The purpose of this study is to draw attention to the importance of Ian Venables' art songs that are based on Ivor Gurney's poems. In this study, I analyze and evaluate Gurney's poetry and how Venables' compositional style seems to have been influenced by Gurney's musical style in the setting of Gurney's poems. It is noteworthy that Ivor Gurney's poems were not just written as songs by little-known composers, but by others such as Gerald Finzi and Ian Venables, both of whom can be considered leaders in their field in their own time. Therefore, even though there is not a plethora of songs based on Gurney's poetry, the quality of those poems has attracted the attention of composers who know art songs deeply. First, my research contributes valuable contextual information to the study of the six featured songs, all based on poems by Ivor Gurney. Each poem can be traced back to a specific time in Gurney's life, reflecting his various societal positions and physical and mental conditions. By analyzing Gurney's experiences and apparent state of mind during the period he wrote each poem, I establish a historical context for these selected poems, which serve as an essential starting point …

With the emergence and development of Chinese opera market, a large number of excellent composers and original Chinese operas have emerged. Responding to the market demand for opera singers, many jobs came into being. The dissertation is used for western male singer who wants to get job opportunities to perform in China. The dissertation discusses three original Chinese operas, each of which features one tenor aria and one baritone aria. The research results in a performance guide for these six Chinese opera arias, in addition to providing detailed pronunciation rules of the Chinese alphabet along with an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) guide, a word-for-word translation of each aria, an analysis of vocal skills and difficulties, and some of the physical requirements of the staging.

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950) has been a notable figure in French music since the late nineteenth century. However, Koechlin's mélodies are not performed as often as the art songs of many other French composers. Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis is a collection of five songs based on Pierre Louÿs's Les chansons de Bilitis. The cycle was completed in 1898–1908. The stories of Bilitis are beautifully set by Koechlin, who uses his wide compositional facility. This dissertation serves as a guide to be used by performers, vocal coaches, and instructors in their preparation and performance of Koechlin's Cinq chansons de Bilitis. The introductory Chapter 1 is followed by Chapter 2, which presents Koechlin's biography, an overview of his selected vocal works, and information related to Cinq chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 3 includes Pierre Louÿs's biography and information related to Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 4 concentrates on the stories of the invented figure Bilitis from Les chansons de Bilitis. Chapter 5 examines the five songs by discussing the background of each song; giving an analysis of the music and performance suggestions; providing an International Phonetic Alphabet transcription and a word-for-word translation; and evaluating the difficulty level. Chapter 6 summarizes the significance of …