This lecture-recital investigated the lineage of French composers who were influenced by jazz during the first half of the twentieth century, with a focus on compositions from the solo trombone repertory. Historically, French composers, more than those of other European countries, showed an early affinity for the artistic merits of America's jazz. This predilection for the elements of jazz could be seen in the selected orchestral works of Les Six and the solo compositions of the Paris Conservatory composers. An examination of the skills of major jazz trombonists early in the twentieth century showed that idioms resulting from their unique abilities were gradually assimilated into orchestral and solo repertory. Orchestral works by Satie, Milhaud, and Ravel works showing jazz traits were investigated. Further, an expose of the solo trombone works emanating from the Paris Conservatory was presented. Although written documentation is limited, comparisons between early recorded jazz trombone solos and compositions for orchestral and solo trombone was established. These comparisons were made on the basis of idiomatic jazz elements such as high-tessitura ballad melodies, blue tonalities and harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and many of the aspects of style associated with improvisation. All major French solo trombone repertory to mid-century was surveyed …

The life, music, and theoretical writings of Pietro Pontio (1532-1596) yield considerable insight into questions of theory and practice in the late sixteenth century. The dissertation places Pontio within his musical and cultural milieu, and assesses his role as both theorist and composer. Volume Two presents an annotated works list for Pontio's compositions, transcriptions of archival documents used in the study, and transcriptions of representative musical compositions.

This study investigates and documents tenor/bass trombone solo performances at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, East Germany, between 1821 and 1876. Included is the discussion of a newly discovered composition, the Concertino fur Bassposaune und Orchester, by Carl Heinrlch Meyer, which is the earliest concerto for the tenor/bass trombone. Its performance at the Gewandhaus in 1821 marked the beginning of the solo tradition for the tenor/bass trombone, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus became one of the leading centers of solo trombone performance for the next fifty years. The study includes background information on the rise of the virtuoso soloist in nineteenth-century Germany. It specifically focuses on Friedrlch August Belcke and Carl Traugott Queisser and their performances at the Gewandhaus. All solo trombone performances at the Gewandhaus in the nineteenth century have been documented, and specific information has been provided regarding the soloists, dates of performances and repertoire performed on the concerts. The paper includes a discussion of performance reviews from the Allgemeine Musfkalische Zeitung. The conclusion discusses the importance of solo trombone performance at the Gewandhaus, and the reason for its sudden decline after 1876.

Substantial contributions to flute literature of the twentieth century were made by the Dutch composers Willem Pijper (1894-1947) and Henk Badings (b. 1907) in the Sonata per Flauto e Pianoforte (1925) and the Concerto for Flute and Wind Symphony Orchestra (1963), respectively. This paper is an examination of the compositional devices employed by Pijper and Badings in these two selected works, with a discussion of the elements of form, tonal language, rhythm, motivic usage, orchestration, and innovative flute techniques. Emphasis on Pijper as teacher and mentor to a generation of Dutch composers, including Badings, gives the basis for a comparison of the Sonata and the Concerto.

Joseph Fiala (1754-1816) was a composer and performer of the classical period. His many compositions include manuscripts of a concerto for clarinet, taille, and orchestra in the Fürstlich Thurn und Taxis Hofbibliothek in Regensburg, West Germany and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. , U.S.A. This paper identifies the instrument called "taille" as the English horn and discusses the work in areas of form, harmony, rhythm, orchestration, and use of solo instruments. Comparison with contemporary works shows the piece is typical of the eighteenth-century symphonie concertante and, together with the composer's manuscript, provides a basis for editing of the solo parts.

Computer Simulacra is a musical work composed for amplified instrumental ensemble and computer instruments on tape. It is a computer-assisted work, composed with the help of a stochastic compositional algorithm, called PTERIO, designed by the composer.

The purpose of the lecture was to investigate the historical and musical heritage of the Moravian Church, with a particular interest in the works and players of the American Moravian Trombone Choir. The historical overview of people, customs, and practices is traced from its beginnings with the Unitas Fratrum in Bohemia through the Northern Germany settlement of Herrenhut and the establishment of the American Moravian colony at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The musical life of the church is represented by a discussion of the early hymns of the founding fathers in Bohemia and the subsequent instrumental music of the Moravian trombone choir in America. The trombone choir played chorales that were used to call the congregation to order, announce important visitors to the town, and provide music at special occasions. Anthems were played by trombones (when players were available) in regular church services, or outside when it was necessary to double voice parts. Concerted music was played in the Bethlehem Collegium Musicum. Biographies of the players of the 18th and 19th century trombone choirs provide information attesting to the proficiency and dedication of these musicians. A list of players who contributed to the trombone choir movement since the 19th century is included, …

The life, music, and theoretical writings of Pietro Pontio (1532-1596) yield considerable insight into questions of theory and practice in the late sixteenth century. The dissertation places Pontio within his musical and cultural milieu, and assesses his role as both theorist and composer. Volume Two presents an annotated works list for Pontio's compositions, transcriptions of archival documents used in the study, and transcriptions of representative musical compositions.

The Novelletten of Robert Schumann stand out as unusual among his works for solo piano. It is the largest cycle of character pieces in his output and has other distinguishing features. One unusual aspect of the work is its abundance of literary references which Schumann revealed at various points when it was being composed. This is an aspect unique to this cycle since Schumann's other cycles refer to a single literary source. One of the purposes of this paper is to discuss these numerous literary references which have never been examined in any detail before. Present in the Novelletten is a use of musical motives from works of his wife Clara. There are also musical references to other composers such as Beethoven and Haydn. This quoting of himself and others is not an uncommon practice for Schumann but here, in context with remarks made by Schumann himself about the work, the nature of his use of these musical references becomes more transparent. One of the main points being made through this discussion of literary and musical references in the Novelletten is that partly through these elements the work is unified into an eight movement cycle.

This study is an examination of Earl Hatch and Clair Musser's transcriptions for marimba of Chopin's Waltz, Opus 64 No. 1, Musser's arrangement of Chopin's Mazurka, Opus 17 No. 4, Hatch's setting of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, and Frank Mac Callum's treatment of Franck's "Chorale" from the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue. Additionally, the role of the transcription during the Romantic Period, the historical development of the marimba transcription, and performance considerations of the specific works presented are discussed.

The music of Marin Marais, a major figure among the French Baroque bass viol composer-performers, is seldom played today. His compositions which are artistically and historically significant, should be available to instrumentalists of this century. Marais published five volumes of bass viol compositions. Seven movements were transcribed from the Second Suite of Marais' first volume. The first chapter is an introduction to Marais; the second chapter pertains to the bass viol and its styles of performance, and the final chapter illustrates the editing required for the transcription. The problems encountered were those of adapting the melodic, harmonic, and contrapuntal styles of the seven-stringed bass viol to the double bass which is normally monophonous. Melodic elements were unchanged, chords were simplified, and contrapuntal lines were retained by giving the second voice to the continuo bass.

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 …