Music Theses and Dissertations
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Item Four X Three: Unconventional Contemporary Chamber Music Trios Featuring Solo Trumpet(2024) Rye, Dylan; Gekker, Paul C; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although the trumpet has been largely absent from the instrumental color palette used by composers of chamber music, the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have spawned new conceptions of the trumpet in the context of the chamber music trio. Recent chamber music features extremely diverse instrumental combinations, producing novel compositional effects and technical demands on performers. A study of developing ideas about the trumpet in the chamber music environment tracks the trumpets’ growing acceptance in the chamber music sphere and its recent liberation from the confines of the brass family. Analysis of two twentieth century chamber trios with solo trumpet shows that advancements in trumpet design and technique have made the instrument suitable in many instrumental contexts, and that modern composers have used it to great effect in “neo-tonal” music. Examination of two twenty-first century chamber trios with unorthodox orchestration tracks contemporary composers' evolving use of the trumpet.Item Preluding for Wind Instrumentalists: Historical and Contemporary Applications(2019) Kaufman, Laura; Frisof, Sarah; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The practice of extemporaneous preluding was ubiquitous in performances in the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic eras. Preludes were improvised before beginning a piece of music. Performers preluded in order to have the opportunity to warm up on stage, tune their instruments, and establish the key and atmosphere of the piece they were about to perform. The style of the preludes were meant to match the style of the compositions; as compositional styles and techniques evolved, preludes evolved as well. Traveling virtuoso instrumentalists would champion preluding as a means to show off their improvisational and technical skills in an effort to appeal to a wide audience; preluding became etude-like and lacked emotional depth. The second half of the nineteenth century marked a gradual decline of preluding in performances. The formerly conjoined roles of performer and composer diverged into two separate entities. In the mid-to-late Romantic era, compositions started to become more substantial in quality, and performers of preluding were unwilling or unable to adjust to serve the music appropriately. In addition to the shallow nature of preluding, students were no longer being taught compositional and improvisational skills. References involving wind players preluding ceases at the end of the nineteenth century. This dissertation explores the practical and historical development of preluding throughout the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras as well as possible applications for preluding in modern performances.Item Ragas for the Western Flute: A Discussion of Compositions and Performance Practice of Repertoire Inspired by Indian Classical Music.(2017) Rohm, Caroline Frances; Witzleben, John Lawrence; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)‘Western music is music without microtones, as Indian music is music without harmony.’ –H.A. Popley, The Music of India, 134. The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate how the Western flute can faithfully represent Indian classical music through performance of various works by important composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. One of aspects of the performance of this genre of music is its use of microtones. While the Western flute was not originally designed for the execution of microtones they can nevertheless be achieved in performance of Indian-Western fusion works for flute. What happens when we combine a Western instrument with the use of microtones, and perform music without harmony? Can we faithfully represent the Indian Classical tradition in performances of Indian-Western music for flute? This dissertation will focus on works that are written for flute and reference elements of Indian Classical music. Since 1958, with the premiere of John Mayer’s Dance Suite for sitar, flute, tabla, tanpura, and symphony orchestra, several composers of Indian descent have created works referencing raga forms in many ways. Several techniques unique to both Hindustani music (the classical music of North India) and Carnatic music (the classical music of South India) do not translate easily to the Western flute. In fact, with the modern addition of keys, the use of microtones and slides in these ragas (melodic forms that are expanded upon throughout a work) becomes awkward. Furthermore, limited performance directions in several of these works put the actual execution of these techniques into question. In an effort to make these works more accessible to flutists interested in performing them, this dissertation will suggest an explanation of the requisite extended techniques for flute. The recital associated with this dissertation was performed in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall. A recording of this recital can be accessed at the University of Maryland Hornbake Library.Item An Exploration of Works Inspired by Spiritual Traditions in Contemporary Flute Repertoire (1981 - 2010)(2015) Shanley, Meghan; Hill, Mark D; Goldman, Aaron; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Composers are currently utilizing a vast number of technologies and extended flute techniques as expressive tools in spiritually inspired compositions. With the use of pitch bends, breath and wind tones, multiphonics, flutter tongue, and timbral trills, traditional flutes of different cultures are mimicked on the modern instrument more vividly than ever before. These extended techniques allow composers to combine their styles with religious traditions in an innovative manner and connect with audiences in fresh and original ways. This dissertation explores the different avenues of spiritual musical expression in contemporary flute repertoire through three thematic recital programs. The first program creates a soundscape of the musical traditions of five different faiths: Hinduism, Divination, Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity; the second program consists of chamber works inspired by traditional Western belief systems; and the final program is made up of works written as social commentary on religious or spiritual conflicts, specifically on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Yom Kippur War, and the Trail of Tears. The following works are performed and discussed in this dissertation: Robert Dick – Techno Yaman; Michael Daugherty – Crystal and Trail of Tears; Howard J. Buss – Scenes from the Holy Land; Tōru Takemitsu – Air; Daniel Kellogg – Into Utter Forever and Divinum Mysterium; Christopher Rouse – Compline; Richard Toensing – Children of Light; Ruth Schönthal – A Bird Over Jerusalem; Leonard Bernstein – Halil; and Katherine Hoover – Winter Spirits.Item Resonance(2010) Slegowski, Eric; DeLio, Thomas; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Resonance is a composition for flute, cello and piano that is comprised of four unique, yet interrelated movements. These create an overarching form of expansion and contraction over the course of the work. The movements connect with one another on both a micro- and macro-structural level. Each reflects one stage in the evolution of a typical sonic event: "attack", "compression", "growth", and "echo". At the most basic level, relationships can be perceived through the duration and instrumentation in each of the movements. Duration of the four movements in minutes is 3,5,8, and 3 respectively. Movements one and four are most obviously affiliated through duration, both being three minutes. Also, they are clearly linked in that they are both written for solo instruments. Placing movements two and three in a subset with movement one yields a duration series of 3,5,8 that illustrates an overall expansion in proportional length. Moreover, this evolution is perceptible by the use of the instruments: movement one is essentially a flute solo; movement two intersperses passages that use all three instruments simultaneously with long solos; and movement three makes prominent use of all of the instruments in combination. These three movements create an asymmetrical evolution, which is resolved in movement four, returning to a predominantly solo texture. Registral and textural connections also play a role in unifying the movements. Movement I ("Attack") is characterized by a rapid and fragmented texture as well as a large-scale shift upward in register, while its counterpart Movement IV slowly shifts downward and the solo cello uses a predominantly sustaining texture. Movement II ("Compression") begins with a slight upward shift in register before beginning a long descent. Movement III ("Growth") expands on the upward motion of movement one by increasing the overall range, beginning in the lowest register of the bass flute and gradually shifting to the upper register of the piccolo. The fundamental relationships among the movements discussed above result in an organic evolution that characterizes the work in its entirety. The principal organizational strategies of Resonance outlined above fashion an organic evolution that spans all four movements and unifies the piece.Item Compositions for Flute by American Students of Nadia Boulanger(2004-04-26) Dunnavant, Jessica Guinn; Montgomery, William; MusicThroughout the twentieth century, young American composers made a pilgrimage across the Atlantic Ocean to study their craft with Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). Many of them wrote substantial, interesting works for flute, and this dissertation focuses on performances of a selection of those compositions. Boulanger's life is well documented, as is her reputation for helping her students find their own musical voices. In this project she serves as a lens through which three generations of American composers may be viewed. This topic brings together a wide variety of flute music in almost every style imaginable. A selection of music to perform was made because the amount of music far exceeds the amount of available performance time. A list of Nadia Boulanger's American students was primarily derived from the website nadiaboulanger.org and from composers listed in the two editions of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. These lists are far from comprehensive and other notable flute composers have been added. The following is an alphabetical list of the works that were performed: Alexander's Monody, Amlin's Sonata, Bassett's Illuminations, Berlinski's Sonata, Carter's Scrivo in Vento, Cooper's Sonata, Copland's Duo, Dahl's Variations on a Swedish Folktune, Diamond's Sonata, Erb's Music for Mother Bear, Finney's Two Ballades, Glass's Serenade, Kraft's A Single Voice, La Montaine's Sonata, Lewis's Monophony I, Mekeel's The Shape of Silence, Piston's Sonata, Pasatieri's Sonata, Rorem's Mountain Song, and Thomson's Sonata. The works were grouped stylistically to form four recital programs. The compositions chosen for performance were written between 1933 and 2000 and include some of the more popular works of flute literature as well as lesser-known compositions. Included in the written part of this performance dissertation is a list of American students of Nadia Boulanger as well as a list of those composers who wrote for the flute. Annotations and timings from my performances are provided for the compositions that were publicly performed, and biographical information is included for those composers.