Music Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2796
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Item EXPLORING AND PROPAGATING OBOE MUSIC FROM COMPOSERS OF SOUTH ASIAN, AFRICAN, AND MIDDLE EASTERN HERITAGES(2023) Helgerman, Michael Andrew; Hill, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Though the oboe has enjoyed both a rich history and contemporary renaissance as a solovoice, the instrument’s repertoire bears some rigidity and limitations in representing composers from diverse backgrounds. A repertoire survey from a 2001 edition of the Double Reed Journal denotes a clear tendency towards homogeneity of composer background in the instrument’s canon. After contacting oboe professors employed at universities across the United States, compiler Susan Lundberg published lists of concerti, sonatas, chamber pieces, and other works that “oboists should know”; every piece listed in the top ten results of each genre was written by a male composer of European or American descent.1 This dissertation project will serve as a small step among the many needed for the oboe’s solo repertoire to evolve into a canon that equitably represents composers from all backgrounds. In particular, composers with South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern roots will enjoy the spotlight in this dissertation, as these cultures boast rich musical foundations whose synthesis with the modern oboe has yet to receive significant research. The following works (ordered alphabetically by composer) will be performed in a live recital and recorded with the intention of distribution on digital platforms: • “Longa Nahawand” from The New Egyptian Arabic Sufic Art Music by AbdoDagher (1970) • Bôn búć tranh (Four Pictures) for Oboe, Two Percussion, and Piano by Đỗ Hồng Quân (2001) • Pranayam for Oboe and Piano by Reena Esmail (2022) • Ashakiran for solo English Horn by Meera Gudipati (2019) • Six Sketches for Oboes and Piano by Fred Onovwerosuoke (2008) • Cinq Pièces pour Hautbois et Piano by Tôn-Thất Tiết (1965) Additionally, a set of scholarly program notes will highlight each featured composer and discussvarious aspects of the historical, theoretical, and social contexts that influenced each work’s composition. 1 Susan M. Lundberg, “What Every Oboist Should Know: Methods and Repertoire Selections,” The Double Reed24, no. 4 (2001): 106.Item Bach in a New Light: Reimagining Three Keyboard Partitas for Double Reed Quartet(2020) Consilvio, Lydia Rose; Hill, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)My project is an arrangement and recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Keyboard Partitas Nos. 1, 3, and 4 (BWV 825, 827, and 828) for two oboes, English horn, and bassoon. I used the Bach Gesellschaft score to create the arrangement as new pieces of chamber music in the double reed repertoire, and professionally recorded this music for eventual commercial distribution. The on-campus recital on November 1, 2019 included all three arrangements. For both the recital and recording, I played the first oboe part alongside University of Maryland faculty members Mark Hill on second oboe, Joseph Grimmer on bassoon, and recent UMD DMA graduate Michael Homme on English horn. We call ourselves the Terpsichore Double Reed Consort. My arrangements of these partitas from keyboard to double reed quartet allow the genius of Bach’s music to be appreciated in a new light. Phrases can be shaped and differentiated with dynamics that are not possible on the original harpsichord. Pitches that could not be sustained on the keyboard can now be held for their full value, the resulting harmonies creating beautiful new sonorities. Additionally, Bach’s magnificent contrapuntal writing, which is sometimes buried in the singular timbre of the keyboard, can now be divided among four instruments, allowing the distinct voices Bach writes (sometimes even within one line) to be clearly heard and differentiated. These arrangements present a fresh and enhanced embodiment of these great works that add depth, shape, and color, allowing listeners an opportunity to hear them in a new way.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 THE CORNO D'AMORE - A BAROQUE TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT(2019) Drew, Justin Thomas; Miller, Gregory E; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Throughout my musical career, I have always enjoyed Baroque music, especially in a church setting. I have had some opportunities to experience this first hand on the horn, but realized that the Baroque repertoire available to a horn player is incredibly limited. Furthermore, there became a realization that French horn music students do not interact enough with Baroque music. While undergraduate Music Education and Performance majors seek a complete education and experience in performing all genres of music, horn players are often left with a void of music and techniques from the Baroque Period. It is also not common for students to own period instruments, nor is it common for university studios to own these instruments. The baroque horn also follows Baroque tuning A=415, which is far lower than the modern traditional tuning, which is A=440. Therefore, I have created four Baroque transcriptions for Horn and Organ to add to the horn repertoire. Two transcriptions were taken from Oboe concertos and two from Oboe D’amore concertos. All of these works were originally accompanied with small string ensemble and continuo. I chose Oboe and Oboe D’amore because the melodies were accessible for the modern day horn player, where flute, violin, viola, and cello features brushed up against virtuosity. These melodies also embody four different types of baroque style and melodic mastery. The project includes a professional recording, the sheet music of the transcriptions, and a CD cover with liner notes. The CD was recorded at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church on November 10, 12, 17, and 25, 2019. The horn used was a Lukas Horn #4 with an Osmun Chicago cup and Geyer rim. The organ is a Rieger Tracker Organ designed by Josef von Glatter-Gotz in 1973-4, performed on by Julie Vidrick Evans. My engineer and producer was Neil Brown, through the recording company Arts Laureate. The arrangements were created using the music writing software, Sibelius. The cover photo is credited to Kyung Jung at Yellowhale Photography.Item EXTENDED-RANGE OBOE: THE IMPACT OF TECHNICAL AND MUSICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN 19th-CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY OBOE REPERTOIRE(2016) Lowell, Alison; Hill, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)I believe that the purpose of expanding the oboe’s repertoire is to not only create original compositions, but to also utilize technical advancements in order to achieve access to a wider range of repertoire through the art of transcription. This paper examines the various paths to achieving such expansion, including utilizing unique performer skills, use of auxiliary instruments, advancements in the instrument itself and musical developments that challenge the perception of the oboe’s solo role in a particular era of music history. The oboe need not be relegated to the confines of a compositionally limited stereotype. The goal of my “extended-range” dissertation project is to expand the “range” of programmable repertoire, with a focus on music in both the 19th and 21st-centuries, while simultaneously expanding the technical capabilities and expectations of the modern oboe—in part by exploiting the new possibilities of the recently invented low-A extension key.Item The Legacy of Oboist and Master Teacher, Robert Bloom(2014) Ryon, Janna Leigh; Hill, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Robert Bloom (1908-1994) was legendary in the education and performance world. Often hailed as one of the last performers of the Golden Era of classical music and a favorite of conductors ranging from Stokowski to Stravinsky to Shaw, Bloom was an orchestral oboist and English hornist, oboe soloist, chamber musician, teacher (Eastman, Yale, Hartt, Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard and Philadelphia's University of the Arts), composer, conductor, editor of masterworks of the 18th century, and, as a founding member of the Bach Aria group, a seminal influence in the post-WWII revival of Baroque music in America. In The Robert Bloom Collection and the Art of Robert Bloom CD and video archives, we see what his musical ideals were in 1)18th-century performance practices, 2) writing new music for the instrument and commissioning new works, and 3) and transcribing music for the oboe and English horn. As an oboist, I believe it is important that Bloom's teachings, historical performance practices and ideas for expanding repertoire are propagated. Therefore, the works chosen for this dissertation illustrated this legacy. My recitals included 1) some of Bloom's published 18th-century baroque elaborations (his term for ornamentation), as well Baroque works which I have elaborated, 2) works written by him and by other oboists/composers (Labate, Roseman) as well as a flute/oboe duo that I commissioned by Dr. Marcus Maroney and 3) transcriptions by both Bloom and myself (Bach, Donizetti, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Handel, Schumann and Telemann). In these three dissertation recitals, I hope to have illustrated some of Robert Bloom's lasting contributions and impact on the oboe world, and to have demonstrated the potential for carrying forward this legacy by studying his teaching and emulating his example.