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Full-Text Articles in Musicology

Music Next To Theology: The Impact And Influence Of Martin Luther's Reformation On Johann Sebastian Bach, James H. Ryan Oct 2019

Music Next To Theology: The Impact And Influence Of Martin Luther's Reformation On Johann Sebastian Bach, James H. Ryan

Musical Offerings

The artistic figure and music of Johann Sebastian Bach looms large in the history of Western arts and culture. His influences were many, but one strong influence in his life's work was that of the Protestant Reformation and the theology of the Lutheran church. Through this research, it is evident that Bach strongly held to the doctrines and theology of the Lutheran church and that his employment in the Lutheran church was not merely a vocation for him, but an outward expression of his inward religious and theological conviction. This position is evidenced by the writings and teachings of Martin …


The Basel Museum Of Music: Instrumental History, Elaina V. Hutton Oct 2019

The Basel Museum Of Music: Instrumental History, Elaina V. Hutton

Musical Offerings

Basel, Switzerland thrives with a rich musical culture and history, and the Museum of Music at the Basel Historical Museum is truly a rare gem demonstrating the influence of instruments in Swiss cultural development. The museum houses an exquisite collection of instruments which beautifully encompasses an extensive timeline of musical and instrumental diversity. Unique beauty of the uncommon and the experimental is showcased in a manner that educates and inspires. The span of genre and style demonstrated by the array of composers and instrument builders recognized imparts just how important a role music plays in Basel. For one museum to …


Understanding The Cultural And Nationalistic Impacts Of The Moguchaya Kuchka, Austin M. Doub Oct 2019

Understanding The Cultural And Nationalistic Impacts Of The Moguchaya Kuchka, Austin M. Doub

Musical Offerings

This paper explores Russian culture beginning in the mid nineteenth-century as the leading group of composers and musicians known as the moguchaya kuchka, or The Mighty Five, sought to influence Russian culture and develop a "pure" school of Russian music amid rampant westernization. Comprised of César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, this group of inspired musicians opposed westernization and supported Official Nationalism by the incorporation of folklore, local village traditions, and promotion of their Tsar as a supreme political leader. In particular, the works of Balakirev, Cui, and Mussorgsky established cultural pride and contributed …


A Christian Response To The Impact Of Nietzschean Philosophy On Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, Amanda N. Staufer Apr 2019

A Christian Response To The Impact Of Nietzschean Philosophy On Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, Amanda N. Staufer

Musical Offerings

This article explores the way Friedrich Nietzsche’s worldview influenced the compositions of Richard Strauss, specifically Strauss’s most famous work—a tone poem called Also sprach Zarathustra. This tone poem is a fascinating piece of music because it reflects Strauss’s philosophical inquiries into the nature and meaning of life. Although Strauss left relatively limited explanations of Also sprach Zarathustra, his few words regarding the tone poem reveal his intention to convey in music an idea of man’s evolution from his original state up to Nietzsche’s idea of a superman. First, this article surveys the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as it is displayed …


Shostakovich And The Memoirs, Hanna Bahorik Apr 2019

Shostakovich And The Memoirs, Hanna Bahorik

Musical Offerings

The life, politics, and music of Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich have been subjects of extreme controversy. Despite the turmoil of his dealings with Stalin, many people thought of him as a loyal servant of Russia and a masterful composer. It was not until the publication in 1979 of a book called Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich surfaced that debates began to take form that would eventually charge into the realm of violent disputes from many sides. This book, written by Solomon Volkov, portrayed Shostakovich as a bitter dissident. One year later, an American researcher and specialist in Russian and Soviet …


Emanuel Bach: A Composer Ahead Of His Time, Tyler Dellaperute Apr 2019

Emanuel Bach: A Composer Ahead Of His Time, Tyler Dellaperute

Musical Offerings

Up until recently, many musicologists perceived music history through the lens of what is known as the “linear view.” This is the idea that one “musical period” seamlessly gave way to another, with brief transitionary periods to bridge the gaps. As a result, composers were expected to fall neatly into categories depending on their chronological placement. For this reason, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the eldest son of J. S. Bach, was (and still is) regarded as merely the bridge between the late Baroque style and that of the Viennese Classicists. In the past half-century, however, scholars have begun to study …