Two of the leading methodologies for spatializing audio over multiple channels include non-real-time multi-track tape and variations of real-time systems that often involve complex configurations of hardware. Of the latter, composers relying on MIDI as a control source have used pairs of sound modules, effects units and automation capable mixers to achieve spatialization over four loudspeakers. These systems typically employ intensity panning, Doppler shifts and reverberation. The present research details the development of a compact spatialization system using a MAX patch controlling a Kurzweil K2500 sampler. This system supports real-time diffusion of up to six simultaneous sound files over eight loudspeakers while incorporating intensity panning, Doppler shifts, delays and filtering. The MAX patch allows composers to choose from several automatic sound spatialization trajectories or to use the mouse to draw and store their own trajectories for later playback. The piece, Circumfusion, is an eighteen-minute composition of electroacoustic music utilizing this spatialization system.

This study demonstrated that the piano, a typical Western instrument, became the Chinese composer's tool for expressing the sound ideals and tone qualities that are intrinsic to Chinese music. A new musical idiom was created in these piano compositions, an idiom that combined Western compositional techniques and traditionally-based Chinese ideals.

Between 1952 and 1957, Igor Stravinsky surprised the world of music by gradually incorporating serialism into his style of composition. Although Stravinsky still used the neo-classical trait of making strong references to the music of earlier periods, musical analyses of this transitional period have focused on serial aspects to the exclusion of anachronistic elements. Evidence of Stravinsky's possible use of musical structures adapted from earlier times is found in his consistent use of musical figures that are closely related to the cadences of the late Medieval and Renaissance eras. By fully addressing these neo-classical traits in future analyses, music theorists will gain an additional perspective, which is helpful in understanding the music of Stravinsky's transitional period.

This dissertation proposes that the Sonatine broadly unfolds a kinetic structure that stems from the traditional tension-relief model and, consequently, its dependence on tradition proves much deeper than Boulez would acknowledge.

This thesis examines the historical significance of the vocal methods employed from the middle of the seventeenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century in what became known as the bel canto era. It provides further exploration into the pedagogical procedures of the bel canto technique through a study of the premier instructors and singers from this period. The resurgence of interest in this tradition is addressed along with its impact on current vocal pedagogy. The vital role that vocal agility played as one of its most distinguishing traits is the primary factor under investigation. A discussion of the bel canto teaching styles in relation to their approach to agility is a major point of inquiry. By maintaining a link between present artists and pedagogues and the old Italian school, it helps the singer understand the historical implications of vocal agility as an integral part of healthy vocal development.

This thesis is a study of four compositions written by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, older sister of Felix Mendelssohn. Her music is compared with four pieces composed by Felix. This study shows that Fanny was a gifted and creative composer, even surpassing Felix and predating Brahms with her compositional ideas and progressive uses of harmony. Despite her excellent education and recognition among those who knew her well, she did not publicize her talent in any way because of pressure from her father, Abraham, and Felix to stay within the prescribed societal confines of wife and mother.

The lecture was presented on November 18, 1991. This presentation focused on the only two compositions for solo flute and orchestra by Ernest Bloch. Written during the last three years of the composer's life, the pieces are representative of his last style period. While Suite Modale is neobaroque in style, Two Last Poems is much more subjective. Together they represent a synthesis of many of the stylistic characteristics of Ernest Bloch. The musical parameters discussed included form, melody, texture, rhythm, harmony, and expressive devices.

The thesis speculates on the possible influence of Mozart's Requiem on Cherubini's Requiem in D Minor, concluding that Cherubini's setting of the Sequence ("Dies irae") was indeed influenced by Mozart's setting of this liturgical text both on the micro and macro levels.

The first movement of the Piano Quintet, Op. 16 of Ludwig van Beethoven works out three significant motivic "topics": a chromatically filled-in second, appearing first as 5 - #5 - 6 (Bb - B - C in Eb major); the emphasis om the submediant, both as vi in Eb major and as the tonal region of C minor; and the melodic interval of the sixth, which, when inverted to become a descending third, determines the structure of tonal regions at crucial points in the movement. These three motivic topics are introduced in the opening measures of the piece and are subsequently unfolded throughout the movement; the focus of the thesis will be to trace the unfolding of these three topics.

Jean Millet's L Art de bien chanter (1666), describes the air de cour and its ornamentation as it existed in France during the first half of the seventeenth century. This work, translated for the first time into English and transcribed into modern notation, and B6nigne de Bacilly's Remarques curieuses sur l'art de bien chanter (1668) are the only detailed treatises explaining vocal ornamentation during this period. To clarify his ornamentation method, Millet introduces terms referring to placement of agrements, though few performers used them. Millet expresses the old style, popular under Louis XIII, and the provincial view. Bacilly's treatise deals with the air de cour under Louis XIV, which had a more Italian flavor. He gives aesthetic principles aiding the performer in placing and selecting ornaments. Though Millet and Bacilly describe the same practice, striking differences exist between the two air de cour styles.

A work concerning the history of the Paris Conservatoire and music education in France. Follows the development of the horn and its correlation with the French school of horn playing. Includes biographic information on the horn professors of the Conservatoire through 1997, as well as a comprehensive list of the morceaux de concours for horn, 1795-1996.

George Philipp Telemann is often thought of an experimenter with many nationalistic styles during the course of his career. His Corellian Sonatas demonstrate this facet of his work in their employment of Corelli's manner, and the cultivation of the Italian style. Telemann's Corellian sonatas are stylistically close to those of Corelli, and they do not appear to vary widely from the church and chamber sonatas of Corelli; Telemann fused the two sonata types in that dance elements are found in the church sonatas and the abstract elements of the church sonatas are inserted into the chamber sonatas. In addition to the amalgamation of internal elements, Telemann also experimented with the external features, such as the alternation of tempo and the four movement stereotype.

This thesis uniquely explains the mechanical improvements which have occurred to the flute over the last 147 years. Theobald Boehm revolutionized the flute by changing many of its components culminating with the 1847 model flute. Since that time other improvements have been made which enhance the flute's capabilities in terms of pitch, tone, timbre, and simplification offingeringpassages. Among those improvements which are discussed in the following pages are the Dorus G-sharp key, the gizmo key, the Cooper scale, and The Brogger Mekanik as well as the makers behind the various improvements including Vincent Dorus, George Barrere, and Albert Cooper.

This thesis contributes analyses of two works by Mexican composers: Rayo nocturnal (1989) by Victor Rasgado (b. 1959), and the Cuarteto da do (1988) by Juan Trigos (b. 1965). Although composed according to structuralist principles, a postmodern interpretation is offered. The analytical method applied is based on Allen Forte's set theory, including rhythmic and timbral dimensions that are integral to the conceptions of these works. A survey of modernism and postmodernism in twentieth-century Mexico serves to place these works in their cultural context.

The story of Parsifal is presented in two manners: through action and through narrative. Using the formalist theories of Vladimir Propp, the overall narrative is articulated in three narrative episodes. This thesis interprets the structure of narrative episodes in Parsifal on the basis of expectation. Propp's theory of functions provides labels for an interpretive analysis. Levi-Strauss' reconstruction of Propp's functions into paired structures identifies key points in the drama as moments of "functional" saturation. This "functional" saturation coincides with Wagner's practice of Leitmotivic saturation. The semiotic theories of Charles Sanders Peirce, specifically his notion of sign, clarify the dense accumulation of meanings accrued by the Leitmotifs. Finally, Parsifal, as a "quest" for the unobtainable object, fits into the matrix of desire as formulated in the theories of Jacques Lacan.

The six-movement work is scored for two violins, a viola, and a violoncello. A new approach toward the decision making of the compositional process is revealed which structures the parameters of the composition along an arbitrary frame of reference. This reference is selected prior to composition and influences every aspect of the work. The reference chosen is an existing musical work used in quotation and for stylistic modeling, paraphrase, and variation. Consonance, dissonance, and thematic development are defined in terms of this source.

This study discusses how cultural and social aspects of contemporary Swedish society impact the musical arts. It contains biographical information on representative Swedish composers, and analyzes technical and structural elements of their compositional styles. Finally, it recommends performance practice considerations regarding technical and interpretive details in Tommy Zwedberg's Face the Music for trumpet and prepared audio tape, Folke Habe's Shazam for unaccompanied trumpet, and Bo Nilsson's Infrastruktur for brass quintet.

Jonah's Prayer is a choral work for solo tenor, a mixed choir of not fewer than 30 members, two pianos and a few percussion instruments to be played by choir members. The piece lasts about 13 minutes; it is a work intended for church choir use but could be performed in other venues as well.

The Czechoslovakian composer Jindrich Feld (b.1925) composed Introduzione, Toccata e Fuga per Flauto Solo, for the Italian flutist Roberto Frabbriciani. Feld's Introduzione is from his third style period. This work may be labeled as a synthesis of the experiments and experiences that have enabled him to create his own mature style of expression.

This study traces the significant developments in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which led to the development of electronic music and increased writing for percussion. Whether by coincidence or premeditation, the field of percussion in Western culture and electronic music share many parallel aspects in their history. Carlos Chavez, Edgard Varese and John Cage foresaw a time when electronic music would allow composers to realize compositions with ease, provide new sounds to the spectrum of possible material for pieces and aid in the conception of works. Significantly, these same composers were important figures in the development of percussion composition. In many ways, Lejaren Hiller's Machine Music can be seen as a culmination of the developments which had been taking place in the history of electronic music and percussion music. A product of the innovations in both fields, it poses some formidable problems for the performers. This study will give some background into its composition, examine its structure and deal with its performance problems.

Autographs 1928: Four Songs for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble is a composition of approximately 16 minutes' duration and is scored for mezzo-soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn in F, viola, violoncello, one keyboardist (piano and celesta), and two percussionists (marimba, xylophone, chimes, timpani, bass drum, temple blocks, triangle, and slapstick). The work consists of four songs and four readings with texts from Walls's maternal grandmother's autograph book. The composition opens with a reading and alternates between readings and songs. The music is intended to reflect the playful, tender and humorous nature of the lyrics.

When Alberto Ginastera's oeuvre is viewed as a whole, an essential continuity between compositional ideas often appears in different works. This is especially apparent in the three piano sonatas, where each sonata represents an evolution and a condensation of ideas occurring in the previous one. The evolution of ideas throughout the three sonatas takes place through two primary processes. The first is a shift in cultural focus from reliance on Ibero-American material in the first sonata (1952) to Amerindian in the second (1981), to a synthesis of the two cultural elements in the third (1982). The second means of evolution from sonata to sonata is through a process of symmetrization. Along with constructions using symmetrical scales, material in each of the three sonatas is subjected to various symmetrical procedures which correspond musically to basic geometric symmetry types or operations (bilateral, rotational, and translatory, for instance). The decreasing number of movements evidences a negative dilatation of material, moving from four movements in the first sonata to three in the second, to one in the third. In each case, corresponding material from the previous sonata is integrated into the following sonata. Both independently and as a group the three piano sonatas exhibit …

Concertino for Flute, Timpani, and String Orchestra is a three movement piece that blends Western European forms with Korean idioms. The following essay addresses pitch materials, melodic structure, rhythm, form, instrumentation, vertical structures, and developmental procedures used in the work.

This study begins with a discussion of step theory. Included in this discussion is the basis of chord succession, the idea of fundamental representation, and the uses of reinterpretation technique. These concepts are then used to demonstrate the continuity and logic of the harmonic language found in Strauss's Macbeth.