Musicology Commons^™

“Death Leaves A Heartache No One Can Heal:” Musical Subversion In The Irish Caoineadh Tradition, Charissa Joy Garrigus

Graduate Thesis Collection

My thesis details the subversive, inherently feminine nature of Irish caoineadh (keening). This research focuses on how a practice with pagan, druidic roots survived in a culture that was experiencing intense religious and structural upheaval including the arrival of Protestant English settlers, tensions with the Catholic church, and longstanding pagan traditions. I contend that early modern Irish lament (caoineadh/keening) was inherently subversive due to its feminine liminality, its origins from druidic ritual, and its musical, poetic, and lyrical content that was often condemnatory of patriarchal Christian and English power structures. This thesis investigates three main topics occurring from ancient times …

Social Connections: The Role Of Community In Johannes Brahms's Viola Writing, Alex Beauchamp

Graduate Thesis Collection

Despite a negative opinion of the viola held by musicians and audiences alike in the nineteenth century, Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) wrote orchestral, chamber, and solo pieces that highlight the viola. We can trace an affinity for this black sheep of the string instrument family beginning with his Serenade No. 2 in 1859—which uses the viola as the primary melodic voice—and extending through his Clarinet Sonatas in 1894, which Brahms also authorized for viola performance.

Throughout his life, Brahms was close with several violists, three of whom inspired Brahms to write substantial music for the viola. Joseph Joachim (1831–1907), a famous …

The Reconciliation Of Theology And Mythology In Philosophical Defenses Of Music In Early Modern London, Leanna York

Graduate Thesis Collection

Since Antiquity, elements of Greek mythology and Hebraic history have intersected in many forms of literary and visual art. Renaissance philosophers, moved by skepticism, struggled to reconcile the historical and theological contradictions of these ancient sources, and scholars of European history Arthur Ferguson and Jean Seznec recognize resulting trends of mythological interpretation among authors of diverse disciplines. My research investigates ways in which London university professors John Taverner, John Case and an anonymous Oxford author utilized these interpretive methods in their music treatises of the early modern period and discusses the intersection of Protestant theology and Greek mythology in these …

Balanchine And Kirstein’S American Enterprise By James Steichen. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019., Sophie Benn

Scholarship and Professional Work – Arts

No abstract provided.

Bass Is My Religion: Syncretic Spirituality And Navigating The Potential For Misappropriation Among Participants In Electronic Dance Music Culture, Daniel Backfish-White

Graduate Thesis Collection

At electronic dance music events in the United States, artists and attendees tend to appropriate religious and spiritual sounds, images, and dress, especially from India but also from elsewhere, to varying degrees. This project explicates the effects of adopting religious symbology, ethos, and atmosphere in the music and culture of EDM, specifically in bass music culture. It argues that although individual participants may adopt aspects of religious traditions in ways they perceive as authentic, the potential for misappropriation still exists. In other words, EDM culture creates opportunities for misappropriation that individual participants navigate in order to construct their own individual …

Silent Dreaming: Response To Henry Jenkins, Sophie Benn

School of Music Scholarship and Professional Works

No abstract provided.

The Soul Of Black Opera: W.E.B. Du Bois’S Veil And Double Consciousness In William Grant Still’S Blue Steel, Toiya Lister

Graduate Thesis Collection

In The Souls of Black Folk (1903), W.E.B. Du Bois theorized that black peoples were viewed behind a metaphorical “veil” that consisted of three interrelated aspects: the skin as an indication of African Americans’ difference from their white counterparts, white people’s lack of capacity to see African Americans as Americans, and African Americans’ lack of capacity to see themselves outside of the labels white America has given them. This, according to Du Bois, resulted in the gift and curse of “double consciousness,” the feeling that one’s identity is divided. As African Americans fought for socio-political equality, the reconciliation of these …

Reflections Of The Don: Zerlina's Empowerment Narrative And The Inclusion Of "Per Queste Tue Manine" In Don Giovanni, Sarah Miller

Graduate Thesis Collection

After the premiere of Don Giovanni in Prague, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte brought their opera to Vienna on May 7, 1788. One point of interest in the Viennese version of the score is the added duet “Per queste tue manine.” In this duet, the enraged Zerlina overpowers the bewildered servant Leporello with a handkerchief, a razor, and passion. She constrains the floundering fool and punishes him for his misconduct. In most modern performances, companies look no further than the Prague version of the score. Additionally, singers often portray Zerlina as either a mischievous temptress or a virginal …

Towards An Understanding Of Pop Music: New Rhetorical Tools Employed In The Analysis Of Four Paul Simon Songs, Dan Haag

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Over the last quarter of a century, scholars from many disciplines have explored the realm of popular trends, music being no exception, including the music of Paul Simon. Simon has distinguished himself as an accomplished songwriter, performer, and he has chosen a path of perpetual self-improvement in these areas. Since his arrival on the music scene in the late 1950's, much has been written about Simon. Most of the literature is purely biographical, recounting his life's details and career accomplishments. The more analytical literature has been largely devoted to the study of his lyrics, which are rich in symbolism and …

Defining Englishness In Ralph Vaughan Williams's On Wenlock Edge, David Rugger

Music Graduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Socialist Realism And Soviet Music: The Case Of Dmitri Shostakovich, Michael Robert Tirman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the few Soviet musicians able to balance his creative perceptions while adhering to the party‟s needs. Through socio-musical trial and error, Shostakovich was able to become an honest, modernist composer in one of the most difficult environments to be a progressive artist. Each of Shostakovich‟s works contain a piece of his emotional and compositional struggle during his life. He was an honest musician because he valued a variety of different opinions and beliefs that circulated throughout the Soviet Era, and his music vividly reflects this wide array of inspirational material. Although it would be short-sighted …

Tchaikovsky And His Violin Concerto : A Theme Of Opposites, Jennifer Lynn Bougher

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

Scottish And Irish Elements Of Appalachian Fiddle Music, Matthew S. Emmick

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This paper is designed to serve as a general introduction to the topic and is not meant to be a definitive resource. The ideas presented here deal with general characteristics which serve as a basis for comparison of the three fiddle styles. A more in-depth study which examines stylistic traits peculiar to small geographic regions within Scotland, Ireland, and Appalachia is needed to give a more complete picture of the Celtic influence on the fiddle traditions of the Southern mountains.

Dynamic And Attack Associations In Boulez’S Le Marteau Sans Maître, Wayne C. Wentzel

Scholarship and Professional Work – Arts

This paper explores dynamic and attack associations in the Bourreux de Solitude movement of Pierre Boulez's pivotal piece, Le Marteau sans maître.

Schoenberg's Moses And Aron; A Logical Succesor To Nineteenth-Century Opera?, Steven Neil Tyler

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Schoenberg's Moses and Aron has been called the most important product of his musical maturity, implying that many of his theoretical, musical, philosophical, and spiritual ideas, both public and personal, can be found in this unique work. The work does not fit neatly into any prescribed category that has come before it or after it. It is possible, however, to trace the development of the work from Schoenberg's own preceding compositions, which in many cases provide the roots of ideas more fully developed in Moses and Aron. Among its predecessors in the opera literature though, it remains unique. The reasons …