A Stylistic Analysis of a Young Man's Exhortation, Opus 14, by Gerald Finzi to Words by Thomas Hardy (open access)

A Stylistic Analysis of a Young Man's Exhortation, Opus 14, by Gerald Finzi to Words by Thomas Hardy

This song cycle consists of ten settings, and has been divided into two parts by the composer. Each part is preceded by a short quotation in Latin which has been inserted by the composer. The two parts of the cycle are evidently meant to typify the division of a human life into the periods of youth and old age. The Latin quotations which divide the cycle into its two parts are taken from the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, Psalm 89, verse six.
Date: August 1960
Creator: Rogers, Carl Stanton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sonny Rollins, His Life and His Music (open access)

Sonny Rollins, His Life and His Music

This paper provides a biographical tribute and analysis of the life and music of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who is known as one of the greatest jazz musicians. John Gunnar Mossblad explores the man's past, travels, and contributions.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Mossblad, John Gunnar
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Analysis of the Harmonic Idiom of Songs of Claude Debussy and its Influence on Compositions of Charles Loeffler and John Alden Carpenter (open access)

A Critical Analysis of the Harmonic Idiom of Songs of Claude Debussy and its Influence on Compositions of Charles Loeffler and John Alden Carpenter

The main purpose of this study will be to analyze the impressionistic style and techniques of Debussy, how the idiom came to be, and the influence of this particular idiom on two American composers. For thorough understanding, the poetic and artistic backgrounds of impressionism must be brought out; the biography of the man who originated the idiom, as well as his aesthetic theories, must be briefly covered. More objectively, from biographies and various other studies the techniques peculiarly impressionistic will be listed, and analysis will be made of several of the Debussy songs from various periods of his composition.
Date: June 1941
Creator: Connor, Patricia (Patricia Josephine)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hartley Wood Day: Inventor of Numeral Notation and Adversary of Lowell Mason (open access)

Hartley Wood Day: Inventor of Numeral Notation and Adversary of Lowell Mason

Ignorance of the basic principles of music reading was one of the primary obstacles to the improvement of congregational singing in nineteenth-century America. Six separate numeral notation systems arose to provide a simple way for the common man to learn the basic principles of music. Hartley Day developed his own numeral notation system and published six tune-books that enjoyed modest success in the New England area. This thesis examines Day's numeral notation system as it appeared in the Boston Numeral Harmony (1845), and the One-Line Psalmist (1849). It also studies Day's periodical, The Musical Visitor, in which he continually attacked Lowell Mason, possibly leading to Mason's dismissal as Superintendent of Music of Boston's public schools.
Date: December 1991
Creator: Carnes, Tara Barker
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gustav Holst as a Choral Composer: His Life, Factors Influencing His Compositions, His Place in English Music, and a Consideration of the Principal Stylistic Elements of His Choral Music (open access)

Gustav Holst as a Choral Composer: His Life, Factors Influencing His Compositions, His Place in English Music, and a Consideration of the Principal Stylistic Elements of His Choral Music

"An amiable personality, not himself an unusually passionate man, HoIst has excited more violent passions than any other contemporary English composer. How difficult he is to assess as a creative artist is perhaps indicated by the extraordinary fluctuations in his reputation." For a number of years he was completely unknown and ignored, living a quiet and unhurried life as an obscure teacher. Then with a momentary flash, after outstanding works such as "The Planets," and the "Ode to Death," he was caught up in a wave of public approval that made him, for a time, the recipient of national and even international honors. He was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Philharmonic Society, was made a Fellow of the Royal Col.ege of Music, and was offered honorary degrees by American universities.
Date: June 1959
Creator: Daugherty, Leonard Valson
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Proposed Plan to Teach College Students How to Tune Pianos (open access)

A Proposed Plan to Teach College Students How to Tune Pianos

It is the belief of many tuners that the best education for the young tuner is to do apprentice work in a piano factory where he must learn all the construction of the piano from the frame work of the case to the final setting of the tuning pins. It appears that most tuners are men now in the late forties to late fifties and were either factory-trained or apprentice-trained by an experienced tuner. The situation has changed and the apprenticeship method of training professional men such as lawyers and physicians has long since been discarded as a method of education. It is now the generally accepted plan to go to a college or university where such specialized training is given or offered under the direction and tutelage of specialists, and where students learn other essential subjects, the knowledge of which is necessary to the success of any educated man or woman.
Date: August 1945
Creator: Truax, Glenn A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Music Education in the Protestant Church (open access)

Music Education in the Protestant Church

The purpose of this study was to determine and describe ways in which music education can be used in Protestant churches. During the last twenty years, participation in church music has grown very rapidly. The increase is a result of the growth of music in general. Music has become an important part of home, school, church, and community functions. This is evidenced by many facts: symphony orchestras, as well as community instrumental and choral groups have increased in number to the extent that there are more today than at any time in history; school music has taken tremendous strides since 19257 and church music programs have been developed to such a degree that they attract large numbers of people. In spite of the tremendous advance of music in general, and in the field of church music in particular, there is still much that needs to be done in church music. For example, when "Sacred Music" is mentioned to an average group of Americans, some will respond with blank and uninterested stares. Others will mention some of the well-worn sentimentalized, semi-religious songs such as "He," "The Man Upstairs," "You'll Never Walk Alone," or other examples of commercialized religion, Those people, and …
Date: June 1967
Creator: Sanders, Gurvis Glenden
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis of the Song Cycle “On Wenlock Edge” by Ralph Vaughan Williams (open access)

Analysis of the Song Cycle “On Wenlock Edge” by Ralph Vaughan Williams

This examination of Ralph Vaughan Williams' song cycle to poetry of Alfred Edward Housman, "On Wenlock Edge," will follow primarily two avenues of approach. First, following a brief biographical sketch of Vaughan Williams' career prior to the composition of "On Wenlock Edge," will be a discussion of Vaughan Williams' and Housman's respective aesthetic philosophies. In order to lay the background for certain salient characteristics of this cycle, parallels as well as differences in their artistic thinking will be explained. Secondly, a poetic analysis will precede the musical analysis of each song in order to differentiate between the original intent of the poet and the interpretation of the poetry by Vaughan Williams.
Date: January 1965
Creator: Pummill, John Douglas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ten Assembly Programs for Intermediate Grades Designed to Further the Understanding of Mexican Culture in our Schools (open access)

Ten Assembly Programs for Intermediate Grades Designed to Further the Understanding of Mexican Culture in our Schools

It shall be the purpose of the writer to prepare program material appropriate for school use which will interest, instruct and contribute toward mutual understanding of both the Latin-American and Anglo-American child. This program material has been incorporated into ten musical plays, the themes, dances and songs of which have been gleaned from a great amount of reading material, stories related by Mexican people, legends told by pioneer Anglo residents of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and ideas that have been presented by students. It is the purpose of the writer to organize this material into plays which may be of service to any teacher who intends to present a program, in the intermediate grades, dealing with some phase of Latin and Anglo-American relations.
Date: August 1945
Creator: Gross, Marjorie Clark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Four Chamber Arias of Vincenzo Bellini (open access)

Four Chamber Arias of Vincenzo Bellini

This paper explores the musical significance, history, and development of Vincenzo Bellini's four chamber arias. Nancy W. Barfield discusses the life of composer Vincenzo Bellini, his musical style, and the style of the arias themselves.
Date: May 1975
Creator: Barfield, Nancy W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The "Philadelphia Sound": The Formative Years (1912-1920) (open access)

The "Philadelphia Sound": The Formative Years (1912-1920)

Thesis written by a student in the UNT Honors College discussing the development of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the early career of Leopold Stokowski.
Date: April 1999
Creator: Threlkeld, Candis
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Evolution of Violetta Valéry, La Traviata’s Heroine (open access)

The Evolution of Violetta Valéry, La Traviata’s Heroine

Thesis studies the music and content of the opera La Traviata, focuses on the evolution of its heroine, Violetta Valéry. Carolyn Sue Finley traces the history behind the story and its reflection in the music.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Finley, Carolyn Sue
System: The UNT Digital Library
Helen Kotas (1916-200): A Female Pioneer in Major US Orchestras (open access)

Helen Kotas (1916-200): A Female Pioneer in Major US Orchestras

Helen Kotas was an accomplished musician and teacher who helped open the door for women in major US orchestras. In 1941 the Chicago Symphony hired its first female brass musician, principal hornist Helen Kotas. With that daring move, she became a pioneer for her gender in the major orchestras of North America. Despite her many contributions to the musical community, Kotas's life has not been researched and documented. This paper looks at Helen Kotas's career as well as a glimpse at her life and personality. In addition to documenting her life, this dissertation attempts to show at least a portion of Kotas's philosophy of teaching and horn playing. She was an accomplished horn soloist and studied the literature extensively. Kotas performed in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Woman's Symphony Orchestra, and Leopold Stokowski's All-American Youth Orchestra. Kotas was hired by Fritz Reiner as third horn of the Pittsburgh Symphony. When Frederick Stock, conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, heard that Helen Kotas was going to Pittsburgh, he insisted that she audition for the CSO. Kotas auditioned on the Concerto for Horn by Richard Strauss and the concertmaster said, "Hire her!" She performed as principal horn with the orchestra until Artur …
Date: May 2011
Creator: Thayer, Heather Leweise
System: The UNT Digital Library
Franz Liszt: A Study of His Life and Piano Music (open access)

Franz Liszt: A Study of His Life and Piano Music

This study of Franz Liszt presents the Hungarian master as a figure of conflicting forces, a sort of conflicting forces, a sort of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde of music. In other words, Liszt was a dual personality. In this study of Liszt's major piano works, it will become evident that several factors were vital in the ultimate realization of these works.
Date: August 1957
Creator: Walz, Larry Gene
System: The UNT Digital Library
The "Dante" Sonata: The Diabolical Liszt (open access)

The "Dante" Sonata: The Diabolical Liszt

This paper describes the creation and impact of Franz Liszt's "Dante" Sonata. Bill Blaine gives historical context and elaborates on the literary and philosophical influences evident in the piece before providing an examination of the music.
Date: May 1975
Creator: Blaine, Bill
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Proposed Program of Music as it Functions in the High School Assembly (open access)

A Proposed Program of Music as it Functions in the High School Assembly

After teaching music in several high schools for a number of years, and observing the lack of continuity in assembly programs, the writer became interested in developing a program of music which would more adequately function in the high school assembly.
Date: August 1942
Creator: Vaughan, Hermione Stewart
System: The UNT Digital Library
Autographs 1928 : Four Songs for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (open access)

Autographs 1928 : Four Songs for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble

Autographs 1928: Four Songs for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble is a composition of approximately 16 minutes' duration and is scored for mezzo-soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn in F, viola, violoncello, one keyboardist (piano and celesta), and two percussionists (marimba, xylophone, chimes, timpani, bass drum, temple blocks, triangle, and slapstick). The work consists of four songs and four readings with texts from Walls's maternal grandmother's autograph book. The composition opens with a reading and alternates between readings and songs. The music is intended to reflect the playful, tender and humorous nature of the lyrics.
Date: August 1995
Creator: Walls, Jay Alan
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contribution of the Westminster Choir Movement to American Choral Music (open access)

Contribution of the Westminster Choir Movement to American Choral Music

The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the contribution that the Westminster Choir movement has made to choral music in the United States today. It is hoped after the contributions have been stated by the investigator that the important position Westminster Choir College is occupying will be better understood.
Date: June 1942
Creator: Schmoyer, Helen Cecelia
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Case Study of the Character Carmen (open access)

A Case Study of the Character Carmen

This paper discusses the portrayal of the character of Carmen in the novel written by Prosper Mérimée and in the opera written by Georges Bizet. Sharon Grahnquist provides historical background to the character and her creation, and offers and interpretation of the intended performance.
Date: May 1983
Creator: Grahnquist, Sharon
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis for Performance of the Song Cycle Songs of Travel, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (open access)

Analysis for Performance of the Song Cycle Songs of Travel, by Ralph Vaughan Williams

This paper analyzes Ralph Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel and asserts that the songs are a song cycle rather than just a collection of songs set to to the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson. Richard Porter Cole performs a musical and poetic analysis of the songs and makes suggestions to aid performers of the piece.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Cole, Richard Porter
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Dramatic and Musical Analysis of the Character, Isolde, Derived from Both the Legend and Richard Wagner's Opera, Tristan and Isolde (open access)

A Dramatic and Musical Analysis of the Character, Isolde, Derived from Both the Legend and Richard Wagner's Opera, Tristan and Isolde

This paper attempts to give a complete musical and dramatic analysis of the character of Isolde, from both the legend and Richard Wagner's opera, Tristan and Isolde, by first comparing the events as related in the two principal sources of the legend and then by an examination of Wagner's version of the story.
Date: 1949
Creator: McConnell, Patsi Jane
System: The UNT Digital Library
Samuel Barber’s Song Cycle, Despite and Still (open access)

Samuel Barber’s Song Cycle, Despite and Still

This paper discusses the song cycle Despite and Still by Samuel Barber, created with three poems by Robert Graves, one poem by Theodore Roethke, and part of Jame Joyce's novel Ulysses. Phyllis Bush Thomas describes the feeling created by the song cycle and the compositional style of Samuel Barber.
Date: August 1985
Creator: Thomas, Phyllis Bush
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Personality of Music Students as Compared with other Students on the Basis of Nine Traits (open access)

A Study of the Personality of Music Students as Compared with other Students on the Basis of Nine Traits

This study was undertaken to try to determine of objective measurement of certain personality traits would indicate that music students are characterized by marked differences in personality make-up. In carrying out this investigation, a group of 100 music students and a control group of the same size were used. The type of measurement used was of such objective nature that evaluations could be made by other persons on identically the same trait indicators as were used in securing information from the person himself. The fact is of great importance, as it makes possible an evaluation of a person's personality by the group in which he is striving for social acceptance. Data for this study were obtained at North Texas State Teachers College during the spring semester of 1946, using cases from the Music Department and the remainder of the college for the two groups.
Date: August 1946
Creator: Rodgers, John I.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Heinrich Schütz (open access)

Heinrich Schütz

This work is a study of the historical and social background, the life and the compositions of Heinrich Schutz.
Date: May 1958
Creator: Streetman, Richard David, 1933-
System: The UNT Digital Library