The Piano Sonatas of Rodolfo Halffter (b. 1900, Madrid, Spain) represent an important body of literature not widely known nor understood for their historical importance and Spanish heritage. The entire development of Halffter's compositional style, which embraces three periods of composition, may be traced through these sonatas. The modes of composition may be seen not to be separate and distinct but as having inter—relationships which therefore affect the outcome of Halffter's final dodecaphonic technique. The culmination of his serial method is found in the Tercera Sonata, op. 30. At first glance, this work appears to be a radical departure from the former styles. However, a more in-depth study reveals this sonata to be the logical outgrowth of earlier compositional techniques, thereby blending diverse, eclectic elements into a unique and homogenous application, all Halffter's own. Forced to flee his native country in 1939, Halffter became the first composer in Mexico to use twelve-tone techniques. Together with Carlos Chavez, he exerted great influence on the present generation's group of Mexican composers. Halffter today remains a crucial link in the continuation of the Spanish tradition as exemplified by his former mentor, Manuel de Falla. A brief explanation of Falla s theory of resonance …

The Garden Of Eden is a ballet for four instrumental quintets: brass, woodwind, string, and percussion. Each ensemble is associated with one of four dancers: God, Adam, Eve, -and the Serpent, respectively. The duration of this ballet is approximately sixteen minutes and is divided into three parts depicting (1) the creation of the world and Adam; (2) the creation of Eve-and the warning about the tree of knowledge; and (3) the Serpent's temptation of the main characters, as well as their subsequent banishment from the garden by God. One of my reasons for composing this work was to answer an important question: how to control musical motion and emotion. Since ballet incorporates both motion in its choreography and emotion in its program, it provided a perfect medium in which to work.

This investigation examines the evolution of harmonic practice in the guitar misic of the Mexican composer, Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948). Ponces harmonic practice evolved from a simple romantic style influenced by Mexican folksong to a more complex idiom influenced by Impressionistic harmony. This study explores the change in Ponce t s harmonic practice in two ways. First, general features of Ponce's harmonic vocabulary are surveyed in excerpts from various guitar works written over a twenty year period. Second, a work from Ponce's mature style--Theme Varie et Finale-is examined in detail. Chapter III gives a survey of harmonic materials in this work, while Chapter IV reveals aspects of its structural coherence.

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.