Matching Items (18)
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- All Subjects: performing arts
- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
Description
There are a significant number of musical compositions for violin by composers who used folk songs and dances of various cultures in their music, including works by George Enescu, Béla Bartók and György Ligeti. Less known are pieces that draw on the plethora of melodies and rhythms from Turkey. The purpose of this paper is to help performers become more familiar with two such compositions: Fazil Say's Sonata for Violin and Piano and Cleopatra for Solo Violin. Fazil Say (b. 1970) is considered to be a significant, contemporary Turkish composer. Both of the works discussed in this document simulate traditional "Eastern" instruments, such as the kemenҫe, the baðlama, the kanun and the ud. Additionally, both pieces use themes from folk melodies of Turkey, Turkish dance rhythms and Arabian scales, all framed within traditional structural techniques, such as ostinato bass and the fughetta. Both the Sonata for Violin and Piano and Cleopatra are enormously expressive and musically interesting works, demanding virtuosity and a wide technical range. Although this document does not purport to be a full theoretical analysis, by providing biographical information, analytical descriptions, notes regarding interpretation, and suggestions to assist performers in overcoming technical obstacles, the writer hopes to inspire other violinists to consider learning and performing these works.
ContributorsKalantzi, Panagiota (Author) / Jiang, Danwen (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Rotaru, Catalin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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
From the time it was written, the aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia has been performed and ornamented in many different ways. The present study is an inventory and analysis of ornaments sung in 33 recordings from 1900 to 2011 and the major differences that they exhibit one from another. The singers in this study are baritones with international careers, who have performed the role of Figaro either at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) or at La Scala (Milan). The study identifies and tracks some of the changes in the ornamentation of the aria by noting common traits and new approaches across the one hundred eleven years of practice illustrated by the recordings.
ContributorsBriggs, Andrew Nathan (Author) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The legacy of the great double bassist and pedagogue Joseph Prunner (1886-1969) includes his scale and arpeggio exercise book, Progressive Studies for the Double Bass, composed in 1955. Progressive Studies was originally written for Prunner's students at the Bucharest Conservatoire and was not intended for a wide publication. In the work Prunner presents major and harmonic and melodic minor scales that are performed in one octave and then extended diatonically through all their modes, progressing through this pattern for three octaves, followed by a series of arpeggio exercises. These exercises are based on a modernized fingering system and are offered in the traditional positions and in what Prunner called "Fixed-Position" scales. A series of chromatic scale exercises are also included that follow the template of the major and minor scales. The study at hand is a revision and expansion of Prunner's work. The edition presented here intends to preserve the information that Prunner provided, fix the errors made in editing, and expand the study greatly by increasing the range of the exercises, providing more arpeggio exercises, creating melodic and harmonic minor "Fixed-Position" scales and arpeggio exercises, and including the study of double-stops. In support of the revised and updated version of Progressive Studies, this study includes a biography of Joseph Prunner and a summary of the importance of the type of scale and arpeggio practice the collection of exercises supports. An explanation of the revisions made to Prunner's work and recommendations for using the exercises also precede the new edition.
ContributorsStotz, Daniel Aaron (Author) / Rotaru, Catalin (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Kennedy, Jeffery (Committee member) / Koonce, Frank (Committee member) / Landschoot, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The two solo violin works by Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) have been largely overlooked since their composition in the 1920s. These pieces are representative of Nielsen's mature style, combining elements of classical form (the Theme and Variations) as well as processes more commonly found in the twentieth century (through-composition and non-tonal harmonic language). This paper is designed to bring these long-neglected works to light and make them more approachable for violin students, teachers and performers. As Denmark's leading composer, Nielsen was well regarded in his lifetime, although his isolation from mainland Europe created obstacles in his path toward international fame. Rather than following trends in post-romantic music, he remained true to his own musical ideals. This choice often isolated him further during his career, but his unique blend of chromatic harmony, driving rhythms and juxtapositions of character captivates modern listeners. Although small in scope compared to his symphonies and other large works, the enthusiastic spirit and indomitable energy of the solo violin works reflect Nielsen's character at its best. Combining a high level of virtuosity with solid structural integrity, textural variety and musical interest, these works deserve a much more prominent place in the standard violin repertoire.
ContributorsVallier, Michelle Mitchell (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Jiang, Danwen (Committee member) / Bailey, Wayne (Committee member) / Landschoot, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
A resurgence of the American art song is underway. New art song composers such as Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Georgia Stitt are writing engaging and challenging songs that are contributing to this resurgence of art song among college students. College and University musical theatre programs are training performers to be versatile and successful crossover artists. Cross-training in voice is training a performer to be capable of singing many different genres of music effectively and efficiently, which in turn creates a hybrid performer. Cross-training and hybridity can also be applied to musical styles. Hybrid songs that combine musical theatre elements and classical art song elements can be used as an educational tool and create awareness in musical theatre students about the American art song genre and its origins while fostering the need to learn about various styles of vocal repertoire.
American composers Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem influenced hybridity of classical and musical theatre genres by using their compositional knowledge of musicals and their classical studies to help create a new type of art song. In the past, academic institutions have been more accepting of composers whose careers began in classical music crossing between genres, rather than coming from a more popularized genre such as musical theatre into the classical world. Continued support in college vocal programs will only help the new hybrid form of American art song to thrive.
Trained as a classical pianist and having studied poetry and text setting, Georgia Stitt understands the song structure and poetry skills necessary to write a contemporary American art song. This document will examine several of Carol Kimball’s “Component of Style” elements, explore other American composers who have created a hybrid art song form and discuss the implementation of curriculum to create versatile singers. The study will focus on three of Georgia Stitt’s art songs that fit this hybrid style and conclude with a discussion about the future of hybridity in American art song.
American composers Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem influenced hybridity of classical and musical theatre genres by using their compositional knowledge of musicals and their classical studies to help create a new type of art song. In the past, academic institutions have been more accepting of composers whose careers began in classical music crossing between genres, rather than coming from a more popularized genre such as musical theatre into the classical world. Continued support in college vocal programs will only help the new hybrid form of American art song to thrive.
Trained as a classical pianist and having studied poetry and text setting, Georgia Stitt understands the song structure and poetry skills necessary to write a contemporary American art song. This document will examine several of Carol Kimball’s “Component of Style” elements, explore other American composers who have created a hybrid art song form and discuss the implementation of curriculum to create versatile singers. The study will focus on three of Georgia Stitt’s art songs that fit this hybrid style and conclude with a discussion about the future of hybridity in American art song.
ContributorsKlofach, Carrie Ann (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
ABSTRACT
This study will have three sections: 1) outlining the imperative need to include in-depth character study in the preparation of art-song performance; 2) addressing the insufficient theatrical equipping of young collegiate singers in leading undergraduate applied voice programs and its causes, and 3) suggesting methods to advance acting training in classical voice programs. The primary goal will be to improve art song performance pedagogy and the performer’s ability to emotionally communicate with the audience. The first section will demonstrate why character study is necessary in the preparation of a sound art song performance. The musical works used in this study will be Songs of Travel (1904) by Ralph Vaughan Williams and A Young Man’s Exhortation (1929) by Gerald Finzi. These works provide examples of the cycle type in which a single character moves forward through time during the course of the song cycle. The second section will investigate the inadequate instruction received by students in undergraduate voice programs, concerning character analysis, by gathering course requirements from a variety of public and private universities. It will also examine the accrediting bodies that dictate much of the standardized curriculum across the majority of music schools in the U. S. such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission. In the final section, a number of improvements will be suggested and examined according to their viability in training singers to convey both the musical and dramatic context found in the art song repertoire. The sources used in the course of this study include the scores (Boosey and Hawkes) of the aforementioned works, as well as published research on those works. Syllabi and curriculum checksheets from various university voice programs are also used to determine the required course requirements in contemporary applied voice degrees. The accrediting processes from bodies such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission are used in my assessment of obstacles that those processes may inadvertently present.
This study will have three sections: 1) outlining the imperative need to include in-depth character study in the preparation of art-song performance; 2) addressing the insufficient theatrical equipping of young collegiate singers in leading undergraduate applied voice programs and its causes, and 3) suggesting methods to advance acting training in classical voice programs. The primary goal will be to improve art song performance pedagogy and the performer’s ability to emotionally communicate with the audience. The first section will demonstrate why character study is necessary in the preparation of a sound art song performance. The musical works used in this study will be Songs of Travel (1904) by Ralph Vaughan Williams and A Young Man’s Exhortation (1929) by Gerald Finzi. These works provide examples of the cycle type in which a single character moves forward through time during the course of the song cycle. The second section will investigate the inadequate instruction received by students in undergraduate voice programs, concerning character analysis, by gathering course requirements from a variety of public and private universities. It will also examine the accrediting bodies that dictate much of the standardized curriculum across the majority of music schools in the U. S. such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission. In the final section, a number of improvements will be suggested and examined according to their viability in training singers to convey both the musical and dramatic context found in the art song repertoire. The sources used in the course of this study include the scores (Boosey and Hawkes) of the aforementioned works, as well as published research on those works. Syllabi and curriculum checksheets from various university voice programs are also used to determine the required course requirements in contemporary applied voice degrees. The accrediting processes from bodies such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission are used in my assessment of obstacles that those processes may inadvertently present.
ContributorsCarpenter, Donald Justin (Author) / Britton, David (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The repertoire for guitar and piano duo is small in comparison with other chamber music instrumentation; therefore, it is important to broaden this repertoire. In addition to creating original compositions, arrangements of existing works contribute to this expansion.
This project focuses on an arrangement of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), a work originally conceived for cello ensemble with a minimum of eight cellos. In order to contextualize the proposed arrangement, this study contains a brief historical listing of the repertoire for guitar and piano duo and of the guitar works by Villa-Lobos. Also, it includes a description of the Bachianas Brasileiras series and a discussion of the arranging methodology that shows how the original musical ideas of the composer were adapted using techniques that are idiomatic to the guitar and piano. The full arrangement is included in Appendix A.
This project focuses on an arrangement of Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), a work originally conceived for cello ensemble with a minimum of eight cellos. In order to contextualize the proposed arrangement, this study contains a brief historical listing of the repertoire for guitar and piano duo and of the guitar works by Villa-Lobos. Also, it includes a description of the Bachianas Brasileiras series and a discussion of the arranging methodology that shows how the original musical ideas of the composer were adapted using techniques that are idiomatic to the guitar and piano. The full arrangement is included in Appendix A.
ContributorsFigueiredo Bartoloni, Fabio (Author) / Koonce, Frank (Thesis advisor) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Landschoot, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Mark O'Connor's Fiddle concerto: Texas style fiddling, classical violin, and American string playing
Description
ABSTRACT
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
ContributorsYoungblood, Beth (Violinist) (Author) / Jiang, Danwen (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / McLin, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The notion that a singer’s voice is an expression of their personality serves as the catalyst for an examination of the relationship between the continuum of introversion and extraversion, and the pathologies of muscle tension dysphonia, vocal nodules, and performance anxiety. This paper begins with a brief introduction defining extraversion and introversion, followed by a review of personality studies identifying opera singers as primarily extraverted. Definitions of vocal nodules and muscle tension dysphonia are then given along with a list of recommended therapies. These elements tie in with two studies in speech pathology that suggest that behaviors of extraversion contribute to the development of vocal nodules, and behaviors of introversion contribute to muscle tension dysphonia and a higher laryngeal placement. Performance anxiety is shown to compound the behaviors that lead to vocal pathologies in singers. Additional therapies are recommended to address anxiety management in vocal lessons. Finally, since personality factors that contribute to vocal pathology are psychological, it is recommended that voice teachers refer their students to a psychotherapist for proper treatment.
ContributorsCurtis, Paul Josef (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Hawkins, Gordon (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017