One of the most important ways to understand Olivier Messiaen’s musical language is through the lens of the theological ideas that many of his works convey. He considers expressing his Christian faith to be the primary purpose in his music. Through his idiosyncratic technique, Messiaen gives power and life to his religious music that he combines with his interest in literature, musical analysis, poetic imagery and symbolism, his love for theatre, and his compositional and organ abilities. The abundant studies of Messiaen’s works deal with the intricacies of his musical language, yet most of these studies barely discuss his theological ideas. Nevertheless, technical analysis of his music poses immense challenges, especially in the domains of melody and harmony. Although my approach is unconventional and do not follow any existing system, I base my technical and theological analyses mainly from Messiaen's technique, his commentaries and his references to the Scriptures. The “Combat de la mort et de la vie” is the heart of Les Corps glorieux in both technical and theological aspects. It is an intricate musical artwork where Messiaen demonstrates his melodic and harmonic developments using his idiosyncratic language, and through symbolism portrays the most complex of all drama according …

Eugène Bozza is a three-time winner of the Premier Prix from the Paris Conservatory, in violin, conducting, and composition divisions. He earned his reputation as a master composer of wind music, and contributed a great amount of repertoire to the woodwind family. This document contains a short biography of Eugène Bozza’s life, including his student years and his career as a composer. The purpose of this study is to provide information of how Bozza transferred, adopted and remade his own music among his wind compositions. This document shows that Bozza’s methods of musical adoption warrant a close examination in order to offer greater insight into the mind of a masterful composer. Discussion of Bozza’s compositions includes Aria (1936), Fantasie Italienne (1939), Pulcinella (1944), Concerto (1952), Idylle (1959), Caprice-Improvisation (1963), Épithalame (1971), Suite (1974), Trois Mouvements for Flute and Clarinet (1974), Graphismes for Clarinet Solo (1975), 14 Études de Mécanisme (1948), 12 Études (1953), 11 Études sur des Modes Karnatiques (1972), and Contrastes III for Clarinet and Bassoon (1977).

Jean-Michel Defaye composed Á La Maniére de Debussy in 2001 as part of a series of trombone solos written to emulate the compositional styles of significant predecessors. This study compares Á La Maniére de Debussy to the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic practices of Claude Debussy (1862–1918), an innovative French composer and recognized figure of musical Impressionism. At present, there is limited scholarship on Defaye’s Á La Maniére de Debussy and its compositionally imitative nature. The first section of this document presents a survey of historical information, current literature, and methods of examination. The second section provides biographical information on composers Jean-Michel Defaye and Claude Debussy. The third section exhibits a compositional comparison of Á La Maniére de Debussy to Debussy’s use of harmony, melody, and rhythm. The final section draws a conclusion to the piece’s importance to the trombone solo repertoire and includes an interview with French trombonist Jacques Mauger who collaborated with Defaye on Á La Maniére de Debussy. Although this document is not a performance guide, an informed performance of Á La Maniére de Debussy requires a trombonist to understand Debussy’s unique treatment of harmony, melody, and rhythm.

Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927) is a leading American composer, pianist, and educator. Although she composed many outstanding advanced-level piano works, she also believes that composing for other levels is a good discipline for composers. Her two collections Reaching Out and Travels Through Sound contain various contemporary techniques that are highly approachable for intermediate-level students. The purpose of this study is to provide a pedagogical guide to contemporary elements present in these collections, which are ideal for developing skills that can prepare intermediate-level students for more complex modern music. Diemer incorporates such contemporary features as complex rhythms and meters, non-traditional notations, and extended piano techniques, as well as non-traditional textures and forms. These techniques are presented in a compact and informative but not too complicated manner, so that intermediate-level students can master them.

This study examines the compositional devices Eckhard Kopetzki used to create consonance and dissonance throughout his two works for solo percussion, Topf-Tanz and Canned Heat. By manipulating meter, ostinato, syncopation, polyrhythm, note values and overlapping figures, Kopetzki creates high levels of musical tension and release that shape phrase structure and large-scale form. After a discussion of rhythmic consonance and dissonance, and specific rhythmic devices, both works are considered in detail, illuminating the composer’s compositional language. Topf-Tanz is an exploration of contrasting ideas: the rhythmic and the lyrical, the call and the response, the loud and the soft. It is manifested first in the opposition of antecedent and consequent phrases and second in the overlapping of contrasting metric ideas, which creates prolonged rhythmic dissonance. Canned Heat, on the other hand, is composed through a process of continuing melodic variation. Throughout the piece, melodic motives are prolonged and abridged, creating both delay and acceleration to cadential figures. In contrast to these melodic ideas, each phrase is concluded with stark and syncopated rhythmic punctuations. Topf-Tanz and Canned Heat share Kopetzki’s creation of rhythmic consonance and dissonance. Most notably is the overlapping of contrasting metric ideas between the two hands, and highlighting this contrast …

American composer David Kechley was profoundly impacted by a 1990 trip to the Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. The composer describes the finely raked, small white stones in the midst of fifteen large rocks in the Japanese Zen garden as "planned randomness." Kechley's inaugural composition for saxophone-guitar duo, In the Dragon's Garden, reflects his experience at the Ryoan-ji Temple. The use of minimalistic compositional techniques without literal repetition in the work represents a departure from the first generation of Minimalist composers, such as LaMonte Young, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, and John Adams. An analysis of minimalistic compositional elements, combined with an interview with the commissioning ensemble, the Ryoanji Duo, provides insights into the interpretation and preparation of this complex work. Furthermore, this document contains helpful information pertinent to the saxophone-guitar duo. Details on balance and amplification, orchestration, and collaboration with the composer will supply performers and composers with essential knowledge needed to participate in this growing musical medium.

Recognizing the challenges small groups have to program a major work, in 2010, Joachim Linckelmann created a chamber ensemble arrangement of Johannes Brahms's "Ein deutsches Requiem." In 1869, J.M. Reiter-Biedermann published Brahms's four-hand piano arrangement of "Ein deutsches Requiem." Brahms's arrangement serves as an excellent comparison to the chamber ensemble version by Linckelmann, since it can be assumed that Brahms chose to highlight and focus on the parts he deemed the most important. This study was a comparative analysis of the two arrangements and was completed in three stages. The first stage documented every significant change in Joachim Linckelmann's recent chamber arrangement. The second stage classified each change as either a reduction, reorganization, or elimination. The final stage of the analysis was to compare the choices made by Linckelmann to those made by Brahms. The results show that Linckelmann's choices for reduction, reorganization, and elimination closely align with those of Brahms. The only differences between the arrangements can be attributed to Linckelmann's focus on retaining the original orchestral timbre and Brahms's focus on providing the original vocal parts.

For musicians of all kinds, practice is an essential component in establishing and refining their skills. How a musician learns the art of practicing, and at what point in their musical and cognitive development can vary drastically. The purpose of this research is to understand how two groups of musicians, undergraduate vocal performance majors and undergraduate piano performance majors, developed (or consequently failed to develop) their respective knowledge pertaining to effective practice prior to entering the university setting, and how their practice habits changed (or consequently failed to change) after beginning study with a university instructor. This is accomplished by comparing the practice habits of the two groups prior to entering the university setting, and, after gaining admission into the degree program. Findings are supplemented with recent research pertaining to the study of learning and various types of practice.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Weekly newspaper from Timpson, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.