Matching Items (8)
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- All Subjects: Song cycles
- All Subjects: Composers
- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
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
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
Emily Dickinson is a well-known American poet of the nineteenth century, and her oeuvre consists of nearly 2,000 posthumously published poems. Written largely in hymn form with unique ideas of punctuation and grammar, her poetry attracts composers with its inherent musicality. The twentieth-century American composers Aaron Copland, Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty have created song settings of Dickinson's poetry. Copland's song cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1949-50) is admired by many as an illustration of poetry; however, the Dickinson cycles by Bacon, Hoiby, and Getty are also valuable, lesser-known representations of her writing. Settings of one poem, "There came a Wind like a Bugle--", are common among Copland's Twelve Poems, Bacon's cycle Songs from Emily Dickinson: Nature, Time, and Space (1930), Hoiby's Four Dickinson Songs (1988), and Getty's The White Election (1982). These latter three settings have previously undergone some theoretical analysis; however, this paper considers a performance analysis of these songs from a singer's point of view. Chapter 1 provides background for this study. Chapter 2 consists of a biographical overview of Dickinson's life and writing style, as well as a brief literary analysis of "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty, respectively; each chapter consists of a short biography of the composer and a discussion of his writing style, a brief theoretical analysis of his song setting, and commentary on the merits of his setting from the point of view of a singer. Observations of the depiction of mood in the song and challenges for the singer are also noted. This paper provides a comparative analysis of three solo vocal settings of one Emily Dickinson poem as a guide for singers who wish to begin studying song settings of this poem. The Bacon and Hoiby settings were found to be lyrical, tonal representations of the imagery presented in "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". The Getty setting was found to be a musically starker representation of the poem's atmosphere. These settings are distinctive and worthy of study and performance.
ContributorsCastellone, Amanda Beth (Author) / Doan, Jerry (Thesis advisor) / Kopta, Anne E (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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
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
Samuel Máynez Prince (1886-1966), was a prolific and important Mexican musician. Prince’s musical style followed the trends of the nineteenth-century salon music genre. His compositions include lullabies, songs, dances, marches, mazurkas, waltzes, and revolutionary anthems. Prince’s social status and performances in the famed Café Colón in Mexico City increased his popularity among high-ranking political figures during the time of the Mexican Revolution as well as his status in the Mexican music scene.
Unfortunately there is virtually no existing scholarship on Prince and even basic information regarding his life and works is not readily available. The lack of organization of the manuscript scores and the absence of dates of his works has further pushed the composer into obscurity. An investigation therefore was necessary in order to explore the neglected aspects of the life and works of Prince as a violinist and composer. This document is the result of such an investigation by including extensive new biographical information, as well as the first musical analysis and edition of the complete recovered works for violin and piano.
In order to fill the gaps present in the limited biographical information regarding Prince’s life, investigative research was conducted in Mexico City. Information was drawn from archives of the composer’s grandchildren, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de México, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. The surviving relatives provided first-hand details on events in the composer’s life; one also offered the researcher access to their personal archive including, important life documents, photographs, programs from concert performances, and manuscript scores of the compositions. Establishing connections with the relatives also led the researcher to examining the violins owned and used by the late violinist/composer.
This oral history approach led to new and updated information, including the revival of previously unpublished music for violin and piano. These works are here compiled in an edition that will give students, teachers, and music-lovers access to this unknown repertoire. Finally, this research seeks to promote the beauty and nuances of Mexican salon music, and the complete works for violin and piano of Samuel Máynez Prince in particular.
Unfortunately there is virtually no existing scholarship on Prince and even basic information regarding his life and works is not readily available. The lack of organization of the manuscript scores and the absence of dates of his works has further pushed the composer into obscurity. An investigation therefore was necessary in order to explore the neglected aspects of the life and works of Prince as a violinist and composer. This document is the result of such an investigation by including extensive new biographical information, as well as the first musical analysis and edition of the complete recovered works for violin and piano.
In order to fill the gaps present in the limited biographical information regarding Prince’s life, investigative research was conducted in Mexico City. Information was drawn from archives of the composer’s grandchildren, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de México, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. The surviving relatives provided first-hand details on events in the composer’s life; one also offered the researcher access to their personal archive including, important life documents, photographs, programs from concert performances, and manuscript scores of the compositions. Establishing connections with the relatives also led the researcher to examining the violins owned and used by the late violinist/composer.
This oral history approach led to new and updated information, including the revival of previously unpublished music for violin and piano. These works are here compiled in an edition that will give students, teachers, and music-lovers access to this unknown repertoire. Finally, this research seeks to promote the beauty and nuances of Mexican salon music, and the complete works for violin and piano of Samuel Máynez Prince in particular.
ContributorsEkenes, Spencer Arvin (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Jiang, Danwen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
In My Dreams is a song cycle for mezzo-soprano, narrator, and piano, based on the poetry of survivors of childhood sex trafficking. It was created to raise awareness of trafficking through music and poetry through the expression of individual dreams and voices. In My Dreams recounts the devastating loss of childhood and celebrates empowering words of survival. The poetry was collected in poetry workshops held in Calcutta and Delhi India in January 2009. After the poems were selected, translated, and edited, composer Dr. Gerard Yun set them to music. This document outlines the process of creating and performing this unique humanitarian cycle. It also includes the full score, poetry, and composer's notes. Topics discussed include: experiences in finding and collecting poetry; collaboration with the composer, Dr. Gerard Yun; form and structure of the cycle; how each piece was molded to give voice to its inspired poem. Every song is analyzed from both a musical and performance perspective to give an account of the challenges and triumphs of the work and the process of undertaking it, as well as a better understanding of the background leading to its composition.
ContributorsGlenn, Melissa Walker (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Pritchard, Melissa (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
The purpose of this study was to: (1) record and describe a brief history of the life and career of Bolivian composer Dr. Nicolás Suárez Eyzaguirre, and (2) write an analysis from a vocal performer's perspective of Suárez's song cycle for soprano and piano, Monólogos del Desierto, with texts by Dr. Guillermo Mariaca Iturri.
In August of 2013, I traveled to La Paz, Cochabamba, and Coroico, Bolivia, with translator Dr. Marie Cooper Hoffman for thirteen days in order to conduct interviews with Suárez, his family, his colleagues, his composition professors, and other professional musicians. In addition to both in-person and e-mail interviews, I reviewed television productions, videos, and newspaper/magazine articles that featured interviews with Suárez and/or reviews of his works. Also, I familiarized myself with Suárez's compositional style by performing a leading role in the 2011 world premiere of his opera El Compadre; collecting and listening to as many recordings of his works as I could find; and reading the transcript of Suárez's Doctor of Musical Arts Lecture Recital. For this study, I focused specifically on the compositional style of his three-song cycle Monólogos del Desierto. A performance of the work will be part of my defense of this paper.
In August of 2013, I traveled to La Paz, Cochabamba, and Coroico, Bolivia, with translator Dr. Marie Cooper Hoffman for thirteen days in order to conduct interviews with Suárez, his family, his colleagues, his composition professors, and other professional musicians. In addition to both in-person and e-mail interviews, I reviewed television productions, videos, and newspaper/magazine articles that featured interviews with Suárez and/or reviews of his works. Also, I familiarized myself with Suárez's compositional style by performing a leading role in the 2011 world premiere of his opera El Compadre; collecting and listening to as many recordings of his works as I could find; and reading the transcript of Suárez's Doctor of Musical Arts Lecture Recital. For this study, I focused specifically on the compositional style of his three-song cycle Monólogos del Desierto. A performance of the work will be part of my defense of this paper.
ContributorsStanford, Allison (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015