Music

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    PERFORMANCE OF THE VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SONATAS OF JOHANNES BRAHMS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF JOSEPH JOACHIM'S INFLUENCE ON HIS VIOLIN CONCERTO
    (1997) Hsieh, I-Chun; Heifetz, Daniel; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    This dissertation consists of a performance project and extensive studies of selected works by Johannes Brahms, including the Violin Concerto, Sonatensatz, and three Violin Sonatas. The performance project was presented in two recitals at the University of Maryland, College Park, on November 14, 1997, and November 16, 1997. The first recital featured Brahms' s Sonatensatz in C Minor, Violin Sonata No. I, Op. 78 in G Major, and Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 108, in D Minor. The second recital included Brahms' s Violin Sonata No.2, Op. 100, in A Major and Violin Concerto Op. 77, in D Major. Section One gives an overview of this dissertation project. Section Two introduces the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, his relationship with Johannes Brahms, and Brahms' s life and major violin works. This section also analyzes Joachim' s performance practice and his teaching style. The end of this section focuses on the influence of Joseph Joachim on Brahms' s Violin Concerto and indicates the differences between Brahms' s original manuscript and the version suggested by Joachim. Section Three is composed of the programs of the two recitals. Section Four consists of program notes for the two recitals. The first recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Roy Hakes, piano. The second recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Chia-Hsuan Lee, piano.
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    THE GENRE CHARACTER PIECES OF KAROL SZYMANOWSKI: A COMPLETE RECORDING
    (1981) Barroll, Rayna Sue Klatzkin; Gordon, Stewart; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)
    Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is a transitional figure whose work bridges late nineteenth-century romanticism and the twentieth-century movement away from tonality. The fifty-four genre character pieces, which are recorded on tape as the major portion of this study, delineate the evolution of his style: his origins in a highly chromatic nineteenth-century medium, influenced by Chopin and Skriabin; his flirtation with atonality; and finally, the realization of a personal twentieth-century style, affected by his exposure to the music of Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Skriabin, and also by his immersion in the indigenous folk-music of one of the regions of his country. The Nine Preludes, Opus 1, completed by the time he was eighteen, are intensely personal, finely wrought and quasi-improvisational in nature. Even in some of these early, passionate outcries, which show the specific imprint of Chopin and early Skriabin, however, there is an avoidance of the resolution of dissonance which definitely mark Szymanowski as a twentieth-century composer. There are prophetic suggestions, here and in the Opus 4 Etudes, of atonality and also of the bitonality that dominates much of his later music. The Twelve Etudes, Opus 33, written in 1916 , are already in a full-fledged twentieth-century idiom. The etudes, which are dissonant, usually bitonal, tending toward atonality, show Szymanowski's desire to cast off conventional tonality. He uses seconds and sevenths as predominant colors, pentatonic scales, extended passages of parallel chords, heavy reliance on the tritone, persistent dissonance, and occasional whole-tone scales. The twenty-two Mazurkas written between 1926 and 1935 reflect Szymanowski's involvement with the mountaineers in the Goral region of the High Tatra Mountains in Southern Poland and his enchantment with their culture and their music. Like Bartok, whom he respected and admired, and whose music these late works most immediately resemble, Szymanowski seems to have found his ultimate expression through the indigenous music of his own country. Szymanowski continues in his use of dissonance and bitonality, although the modal orientation of the folk melodies induces a strongly tonal feeling.
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    The King Shall Rejoice (HWV 265) by George Frederic HandeI: a Critical Edition and Commentary
    (1987) Brisco, Frederick Arthur; Traver, Paul; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    Heretofore there has been no modern edition available of George Frederic Handel's anthem for chorus and orchestra, The King Shall Rejoice, companion piece to the Dettingen Te Deum. The first part of this project, an edition and commentary, is prepared in accordance with the standards of modern scholarship and at the same time meets the needs of today's performers. The project ls based on the composer's autograph manuscript corrected, where necessary, from the readings in other contemporary sources originating in Handel's circle. Except for one secondary source which is in a private collection and for the moment unavailable, all known sources have been collated prior to determining that the autograph should serve as the copy-text. The process of collating variants led to a hypothesis regarding the filiation of the sources. The edition includes a preface that discusses the events which led to the composition of the anthem and presents what lnformation we have about its first performance. The edition and critical commentary adhere to guidelines adapted from those of the Hallische Handel-Ausgabe, the new complete critical edition of Handel's works. The second part of the project consisted of a performance of the Dettingen Anthem conducted by the editor on April 26,1987 at WiIde Lake High School, Columbia Maryland, with the Columbia Baroque Ensemble based on the the score presented here.
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    Symbolism in the Music of Lili Boulanger: an Analysis of Clairieres dans le ciel
    (1993) Dopp, Bonnie Jo; Davis, Shelley; Music; University of Maryland (College Park, Md); Digital Repository at the University of Maryland
    French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) lived and worked at a time of experimentation and change in European musical techniques and aesthetics. Her documented interest in French Symbolist literature, her sheltered, sickly life and her mystic personal beliefs were reflected in a style of composition that grew more subjective as she matured. Analysis of her longest work, the song cycle Clairieres dans le ciel, when amplified by specific information about her life, reveals symbolism that parallels personal meanings contemporary Symbolist artists in literature and painting encoded in their work. Other composers of the period engaged in similar semiotic invention, though the term "Symbolist" is seldom applied to them. When critical hallmarks of Symbolist writings are employed, they support the assignation "Symbolist" to the music of Lili Boulanger.
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    A Study Of Background Characteristics, Preparation, And Perceptions Of Black And Non-Black Performing Musicians As It Relates To Selection And Placement Criteria Within Major And Regional Symphony Orchestras
    (1989) Edwards, George Leonard; Craig, Randall J.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    The purpose of this study was twofold. The first was to investigate the extent to which major and regional symphony orchestras employed non-Black and Black musicians. The second was to investigate the background characteristics (education, musical training, culture), Professional experiences, and perceptions of non-Black and Black musicians in major and regional symphony orchestras. The population was composed of 31 major symphony orchestras (orchestras with annual operating budgets in excess of $3.4 million), and 44 regional symphony orchestras (orchestras with annual operating budgets between $950,000 and $3.4 million). From this population, the sample was composed of 75 orchestra managers and 244 performing musicians, 200 non-Black and 44 Black. Data were collected through the use of two questionnaires, one to managers of the orchestras and one to musicians in the orchestras. An analysis of the data was made using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques: frequencies, means, chi-square and MANOVA. The statistical Package from the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program was used to process the information received in response to questionnaire items. The results revealed that very little progress has been made in hiring Black musicians in symphony orchestras since 1977. There is less than two percent Black employment of musicians in major and regional symphony orchestras. Most of these orchestras have no official training program or activity to increase the number of Black performing musicians, nor is there any significant attempt to recruit qualified Black musicians. Orchestra managers acknowledge the limited participation of Black musicians in symphony orchestras and indicated that few qualified Black musicians apply and audition. This study showed that the background experiences (musical and educational) of the two groups of player personnel (non-Black and Black) were very similar; however, because of the fierce competition for positions, few Blacks apply and audition. It is recommended that early and consistent exposure and a traditional conservatory style of training that concentrates on mastering the instrument and gaining knowledge of the symphony repertoire serve as a means for promoting symphonic music as a career.
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    Thirty-Two Transcriptions for Piano of Organ Chorales of J.S. Bach
    (1995) Mortensen, John Joseph; Koscielny, Anne; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    Thirty-two new piano transcriptions of selected Bach organ chorales comprise this dissertation. Examples of the various types of the organ chorale are included. Seven pieces from the recently-discovered Neumeister Collection have also been transcribed . Each transcription is accompanied by a commentary which includes the text and translation of the German Reformation hymn upon which the piece is based, a discussion of the music itself and its relationship to the hymn text, and a description of the specific method used in transcribing the piece for piano. The transcriptions themselves cover a range of technical difficulties, from pieces intended for the student to compositions for public performance. Furthermore, some are arranged for piano duet, duo, and in one case, for two pianos, eight hands. The method of transcription varies from an attempt to approximate the organ sound to an approach in which creating a new, thoroughly pianistic timbre is the goal. In some cases significant portions of Bach's originals have been arranged in order to accommodate the piano and its sound.
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    Kirsten Flagstad Discography
    (1981) Sanner, Howard C.; Serwer, Howard J.; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    Kirsten Flagstad, the leading Wagnerian soprano of her generation, left a legacy of more than 900 recordings. In a recording career that spanned 46 years, she recorded for the Scandinavian branches of Odeon, His Master's Voice (HMV), and Columbia, and made records for the international market on the HMV, RCA Victor, and Decca (London Records in the U.S.A.) labels. In addition, recordings exist of many of her frequent broadcast appearances with the Metropolitan, San Francisco, Chicago, and Covent Garden Operas, as welI as from such then-popular variety programs as the Ford Sunday Evening Hour, General Motors Hour, RCA Magic Key, and Kraft Music HalI. Company files, record catalogues, and correspondence with private collectors, some of them Flagstad's friends, were used to assemble the information. By such means it was possible in most cases to determine matrix numbers, recording dates, and issue numbers of 78s, LPs, and noncommercial records. A Iist of known interviews and other recordings of her speaking voice is included, as is a list of alI known broadcasts, whether or not a recording of them is known to exist. Although best known as a singer of Wagner's operas, Flagstad's repertoire on records reflects wide-ranging versatility. Besides Wagner, she recorded operas by Beethoven, Gluck, and PurcelI; her concert and recital repertoire Includes Bach, Bax, Delius, Elgar, Grieg, Rossini, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Strauss, and Wolf. She also performed the music of many lesser-known composers, especially Norwegians, and recorded some 46 hymns with organ. Her records document the career of one of the twentieth century's leading singers and prevailing performance practice in a large segment of the standard repertoire.
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    PERFORMANCE OF THE VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SONATAS OF JOHANNES BRAHMS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF JOSEPH JOACHlM'S INFLUENCE ON HIS VIOLIN CONCERTO
    (1997) Hsieh, I-Chun; Heifetz, Daniel A.; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    This dissertation consists of a performance project and extensive studies of selected works by Johannes Brahms, including the Violin Concerto, Sonatensatz, and three Violin Sonatas. The performance project was presented in two recitals at the University of Maryland, College Park, on November 14, 1997, and November 16, 1997. The first recital featured Brahms' s Sonatensatz in C Minor, Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78 in G Major, and Violin Sonata No. 3, Op. 108, in D Minor. The second recital included Brahms' s Violin Sonata No.2, Op. 100, in A Major and Violin Concerto Op. 77, in D Major. Section One gives an overview of this dissertation project. Section Two introduces the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, his relationship with Johannes Brahms, and Brahms' s life and major violin works. This section also analyzes Joachim's performance practice and his teaching style. The end of this section focuses on the influence of Joseph Joachim on Brahms' s Violin Concerto and indicates the differences between Brahms' s original manuscript and the version suggested by Joachim. Section Three is composed of the programs of the two recitals. Section Four consists of program notes for the two recitals. The first recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Roy Hakes, piano. The second recital was performed by I-Chun Hsieh, violin and Chia-Hsuan Lee, piano.
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    The Luther Whiting Mason-Osbourne McConathy Collection
    (1983) Hall, Bonlyn Goodwin; Serwer, Howard; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    The Mason-McConathy Collection at the Library of Congress contains approximately 700 items, principally nineteenth-century European school song books, folk-song books, and books of vocal pedagogy. The collection belonged to two American music educators, Luther Whiting Mason (1818-1896) and Osbourne McConathy (1875-1947) before being given to the Library of Congress in 1948. This thesis consists of a catalog of the collection and an introductory essay. The catalog organizes the collection into 500 bibliographic records, with indexes by title and personal name. The essay traces the collection's history and relates it to the careers of its two owners. After a brief analysis of the contents, the question of its significance is addressed. This appears to be a unique collection in the United States, for material of its kind and period. Its greater significance, however, lies in its use as source material for songs published in Mason's and McConathy's own American series of school song books. To test the thesis that the collection was so used, Mason's first publication, The First Music Reader, serves as a sample. Of its 64 songs, 48 can be demonstrated to have come from the European song books, most of them German, in the Mason-McConathy Collection. Of those, at least seven have become popular in the United States, as measured by their repeated publication in song anthologies. The collection thus is shown to have special significance as a vehicle through which elements of popular German musical culture have been disseminated in American society.
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    THE HARMONIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE BLACK RELIGIOUS QUARTET SINGING TRADITION
    (1997) Dent, Cedric Carl; Gibson, Robert L.; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
    The development of folk music in the United States includes many distinct styles of quartet singing. This study examines the harmonic development of black religious quartet singing, a subgenre of black gospel music. This community-based, church-oriented style of quartet singing became popular in the early 1920s and continues to thrive today. This study applies traditional tonal theory, jazz theory and Schenkerian analysis to quartet performances, and through these methods of analysis, identifies and traces threads of harmonic development through the genre, which define stylistic epochs. Threads of development include use of meter and rhythm, call-and-response techniques, function of the bass voice, chord structures and use of added dissonance, number and function of voice parts, and variation techniques in repetitive song structures. The investigation identifies three styles of black religious quartet singing: folk, jubilee, and gospel. The performances examined include "I'm Praying Humble" (1937) by Mitchell's Christian Singers, "One Day When the Lord Will Call Me" (1942) by the Southern Sons and "Mary Don't You Weep" (1959) by the Swan Silvertones. Additionally, a recent trend of development is identified and labeled neo-jubilee, and a performance of ''Mary" (1988) by the vocal group TAKE 6 represents this trend. Complete transcriptions of these performances arc provided for musical analysis. The influence of big band music on the development of black religious quartet singing is also examined. The course of development in quartet singing is strikingly similar to that of big band music and is observable in the aforementioned threads of harmonic development. Finally, group singing is the focus of this study, and only styles that are a cappella or harmonically independent of instrumental accompaniment are examined. Styles where instrumental accompaniment is a part of the fundamental structure of the performance are not examined.