Matching Items (6)
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Description
William Levi Dawson (1899-1990), director of the Tuskegee Institute Choir from 1931 to 1956, was one of the most important arrangers of Negro spirituals in the twentieth century. He is also remembered as an outstanding composer, conductor, speaker, and leader of festival choruses. His arrangements are still sung by choirs

William Levi Dawson (1899-1990), director of the Tuskegee Institute Choir from 1931 to 1956, was one of the most important arrangers of Negro spirituals in the twentieth century. He is also remembered as an outstanding composer, conductor, speaker, and leader of festival choruses. His arrangements are still sung by choirs all over the world. Save a small number of dissertations and various articles, however, very little has been written about him. In fact, almost no significant writing has been undertaken utilizing the Dawson papers held at the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Library at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. This study utilizes that collection in examining four areas of Dawson's life: his work as a composer, his work as an arranger of Negro spirituals, his work as a choral conductor and music pedagogue, and his life as an African American man living in segregated times. Dawson is shown as a thoughtful, deliberate practitioner of his art who built his career with intention, and who, through his various activities, sought both to affirm the traditional music of his people and to transcend his era's problems with the definitions, associations, and prejudices attached to the term "race." Using a diverse selection of letters, notes, and speeches held in the archive, it is possible to develop a fuller, more nuanced portrait of Dawson. Through a thorough examination of a select few of these documents, his growth can be traced from a young composer living in Chicago, to a college choral director dealing with the realities of racial inequality in the mid-twentieth century, to a seasoned, respected elder in his field, endeavoring to pass on to others knowledge of the music he spent his life arranging and teaching.
ContributorsHuff, Vernon Edward (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Many of the works of Dominick Argento have been researched and analyzed, but his choral work Evensong: Of Love and Angels s has received limited attention thus far. Written in memoriam for his wife Carolyn Bailey Argento, Evensong draws its musical material from her initials C.B.A. These letters, translated into

Many of the works of Dominick Argento have been researched and analyzed, but his choral work Evensong: Of Love and Angels s has received limited attention thus far. Written in memoriam for his wife Carolyn Bailey Argento, Evensong draws its musical material from her initials C.B.A. These letters, translated into note names, form a conspicuous head motive that is present in each movement of the work, and it serves multiple functions: as a melodic feature, as the foundation for a twelve-tone row, and as a harmonic base. This paper provides an overview of the work's conception with specific relation to Argento's biographical details, compositional style, and work habits; a brief review of the critical reception of the work; and a succinct analysis of the form and cyclical materials found in each movement.
ContributorsPage, Carrie Leigh, 1980- (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
This work explores the blurring and eradication of boundaries – whether the boundaries are musical, social, cultural, linguistical, or political. I wanted to create a work that would explore the boundaries of my own dual identities, such as Mexican or American, or masculine or feminine, and that of my varied

This work explores the blurring and eradication of boundaries – whether the boundaries are musical, social, cultural, linguistical, or political. I wanted to create a work that would explore the boundaries of my own dual identities, such as Mexican or American, or masculine or feminine, and that of my varied interests, such as popular, jazz, and European art music. After half a year of work, Sueño-Vibrant is the dazzling, whirlwind of a result (“vibrant” is pronounced just as it is in English).

I worked with poet Marco Piña because we share many similarities in our artistic philosophies, owing to our mutual identities as bilingual Chicanxs. Considering the poems themselves, for me, “Bastardized Spanglish Translations” reveals an individual recovering from the end of a romantic relationship, whereas “Night Song” is about the self-discovery of one’s identity. By pairing these two poems, I create a polarity between the texts themselves, to highlight that the shaping of identity is both an internal and external process.

In the cantata, we travel from the mourning and mysterious “Do My Eyes Lie” to the Mexican folk-styled “Ya me voy;” the arduous and painful “Ban Me From Balancing;” the indie- and jazz-inspired “Soon I’ll Be Home;” the introspective choral work “Night Song;” and the dissonant and disoriented “This Song Keeps Skipping.” I complete the work with “Adiós, Amor,” where these seemingly disparate feelings, genres, ideas, and identities are tied together and explored to fruition through a variety of styles and genres, from the salsa, to the opera chorus. With this work, I invite audiences to consider their own identities and those of others, and to embrace the social dissonances that happen both within us and around us.
ContributorsRodriguez, Kristian Silviano (Author) / Rockmaker, Jody (Thesis advisor) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Schildkret, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Compared to sacred choral music of the great Spanish composers of the Renaissance, church music of later Spanish composers is relatively ignored, despite the fact that many left behind a significant body of works worthy of scholarly investigation and performance. In fact, there is a paucity of information on eighteenth-century

Compared to sacred choral music of the great Spanish composers of the Renaissance, church music of later Spanish composers is relatively ignored, despite the fact that many left behind a significant body of works worthy of scholarly investigation and performance. In fact, there is a paucity of information on eighteenth-century church music in Spain - music history books generally treat the subject in the briefest way. To correct this situation, scholars must delve into the large caches of unpublished works from this period, which lie dormant in the archives of religious institutions. Even contextualizing these works is difficult, because so much remains to be unearthed. To help fill the lacuna of knowledge about this repertoire, I will shed light on the music of maestro de capilla José Gil Pérez (1715-1762), who was active at the cathedral of Segorbe, Spain from 1745 until his death in 1762, by presenting an edition of one of his vespers services. This service is comprised of a magnificat and three psalms (nos. 116, 122, and 147). These works, transcribed from the composer's autograph housed in the Segorbe cathedral, and written for SAT/SATB chorus and organ, will serve as a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge concerning choral music of the Spanish late Baroque. It will be seen that despite Gil Pérez's innovative use of "theatrical" instruments in the Segorbe cathedral and "Italianisms" in his villancicos, his compositional style in Latin works was largely conservative, in keeping with the practice of most maestros in Spain at this time. In fact his oeuvre demonstrates varying influences, largely dependent upon the genre. To contextualize this composer and his works, I will provide background information regarding music in the Segorbe cathedral during the century in question, including trends and influences, as well as information on Gil Pérez himself.
ContributorsGorton, William Paul (Author) / Feisst, Sabine (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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This research paper creates a modern score transcription of selected choral works by composer Alexander Chesnokov. The life and works of Alexander Chesnokov are almost completely unknown in the United States. A collection of his works is housed in the New York Public Library (NYPL). Selected transcripts from this collection

This research paper creates a modern score transcription of selected choral works by composer Alexander Chesnokov. The life and works of Alexander Chesnokov are almost completely unknown in the United States. A collection of his works is housed in the New York Public Library (NYPL). Selected transcripts from this collection provide insight into the works and style of Alexander Chesnokov. They may also serve as a study guide and point for further research and explorations into the life and compositions of this Russian composer. The sets of transcriptions within this paper were created from a microfilm copy from the NYPL's archival holdings. This study comprises transcriptions of selected scores, a discussion of errors and editorial choices, text translations, and a brief history of choral performance and style during pre-revolutionary Russia, the time period during which this composer lived and wrote.
ContributorsSmolnik, Carric (Author) / Gentry, Gregory (Thesis advisor) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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The Vocal Jazz ensemble, a uniquely American choral form, has grown and flourished in the past half century largely through the efforts of professionals and educators throughout the collegiate music community. This document provides historical data as presented through live and published interviews with key individuals involved in the early

The Vocal Jazz ensemble, a uniquely American choral form, has grown and flourished in the past half century largely through the efforts of professionals and educators throughout the collegiate music community. This document provides historical data as presented through live and published interviews with key individuals involved in the early development of collegiate Vocal Jazz, as well as those who continue this effort currently. It also offers a study of the most influential creative forces that provided the spark for everyone else's fire. A frank discussion on the obstacles encountered and overcome is central to the overall theme of this research into a genre that has moved from a marginalized afterthought to a legitimate, more widely accepted art form. In addition to the perspective provided to future generations of educators in this field, this document also discusses the role of collegiate music academia in preserving and promoting the Vocal Jazz ensemble. The discussion relies on recent data showing the benefits of Vocal Jazz training and the need for authenticity towards its universal integration into college and university vocal performance and music education training.
ContributorsAmerind, Gregory (Author) / Kocour, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Britton, David (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013