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- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
Description
Although opera is the last musical genre one typically associates with Latin America, Mexican composer Daniel Catán (1949-2011) found surprising success across the United States and overseas with his opera Florencia en el Amazonas (1996). Catán blends colorful music with literary elements to create a representation of Latin American culture through language, drama, scenery, and music. Among these elements is realism mágico (magical realism), a significant characteristic of Latin American literature. Indeed, the plot of the opera is influenced by Gabriel García Márquez's novel, El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Love in the Time of Cholera, 1985), as well as the poem "Mariposa de obsidiana" (Obsidian Butterfly, 1951) and the short story "La hija de Rappaccini" (Rappaccini's Daughter, 1953), both by Octavio Paz. To create his protagonist in the opera, Florencia Grimaldi, Catán combines the dramatic qualities of several European soprano heroines. This figure's character development is conveyed largely through her Act I, Scene 2, aria, "Florencia Grimaldi," and her Act II, Scene 17, aria, "Escúchame." An overview of the opera places these two arias into context, and their musical content and text-setting are closely examined in relation to the character of Florencia. Finally, how Daniel Catán creates a soprano heroine from the Latin American perspective is discussed.
ContributorsFlores, Andrea, D.M.A (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / May, Judy (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
ABSTRACT Many musicians, both amateur and professional alike, are continuously seeking to expand and explore their performance literature and repertory. Introducing new works into the standard repertory is an exciting endeavor for any active musician. Establishing connections, commissioning new works, and collaborating on performances can all work together toward the acceptance and success of a composer's music within an instrument community. For the flute, one such composer is Daniel Dorff (b. 1956). Dorff, a Philadelphia-based composer, has written for symphony orchestra, clarinet, contrabassoon, and others; however, his award-winning works for flute and piccolo are earning him much recognition. He has written works for such illustrious flutists as Mimi Stillman, Walfrid Kujala, and Gary Schocker; his flute works have been recorded by Laurel Zucker, Pamela Youngblood and Lois Bliss Herbine; and his pieces have been performed and premiered at each of the National Flute Association Conventions from 2004 to 2009. Despite this success, little has been written about Dorff's life, compositional style, and contributions to the flute repertory. In order to further promote the flute works of Daniel Dorff, the primary focus of this study is the creation of a compact disc recording of Dorff's most prominent works for flute: April Whirlwind, 9 Walks Down 7th Avenue, both for flute and piano, and Nocturne Caprice for solo flute. In support of this recording, the study also provides biographical information regarding Daniel Dorff, discusses his compositional methods and ideology, and presents background information, description, and performance notes for each piece. Interviews with Daniel Dorff regarding biographical and compositional details serve as the primary source for this document. Suggestions for the performance of the three flute works were gathered through interviews with prominent flutists who have studied and performed Dorff's pieces. Additional performance suggestions for Nocturne Caprice were gathered through a coaching session between the author and the composer. This project is meant to promote the flute works of Daniel Dorff and to help establish their role in the standard flute repertory.
ContributorsRich, Angela Marie (Contributor) / Novak, Gail (Pianist) (Performer) / Buck, Elizabeth Y (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary W. (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Schuring, Martin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
ABSTRACT The Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix occupies and maintains an historical place in the musical and civic history of the City of Phoenix and the State of Arizona. Organized in November, 1929, the Orpheus Male Chorus of Phoenix (OMC) is the only performing arts organization in Phoenix that can claim eighty-one years of continuous performance. The chorus gained popularity locally, nationally, and internationally in its first five decades. The breadth of the chorus's recognition began to decline in the latter part of the 20th century, but the chorus still retains a loyal following of audience members. This study focuses on the first fifty years of the OMC, especially the period from 1946 to 1979, the years the chorus was under the direction of Ralph Hess. Through his leadership the group's popularity and recognition reached a peak, thanks largely to his emphasis on civic responsibility, ties to service organizations, and musical ability and showmanship. No scholarly publications exist regarding this organization. Several boxes of memorabilia housed in the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, Arizona, serve as the primary source of material for this study. Concert programs supply information about concert repertoire, advertising, and chorus history. Newspaper articles from local and international press offer reviews, announcements, and media perceptions of the chorus. Information illustrating the abundant civic engagement of the OMC appears in proclamations and awards from local, state, national, and international personalities. This objective information helps propel the story forward, as do the personal letters and stories contained within the collection. Because many documents from the latter part of the 1970s are missing, the primary source information becomes more anecdotal and subjective. This study illustrates some of the ways in which the OMC went beyond mere survival to occupy a significant place in the musical life of Phoenix. Engagement in civic and social functions and support for non-profit organizations established the chorus as more than just a musical ensemble. Their pursuit under Hess of "Cultural Citizenship" earned them international recognition as civic leaders and ambassadors of goodwill.
ContributorsButler, Robert C (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Doan, Jerry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
John La Montaine (b. 1920) has devoted his life to music composition. His major works total 62 opus numbers, including operas, concertos, songs, chamber music, and orchestral works as well as eleven compositions for solo piano. Among his composition teachers were Nadia Boulanger and Howard Hanson, and his first piano concerto was awarded the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Music. He was active also as a concert soloist and collaborative pianist, appearing on prestigious concert series and with first-rank orchestras. Despite his obvious success, La Montaine did not seek publicity. As a result, the majority of his music is not widely known. La Montaine's eleven compositions for solo piano are written in a wide variety of styles, from tonal to serial, with many based on a tonal center, and they range in difficulty from the easiest beginner pieces to challenging concert works. His elementary works include a set of easy canons and many small pieces written for an early piano method. An imaginative set of children's pieces and a small virtuoso étude challenge the intermediate pianist. A diverse range of works for the advanced pianist includes a serious sonata, a lively toccata, several contrapuntal works, lilting dance pieces, and unique smaller pieces. The recording included with this research project is the first to present La Montaine's complete works for solo piano. The composer's own recordings of many of his works are difficult to obtain, and only a few have been recorded commercially. While some of his works remain in publishers' catalogs, those which are out-of-print can be obtained via interlibrary loan. This recording and discussion of La Montaine's solo piano pieces are intended to make his work better known.
ContributorsO'Brien, Andrew Charles (Author) / Hamilton, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Cosand, Walter (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Meyer Thompson, Janice (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
The purpose of this project was to commission, perform, and discuss a new work for an instrument pairing not often utilized, oboe and percussion. The composer, Alyssa Morris, was selected in June 2009. Her work, titled Forecast, was completed in October of 2009 and premiered in February of 2010, as part of a program showcasing music for oboe and percussion. Included in this document is a detailed biography of the composer, a description of the four movements of Forecast, performance notes for each movement, a diagram for stage set-up, the full score, the program from the premiere performance with biographies of all the performers involved, and both a live recording and MIDI sound file. The performance notes discuss issues that arose during preparation for the premiere and should help avoid potential pitfalls. TrevCo Music, publisher of the work, graciously allowed inclusion of the full score. This score is solely for use in this document; please visit the publisher's website for purchasing information. The commission and documentation of this composition are intended to add to the repertoire for oboe in an unusual instrument pairing and to encourage further exploration of such combinations.
ContributorsCreamer, Caryn (Author) / Schuring, Martin (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Spring, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has affected every aspect of society, including the performing arts. This study creates a historic record of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Navy Band Southwest (NBSW), located in San Diego, CA. It is an account of Navy Band Southwest’s journey under my direction as the Bandmaster and the transformation from live music performances to performances in the virtual environment from March 2020 until September 2021. The paper details safety protocols developed by the NBSW leadership team that were implemented following Center for Disease Control and Department of Defense overarching guidance. It also examines the process of development of recording techniques, both audio and video, as well as hardware used to create virtual band performances. Chapters cover NBSW operations pre-COVID, development of the virtual music-making process, and the creation of specific projects, including an original commission for wind band that was conceived, composed, rehearsed, and recorded entirely in a virtual environment. This paper aims to capture the perseverance and professionalism of U. S. Navy Sailors and how these musicians adapted to continue making music during forced isolation and quarantine. An archive of selected performances is included with this document.
ContributorsMansfield, Bruce John (Author) / Caslor, Jason (Thesis advisor) / Edwards, Bradley (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Korean composer Youngmin Jin (b. 1959) has composed in a wide variety of genres, including works for solo instruments, chamber music ensembles, orchestra, and opera. Jin has written only five solo piano pieces. This paper discusses three of these works for solo piano: Tschum für Klavier (1998), From Childhood for Piano (2014), and A Little Talk for Piano (2016-2017). Prior to the description of these pieces, the document provides a biography of the composer and introduces his compositional features through examples from his music for other genres. Jin has a flexible approach to tonal organization, which he calls SinJoseong. In certain works he employs such Korean elements as pentatonicism, ornamentation, and distinctive Korean rhythms, incorporating them into his music in Western forms and idioms. Jin's later style tends toward clarity and the use of basic elements, a trend that is evident in the two later piano works discussed here, in particular in their formal structures and their sharing and transforming of motives.
The examination of the content and features of these three piano pieces by Youngmin Jin is augmented by information gained through interviews with the composer. A link to my recording of these works is provided in support of the discussion.
ContributorsLee, Eunhwa (Author) / Holbrook, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This research document focuses on rarely performed piano transcriptions. A total of 28 works are discussed. These works have high artistic value and should not be forgotten by pianists. Most of the transcribers are renowned pianists, such as Harold Bauer and Alfred Cortot, or composers themselves. Unfortunately, these works are seldom played in today's public concerts, or on online resources such as YouTube, Vimeo, or iTunes. Some people may think these works are neglected because the scores are hard to find, but they can be easily obtained online. Pianists around the world can access these scores in just a few minutes via the Internet.
In this research document, I discuss the transcriptions one by one. First, I introduce the background of the pieces, the composers, and the transcribers. Then, through comparison of the original pieces with the transcribed ones, I discuss the approaches of transcription and highlight the special features of each work. Finally, I recommend the concert occasions appropriate for the transcriptions based on their characteristics. I offer many musical examples from the works discussed. These excerpts should help the pianist to understand the style and technical difficulty, as well as to decide if the work meets their programming needs.
In this research document, I discuss the transcriptions one by one. First, I introduce the background of the pieces, the composers, and the transcribers. Then, through comparison of the original pieces with the transcribed ones, I discuss the approaches of transcription and highlight the special features of each work. Finally, I recommend the concert occasions appropriate for the transcriptions based on their characteristics. I offer many musical examples from the works discussed. These excerpts should help the pianist to understand the style and technical difficulty, as well as to decide if the work meets their programming needs.
ContributorsHuang, Kuang-Li (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Heinrich Heine’s collection of poems, Lyrisches Intermezzo, is well-known in music circles, largely due to Robert Schumann’s settings of sixteen of these poems in his masterwork Dichterliebe. Because of Dichterliebe’s place of importance in art song literature, many other settings of Heine’s sixty-five poems are often overlooked. Breton-born composer Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz composed Quatre Poèmes d’après l’Intermezzo d’Henri Heine in 1899, after having collaborated on a new French translation of the entire Lyrisches Intermezzo in 1890. This cycle is rarely performed, largely due to Ropartz’s relative obscurity as a composer, as the focus of his career was administration of two regional conservatories in France. The Quatre Poèmes were written fairly early in Ropartz’s life, but feature many compositional techniques that remain staples of Ropartz’s work throughout his career. It is an accessible work to many singers and audience members already familiar with Heine. The texts of the four songs are not simply translations of Heine’s original, but altered to adhere to the rules of French poetry. Examining the changes made in the text, both in language and structure, reveals information that will aid performers’ understanding of the poetry and of Ropartz’s choices in musical setting. The music of the work is greatly dependent on a single motive, an idée fixe, and considering the role of this motive in its various appearances is illuminating to the narrative arc of the cycle. This study seeks to aid potential performers and listeners of the Quatre Poèmes by expanding their understanding of the artists responsible for creating it, and by exploring the textual and musical elements that are the building blocks of this work.
ContributorsHutchinson, Taylor Grace (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / DeMaris, Brian (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
ABSTRACT
This project features five new pieces for clarinet commissioned from three different composers including:
1. Rasa by Jeffrey Ouper
2. Faerie Tale Dances by Jeffrey Ouper
3. Amalgamated Widget by Tavia Sullens
4. Faerie Suite by Theresa Martin
5. Time Lapse by Theresa Martin
Faerie Suite and Amalgamated Widget are for unaccompanied clarinet; Time Lapse is a trio for clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano; Faerie Tale Dances is a trio for E-flat clarinet, sopranino recorder, and toy piano; and Rasa is a quartet for E-flat clarinet, two A clarinets, and bass clarinet. These pieces challenge the performer in various ways, including complex rhythm, use of extended techniques such as glissando, flutter tongue, and circular breathing, and synthetic and non-traditional scales. The composers were given guidelines prior to the compositional process to create works with a thematic connection to mythology, folklore, or fairy tales, and inspired by dance and non-western or traditional harmonies and idioms. This document offers background information about the composers and the works, and a performance guide is included for each. This guide provides recommendations and suggestions for each piece. Also included are interviews with each of the composers. Accompanying this document are recordings of each of the five pieces, performed by the author.
This project features five new pieces for clarinet commissioned from three different composers including:
1. Rasa by Jeffrey Ouper
2. Faerie Tale Dances by Jeffrey Ouper
3. Amalgamated Widget by Tavia Sullens
4. Faerie Suite by Theresa Martin
5. Time Lapse by Theresa Martin
Faerie Suite and Amalgamated Widget are for unaccompanied clarinet; Time Lapse is a trio for clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano; Faerie Tale Dances is a trio for E-flat clarinet, sopranino recorder, and toy piano; and Rasa is a quartet for E-flat clarinet, two A clarinets, and bass clarinet. These pieces challenge the performer in various ways, including complex rhythm, use of extended techniques such as glissando, flutter tongue, and circular breathing, and synthetic and non-traditional scales. The composers were given guidelines prior to the compositional process to create works with a thematic connection to mythology, folklore, or fairy tales, and inspired by dance and non-western or traditional harmonies and idioms. This document offers background information about the composers and the works, and a performance guide is included for each. This guide provides recommendations and suggestions for each piece. Also included are interviews with each of the composers. Accompanying this document are recordings of each of the five pieces, performed by the author.
ContributorsApplegate, James Patrick (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018