dynamic of its own. This has become 'applied jazz research', the kind of research that is directly linked to jazz performance and jazz education. The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz research offers the platform.

’90s “It Girls”: Britpop At The Postfeminist Intermezzo, Benjamin Halligan

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

In considering the Britpop genre of music and its moment of popularity in the mid/late-1990s, the few female-fronted Britpop groups created space for more compelling articulations of existential matters than were to be found in standard Britpop fare. This article argues these articulations are most appropriately read as arising from a moment of feminist thought in transition: a premature “victory,” under the sign of postfeminism, in which the struggles of Second Wave feminists could be seen to have delivered equality. This moment results in an encroaching and contested sense of entry into maturity, and a loss of youth. The groups …

The Percussionist's Guide To Music Theory Fundamentals, Mckenna M. Lee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The research priorities that I have established as a theorist, percussionist, and an instructor of both, have led me to a master's thesis project combining music theory practices within the study and performance of percussion repertoire. As the graduate assistant of the percussion department at West Virginia University, I have been teaching applied orchestral percussion lessons and leading percussion ensembles. In my experience, a number of first-year percussionists in the studio at WVU have had a limited background with reading definite pitches on the staff, and struggle with sight-reading and pitch identification, therefore making their Written I and Aural I …

Analysis And Performance Of Osvaldo Golijov’S Hebreische Milonga, Gerardo Sanchez Pastrana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most important and well-recognized composers of the 21^st century. His works are unique because of the diverse mixing of styles due to the interculturalism present in his music. In the program notes of his Hebreische Milonga, Golijov mentions that this piece can connect his Argentinian and Jewish roots as well as the influence of Astor Piazzolla’s music. In addition, there is a connection between the tango and the Jewish people residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is not addressed frequently when discussing the history of the tango. This research begins …

From A Humble Cry To A Holy Chaconne: The Background, Analysis, And Performance Guide To Chaconne For Tokkae, Op. 96 By M. W. Johann Kim, Jurang Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The cries of animals have been used as motivic material in classical music literature throughout history. This project considers the Cambodian tocay gecko’s cry as the motif which embodies the harmonic structure in Chaconne for Tokkae for Violin and Piano, Op. 96 by Dr. Myung Whan Johann Kim. It reveals how Dr. Kim adapts unique compositional style and technique such as the bell harmony of Dr. Kurt Anton Hueber, to develop the theme into 39 colorful variations. The essential elements of the chaconne and the composer’s intentions are examined through personal interviews and correspondence with the composer. These elements are …

A Conductor’S Analysis Of Selected A Cappella Works By Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, William Bernard Chandler Iii

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Despite experiencing a great deal of recognition in his lifetime, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s music is seldom performed today. His more famous pieces were his choral cantatas, but they require resources that most choirs cannot access. To encourage performance of his music, this monograph focuses on four of his part songs, which are much more accessible.

While many choirs will have the voicings to perform these pieces, they are very chromatic. Coleridge-Taylor is a product of late Romanticism and he employs many chromatic techniques to embellish his music. Inexperienced choirs will struggle to maintain a sense of tonal center if they are …

A Pianist Looks At Gerald Finzi's A Young Man's Exhortation, Op. 14, Mary Ann Wilder

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Gerald Finzi is a twentieth-century British composer. Though he also composed for orchestra and chamber ensembles, he is primarily known as a composer of vocal works, both solo and choral. In this solo vocal works, he favored the poetry of Thomas Hardy; six of his nine song cycles set Hardy’s poetry. One of these, A Young Man’s Exhortation, was Finzi’s second song cycle for voice and piano, but the first to earn notable success. Finzi writes for the piano lyrically and independently, as though the piano were a duetting voice—or in many cases, voices. This paper focuses on a …

Gesture And The Auditory Impact On The Perception Of Sound: A Performance Guide For Understanding Gestural Function On Percussion Pedagogy And Performance, Emily Lane Durocher

Theses and Dissertations--Music

I will address the concept of physical gestures and discuss how they are applicable to the way percussionists visually and audibly perceive music. Through my research, I will focus on performance and pedagogy, seeking new possibilities for introducing percussionists at all ability levels to different articulations. Percussionists have traditionally been led to believe that they do not have the versatility over the initial musical attack and sustain that wind and string players do. This document has been developed to provide a more in-depth approach to how physical and musical gestures can function to create a more versatile and musical percussionist. …

David Gillingham’S Stained Glass For Wind Ensemble: A Transcription From The Standard Percussion Repertoire, Ashley Shoupe

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Stained Glass (1994), by David Gillingham, is a work that is considered one of the standard pieces of percussion repertoire. To date, there are no known arrangements or transcriptions which exist for wind band that originated from the percussion ensemble repertoire. Stained Glass is a work which utilizes many musical characteristics and compositional techniques that could translate successfully to the wind ensemble, such as sweeping ostinato, sustained chordal structures, and a variety of colors and textures. It is because of this observation of musical characteristics that makes this work a good candidate for a successful first transcription from percussion ensemble …

Scores Of Nature (Volume 2), Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

Scores of Nature (Volume 2) is a collection of experimental notation and scores, which are created through serial, unplanned, and partially planned musical sequences overlaid onto natural scenes, spaces, or objects that the composer has taken photographs of in different places. This sequence is of five sets of images, many of them with curvature or lines that can be redesigned within an imaginative or manipulated musical staff with parallel or intersecting lines, clefs, time signatures, and other elements of a traditional score. In some cases the composer has offered a possible interpretation of the experimental score and notation through traditional …

Scores Of Nature (Volume 1), Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

1. Bone & Stone Sonata;

2. Jellyfish & Seaweed Suite;

3. Bonfire Bay Sonata;

Three works of experimental music and notation are included in Scores of Nature (Volume 1), which include pieces written on beaches with fishbone and pebbles, a bonfire and bay in Sointula, and a piece recommended for solo 'cello, where the score is an image of a beached jellyfish in a bedding of seaweed, in which the musician needs to react to the image and play what they are imagining from that image. From the description provided in the score text: "In this piece, Jellyfish & …

An Analysis Of Allan Holdsworth’S Techniques And Their Application To Fundamental Melodic Devices, James Dasilva

Recital Papers

This thesis analyzes Allan Holdsworth's improvisational style for the purpose of applying his techniques, such as string skipping and omnidirectional fretboard movement, beyond the jazz-rock idiom and expanding the melodic potential of the guitar.

Carlos Pedrell’S Al Atardecer En Los Jardines De Arlaja, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article reproduces Al atardecer en los jardines de Arlaja by the Uruguayan composer Carlos Pedrell, preceded by a commentary. Together with Pedrell's other guitar works, this piece enriches our picture of Latin American guitar repertoire in the early twentieth century. In the case of Pedrell, we have a work written by a composer who studied in Paris and who wrote for three of the major guitarists of his time—Segovia, Pujol, and Llobet.

A Theoretical And Performer’S Analysis Of Todd Goodman’S Tuba Concerto And Extended Program Notes Of Recital Pieces, Johnathan De Soto Jr.

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This document analyzes American composer Todd Goodman's 2012 work for solo tuba titled Tuba Concerto. It contains 10 chapters, including one for each of the three movements of the work: an introduction providing biographical information on the composer and context for the work within the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century; a performer’s analysis on the solo tuba part; and the biographical and performance information of composers also performed on the accompanying recital. Each of the four chapters includes theoretical analyses regarding each of Goodman's movements and practical considerations for performers of the work to observe. The thesis also …

A Rondo Allegro By François Molino, Matanya Ophee

Soundboard Scholar

This article presents an edited version of a Rondo-Allegro from Molino's Grande méthode complette (Paris, c. 1833). The rondo theme bears some resemblance to the famous melody "Das klinget so herrlich" from Mozart's Singspiel Die Zauberflöte. Ophee discusses the many versions of this theme to be found in the guitar's nineteenth-century repertoire, by composers such as Sor, Giuliani, and Paulian, drawing attention to composers' use of both the sung melody and the instrumental introduction.

Analysis Of Robert Schumann’S “Fantasy Pieces For Clarinet And Piano”, Opus 73, For A Greater Understanding Of A Standard In Western Classical Solo Repertory, Kaleigh Alwood

Music Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a mere two days, Robert Schumann composed a duet that would become a lasting symbol of romanticism in chamber music. “Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano”, Op. 73 is now a standard in clarinet repertoire. As such, the piece is frequently performed and analyzed. Schumann and his “Fantasy Pieces” are well known and broadly discussed, which leads one to wonder: how does one contribute to and interpret such a standard? To answer this question, it is proposed that research is utilized to examine the history surrounding the composer and the work alongside theoretical analysis to find and interpret key …

“An Attractive And Varied Repertoire”: Full-Data List, Christopher Page

Soundboard Scholar

This document presents the complete set of data analyzed in Christopher Page, “‘An Attractive and Varied Repertoire’: The Guitar Revival of 1860–1900 and Victorian Song,” Soundboard Scholar, no. 8 (2022), https://digitalcommons.du.edu/sbs/vol8/iss1/3.

Interpreting Jean Coulthard's Concerto For Piano And Orchestra (1963): A Pianist's Perspective, Jocelyn Lai

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Jean Coulthard (1908-2000) is recognized as one of Canada’s most prolific and important female classical composers in the twentieth century. She remained creatively active from her hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, for eight decades, resulting in a catalog of over 350 works representing most classical music genres. Her music continues to be performed and recorded by renowned ensembles and soloists such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Purcell String Quartet, pianists John Ogdon and Jane Coop, and contralto Maureen Forrester. Coulthard is known for her distinctive coloristic sonorities reminiscent of those in works by European composers …

"Cerulean Skies" By Maria Schneider: A Formal And Semiotic Analysis, Jonathan Heim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Expressivity, imagery, and narrativity have long been touted as hallmarks of big band composer Maria Schneider’s style. This perception is widely accepted by critics and casual commentators, but are these attributions merely metaphorical or do they speak to observable dimensions of Schneider’s compositional style? This dissertation aims to address the narrative and expressive dimensions of Schneider’s music by combining aspects of formal analysis with concepts from music semiotics. The centerpiece is an analysis of “Cerulean Skies” (2006), the longest work to date in Schneider’s oeuvre with a duration of approximately twenty-two minutes. “Cerulean Skies” is distinct in its expansiveness and …

Haydn’S Schemata And Hexachords: Two Analytical Case Studies, Gilad Rabinovitch

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

Two analytical case studies, from Haydn’s minuet al roverso (from the Symphony Hob. I: 47) and the opening movement of the String Quartet Op. 50, no. 6, show the interaction of galant schemata (Gjerdingen 2007) and the hexachordal solmization of the solfeggio tradition (Baragwanath 2020). Haydn plays upon conventional galant schemata—presumably elements of style shared by listeners who are closely familiar with the idiom (even if they do not have explicit schema labels); he also plays upon a more esoteric element of his own training and that of many other musicians in the period: hexachordal solmization. By considering both schemata …

A Theory Of Text Setting Contour: A Proposed Theory That Places Text At The Structural Foreground Of The Analysis Of Vocal Music, Grace K. Weaver

Music ETDs

How can contour theory be used to analyze a composer’s setting of a poem? Can this approach provide insights that lead to an interpretation of the composer’s setting of the text? This study presents a new contour theory on text setting by examining two different settings of the same text. This theory examines one aspect of the music, the vocal line, and plots syllable’s locations in two dimensions of music: pitch space and duration. Using these data points, one can suggest an interpretation of the poem. Through the application of this theory to Fanny Hensel and Franz Schubert’s setting of …

Homage To Eleanora: A Musical Journey Through The Billie Holiday Songbook, Keith A. Dames

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Billie Holiday was a singer, songwriter, vocalist, bandleader and composer in the fields of music, black culture and more specifically the genre of jazz. The primary focus of this study is Billie Holiday’s discography, music, and compositions as treated in relation to the black culture of production. This study will explore a secondary content analysis of Billie Holiday’s music, musicianship, musicality and compositional skills within the American jazz mainstream, broader jazz audience and world at large. This project will take an analytical look at the structure and form of the compositions of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is credited with composing …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

Three Etudes For Marimba And Pandeiro: Contemporary Marimba Music As A New Setting For The Brazilian Pandeiro, Eduardo Marques Do Prado

Doctoral Projects

The history of frame drums and idiophones has thousands of years. The modern versions of the pandeiro and the marimba are relatively new to those families of instruments. While the marimba found its niche in contemporary music, the pandeiro has been mostly used in Brazilian traditional music. The current project brings those two instruments together, allowing the pandeiro to express its versatility. Executing the intricate rhythms, uneven patterns, and alternating time signatures from within the Three Etudes for Marimba and Pandeiro is an example of what can be done with this amazing frame drum. These three pieces provide the pandeiro …

A Poet's Voice: Music In Service To Poetry: Elements Of Text Painting In Juliana Hall's Song Cycle "How Do I Love Thee?", Hayley Z. Coughin

Dissertations, 2020-current

American composer Juliana Hall has established a reputation as one of the leading composers of contemporary American art songs, having composed over 60 song cycles, totaling over 300 works for the voice. Hall’s song cycle How Do I Love Thee? expresses a narrative arc told through five selections from Victorian-era poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. The poems selected include Sonnet 3: “Unlike,” Sonnet 43: “How Do I Love Thee?,” Sonnet 37: “Pardon,” Sonnet 21: “Say Over,” and Sonnet 41: “Thank You.” Hall’s cycle describes the relationship between the lover and the object of their love, including …

A Poet's Voice: Music In Service To Poetry: Elements Of Text Painting In Juliana Hall's Song Cycle "How Do I Love Thee?", Hayley Z. Coughin

Dissertations, 2020-current

American composer Juliana Hall has established a reputation as one of the leading composers of contemporary American art songs, having composed over 60 song cycles, totaling over 300 works for the voice. Hall’s song cycle How Do I Love Thee? expresses a narrative arc told through five selections from Victorian-era poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. The poems selected include Sonnet 3: “Unlike,” Sonnet 43: “How Do I Love Thee?,” Sonnet 37: “Pardon,” Sonnet 21: “Say Over,” and Sonnet 41: “Thank You.” Hall’s cycle describes the relationship between the lover and the object of their love, including …

Grrrls, Grrrls, Grrrls: Incorporating Feminist Theory Into Punk Rock Composition, Bryan M. Waring

Composition/Recording Projects

This project argues that one can make rock music with anti-sexist values by incorporating feminist criticism and gendered performance into the composition of punk rock music. To test this thesis, the history of feminism and its implementation within musical discourse were examined. Using feminist music theory as a lens for observation, several songs from female artists and mix-gender bands within the punk genre were analyzed. This was done in order to find similarities in compositional practices and to explore punk rock’s symbolic representations of gender. Areas covered were the expression of jouissance by the proto-punks, the use of détournement by …

Ysaye Sonata No.4 - A Sonata Of Past And Future, Naiyin Hou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A golden age of violin playing arose during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Different violin schools were established, with their own beliefs concerning technique and interpretation. Some violinists displayed high virtuosity in their playing; whereas, others pursued establishing a noble and simple interpretation following the composer’s musical instruction. Different playing styles were developing, and people had their own preference on one or another. Eugène Ysaÿe was able to present qualities from different schools altogether in his playing, and developed a style of playing that was admired by the later generation. Many violinists in the late 19th century were …

New Transcription For Cello And Piano Of The “Sonata For Violin And Piano” By Uruguayan Composer Hector Tosar, Including A Performance Edition, Analysis, And Biography, Jose Pedro Romero-Ottonello

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This paper accompanies my transcription for cello and piano of Héctor Alberto Tosar Herrecart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. It presents a brief study of Tosar's life, documenting his study with various composers in Uruguay and elsewhere, influences on his evolving compositional style, and an analysis of the sonata itself. I examine the manuscripts of other works by Tosar to provide an understanding of his musical language, including his “Serie sinfónica: en cuatro movimientos,” “Sinfonía no. 2 para orquesta de cuerdas,” “Sonatina no. 2. Solitude,” and “Salmo CII: para coro y orquesta.” The purpose of this project is to document …