Musicology Commons^™

Arnaud Préot: Teacher, Composer, And President, Melonee Gray

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Arnaud Préot (1818-1873) was the 8th president of Longwood University. He served between the years 1863-1869 and ran the institution during the Civil War. A Frenchman, Préot immigrated to America at the age of 19. In America, he served as a professor of language and music, and eventually served as president at three female colleges. Additionally, he composed music, including several piano compositions and many vocal pieces. His works are reflective of both the classical period and the French style. In this essay, two of his piano compositions and one of his vocal pieces are analyzed and discussed. Préot's pieces …

Music Of The Divine: Interweaving Threads Connecting Contemporary Chant-Based Piano Repertoire, Jeremy D. Duck

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this document is to prove chant remains an important source of inspiration among living composers, and, despite the number of piano works already incorporating chant, composers today are still finding unique ways to include chant in their music. To achieve this objective, representative works have been selected for research and analysis for four of the major chant traditions. Connor Chee’s The Navajo Piano, Victoria Bond’s Illuminations on Byzantine Chant, and Hayes Biggs’ E.M. am Flügel: Poem-Étude for Piano Solo, though the chants from which they are inspired are diverse in concept and style, they …

Introduction To Music, Mus 10100, Daniel Beliavsky

Open Educational Resources

This course examines musical works, composers, and aesthetics from antiquity to the present. Central to our curriculum are the questions, “what are music’s meanings?” and “how can music communicate meaning?” Through the process of discovering the varied answers to these questions, we will learn about music history, music philosophy, composer biographies, and how aesthetic concerns change across time and place. As a result of our work, you will develop the critical skills needed to understand the socio-historical events that inspire musical compositions and styles.

Music: Numbers In Motion, Graziano Gentili, Luisa Simonutti, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Music develops and appears as we allow numbers to acquire a dynamical aspect and create, through their growth, the various keys that permit the richness of the musical texture. This idea was simply adumbrated in Plato’s work, but its importance to his philosophical worldview cannot be underestimated. In this paper we begin by discussing what is probably the first written record of an attempt to create a good temperament and then follow the Pythagoreans approach, whose problems forced musicians, over the next several centuries up to the Renaissance and early modern times, to come up with many different variations.

A Novel Generative Paradigm For Carnatic Rhythmic Composition, Jagdish A. Krishnaswamy, Robert L. Wells

Music

Mathematical structures are deeply embedded in the aesthetics of South Indian Carnatic music. Kōrvais, which are rhythmic compositions performed in triplets in various parts of a concert, are the culmination of this mathematical aesthetic. Each kōrvai has two parts, the first called the pūrvārdha and the second called the uttarārdha, both based on mathematical structures that are aesthetically acceptable according to certain constraints. These structures have evolved traditionally and can accommodate most rhythmic requirements. However, the traditional methods are inadequate in addressing certain specialized constraints. Therefore, this article revisits rhythmic composition through conceptualization of newer rhythmic patterns and …

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 & …

A Musical Analysis Of Die Zauberflöte, John Flannery, Mattheia Rudolph, Rachel Heikkinen

2022 Festschrift: Mozart's Die Zauberflöte

Upon analysis of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, we are able to discern the compositional techniques throughout which reflect the plot and inner motives of each character. We also analyze Masonic ideas hidden in the subtext of the opera and how they are explored through the use of reinterpretation of past material, affekt, and text painting.

“For The Orchestra Musicians: Conducting On The Beat Is Effective Or Too Late?”, University Of Denver

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

There are a lot of conductors, and every conductor is different. There are as many conducting techniques as well. But one of the most famous approaches in conducting an ensemble, whether a wind ensemble, orchestra, or chorus, is to deliver the beat and expecting the ensemble for an immediate ‘attack’ of the note. An instant reciprocation and reaction at the same exact time as the ‘ictus’ of the conductor. Basically, doing it exactly together. The other notion is that the conductor beating should be beating ahead of time (almost a beat ahead) to give the ensemble some time to prepare …

Communication Through Conducting: The Effects Of Verbal And Nonverbal Gestures On A Musical Ensemble, Jordon Schultze

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

Conducting as an artform has drastically changed throughout music history. The modern conductor assumes the role of leader, educator, and coach for a given ensemble. Their duty as a leader is to be the vessel from the composer to the ensemble to the audience. This process can only be completed with practical communication skills. These skills involve verbal communication (CCVS, figurative language, and instructions) and nonverbal communication (gestures, CCVS, and rehearsal preparation). These skills make up the vital role and responsibility of a conductor. A conductor is also responsible for balancing the importance and use of verbal and nonverbal communication, …

Andy Thurlow’S Anarchestra: Traditional Musical Paradigms Brought Into Question: An Annotated Bibliography, Alex Moulton

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

Joining the words Anarchy and Orchestra, Thurlow’s inventive ensemble, Anarchestra breaks down barriers to musical experience. Thurlow seeks to make a musical experience that everyone can participate in. Thurlow creates anarchy by calling out several musical paradigms – that music is something other than sound over time, that it needs to follow rules of tonality, and that musicians must be absolute experts in their craft. Thurlow invents his own instruments, and his instruments are designed to be easy to play and free players from any preconceived notions when it comes to making music. These instruments have no history or methodology …

A Festival Of Form: Score, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

"A Festival of Form" was both an event at Bridwell and Perkins School of Theology and a conceptual piece of music that lasted several days. In this rendering, the "piece of music" was articulated in a fluid combination of activities that included works by other composers, including John Cage. The activities involved--from lectures, conversations, and meals to actual performances of both short works and especially the world-record breaking rendition of "Organ2/ASLSP" played by Christopher Anderson--comprise the entirety of "A Festival of Form" as performance piece. The challenge of this work is that unlike nearly any other music, it is purposely …

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Music Publications

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Analyzing Non-Strophic Forms Through The Facets Model: The Early Compositional Style And Technique Of Trey Anastasio And Phish, William Mandelbaum

Honors Scholar Theses

While a surprising amount of research has been conducted on the American “jam band” Phish, most academic scholarship that exists regarding the band is concerned of the cultures, rituals, and communities that surround the band and the jam band scene. Of the band’s music that has been analyzed, most analyze the band’s improvisation, leaving little to no scholarship concerning the band’s hyper-complex, fugue-like compositions, especially those composed by Trey Anastasio in the band’s early years from 1983-1989, most of which became Phish’s most popular and most performed songs in concert. This thesis will analyze the early compositional style and technique …

Exploring Maximalism In Music, Comparing The Selected Works Of Richard Strauss And Kanye West: Annotated Bibliography, University Of Denver

Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Student Scholarship

In the realm of music theory, many terms are used to simplify characteristics of musical compositions. Many of these terms become “ism’s” as a way to easily group many characteristics or techniques that composers implement. A well known ‘ism’ that is taught often in American music theory/history courses is minimalism, where composers made music with techniques like repetition, simplification, etc. This paper seeks to define another emerging ‘ism’ in music theory, Maximalism. This term broadly refers to the over exaggeration of compositional techniques in music, and their effects. I propose that in many ways the composers Richard Strauss and Kanye …

Songs And The Soil, Mark Garry, Louise Reddy

Books/Book Chapters

Published in conjuction with an exhibition. The exhibition engages with the subjects of landscape and music/sound—exploring each element from historical, social and culturally associative perspectives; where landscape is recognised as a fluid term articulating physical space, idealised space and social space that reflects a convergence of physical processes and cultural meaning, and where song act as a response to, or archive, of personal, historical or socio-political instances. Several works engage landscape and musical sound intersect. The exhibition integrates a broad range of media,positions and responses to these research subjects; including two film works, a six-hour soundtrack for a room, sonic …

The Querelle Des Clés: An Episode In Francisco Frontera De Valldemosa's Exuberant Life, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

In 1858, Francisco Frontera de Valldemosa published a peculiar music theory treatise in Madrid under the title Equinotación ó Nuevo sistema musical de llaves. It has two parts. The first (pp. 11-20) is an explanation of the invention (namely, the reduction of all clefs to only three) detailing the perceived actual need for it (that is, most clefs are unnecessary, and they impede or delay the creativity of the avid music learner). The second part (new pagination, pp. 2-83) is a curious anthology of music in many genres and styles. On the left page of each spread, there is a …

Music Is The "Noise Of Remembering" Tracing The Origins, Influences, And Connectivities Of West African Music, Adam Friedman

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The popularity and universal reach of music genres such as Jazz and Hip Hop attest to the idea that these forms have been long established as a vital part of global musical culture. For people who are familiar with Afrocentric music, it is clear that styles such as Jazz and Hip Hop are rooted in, and inextricably linked with, African culture and history. What is more difficult to make sense of, however, is how and why transplanted African culture came to have such wide reaching impact in the new contexts in which it was taken up – because the stories …

From The Concert Hall To The Cinema: The Journey Of The Classical American Sound, Rebecca Stegall

Masters Theses

American classical music has enjoyed a long-standing presence around the world as its own entity within the classical music genre. As early as the 1920s, American classical music has had its own unique sound. The early 20th Century was a time of musical experimentation and social unrest in America. Due to its relative newness and experimentation by numerous composers, identifying the defining characteristics of American music, an experimental music itself, became difficult and ambiguous. Also, the continuation of American classical music became increasingly problematic as classical music was replaced in popular culture by other genres of music. The research for …

Worship Renewal Through Discipleship: How Discipleship And Mission Affects Our Worship, Kevin Haglund

Masters Theses

Numerous articles, blogs, and books have been written in recent years about the lessening of congregational participation in singing and many have called for a renewal of worship and changes in worship practice within the church. Yet, most of the solutions offered are aimed at bettering what happens inside the worship event—singing songs with more theologically rich lyrics, incorporating more scripture and prayer, striving for more creative ways to engage the congregation, more resources and training for worship leaders, and many other valuable ideas. As excellent as those solutions may be, they are incomplete unless we also focus on that …

No Stone Unturned: Defining The Role Of A Worship Assistant, Brittany Mcgilberry

Masters Theses

This paper will encompass information and the philosophy of the role of a worship assistant in ministry regarding the vision of the church, the use of appropriate equipment, and effective rehearsal strategies.

The Romanian Church Musician: Biblical Foundations For Training Musicians To Serve The Romanian Evangelical Church, Gary Mathena

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Emanuel University of Oradea, Romania, was founded in 1986 as an underground training school for pastors and missionaries during the brutal regime of communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. In December of 1989, Ceaușescu’s government was overthrown. The new democratic government not only officially recognized the school (then the Baptist Biblical Institute) as a theological seminary, but also commissioned the institution to train teachers for the newly emerging, publicly funded religious schools being established across the country. The school accepted that mandate and in 1998 changed its name to Emanuel University of Oradea. The music program began in those early days for …

The Partimento Tradition In The Shadow Of Enlightenment Thought, Deborah Longenecker

Music and Worship Student Presentations

This presentation investigates the relationship between partimento pedagogy and Rameau’s music theories as influenced by Enlightenment thought. Current research on partimento has revealed its importance in Neapolitan music schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Along with counterpoint, partimento was a core subject in the study of composition in the Neapolitan schools; however, as pedagogy and theory began to be influenced by Enlightenment ideals such as the scientific method or a preference for clear systemization, the partimento tradition began to wane. In this presentation, I examine Rameau’s music theory as an example of Enlightenment thought in music, juxtaposing the central …

Music Theory For Student Composers: A Course Designed For Engagement By Using Both A Flipped Classroom And Praxial Philosophy, Michelle Nagy

Masters Theses

In a world filled with innovation, technology and hands-on learning, the subject of music theory in the high school classroom has stayed relatively the same for the past fifty years for the student composer. By using the same tried-and-true methods, teachers are introducing concepts through lectures, while students reinforce concepts on their own during their homework assignments. Music examples are given on a regular basis and they are usually played on the piano by the professor or through recording. These methods, while effective, are not meeting the needs of today’s tech savvy and hands-on generation. While students are engaging with …

Music-Play And Communication In Children With Autism And Their Families: An Ethnographic Study, Melanie Makovsky

Masters Theses

This is an ethnographic research study regarding the nature of commun-, ication, musical behavior, emotional expression, and social relationships in children with autism. Four children completed the study by participating in at least three private music-play sessions attended by the child, his or her mother, and the researcher. All music-play sessions were person-centered and child-led. A local public elementary school hosted the music-play sessions in the music classroom after school hours. In addition, the school supplied all the musical instruments used in the study. The researcher utilized the SCERTS Model assessment tool to examine each child’s abilities in socio-musical communication …

Cello Technique: A Result Of Cello Construction And Its Effect On Virtuosic Playing In The Works Of Dvořák And Pärt, Mineo P. Yasutake Mr.

Music: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Missa Yielu: Music In The Dagara Mass, Karin Rau

Masters Theses

This paper explores the music of Dagara Masses in Ghana. The Dagara people are defined and described according to the geography of their land and linguistic dialects spoken in the region. A discussion of cultural indicators highlights traditional occupations, family structure, and social practices. Dagara musical practices are outlined by function and include descriptions of instruments and how they are played. Examination of indigenous religious beliefs describe the behaviors, values, and symbols that permeate Dagara life. A summary of the Dagara's encounter with Christianity sets the scene for present-day celebrations of the Mass. Through observation and interview, research was conducted …

The Gĩkũyũ Mũtũrĩrũ: Preserving A Piece Of Kenya's Agrarian Past Through Flute Music, Jennifer Larue

Masters Theses

The Agĩkũyũ people of Kenya are one of the largest people groups in Kenya. However, systematic repression of Gĩkũyũ culture led to many traditional elements being forgotten, put aside, if not lost completely. The mũtũrĩrũ, a bark flute used when herding and in certain ritual dances, was one such element. The mũtũrĩrũ was initially a temporary instrument, which evolved into more permanent bamboo versions. These may have between two and six finger holes. Another version, called a "spider web mũtũrĩrũ" has no finger holes but has a paper membrane over one end to create a buzzing timbre effect. Research was …

An Analysis Of Les Yeux Clos Ii By Toru Takemitsu, Jason Mile

2016 Undergraduate Awards

This paper presents an analysis for Les Yeux Clos II (1989), a solo piano piece written by Toru Takemitsu, based on a lithograph by Odilon Redon. The piece falls within Takemitsu’s “Third Period” which Timothy Koozin describes as a combination of “Western syntax” and “Japanese tradition.” By identifying the influences of Western composers, such as John Cage and Olivier Messiaen, and Japanese tradition, this paper analyzes the extent to which both Western and Eastern traditions can be identified in this piece. Based on comments by Takemitsu and John Cage, the form of the piece is defined by means of motivic …

Jazz And Puerto Rican Traditional Music: A New Generation Of Musical Exploration, Pedro Lavezzari

Masters Theses

Many musical styles around the world have been born from struggle and search for cultural identity. The same idea applies to Jazz and the Afro-Caribbean music created within the African diaspora and influenced by Latin and European styles in the United States. More recently, the meaning of diaspora has been used to refer to a group of people and some aspects of their culture (Rivera 2010, 104). For older and newer generations of Puerto Rican musicians two traditions have intersected to create a modern form of expression that reaffirms Puerto Rico’s musical creativity and contemporary tendency. In 1989 Warren Pinckney …

Deconstructing Chaos: The Role Of Pitch Hierarchy In Music Perception, Gabrielle Stetz

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

During the early twentieth century, art music composers pushed Western tonality to the limits and eventually abandoned tonality altogether, creating a system that treated every pitch equally. This atonal system broke down all keys and harmonic progressions that are cornerstones of Western musical pitch hierarchy. Through an extensive review of current literature, this research aims to show that the concept of hierarchy, present in tonal but not atonal music, is central to music perception. This presentation will explore the role hierarchy in music perception through several means: examining the physical nature of sound on a mathematical basis, determining innate structures …