Musicology Commons^™

Development And Dissemination: Deliberations On Spanish Renaissance Music, Lindsey E. Pfeifer

Musical Offerings

Every musical culture grows and developed under a specific set of influences, whether political, philosophical, or geographical. Varying sets of influences create likewise varying types of music. Spanish music, in particular, enjoyed an especially unique array of influences during the fifteenth century. My presentation explores these influences. How did the interaction of Spain’s three major religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—affect musical development? How did the newly unified government, ruled by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, influence the musical culture? How did Spain’s discovery and conquest of the New World facilitate the spread of Spanish music beyond its …

Give My Regards To The Book, Kevin A. Hicks

Musical Offerings

This project is an analysis of the construction of American Musical Theatre. The research for this project has been drawn from direct quotes and writings from Musical Theatre writers, scores and scripts, and from historical books. Reading of these sources reveal principles of Musical Theatre writing which the authors use and the audience expects. This project analyzes how the book, lyrics, and music to a show are written and demonstrates that the writing of Musical Theatre has developed its own unique craft which is grounded in the book.

Soundboard Scholar No. 1 (Complete)

Soundboard Scholar

No abstract provided.

String Quartet, Brut, Bernie Walasavage

Masters Theses

l’Art Brut , also commonly referred to as “outsider art,” is comprised of a variety of visual media by untrained or mentally ill artists. The string quartet is subtitled this because it takes inspiration from the work of these artists; with its jagged edges, vibrant colors, and horrid scenes, there is an organic beauty inherent in such eclectic and divergent art. Another factor which drew me to the artwork of the mentally ill was the commonality of Kenophobia: an abnormal fear of empty spaces. Schizophrenic, Swiss artists, Adolf Wölfli (18641930) and Aloïse Corbaz (18861964) were noted for suffering this phobia …

The Production Of Sticky Notes And Bible Quotes: Godly Answers For Sticky Situations A Children’S Musical As Directed By Julie Brinkman, Julie Elizabeth Brinkman

Honors College

This thesis reflects upon a director’s experience while directing her first production: Sticky Notes and Bible Quotes: Godly Answers for Sticky Situations by Dennis and Nan Allen. This children’s musical was produced in cooperation with Wylie United Methodist Church of Abilene, TX. Over forty children, with the help of ten adult volunteers, shared the importance of memorizing scripture and looking to God’s Word in times of trouble through song, skits, and the recitation of scripture. While reflecting upon the production process after each rehearsal, the director makes connections between her experiences as director, the content of her music education undergraduate …

Music Theatre Directing For The Vocal Performance Student: A Practical Application Of Knowledge And Skills, Samuel Martin Snyder

Honors College

As an application of skills acquired in the course of a four-year Bachelor of Music program, this thesis constitutes the physical documentation of the creative process for Jeanine Tesori’s Violet, the musical production selected for this project. Encompassing in a linear format license contracts, casting, creative development, rehearsal planning and conducting, administrative duties, musical analysis, and artistic instruction, the contents of this document represent in part the steps and components required to realize a full musical production – each one accomplished by the student director. In addition to the physical elements, a full recording of the final performance is available, …

About This Issue, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Bridging Two Worlds: Baroque Violin Performance Practices As A Model For The Transcription Of Selected Movements Of J.S. Bach's Sonatas And Partitas For Solo Violin On The Modern Guitar, Júlio Alves

Júlio Ribeiro Alves

This document explores the role of the baroque violin practices of bowing, chord playing, and slurring in arrangements for the modern guitar, of selected movements of J. S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas (BWV 1001-1006) for solo violin. This document aims to expand the range of possible solutions for all guitarists interested in playing Bach’s unaccompanied solo music by making a “bridge” between these essential performance practices of the baroque violin and the capabilities of the modern guitar. Some practices associated with other baroque instruments such as the lute and the harpsichord are also considered. The guitar arrangements included at the …

Understanding Music: Past And Present, N. Alan Clark, Thomas Heflin, Jeffrey Kluball, Elizabeth Kramer

Fine Arts Open Textbooks

Understanding Music: Past and Present is an open Music Appreciation textbook co-authored by music faculty across Georgia. The text covers the fundamentals of music and the physics of sound, an exploration of music from the Middle Ages to the present day, and a final chapter on popular music in the United States.

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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 …

Academic Writing & Publication: My Journey Of Learning Through The Development Of Articles From My Masters Thesis, Craig M. Mcgill

South Florida Education Research Conference

Abstract: In this essay, I discuss how I turned my masters thesis into three peer reviewed publications and the lessons I learned about academic writing and publication in the process.

A Jamaican Voice: The Choral Music Of Noel Dexter, Desmond A. Moulton

Dissertations

As we approach the twenty-first century, the world generally is moving away from the dominance of the European aesthetic towards a world music that owes much to the musical resources of the African-American tradition. Jamaica’s social and philosophical music belong mainly to that tradition, which includes the use of rhythms, and timbral and melodic resources that exist independently of harmony. Already in this century, Jamaicans have created two totally new music - Nyabinghi, which performs a philosophical function and Reggae, which performs a social function. The choral music of Noel Dexter is important because it is uniquely Jamaican/Caribbean in its …

Oral Transmission: A Marriage Of Music, Language, Tradition, And Culture, Emma E. Patterson

Musical Offerings

There are a number of misunderstandings about ancient oral transmission that negatively affect the way musicians view music history but also the process of how music was and currently is conceived, recorded, and shared. A common misconception is that oral transmission of music is an ancient practice that occurred before written notation of music was developed. However, I seek to prove that there is a false dichotomy between oral transmission and written notation and I focus on the changing definition and importance of oral tradition. Firstly, I discuss the misconceptions of ancient oral transmission. Secondly, I examine the continuing development …

He Started The Whole World Singing A Song, Brian R. Cates

Musical Offerings

Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves them speechless. They realize that it is a song, full of notes and rhythms, yet at the same time, it makes them become profoundly aware that there is something more, humming just below the surface. My presentation seeks to enter into this music moment by asking why these types of moments even occur. Does music speak or communicate? If so, does it communicate something meaningful and significant? What is the mechanism by which music conveys this meaning? How can this meaning be …

Ruling The Market: How Venice Dominated The Early Music Printing World, Elizabeth M. Poore

Musical Offerings

This paper attempts to prove that Venice was the main geographical center of music printing and publishing from the 1300s to the late 1500s using several economic, legal, and cultural factors. The primary research method was examining secondary sources on music printing, publishing, and European and Venetian history.

From the 1300s to the late 1500s, Venetian commercial trade and activity, including book publishing, reached unheard of levels. Venice held a powerful position in the European economy and its merchants were able to leverage this to great advantage when the new technology of printing became available. The specialized business of music …

Editorial, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Bwv 248, And The Jews, Daniel R. Melamed

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

It has been recognized since the nineteenth century that most of the poetic arias and choruses in J. S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 are parodies of music composed to other texts. In the early twentieth century it was claimed that at least one gospel narrative chorus was also derived from extant music, a hypothesis subsequently expanded to include several such movements said to be parodies as well. The claims are flimsily argued and are unlikely on source-critical grounds, but they have stuck, persisting in scholarly writings, reference works, and popular literature.

The origin of this idea is a 1916 …

Starships, Gallifrey, Krypton, And Earth: Searching For The Hero Archetype In The Melodies Of Science Fiction And Superhero Films, James Wesley Talbot

Wayne State University Theses

The study of science fiction and superhero melodies is relatively new in the academic world of music theory. Analysis of hero archetypes found in Doctor Who, Star Trek (and its major motion pictures), Star Wars, and Superman provide excellent conduits for all students of music to access the hidden and overt musical meaning assigned to heroes. Realization of this study’s findings will feature interval tension and Schenkerian analysis, score reductions, and topic theory to provide perspective on how heroes are identified and perceived by directors, composers and audiences alike. Deryck Cooke, Leonard Ratner, and V. Kofi Agawu’s approach to thematic …

The Microtonal Guitars Of Harry Partch, John Schneider

Soundboard Scholar

Known as an "American Maverick," Harry Partch (1901–1974) was surely one of the United States's most colorful composers. His dissatisfaction with the scales and instruments of Western music inspired him to design and build an orchestra of over two dozen handcrafted "microtonal" instruments that were tuned to his notorious "monophonic" scale of forty-three tones per octave. Between 1934 and 1952, Partch created four different adapted guitars, using them in fifteen compositions ranging from solo song cycles (Barstow, December 1942, U.S. Highball, Three Intrusions) to chamber music, dances, and four of his five major …