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- All Subjects: Music
- Creators: Holbrook, Amy
This study of As in a Dream focuses on the 1994 version, and especially on the first song, with a view to introducing the singer to its Chinese elements. To help performers to understand better the text of the set, a translation and transliteration of the two poems by Qingzhao Li are offered with line-by-line interpretation. An introduction to the history and characteristics of the zheng and the pipa is supported by examples of the uses of these instruments in the songs. Drawing upon information provided by Chen Yi in the interview with the author, a discussion follows of Mandarin speech tones and their effect on the melodic design of As in a Dream, with music examples. An examination of traditional Beijing Opera styles of singing, with insights provided by Rao Lan, the soprano for whom the work was written, leads to a description of the fusion vocal technique required for performance of As in a Dream and some of the rules for diction in Mandarin Chinese.
Intended as an introductory guide for the soprano contemplating performance of Chen Yi’s As in a Dream, this study also reveals the combination of Eastern and Western musical characteristics in these songs and gives examples of how the music interprets the veiled meaning of the poetry.
As the number of technology-native composers, audience members, and performers continues to increase, electronics in the ensemble are likely to become more standard. Without knowledge of the technology electronics require, these works will remain inaccessible. Composers attempt to bridge the technological knowledge gap by providing technical instructions for individual pieces, but this does not help people recognize the broader concepts that make all of these works more accessible. This document guides ensemble directors and performers to an understanding of these base concepts by developing a grading system for technology difficulty, assessing pedagogical and performance issues, and providing an annotated list of works currently available for electronics and winds.
Jaime Mendoza-Nava (1925-2005) was an important Bolivian composer. In addition to writing music for the concert stage, he worked as a composer of film music in Los Angeles during the second half of the twentieth century. His life and work remain greatly unstudied, with the majority of his compositions existing only in manuscript form. The present study surveys the available biographical information on the composer and supplements it with new data collected through interviews with the composer’s family. The information presented here focuses on the composer’s American period as well as his personality traits. The study also examines the development of musical nationalism in Bolivia and other important aspects of Bolivian culture and society, thus creating a historical context through which key influences on the composer are identified. This historical and cultural information also contributes to an examination of Mendoza-Nava’s song cycle País de sombra (1988). A close study of this work reveals Mendoza-Nava’s sensitive setting of the poetry of Ricardo Jaimes Freyre (1868-1933) and his musical references to his Bolivian heritage. A recording of the song cycle by soprano Andrea Ramos and the current author and an edited copy of the musical score conclude the study.