A significant body of solo literature for the trombone has been written in the last fifty years that draws as much from the jazz tradition as from that of European classical music. While much attention has been paid to these works' use of characteristic jazz rhythms, harmonies and melodic inflections, there has been little focus on timbre, the musical element that perhaps most readily distinguishes jazz from other styles of Western music. This paper focuses on the important role jazz timbres should play in a performer's interpretation of those works that are significantly influenced by jazz. It includes explorations of the significant differences in concepts of timbre between European classical music and jazz, some of the ways in which these timbral differences are produced, and methods by which performers can develop the skills necessary to produce these varied timbres. Particular attention is paid to the importance of timbre to idiomatically appropriate performances of two significant works from the solo trombone repertoire, Robert Suderburg's Night Set (Chamber Music III) and Richard Peaslee's Arrows of Time.

The preparation of prospective music educators is a very complex undertaking that culminates with the student teaching practicum. However, the music student teaching experience may have less predictable expectations and results than the curriculum that precedes the event. The two-fold purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the music student teaching practicum in the State of Texas in an effort to establish current levels of success as perceived by the music educators involved in the process and (b) to identify any potentially problematic areas which might be in need of attention or revision. Thirty-six music educators (12 university supervisors, 12 cooperating teachers and 12 student teachers) who were recently involved in the music student teaching practicum in Texas were chosen as the sample in this two-round Delphi study. The first round Delphi survey, based on related literature, achieved consensus on 79% of the 108 item responses, and 15 of the 22 unresolved items reached consensus in round two of the Delphi process. The 34 sample members who completed the study ranked a final item in the second Delphi round concerning suggestions for the improvement of student teaching. The respondents showed a very high opinion of the music student teaching …

The secular music of the Eastern European Jews is known today as klezmer. Klezmer was the traditional instrumental celebratory music of Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews who eventually populated the Pale of Settlement, which encompassed modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and Romania. Due to the rise of oppression and expulsion, many klezmer musicians or klezmorim immigrated to the United States between 1880 and the early 1920s. These musicians found work in klezmer bands and orchestras as well as Yiddish radio and theater. Some of the most influential klezmorim were clarinetists Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras who helped develop an American klezmer style. While the American style flourished, the popularity of pure klezmer began to diminish. As American-born Jews began to prefer the new sounds of big band and jazz, klezmer was considered old-fashioned and was in danger of becoming a lost art form. During the early 1970s, a reawakening study of klezmer developed. Henry Sapoznik, Lev Liberman and Andy Statman were instrumental in creating a klezmer revival in the United States. At the same time, Argentinean-born Israeli clarinetist Giora Feidman was popularizing klezmer in Europe. Klezmer had again become popular and the revival's impact on the concert hall was inevitable. Even though …

Carl Gottlieb Reissiger was a successful German composer, conductor, and teacher in the first half of the nineteenth century. At the height of his career, he was Hofkapellmeister of theater and opera in Dresden, a position he held until his death. He was a composer of more than 200 works in a multitude of different genres. Today he is mainly known as a composer of opera, a small portion of his total output as a composer. He wrote approximately eighty piano solos, eighty collections of songs or duets, nine masses, and many smaller sacred choral works, as well as 27 piano trios, seven piano quartets, and three piano quintets. In addition to these many works, he wrote five works for the clarinet: Concertino, op. 63, Duo Brillant for clarinet and piano, op. 130, Fantasie, op. 146, Second Fantasie, op. 180, and Adagio und Rondo alla polacca, op. 214. This document provides a biographical sketch of Reissiger, including his personal life, his life as a conductor, and his life as a composer. It also provides a look at the artistic life of his day: his fellow composers and the music they were writing for clarinet, outstanding clarinetists and the different instruments …

My composition, Estruendos, is a work for large symphonic orchestra, guitar and computer-generated and processed sounds on CD. The work lasts 23 minutes and 45 seconds. My dissertation is composed of two parts: Part One comprises the analysis and Part Two comprises the score. Part One gives a brief background of my compositional dialect and aesthetics. It also includes a discussion of the compositional process and general overview of Estruendos. In addition, it illustrates the primary role the placement of sonic events in time and timbral structure play in the pathos of Estruendos.

This document's purpose is to analyze dualities found in different films of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Each version brings different ideas to it. By analyzing each version and focusing on the Ghost Scene, comparisons of the scene's symbolism are made between the musical scores. The beginning chapters provide a history of film, film music, the play, and events up to the ghost scene. After these chapters come analyses of the scene itself. Each version uses different parts of the play for its own purposes, but there are many commonalities between them. The score for each version of the Ghost Scene will be analyzed independently of each other. This work will contribute to musicology, film research, Shakespeare studies, and English scholarship.

La Primavera: Concertino for English Horn and Chamber Orchestra is a work in a traditional chamber orchestra instrumentation: single woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon), two French horns, trumpet, timpani and strings. A through-composed work of 14 minutes in duration, the Concertino is conceptually based on the idea that spring is not the first of the seasons, but rather the last. As a result, all of its motivic materials are organically linked to one another, and function as paired forces that struggle for supremacy. The introduction of the third motive functions as a motivic synthesis, since it contains intrinsic elements of previous motives. There are several important compositions based on the topic of the seasons among them we find: Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso Le Quatro Staggione, Haydn's oratorio The Seasons, and Piazzola's chamber work Las Estaciones. While researching this topic, the conceptual dilemma of spring as the last season was considered. This became a turning point in the compositional process strong enough to consider the spring as a singular topic of interest. The analysis of this work through Derrida's Deconstruction theory first came to me while reading Rose Rosengerd Subotnick's Deconstructive Variations: Music and Reason in Western Society. The Linguistic approach, …

The essay begins with the overview of Russian-Soviet piano music from the second half of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. Then, biographical information about Sergei Slonimsky and an overview of his major compositions is provided. The majority of the paper focuses on Slonimsky's Sonata for Piano (1963). A brief discussion of the Sonata's compositional history is followed by the formal analysis of the overall structure of the work. Slonimsky's original principle of organization of the music is emphasized: the system of constant interrelation of the main thematic material combined with elements of the sonata-allegro form. In the analysis of the harmonic language of the piece, the composer's extensive use of Russian folk elements such as diatonic melodies, sigh motives, parallel triads, and simultaneous use of the lower third with the major triad is pointed out. The rest of the paper focuses on issues of interpretation and performance. Special notice is given to the problem of incorporating a percussive type of playing with the elements of folk cantilena singing. The paper concludes with the history of Sonata's performances and a discussion of current recordings.

Thomas G. Everett's activities as a catalyst for bass trombone repertoire and scholarship are significant in the development of further research in the field, and in the development of new performance repertoire. An examination of Everett's life and musical influences precedes the detailing of his pursuits of new solo/chamber music for the bass trombone. A discussion of Everett's efforts in obtaining new performance repertoire by means of commission or request is followed by an examination of four pieces composed for Everett. The four pieces profiled are Sonata Breve by Walter Hartley, Prelude, Fugue, and Big Apple by Walter Ross, Everett Suite by Ulysses Kay, and 100 Bars for Tom Everett by András Szöllösy. Three of these four pieces, the Hartley, Ross, and Kay selections, are the repertoire for the performance recital portion of this research. Everett's contributions in the area of publication, including details of his Annotated Guide to Bass Trombone Literature are addressed as well as his role as founder of the International Trombone Association (ITA) and the implications of this organization's existence upon the growth of knowledge in the area of trombone pedagogy and performance. Two appendices account for the pieces in which Everett was involved in bringing …

Wladimir Vogel's (1896-1984) interest in twelve-tone composition began to develop in 1936 after hearing a series of lectures by Willi Reich, a music critic and supporter of the new music of the Second Viennese School. The transition for Vogel from a large-scale orchestral “classical” style, influenced by his study with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin in the early 1920s, to a new technique involving dodecaphony is apparent in his instrumental writing, the third and fourth movements of the Konzert für Violine und Orchester (1937), as well as in his vocal writing, the Madrigaux for mixed a cappella choir (1938/39). Vogel's twelve-tone works exhibit tertian structures which are particularly emphasized by triads located as consecutive pitches within the rows. Emphasis on tertian structures are not limited to small-scale segmentation of the rows but can also be seen in the structural and tonal organization of complete movements and works. A primary example is the Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester (Cello Concerto) (1955) in which, on a smaller scale, the presentation of the row emphasizes both diminished and minor triads, and at the macro level, the structural triadic relationships unify passages within individual movements as well as the concerto as a whole. Since the …

The compositions of Steve Reich and György Ligeti both contain periodic rhythmic structures. Although periods are not usually easily perceived, the listener may perceive their combinations in a hierarchy of rhythmic structures. This document is an attempt to develop an analytical method that can account for this hierarchy in periodic music. I begin with an overview of the features of Reich's and Ligeti's music that contribute to the property of periodicity. I follow with a discussion of the music and writings of Olivier Messiaen as a precedent for the periodic structures in the music of Reich and Ligeti. I continue by consulting the writings of the Israeli musicologist Simha Arom and describing the usefulness of his ideas and terminology in the development of my method. I explain the working process and terminology of the analytical method, and then I apply it to Reich's Six Pianos and Ligeti's Désordre.

This study examines in detail the various aspects of the segmentation process as applied by Obrecht and Josquin to the chanson Malheur me bat, especially the effect of this process on the structure of each composer's respective mass. Although musical aspects such as cadences and mode have varying degrees of influence on the structure of these two masses, the primary influence is the establishment of proportional relationships that occur as a result of the segmentation process. Sources of previous music research frequently point out that Obrecht's Mass utilizes both the Phrygian and Aeolian modes, while in Josquin's Mass the Phrygian mode is the firmly established mode throughout. Since segments in Obrecht's Mass are usually not connected to one another, strong cadences frequently occur at the end of the segments throughout. On the other hand, since the segments in Josquin's Mass are usually connected to one another, weak internal cadences frequently occur throughout, with strong cadences reserved for the end of sections.

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to provide greater insight into the compositional design of Paul Bonneau's Caprice en forme de valse solo pour saxophone and the Piece Concertante Dans L'Esprit "Jazz" pour saxophone alto et piano through a detailed analysis of the pieces. Paul Bonneau's Caprice en forme de valse is a major work for saxophone. It has been referred to as one of the most technically demanding works in the classical saxophone repertoire. In addition, the Caprice has been transcribed for the flute, clarinet and bassoon. In fact, the Caprice has been designated as "one of the most musically cohesive unaccompanied works written for any wind instrument." Bonneau's Piece Concertante Dans L'Esprit "Jazz" is also an important work in the repertoire due to its high degree of virtuosity and unique fusion of traditional classical and jazz elements. The analysis process focuses initially on the fundamental elements of music. Each analysis begins with an outline and description of the formal design of the piece. Major sections and their various subdivisions are detailed specifically. The tonal organization of the piece is presented. Large scale tonal areas are identified along with detailed discussions pertaining to specific harmonic structures. Due to …

The purpose of this study is to assemble information needed to assess, understand and hopefully correct muscular hyperfunction that is related to tongue tension in singing and speech which inhibit freely, efficiently, and comfortably produced beautiful singing. This text will include a definition of freely produced, fully resonating tone for beautiful singing, major components of vocal technique, physiology related to singing and speech production, hyperfunctions associated with tongue tension, tongue involvement in the articulation of the four major singing languages, and will present exercises for training the muscles of coordination in a manner conducive to singing and speech.

The musical developments of the 20th century have expanded the role of the accompanist. As the compositional output of our time increases, and the opportunity to perform as soloist with an orchestra diminishes, piano reductions of an orchestral score are becoming the most frequent vehicle for concerto performances of twentieth and twenty-first century instrumental literature. While the current state of research provides solid support to many accompanists, it is in the area of instrumental accompanying, especially with regard to the challenges of playing a reduction of an orchestral score with an instrumental soloist, that the lack of discourse becomes strikingly evident. It is the goal of this study to provide the instrumental accompanist with concrete, practical approaches and considerations in order to perform an orchestral reduction in a manner consistent with the integrity of the score. Problems such as identifying the represented orchestral instruments, delineating importance of musical lines, and basic uses and misuses of pedal, articulation, and rubato are discussed. The pianist is led through ways of deciphering and negotiating specific passages, in order to guide the accompanist through the possible pitfalls and challenges unique to many orchestral reductions. By focusing on twentieth century reductions, providing examples of problems …

Music written for oboe and orchestra in the nineteenth century falls into three categories: Classical Concerto, Opera Fantasy, and Concertino. The classical, or standard, three movement, sonata-ritornello format was only sparingly used. Instead, composers chose more the experimental forms of the Opera Fantasy and Concertino. The Opera Fantasy was used as a way for oboe players to play popular opera arias of the time, while showcasing their virtuosity and expression. It is in the Concertino where composers expanded the oboe repertoire to its highest form in the nineteenth century, experimenting with structure, and using the oboe to the height of its expressive powers. In addition to discussion on the Concertino in general, performance guides have been provided for two concertinos, Concertino for Oboe and Winds, by Carl Maria von Weber and Concertino for Oboe and Orchestra, Op. 18, by August Klughardt. Information is provided regarding composer biography, compositional/historical perspective, technical and stylistic considerations, and structure. By examining the two very different pieces, one from the beginning of the nineteenth century and one from the end, the evolution of the Concertino can be seen, as well as gaining an understanding of the wide variety of repertoire written for the oboe in …

The Duo Concerto Trumpet and Organ, Op.152 by Tomas Svoboda was written in memory of and commissioned by the friends of the late Richard Thornburg, second trumpet of the Oregon Symphony. Through the use of primary sources, Tomas Svoboda, composer and organist at the premiere, and Fred Sautter, principal trumpet of the Oregon Symphony and trumpeter at the premiere, the performance guide illuminates the piece with a discussion of five different topics. Chapter 2 of the guide reveals the circumstances of the commission and the initial compositional process. Chapter 3 discusses the performance history of the concerto, including the premiere. Chapter 4 provides analytical insights with programmatic titles accompanying the formal layout of the piece. Chapter 5 presents the piece from the standpoint of performance preparation. Chapter 6 concludes the guide with final thoughts of the composer, Tomas Svoboda. The guide provides the performer studying this piece the historical context of the concerto and highlights programmatic elements of the piece not apparent in its published form.

The main objective of this document is to explore the life and spiritual convictions of composer Peter Lieberson, and the creation of his Piano Concerto. Lieberson is a sought after composer who has won many awards and commissions. His works have been premiered and performed by some of the best musical artists of the late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century, such as Peter Serkin, Emmanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and Pierre Boulez. This study is divided into six chapters. After the Introduction, a biographical summary of Peter Lieberson's life, his spiritual beliefs and compositional style is presented. Chapter II contains background information on the Piano Concerto, along with biographical sketches of Peter Serkin, for whom the work was written, and Seiji Ozawa, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor of both the premier performance and Serkin's recording of the piece. Chapter III is a selective survey of the compositional techniques used in Lieberson's Concerto, in terms of the application of twelve-tone theory and the resulting octatonic, pentatonic, and whole-tone scales. Chapter IV introduces a general overview of the influence of Buddhism as a source of inspiration in the Piano Concerto. Chapter V examines aspects of performance practice issues. Chapter VI …

Michael Daugherty has created his niche in the music world by composing works inspired by icons of American popular culture. Red Cape Tango is the final movement of his Metropolis Symphony, a work inspired by the life and times of the comic book character Superman. This movement in particular deals with the death of the superhero through the use of musical elements, most notably the Latin Sequence of the Mass for the Dead, Dies irae. Daugherty's ingenuity in blending profoundly dark subjects with humor is particularly evident in this work. Death is personified as a temptress and lures Superman through the power of a seductive tango. This study concentrates on Daugherty's compositional style and its impact in musical circles. A transcription for wind orchestra was created by another composer/conductor precisely because of the need to bring such an important work to another medium, thus making it accessible to a wider audience. In addition, this study looks at the changes in instrumentation necessary to create a second, equally formidable version of the work.

The scope of this study includes relevant background information on Peter Schat and his compositions and process, an explanation of the Tone Clock system and a detailed analysis of one of his compositions, the Etudes for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 39. The intent is to demonstrate how the Tone Clock naturally evolved from the practices of the Second Viennese School and how it relates to both new and existing modern music. The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 presents a brief introduction to Peter Schat and the Tone Clock. Chapter 2 provides a more detailed biography of Peter Schat and traces the development and evolution of his compositional techniques, ultimately culminating in the Tone Clock. Chapter 3 provides a basic explanation of the Tone Clock itself, with demonstrations of various components through musical examples and illustrations. Chapter 4 is a detailed analysis of the Etudes for Piano and Orchestra, Opus. 39. Chapter 5 summarizes the results of the study, with special attention to the impact of the Tone Clock on performance from the perspective of the performer. The analysis of the Etudes was completed by using the Tone Clock as an analytical tool, aided by the composer's original …

All information for this study was obtained by original source documents, interviews with the principal participants and the personal observations of the writer. A complete transcript of interviews with Daron Aric Hagen Michael Haithcockand Robert De Simone are included as appendices. In1961 the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) created its commissioning project for the purpose of contracting prominent composers to contribute works of high quality to the growing wind repertoire. Recently, CBDNA commissioned works that sought to collaborate with other disciplines within the artistic community. These collaborative works added new depth to the wind repertoire and helped advance the genre to new levels of prominence. CBDNA commissioned Daron Aric Hagen to write an opera using winds in the pit. He titled the work Bandanna, based on Shakespeare's Othello. Hagen contracted Paul Muldoon to write the libretto. A consortium of 79 member schools contributed to the project. A total of $100,000.00 was paid to the composer. The Director of Bands at Baylor University conducted the premiere performance of Bandanna during the 1999 CBDNA convention on 25 February 1999. Hagen assigned instrumental, thematic and harmonic attributes to each character. There are literally thousands of interactions between these elements that weave a …

The aim of this study is to introduce the contemporary German composer, Xaver Paul Thoma, and his composition, Ich bin in Sehnsucht Eingehüllt on the poems of Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger. This study explores the possible reasons behind Thoma's decision to set the poems, as well as the circumstances and significance of the poets' life and poetry, made known through Thoma's composition. An analysis of each song is included, emphasizing especially the relationship between text and music.

The bulk of scholarly research and discussion of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder deals with musical concerns and analyses. This study explores the significance of Mahler's selection and use of the poetry of Friedrich Rückert and, in particular, the personal significance of the textual treatment to Mahler. A comparison of the original Rückert text with Mahler's and his textual alterations, as well as a literal translation of the text, is included. The results revealed through the process stated above provides the vocal performer of Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder with a study and performance guide for the artist intent on a more complete textual understanding and delivery.

This study is a guide to the performer on practices associated with the trumpet music of Donald Erb. It examines the following solo and duo compositions for trumpet: the as yet unpublished Sonatina for Trumpet and Piano (1954); Four Duets for Trumpets (1960); Diversion for Two for trumpet & percussion (1966); Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra (1980); Remembrances for two trumpets (1994); and Dance, You Monster, To My Soft Song for solo trumpet (1998). A history of each composition and information concerning the performers who premiered them are documented. An examination of particular harmonic, melodic and rhythmic elements found frequently in these pieces follow. The pieces are further assessed for difficulty through an investigation of extended technical demands, range, endurance and articulation. Additional discussion focuses on the use of mutes, tempos and dynamics as well as suggestions for the preparation and performance of these works. The dissertation concludes with a review of Donald Erb's legacy as a composer and teacher. A comprehensive discography and complete list of Mr. Erb's compositions are included in appendices.