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- All Subjects: American History
Description
As an organist, church musician, and educator, Clifford Demarest (1874-1946) was a prominent figure in New York during the first half of the twentieth century. However, prior to this thesis, Demarest's place within the history of American music, like that of many of his contemporaries, was all but neglected. This research reveals Clifford Demarest as an influential figure in American musical history from around 1900 to his retirement in 1937. Led by contemporary accounts, I trace Demarest's musical influence through his three musical careers: professional organist, church musician, and educator. As a prominent figure in the fledgling American Guild of Organists, Demarest was dedicated to the unification of its members and the artistic legitimacy of the organist profession. As the organist and choir director of the Church of the Messiah, later the Community Church of New York (1911-1946, inclusive), Demarest played an integral part in the liberal atmosphere fostered by the congregation's minister, John Haynes Holmes (1879-1964). Together Holmes and Demarest directly influenced the nascent National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and supported luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. Influential figures such as Langston Hughes (1902-1967), Augustus Granville Dill (1881-1956), Egbert Ethelred Brown (1875-1956), and Countee Cullen (1903-1946) were inspired by the liberal environment in the Church of the Messiah; however, prior to this research, their connections to the church were unexplored. As the music supervisor of Tenafly High School and later, for the state of New Jersey, Demarest influenced countless students through his passion for music. His compositions for student orchestras are among the earliest to elevate the artistic standards of school music ensembles during the first four decades of the twentieth century. Archival sources such as church records, letters, and newspaper editorials, are synthesized with current research to characterize Demarest's place in these three professional orbits of the early twentieth century. His story also represents those of countless other working musicians from his era that have been forgotten. Therefore, this research opens an important new research field – a window into the dynamic world of the American organist.
ContributorsHicks, Glen W (Author) / Saucier, Catherine (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
ContributorsSkoldberg, Phyllis (Performer) / Constantinides, Dinos (Performer) / Tse, Miriam (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created1991-01-17
Description
The bass clarinet, developed almost a century after the soprano clarinet, isrelatively young compared to many modern instruments and consequently possesses a
comparatively small repertoire. Until the mid-20th century, composers did not view the
bass clarinet as a solo instrument and instead perceived it as cumbersome due to its low
pitch and predominant use as an accompaniment instrument, resulting in a dearth of solo
repertory for the bass clarinet before this time. Bass clarinetists desiring to perform
repertoire from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods must then appropriate
music from other instruments. Through this study, I identify and detail a process for
creating informed transcriptions of music for the bass clarinet to increase its body of solo
and chamber literature. I examine the original scores and existing transcriptions of
Concerto in C minor by Henri Casadesus (attributed to Johann Christian Bach) for cello,
Bassoon Concerto Op. 75 by Carl Maria von Weber, Trios, Hob. IV:1-4 “London Trios”
by Joseph Haydn, Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 by Max Bruch, and Clarinet Concerto in A Major,
K. 622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to identify methods for the transcription process. I
compare this to the transcription process for other instruments through examination of the
Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120, Nos. 1 and 2 by Johannes Brahms, which were transcribed
from clarinet to viola by the composer himself. In this document, I discuss the historical
background of the selected pieces, the selection process, editing considerations,
performance practice, and the usage of transcriptions as a pedagogical tool. Although
transcriptions for the bass clarinet already exist, appropriation of music from other
instruments will continue to supplement and diversify its repertoire. These pieces serve to
develop important technical and musical skills and allow the bass clarinetist to play
music across various style periods. In this project, I select and transcribe three pieces for
the bass clarinet: Sonata for Cello No. 1 in F Major by Benedetto Marcello, Grand
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Serenade in F
minor, Op. 73, by Robert Kahn. The transcribed scores are included in the appendices of
this document.
comparatively small repertoire. Until the mid-20th century, composers did not view the
bass clarinet as a solo instrument and instead perceived it as cumbersome due to its low
pitch and predominant use as an accompaniment instrument, resulting in a dearth of solo
repertory for the bass clarinet before this time. Bass clarinetists desiring to perform
repertoire from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods must then appropriate
music from other instruments. Through this study, I identify and detail a process for
creating informed transcriptions of music for the bass clarinet to increase its body of solo
and chamber literature. I examine the original scores and existing transcriptions of
Concerto in C minor by Henri Casadesus (attributed to Johann Christian Bach) for cello,
Bassoon Concerto Op. 75 by Carl Maria von Weber, Trios, Hob. IV:1-4 “London Trios”
by Joseph Haydn, Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 by Max Bruch, and Clarinet Concerto in A Major,
K. 622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to identify methods for the transcription process. I
compare this to the transcription process for other instruments through examination of the
Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120, Nos. 1 and 2 by Johannes Brahms, which were transcribed
from clarinet to viola by the composer himself. In this document, I discuss the historical
background of the selected pieces, the selection process, editing considerations,
performance practice, and the usage of transcriptions as a pedagogical tool. Although
transcriptions for the bass clarinet already exist, appropriation of music from other
instruments will continue to supplement and diversify its repertoire. These pieces serve to
develop important technical and musical skills and allow the bass clarinetist to play
music across various style periods. In this project, I select and transcribe three pieces for
the bass clarinet: Sonata for Cello No. 1 in F Major by Benedetto Marcello, Grand
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Serenade in F
minor, Op. 73, by Robert Kahn. The transcribed scores are included in the appendices of
this document.
ContributorsMyones, Zachary Roberts (Author) / Spring, Robert S (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua T (Thesis advisor) / Humphreys, Jere T (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell R (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Although one finds much scholarship on nineteenth-century music in America, one finds relatively little about music in the post-Civil-War frontier west. Generalities concerning small frontier towns of regional importance remain to be discovered. This paper aims to contribute to scholarship by chronicling musical life in the early years of two such towns in northern Arizona territory: Prescott and Flagstaff. Prescott, adjacent to Fort Whipple, was founded in 1864 to serve as capital of the new territory. Primarily home to soldiers and miners, the town was subject to many challenges of frontier life. Flagstaff, ninety miles to the north-northwest, was founded about two decades later in 1883 during the building of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, which connected the town to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the east and southern California in the west. Although the particular resources of each town provided many different musical opportunities, extant newspaper articles from Prescott's Arizona Miner and Flagstaff's Arizona Champion describe communities in which musical concerts, dances and theatrical performances provided entertainment and socializing for its citizens. Furthermore, music was an important part of developing institutions such as the church, schools, and fraternal lodges, and the newspapers of both towns advertised musical instruments and sheet music. Both towns were home to amateur musicians, and both offered the occasional opportunity to learn to dance or play an instrument. Although territorial Arizona was sometimes harsh and resources were limited, music was valued in these communities and was a consistent presence in frontier life.
ContributorsJohnson, Amber V (Author) / Oldani, Robert W. (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011