The Sixth, Seventh, and E Piano Sonatas of Prokofiev illustrate the composer's more mature style. In these works there is a definite return to the classic forms and contrapuntal devices which have been called Neo-classicism. Prokofiev, himself, has said that form is one of the basic elements of his style. It is the purpose of this thesis to discover the' formal organization and make a comparison of these sonatas with the works of Beethoven and his contemporaries.

Because of the nature of the poetry, the interpretation of Banalites in this study has involved certain subjective decisions. These deductions were, nevertheless, colored by statements of the poet, the composer, and authorities on each. This is not to imply, however, that this is the only interpretation. Both poet and composer have given evidence that their creation requires a subjective response on the part of the interpreter. This is perhaps the greatest challenge offered by the work.

The purpose of this study, ve to analyze the stylistic characteristics in the unaccompanied music of one twentieth century composer, Francis Poulenc, in order to discover the choral problems which would confront choruses and conductors as they performed his music. It is hoped that this study will not only enable choral conductors to better understand, interpret, and appreciate the music of Poulenc, but also will serve as a guide toward the investigation of other twentieth century composers and their works.

A study of the historical development of the origins of ballet in Italy and France during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Specifically focuses on the ballet-comique de la reine and the ballet de cour.

It is obvious that the Mozart Eb Major Concertos for Piano, K. 271 and K. 482, bear certain resemblances to each other. The primary conclusion of this study is that Mozart consciously looks to K. 271 as a guide for his later composition. Consider the fact that the "Jeunehomme" concerto establishes Mozart as a mature musician and wins him public acclaim. He seeks to regain public favor with the later work.

Analysis of Sonatas no. 1, 4, and 10

The purpose of this thesis is to give the prospective performer an insight into the content of the vocal solos of Charles Ives and to give the student and musicians in general an understanding of the musical devices employed by Ives and of his position as a song writer.

The five Preludes, Op. 15 were composed in the year 1897 while Scriabin was occupied in concert tours with his friend and publisher, Beliaef. This year brought no less than forty-seven short preludes written at various times and collected in five sets: Opp. 11, 13, 15, 16, and 17. These preludes, though clever and original in melody, show the great influence of Chopin on Scriabin.

Since the nineteenth century the Two Part Inventions have become standard repertoire for piano students. However, piano teachers have often failed to give serious consideration to the suitable selection of Inventions for study. Piano students have commonly formed a dislike for Bach's piano music because of an ungratifying initial experience. There is little material written in English dealing with the Two Part Inventions. Those studies of the Inventions which do exist consist mainly of brief articles in periodicals and limited discussions in piano literature books. Therefore, there seemed to be a need for a systematic collection of pedagogical ideas concerning the Two Part Inventions. In addition, it was felt that an analysis of the problems in each piece and a subsequent graded list of the Inventions would be a step toward a more intelligent and more knowledgeable approach in the teaching of these compositions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the uses of the falsetto voice in training the male singer. Developing the upper voice is one of the most difficult problems facing the male singers. A most controversial approach to solving this problem is the use of the falsetto. The falsetto has been a subject of mystery among singers and vocal teachers for centuries. Some authorities have ignored it; some have denounced; others have greatly extolled this vocal enigma. Many myths and misconceptions surround the subject of falsetto. Even in the present age of scientific research and knowledge, there is little understanding of the falsetto--of its value and its use. The material dealing with falsetto is very brief and inconclusive in most pedagogy books. Therefore, there seemed to be a need for a systematic collection of pedagogical ideas concerning the male falsetto. This report will attempt to present all sides of the controversy.,

The present work is intended to ascertain the most important stylistic developments of one major composer, Binchois, and several lesser composers: Grenon, Fontaine, Vide, Joye, Constans, Morton and Hayne. All of these musicians were employed by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1420-1467), when he was one of the richest, most powerful and most respected of all the sovereigns of Europe.

The purpose of this study is to describe contemporary plans for training the boy's changing voice and to prescribe ensemble material for these voices. Specific Problems: Analysis of the general problem leads to subordinate questions, or sub-problems, which may be stated as follows: 1. What are the contemporary plans of training the boy's changing voice? 2. What are the most usable musical materials available for use by ensembles which include boys with changing voices?

The preludes as a whole do not conform to any specific formal mold, but offer a variety of form: binary, ternary, one-part, and five-part. As such, no new formal structures have been introduced by this "first" of the nineteenth century and twentieth century "disconnected" preludes. On the other hand, they are a heterogenous collection of styles, moods, and forms--a precedent that was followed by Debussy, Rachmoninoff, and various others. To determine the degree to which Chopin was harmonically advanced would require comparative analyses of works by his contemporaries and later nineteenth-century composers. Suffice it to say that one would be hard put to locate a collection of compositions of similar length and scope, written in the 1820's, that contains the wealth of harmonic innovations found within Opus 28.

Statement of Problem and Analytical Procedures The primary purpose of this study is to examine the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte, by Ludwig van Beethoven, in an effort to provide the performer substantive musical and poetic evaluations leading to a valid interpretation of the songs. The analysis is intended to determine the aesthetic implications of the cycle and their effect on performance.

It is the purpose of this thesis to offer some pertinent information in the form of a documentary symposium and analytical study in which historical and technical matters relative to Beethoven's fugal techniques in his choral compositions will be presented. References to specific musical examples in this composer's works will be illustrated by diagrammatic and verbal analyses, and correlated with the pagination of the scores of his complete works as published by Breitkopf and Hartel.

In this thesis, Ned Rorem's Poems of Love and the Rain is analyzed, with conclusions being drawn in the sphere of musico-textual relationships within individual songs.

The harmony of Vaughan Williams defies classification in terms of traditional harmony alone, making use as it does at times, of structures of superposed fourths, so-called "added-note" chords, and random sonorities, as will appear. Therefore, the chords will be placed into two principal categories of usage, traditional and non-traditional.

George Frederick Handel is one of the most important composers of oratorio in musical history. Between the year 1704, when he composed his Passion According to Saint John, and 1757, the year of his last oratorio, The Triumph of Time and Truth, Handel composed twenty nine works which have at one time or another been classified as oratorios. Only those works that are considered by all authorities as oratorios and are based on the Old Testament or Jewish history are included in this study. Handel writes solo roles for the tenor voice in all of the sixteen oratorios included in the study with the exception of the revision of Esther and in Deborah. The musical and dramatic function of the tenor solo roles varies with each oratorio. The significance of the tenor roles fluctuates with the dramatic impact of the story related by the oratorio and is completely dictated by it. Handel used all solo voices with concern for the best over all theatrical effect foremost in mind. To place in proper perspective his use of the tenor voice in relation to the other solo voices, such factors as the musical and dramatic importance of the tenor roles, character types …

This study was undertaken with the purpose of affording some insight into the musical aims and composing methods of Hugo Wolf and of showing his position in the history of the German Lied and his contributions to the development of this form through the analysis of one part of his work. This study of the history of the Lied and examination of the Italienisehes Liederbuch of Hugo Wolf has led to certain conclusions. The first is that Wolf truly stands as the culmination of Romantic activity in the Lied form. This has been ascertained by a comparison of his ideals and techniques of song writing with those of the earlier Lieder writers, Schubert and Schumann, and of Wagner. The second is that Wolf made certain distinctive contributions to the Lied. Among these are his application of Wagnerian principles to the form of the Lied in their refinements as characterizing motives (from the Leitmotiv), free metric accents (from speech-song) and use of the accompaniment to intensify expression through faithful rendering of details of the text. Another contribution is his distillation of harmonic practices into the purest expressive materials which made possible his miniature style. Still another contribution is his elevation of …

The following study is designed to define the existing differences of opinion regarding the solution of vocal problems. Some twenty-five vocal methods have been examined with reference to the principles set forth on what are generally considered the most important vocal problems, viz., Breathing, Registers, Resonance, Tone and Interpretation.

Although many volumes concerning the life and works of Johannes Brahms have been written, it has been found that the majority of these writings treat the material of the subject in a rather poetic and romanticized fashion. This is especially unfortunate in those volumes where the works of Brahms are analyzed with pragmatic implications, since Brahms himself eschewed the use of extramusical elements in his composition. This investigation, therefore, is an attempt to present a careful analysis of one of these compositions, the Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115, for clarinet and string quartet.

Inasmuch as this investigator can determine, no major study has been done concerning music's relation to the "isms" selected for this discussion. The contemporary interest in the movements themselves has been so widespread that the documentation of them, in scattered accounts, is enormous. It is disappointing that these records provide little or no information about the musical aspects of the movements; the graphic and literary accounts, on the other hand, have been accorded generous treatments. Since futurism, cubism, and surrealism, in their origins, were oriented toward the visual and literary arts, it is not surprising that these two aspects would receive the greatest amount of attention. The meager attention to music and the distortion of its role in the movements, as has largely been the case, has created an artistic imbalance, This writer's efforts have been directed toward an exhaustive search for factors which have, in some way or other, linked music with these movements. Musical futurism has been the easiest to identify, although its underlying theories are not always clear, since the futurists, in explaining their theories, were not always convincing, perhaps even to themselves. This writer's main attempt has been to interpret ideas that were frequently vague and …

This study seeks to examine and describe the use of the piano in Stravinsky's Neo-Classical and Russian periods, as well as provide a history on the use of the piano of an orchestral instrument.

When one realizes how little the harp of the 1700's had advanced from its Biblical predecessors, its neglect by such masters as Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven does not seem remarkable. Why should a serious composer waste his time in writing for an instrument with no facilities for modulating, an instrument the weak tones of which would be lost in an orchestra?