Matching Items (30)
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- All Subjects: Songs (High voice) with piano
- All Subjects: performing arts
- Creators: Mills, Robert
- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
Description
Arnold Schoenberg's 1908-09 song cycle, Das Buch der hängenden Gärten [The Book of the Hanging Gardens], opus 15, represents one of his most decisive early steps into the realm of musical modernism. In the midst of personal and artistic crises, Schoenberg set texts by Stefan George in a style he called "pantonality," and described his composition as radically new. Though stylistically progressive, however, Schoenberg's musical achievement had certain ideologically conservative roots: the composer numbered among turn-of-the-century Viennese artists and thinkers whose opposition to the conventional and the popular--in favor of artistic autonomy and creativity--concealed a reactionary misogyny. A critical reading of Hanging Gardens through the lens of gender reveals that Schoenberg, like many of his contemporaries, incorporated strong frauenfeindlich [anti-women] elements into his work, through his modernist account of artistic creativity, his choice of texts, and his musical settings. Although elements of Hanging Gardens' atonal music suggest that Schoenberg valued gendered-feminine principles in his compositional style, a closer analysis of the work's musical language shows an intact masculinist hegemony. Through his deployment of uncanny tonal reminiscences, underlying tonal gestures, and closed forms in Hanging Gardens, Schoenberg ensures that the feminine-associated "excesses" of atonality remain under masculine control. This study draws upon the critical musicology of Susan McClary while arguing that Schoenberg's music is socially contingent, affected by the gender biases of his social and literary milieux. It addresses likely influences on Schoenberg's worldview including the philosophy of Otto Weininger, Freudian psychoanalysis, and a complex web of personal relationships. Finally, this analysis highlights the relevance of Schoenberg's world and its constructions of gender to modern performance practice, and argues that performers must consider interrelated historical, textual, and musical factors when interpreting Hanging Gardens in new contexts.
ContributorsGinger, Kerry Anne (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Mook, Richard (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Libby Larsen is one of the most performed and acclaimed composers today. She is a spirited, compelling, and sensitive composer whose music enhances the poetry of America's most prominent authors. Notable among her works are song cycles for soprano based on the poetry of female writers, among them novelist and poet Willa Cather (1873-1947). Larsen has produced two song cycles on works from Cather's substantial output of fiction: one based on Cather's short story, "Eric Hermannson's Soul," titled Margaret Songs: Three Songs from Willa Cather (1996); and later, My Antonia (2000), based on Cather's novel of the same title. In Margaret Songs, Cather's poetry and short stories--specifically the character of Margaret Elliot--combine with Larsen's unique compositional style to create a surprising collaboration. This study explores how Larsen in these songs delves into the emotional and psychological depths of Margaret's character, not fully formed by Cather. It is only through Larsen's music and Cather's poetry that Margaret's journey through self-discovery and love become fully realized. This song cycle is a glimpse through the eyes of two prominent female artists on the societal pressures placed upon Margaret's character, many of which still resonate with women in today's culture. This study examines the work Margaret Songs by discussing Willa Cather, her musical influences, and the conditions surrounding the writing of "Eric Hermannson's Soul." It looks also into Cather's influence on Libby Larsen and the commission leading to Margaret Songs. Finally, a description of the musical, dramatic, and textual content of the songs completes this interpretation of the interactions of Willa Cather, Libby Larsen, and the character of Margaret Elliot.
ContributorsMcLain, Christi Marie (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
ContributorsDeMaris, Brian (Performer) / DeMaris, Amanda (Performer) / Weiss, Stephanie (Performer) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Performer) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Performer) / Pitman, Andrea (Performer) / Yatso, Toby (Performer) / Hawkins, Gordon (Performer) / Sabrowsky, Kaitlyn (Performer) / Bruley, Billie (Performer) / Sadownik, Stephanie (Performer) / Myers, Nathan De' Shon (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2022-09-11
ContributorsYekel, Amy Louise (Performer) / Mills, Robert (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2006-04-30
ContributorsPopham, Deborah (Performer) / Jones, Jeffrey (Performer) / Mills, Robert (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2012-09-21
ContributorsJones, Jennifer (Performer) / Mills, Robert (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2014-04-28
ContributorsJensen, Kristin (Performer) / Jiang, Qing (Performer) / Frank, Elijah (Performer) / Mills, Robert (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2004-11-18
Description
Temporal Mandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) and Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD) are presently two of the most common vocal disorders in the world. These disorders can wreak havoc in anyone’s life; but are incredibly destructive in the lives of singers. When a classically-trained singer begins to notice problems in his or her voice, they typically go to their favored Professional Voice Instructor (PVI) for help. However, not all PVIs are familiar with these disorders and their symptoms, and what starts as a sincere wish to help their student can end with injury instead. This study surveys PVIs to determine what they know and do not know about TMD and MTD and if they have worked with medical professionals -- otolaryngologists and Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) - to assist their students. The study poses the questions of how prevalent the knowledge and treatments of TMD and MTD are with PVIs and how open PVIs are to ongoing education about these disorders. Included in this document is a brief summary of each disorder with illustrations as well as opinions from a Speech Language Pathologist.
ContributorsOsman, Amanda Marie (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Workmon-Larsen, Megan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Ben Moore’s So Free Am I is a fascinating, yet little known song cycle addressing feminist concerns. This work consists of seven settings of poems by women, namely Amy Lowell, Katherine Philips, Anna Wickham, Dorothy Parker, and Muriel Rukeyser. It also features settings of texts by two anonymous 6th-century Buddhist nuns, which are translated into English by Uma Chakravarti and Kumkum Roy. The texts are diverse and all speak to the courage and dignity of women in the face of oppression. In this case study and performance guide, one of the primary purposes is to show how the poets’ lives and adversities inform their texts, and thus offers engagement for musical interpretation.
After a brief introduction of composer Ben Moore and his song cycle, each poet and text is discussed, providing biographical summaries and general interpretations of each poet’s text. What follows is a detailed reading of the text, illuminated by the poet’s particular life experiences. In the case of every text setting, the compositional interpretation was decidedly enhanced by the perspective of the poet, which could not be ascertained without the research into that particular poet’s life. I also offer a performance guide for selected songs, numbers I, III, and VII, which Moore recommends as an effective small set for performance. Finally, I hope that this study of Moore’s song cycle and the biographical sketches of each poet will be of help in the advancement women’s rights and to combat the oppression of women. It is further hoped that this study will encourage the performance of these songs and therefore lend these otherwise marginalized women a voice.
ContributorsHatch, Michelle Broadbent (Author) / Hawkins, Gordon (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
ContributorsThilakaratne, Katherine (Performer) / Mills, Robert (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2016-04-04