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- All Subjects: Music
- Creators: Rockmaker, Jody
- Status: Published
Description
This research paper provides a revised version of viola alta compositions by
Hermann Ritter. These original compositions, written for viola alta, were published between 1878 and 1900. Without further reprint, these works are largely unknown by this generation of violists. Yet, these works are precious examples of viola alta repertoire from the late nineteenth century.
The viola alta was designed by Hermann Ritter with an instrumental length between 17 and 19 inches. Another version of this instrument was constructed with five strings, adding a high E-string. Higher pitches could then be played with relative ease in lower positions. Compositions for the viola alta often feature brilliant passages in the treble register and rarely showcase the sonority of the lower strings. Many of Ritter’s scores for the instrument are notated in the alto clef and contain numerous ledger lines. Due to the difficulty of reading the music and handling such a large instrument, the viola alta had a relatively short existence and its repertoire was soon forgotten.
Hermann Ritter actively promoted the viola alta during the late nineteenth century. His compositions featured the range of the instrument and captured the emotion and character of the late Romantic era. Ritter contributed a wealth of repertoire for the viola alta to increase its significance and importance. For today’s violist, it represents a body of work from the nineteenth century, and adds to the repertoire many wonderful, short, character pieces.
This document consists of a brief discussion of Hermann Ritter’s career and his contributions to the viola alta. Six of Ritter’s viola alta works are presented in order of difficulty with bowings and fingerings, along with a performer’s analysis and performance instructions. To aid ensemble issues, the revised version includes simplified piano parts. It is the author’s hope that this volume increases repertoire options for violists and becomes a valuable pedagogical resource.
Hermann Ritter. These original compositions, written for viola alta, were published between 1878 and 1900. Without further reprint, these works are largely unknown by this generation of violists. Yet, these works are precious examples of viola alta repertoire from the late nineteenth century.
The viola alta was designed by Hermann Ritter with an instrumental length between 17 and 19 inches. Another version of this instrument was constructed with five strings, adding a high E-string. Higher pitches could then be played with relative ease in lower positions. Compositions for the viola alta often feature brilliant passages in the treble register and rarely showcase the sonority of the lower strings. Many of Ritter’s scores for the instrument are notated in the alto clef and contain numerous ledger lines. Due to the difficulty of reading the music and handling such a large instrument, the viola alta had a relatively short existence and its repertoire was soon forgotten.
Hermann Ritter actively promoted the viola alta during the late nineteenth century. His compositions featured the range of the instrument and captured the emotion and character of the late Romantic era. Ritter contributed a wealth of repertoire for the viola alta to increase its significance and importance. For today’s violist, it represents a body of work from the nineteenth century, and adds to the repertoire many wonderful, short, character pieces.
This document consists of a brief discussion of Hermann Ritter’s career and his contributions to the viola alta. Six of Ritter’s viola alta works are presented in order of difficulty with bowings and fingerings, along with a performer’s analysis and performance instructions. To aid ensemble issues, the revised version includes simplified piano parts. It is the author’s hope that this volume increases repertoire options for violists and becomes a valuable pedagogical resource.
ContributorsChen, Yen-Fang (Author) / Buck, Nancy (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Swartz, Jonathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Light Emerging is a symphonic dance suite in five movements. The work’s approximate length is 25 minutes; it is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C with loop pedal, trombone, percussion, electronic percussion, piano, strings, and fixed media. Each movement of the dance suite is written to be performed as a standalone piece or together as one multimovement work. The music showcases open quintal sonorities layered in conflicting substructures, which contract into denser brooding passages and transform into tonal fanfares.
Attempting to capture the essence of how humanity uniquely experiences light and assigns personification to it, the composer presents light and dark as the main characters in a grand ballet of good and evil. Prism (Movement I) is an overture that is constantly shifting and evolving. A rainbow of colors is presented by the various orchestra members, as timbral and pitch evolutions showcase the ever-changing perspectives of a prism held to light. Yin/Yang (Movement II) explores the relationship between light and dark. The solo clarinet represents light breaking through the darkness as its colorful flourishes pierce through the brooding fixed media. Sunrise (Movement III) captures the impressive majesty of light bursting over the dark horizon in the early morning. Lux (Movement IV) is a dance of light, using solo trumpet and a chorus of phantom trumpets. Light Eternal (Movement V) expresses the deep need for humans to worship that which is unknown and eternal, and the power of light to overcome the dark. The “March of Eternal Light” signals our end in this world and the journey to the beyond.
Attempting to capture the essence of how humanity uniquely experiences light and assigns personification to it, the composer presents light and dark as the main characters in a grand ballet of good and evil. Prism (Movement I) is an overture that is constantly shifting and evolving. A rainbow of colors is presented by the various orchestra members, as timbral and pitch evolutions showcase the ever-changing perspectives of a prism held to light. Yin/Yang (Movement II) explores the relationship between light and dark. The solo clarinet represents light breaking through the darkness as its colorful flourishes pierce through the brooding fixed media. Sunrise (Movement III) captures the impressive majesty of light bursting over the dark horizon in the early morning. Lux (Movement IV) is a dance of light, using solo trumpet and a chorus of phantom trumpets. Light Eternal (Movement V) expresses the deep need for humans to worship that which is unknown and eternal, and the power of light to overcome the dark. The “March of Eternal Light” signals our end in this world and the journey to the beyond.
ContributorsJohnson, Brice (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Reverend Stormfield Goes to Heaven is an operetta in six scenes for seven vocalists and
flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and double bass. The work’s approximate length is 40 minutes. The libretto is written by the composer and based on the short story by Mark Twain titled “Captain Stormfield Goes to Heaven.” The short story features the typical biting sarcasm of Mark Twain. The libretto combines part of the original text with alterations to satirize modern day Christianity and religious values in general. The story follows Reverend Stormfield as she arrives in Heaven and quickly learns that the locations and people she expected to see and meet are shockingly different. The journey takes her through comical scenarios and deeper philosophical dilemmas, and in the end she is left to confront her own disturbing past.
The musical elements of the operetta include traditional and octatonic scales, twelve- tone rows and set theory based on the overriding intervallic relationship of the perfect fourth. The sets implemented as motivic ideas: 0-1-4-5, 0-1-6-7, and 0-2-5-7 are based on the perfect fourth and serve as the framework for many of the melodic ideas. The instruments provide an accompanimental role often incorporating melodic fragmentation and contrapuntal textures and techniques. Instrumental solos are featured prominently in arias and the instrumental interludes between scenes.
flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and double bass. The work’s approximate length is 40 minutes. The libretto is written by the composer and based on the short story by Mark Twain titled “Captain Stormfield Goes to Heaven.” The short story features the typical biting sarcasm of Mark Twain. The libretto combines part of the original text with alterations to satirize modern day Christianity and religious values in general. The story follows Reverend Stormfield as she arrives in Heaven and quickly learns that the locations and people she expected to see and meet are shockingly different. The journey takes her through comical scenarios and deeper philosophical dilemmas, and in the end she is left to confront her own disturbing past.
The musical elements of the operetta include traditional and octatonic scales, twelve- tone rows and set theory based on the overriding intervallic relationship of the perfect fourth. The sets implemented as motivic ideas: 0-1-4-5, 0-1-6-7, and 0-2-5-7 are based on the perfect fourth and serve as the framework for many of the melodic ideas. The instruments provide an accompanimental role often incorporating melodic fragmentation and contrapuntal textures and techniques. Instrumental solos are featured prominently in arias and the instrumental interludes between scenes.
ContributorsSakamoto, Dale Toshio (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Bruegel is a four movement composition inspired by the paintings and engravings of Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569). It is scored for Bass Clarinet in Bb, Electric Guitar, One Percussionist (Glockenspiel, Woodblock, Snare, Kick Drum, and Brake Drums), Piano and String Quartet. Each movement explores a painting or engraving from Bruegel’s catalog of works and attempts to embody each piece of art through the use of certain compositional techniques.
The Cripples (Movement I) explores layered rhythms and disjunct melodic fragments which play on the idea of Bruegel’s painting of crippled men trampling over each other and stumbling. Small moments of balance are found throughout only to be lost. Patience (Movement II) is based on an early engraving of Bruegel, which depicts a lone woman who represents a virtue, in this case patience, surrounded by sin and vices. Juxtaposed textures are presented with patience eventually finding itself victorious to temptation. Children’s Games (Movement III) explores a painting which depicts a large number of children playing a plethora of different games. The movement uses graphic notation and plays with the idea of games to create a compositional “game” for the ensemble. Big Fish Eat Little Fish (Movement IV) depicts a large fish eating several smaller fish. A process is introduced which plays on the idea of increasing density and lasts for the bulk of the movement.
The Cripples (Movement I) explores layered rhythms and disjunct melodic fragments which play on the idea of Bruegel’s painting of crippled men trampling over each other and stumbling. Small moments of balance are found throughout only to be lost. Patience (Movement II) is based on an early engraving of Bruegel, which depicts a lone woman who represents a virtue, in this case patience, surrounded by sin and vices. Juxtaposed textures are presented with patience eventually finding itself victorious to temptation. Children’s Games (Movement III) explores a painting which depicts a large number of children playing a plethora of different games. The movement uses graphic notation and plays with the idea of games to create a compositional “game” for the ensemble. Big Fish Eat Little Fish (Movement IV) depicts a large fish eating several smaller fish. A process is introduced which plays on the idea of increasing density and lasts for the bulk of the movement.
ContributorsVillalta, Kevin (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, musicologists have been delving into formerly inaccessible archives and publishing new research on Eastern Bloc composers. Much of the English-language scholarship, however, has focused on already well-known composers from Russia or Poland. In contrast, composers from smaller countries such as the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia) have been neglected. In this thesis, I shed light on the new music scene in Czechoslovakia from 1948–1989, specifically during the period of “Normalization” (1969–1989).
The period of Normalization followed a cultural thaw, and beginning in 1969 the Czechoslovak government attempted to restore control. Many Czech and Slovak citizens kept their opinions private to avoid punishment, but some voiced their opinions and faced repression, while others chose to leave the country. In this thesis, I explore how two Czech composers, Marek Kopelent (b. 1932) and Petr Kotík (b. 1942) came to terms with writing music before and during the period of Normalization.
The period of Normalization followed a cultural thaw, and beginning in 1969 the Czechoslovak government attempted to restore control. Many Czech and Slovak citizens kept their opinions private to avoid punishment, but some voiced their opinions and faced repression, while others chose to leave the country. In this thesis, I explore how two Czech composers, Marek Kopelent (b. 1932) and Petr Kotík (b. 1942) came to terms with writing music before and during the period of Normalization.
ContributorsJohnson, Victoria K (Author) / Feisst, Sabine (Thesis advisor) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
A New Home is a multi-movement musical composition written for a chamber orchestra of flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, trombone, bass trombone, percussion (1), pianoforte, and strings. The duration of the entire piece is approximately fourteen minutes (movement 1: four minutes; mvt. 2: four minutes and thirty seconds; mvt. 3: five minutes and thirty seconds). As an exercise in compositional experimentation, some of the musical techniques explored throughout the piece are harmonic planing or parallelism, ostinati, modality, chromatic dissonance, thematic transformation, mixed meter, and syncopation, as well as issues of orchestral blend, balance, and color.
The first movement, ironically titled “Don’t Panic,” highlights my initial anxieties on experimentation by creating hectic textures. The movement is structured around two main alternating sections of chromatic, chordal dissonance with more modal, melodic syncopation in addition to a developmental section, but a sense of rhythmic groove is prominent throughout. The second movement, “Still Here,” is a darker, more sensitive music as it explores various settings of its main thematic material interspersed with march-like episodes and a related secondary theme. The themes are organized around a diatonic scale that omits one pitch to comprise a six-note scale. The third movement, “Change of State,” recalls the modality and rhythmic liveliness of the first movement, and it bears a thematic relationship to the second movement. Much of the material also revolves around scales and mediant relationships to comprise an opening theme, a groove section, and an ethereal, glassy texture which ends the movement. Essentially, the piece closes with a calmer music in contrast to the brute force that opened the piece.
The first movement, ironically titled “Don’t Panic,” highlights my initial anxieties on experimentation by creating hectic textures. The movement is structured around two main alternating sections of chromatic, chordal dissonance with more modal, melodic syncopation in addition to a developmental section, but a sense of rhythmic groove is prominent throughout. The second movement, “Still Here,” is a darker, more sensitive music as it explores various settings of its main thematic material interspersed with march-like episodes and a related secondary theme. The themes are organized around a diatonic scale that omits one pitch to comprise a six-note scale. The third movement, “Change of State,” recalls the modality and rhythmic liveliness of the first movement, and it bears a thematic relationship to the second movement. Much of the material also revolves around scales and mediant relationships to comprise an opening theme, a groove section, and an ethereal, glassy texture which ends the movement. Essentially, the piece closes with a calmer music in contrast to the brute force that opened the piece.
ContributorsJones, Zachary William (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra created the character of Don Quixote in his book El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, published in 1605. Since its creation, stories from the book have been reimagined in art, in literature and in music. Frequently, Cervantes – the man and author – and Quixote – the novel’s protagonist and hero – have been inextricably linked in character. Subsequent adaptors of the novel have been influenced by this connection: composers Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) and Mitch Leigh (1928-2014) all wrote their own versions of the Quixote saga. Though their approaches to the story are varied, the basic characteristics of it remain: Love, Life and Dreams. Those themes are reflected in the old knight’s death scene in each of their respective works. Here, the lives of the adaptors are briefly discussed and a dramatic and musical (Schenkerian), analysis of Quixote’s last hours are presented.
ContributorsKim, Se Hoon (Author) / Britton, David (Thesis advisor) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
ABSTRACT
The path to producing a Broadway Musical is not easily trod, and in the case of A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder, the journey was filled with rewrites (the title of the show went from Kind Hearts And Coronets to The Truth About Monty and finally became A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder), cast changes (only one member of the show that is currently running on Broadway was with the show in its original form), multiple producers, and a lawsuit. Through it all, the musical's creator, Steven Lutvak, a well-known songwriter and cabaret artist who is one of the most sought after vocal coaches in NY, navigated these hurdles by throwing himself at the process whole-heartedly. In creating A Gentlemen's Guide To Love and Murder, Lutvak labored ardently through the process: making the necessary musical and textual changes, creating opportunities to showcase his work, enticing producers and, when he wasn't putting up his own money, locating the financing to fund the production, including taking on the enormous cost of a lawsuit. In this paper, I will present the musical and personal development of Lutvak in his journey to and in creating and composing the successful Broadway musical A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder. I will focus specifically the legal and administrative difficulties associated with obtaining the rights for the production, in order to support the argument that these struggles shaped and transformed the production into the artistic and commercial success seen on Broadway, and across the country on its 2015 national tour. Methodologically, this paper is part assisted memoir, part textual analysis, and part insider observations, substantiated with court documentation and published reviews of Lutvak's work.
The path to producing a Broadway Musical is not easily trod, and in the case of A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder, the journey was filled with rewrites (the title of the show went from Kind Hearts And Coronets to The Truth About Monty and finally became A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder), cast changes (only one member of the show that is currently running on Broadway was with the show in its original form), multiple producers, and a lawsuit. Through it all, the musical's creator, Steven Lutvak, a well-known songwriter and cabaret artist who is one of the most sought after vocal coaches in NY, navigated these hurdles by throwing himself at the process whole-heartedly. In creating A Gentlemen's Guide To Love and Murder, Lutvak labored ardently through the process: making the necessary musical and textual changes, creating opportunities to showcase his work, enticing producers and, when he wasn't putting up his own money, locating the financing to fund the production, including taking on the enormous cost of a lawsuit. In this paper, I will present the musical and personal development of Lutvak in his journey to and in creating and composing the successful Broadway musical A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder. I will focus specifically the legal and administrative difficulties associated with obtaining the rights for the production, in order to support the argument that these struggles shaped and transformed the production into the artistic and commercial success seen on Broadway, and across the country on its 2015 national tour. Methodologically, this paper is part assisted memoir, part textual analysis, and part insider observations, substantiated with court documentation and published reviews of Lutvak's work.
ContributorsShepherd, Tregoney (Author) / Britton, David (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Since 1999, a small group of groundbreaking orchestral works for turntables and orchestra has surfaced on the concert stage. These compositions explore the possibilities of the turntables and invite an intriguing fusion of musical cultures of the classically trained musician and the hip-hop DJ. Since DJ turntablists typically follow an improvised tradition and do not read music, the composer must find an effective means of notating the turntables and collaborate with the turntablist in the execution of the work. As interest in turntables composition grows, there is a need for discussion and a compositional guide with advice based on present day works. In effort to contribute a guide for turntablism composition, my research includes a historical and composer perspective that discusses turntables techniques, operation of the equipment, digital technology, hip-hop background, history of the instrument, and works of the past and present with musical excerpts pertaining to the notation and use of the turntables. Specific sources include: RPM by Nicole Lizée, Concerto for Trumpet, Turntables, and Orchestra by Paul Leary, Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra by Gabriel Prokofiev, and Stephen Webber's turntable method book The Art of the DJ Turntable Technique. Interviews with composers Prokofiev, Lizée, and Leary have provided important primary source information regarding their experience with turntablism composition and performance. Unrelated to the above research and attached as an appendix, my composition Andrew's Ritual for Bedtime for chamber orchestra is a single movement for choreographed dance that depicts a mother preparing her energetic young son for bed. The title references the nightly rituals parents undertake in order to prepare their children for bedtime.
ContributorsOuper, Jeffrey Thomas (Author) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Thesis advisor) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born July 18, 1918 into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. Mandela was a lawyer by trade and a freedom fighter who envisioned freedom and equality for all South Africans regardless of race. In 1965, Mandela was imprisoned at Robben Island for twenty-seven years for treason and terrorist activities against the South African apartheid regime: he was assigned prison numbers 46664. In 1992, Mandela was released from prison and two years later not only became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, but also its first black president. "Madiba 46664" is an eight-minute chamber work scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, and bassoon; vibraphone, and two percussionists; piano; violins, violas, and celli. The work blends traditional South African rhythms of the drumming culture with elements of Western harmony and form in contrasting textures of homophony, polyphony and antiphony. "Madiba 46664" utilizes Mandela's prison number, birthdate and age (at the time the composition process began in 2013) for the initial generation of meter, rhythm, harmony, melody, and form. The work also shares intercultural concepts that can be seen in the works of three contemporary African composers, South Africans Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph and Andile Khumalo, and Nigerian Ayo Oluranti. Each section represents a period of Mandela's life as a freedom fighter, a prisoner, and a president. The inspiration stems from the composer's discussions with Mandela soon after his release from prison and prior to his presidency. These lively discussions pertained to the state of traditional music in then apartheid South Africa and led to this creation. The conversations also played a role in the creative process.
ContributorsMabingnai, Collette Sipho (Composer) / DeMars, James (Thesis advisor) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014