Music

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    flight 295 | a string quartet in two parts.
    (2024) Visser, Johannes Hendrik; Gibson, Robert; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This work is a critique of the social injustices committed by the oppressive South Africangovernment at the height of the Apartheid era. Its commentary is exemplified through the metaphor of Flight 295 – a South African Airways flight that crashed in the Indian Ocean in the late 1980s. The crimes against humanity committed throughout South Africa by the Apartheid regime find a chilling parallel in the events that caused the crash of Flight 295. En route from East Asia, it is widely acknowledged that the Boeing 747-200 Combi was carrying volatile arms in its cargo compartment. Severe turbulence is said to have caused the arms to destabilize, causing a fire that engulfed the aircraft mid-flight. The recklessness of the government in smuggling unstable black-market arms to South Africa (which would then be used to fight a “war” against people of colour) on board a passenger flight, showed their lack of concern for human life. It is an awareness of these atrocities that this composition strives to share with audiences through the expression of the emotions that I feel when I think of the events of that horrific era in the history of my country and culture. I believe that it is important to share this uncomfortable historical event with people so that we can fight against similar human rights violations happening daily around the world.
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    Moonlight on the Pearl River
    (2022) Bi, Jiheng; Wilson, Mark; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Moonlight on the Pearl River for Orchestra Moonlight on the Pearl River (Chinese: 鵝潭月色) is an orchestral work that depicts colorful and various scenes of the Pearl River of Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China. As the mother river of Canton, the Pearl River carries numerous precious memories of the people living there, and multiple celebrations are held on the river throughout the year, including fireworks before the Lunar New Year; dragon boat races in the Dragon Boat Festival during June; thousands of swimmers crossing the river in summer; reflection of the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and more. The Chinese title 鵝潭月色specifically describes the moonlight on the “geese pond (Cantonese: Pak Ngo Tam)”, which is the widest section of the Pearl River within the city, and is where the fireworks take place during the Lunar New Year. As a child, I remember I usually had a hearty dinner with my family in the Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, we would have a walk holding lanterns along the Pearl River in the moonlight and enjoy the reflection of the moon on the water surface, as the moon is always the fullest on the Mid-Autumn Day. The Chinese title is a mixture that blends together the specific part of the river where the Lunar New Year is celebrated on (“geese pond”) and the moonlight in the Mid-Autumn Festival. When I grew up and left my hometown, family reunions in these traditional festivals become nearly impossible. Writing this piece gave me a chance to recall the pleasant moments happening in the places where I spent the time in my childhood. This piece is approximately eleven minutes in a single movement. The instrumentation is piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn (also plays oboe 2), 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, crash cymbals and suspended cymbal, snare drum, tenor drum, 5 tom-toms, triangle, wood blocks, glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, celeste, piano, harp, and strings: violins I, II, violas, cellos, and double basses. Starting with a slow section, then gradually transitioning to a fast one with ostinatos in the percussion instruments, finally reaching a joyful and even faster section, the overall structure of this symphonic composition consists of three main sections in a slow-fast-faster order. Titled “Moonlight”, the first section (mm.1-65) opens the piece in a poetic manner, describing the reflection of the full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The reflecting image on the river changes from time to time due to the ripples. The musical style I used here is called San Ban, a traditional method that is in a slow tempo with irregular and free meter changes, which can be commonly found in Chinese folk music and operas. Typically, it gives performers the freedom to control meter changes and tempo as improvisations. Instead of freely improvising, I have written specific meter changes. The second section (mm.66-176), called “Fireworks”, represents the fireworks in the Lunar New Year. The ostinato begins in the marimba and piano, then travels between instruments and instrumental groups, providing a colorful assortment of various timbres. “Dragon Boats”, the last section, pictures an intense dragon boat race on May 5th in the lunar calendar every year. The dragon boat theme C-Bb-D-F-G-C-G-Eb-D-F (m.181-182) was borrowed from a traditional Cantonese instrumental piece Sailongduojin (dragon boat race). The usage of syncopations, dotted rhythms, and irregular meters helps depicted the competitive environment of the race. A descending and then ascending 16th-note pentatonic pattern can be seen at the end of each phrase, representing the “tail combining” and “changing beginning and doubling ending” techniques from traditional musical structure. In addition, this pattern also reflects rhyming in literature. Other elements relating to dragon boat races, such as the accelerando (mm.249-269), constant drumbeats (m.249), firecracker celebration (mm.270-294) and the triumph (m.301), can be found in this section. The major feature of the musical language used in this piece is inspired by the scale of the Yee Fan key, a special scale that is rarely used except in Cantonese music. In a typical pentatonic setting, pitches are C-D-E-G-A-C (C pentatonic). Scale degrees 4 and 7 are usually omitted. However, in Yee Fan key, the pitches in the scale are G-B-C-D-F-G with A and E as passing or neighbor tones. These differences make the Yee Fan key sound neither like C pentatonic nor G pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E-G). Moreover, frequently the B is lowered, and F is raised by a quarter tone, making it sound similar to La-Do-Re-Mi-Sol-La in Bb pentatonic. Instead of being omitted in the typical pentatonic scale, the scale degrees 4 and 7 are highly emphasized in the Yee Fan key. In this work the two altered pitches are modified as Bb and F# to adapt to western tuning. The Yee Fan key distinguishes Cantonese music from any other Chinese music. It incorporates the characteristics of C pentatonic (when B and F are natural), G pentatonic (starting on G, when F is raised), Bb pentatonic (when B is lowered), and the western tonality (m2 interval and all seven pitches are used). This piece explores the possibilities of forming different pitch combinations based on the Yee Fan key system. This work not only represents an important milestone in my career, but also carries my identity and the sweet impressions of my hometown.
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    The Oompah-pulor Tuba: An examination and pedagogical approach to incorporating popular and commercial music elements in solo tuba literature
    (2022) Ambrose, Samuel Ryan; Votta, Michael; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This dissertation traces the history of writing for the tuba in a variety of musical realmsand examines pedagogical approaches to studying the instrument in an attempt to create more works and solo performance opportunities, specifically through a lens of popular and commercial music. The recorded project features a sample of works for solo tuba featuring various elements of popular and commercial music. The recorded selections include works written for tuba and adapted for tuba, all specifically arranged to encompass a particular popular or commercial style and sound. All arrangements are original to this project and adhere to the proposed model for inclusion of musical elements that performers and educators can implement in their studies, as well as their pedagogical justifications.
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    Quintet for Flute and String Quartet
    (2022) Wentz, Cameron Lee; DeLio, Thomas; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Quintet is written for flute, 2 violins, viola, and cello, and it Is in three movements (Mvt 1 – c. 7.5 min., Mvt. 2 – c. 5.5 min., Mvt .3 – c. 7.5 min.). Prior to writing any notes, I sketched various graphs in order to better judge the shape, structure, and proportion of each movement. However, as is commonly the case, the final product does not entirely adhere to my initial designs. I considered and revised pitch centers, rhythmic activity, and instrumentation were affected as the process of composition unfolded. The particular instrumentation of this work, by its nature, gave me the ability to play between various instrumental combinations and relationships. For example, in some passages, I present all five as a unified group; in others I pit the flute against the string quartet in a concerto-like fashion. This interplay occurs regularly throughout the piece. The core of all three movements of Quintet is a chorale, and the chorale was the first music I composed. I then present and shape it differently within each movement. It is initially presented in the first movement between bars 68 - 92 and bars 129 – 148. The melody, harmony, and linear evolution of the chorale are all utilized in the development of each movement and affect the arc of the whole work. The first movement does not begin with the chorale, as might be expected. Rather, I place two contrasting sections before the Chorale appears in the middle of the movement. Likewise, the flute is absent at the outset of the movement but joins the quartet in the second section. I originally conceived the chorale for strings alone in a familiar four-voice texture. But then I added the flute, ornamenting the chorale by weaving in and around the strings. However, the chorale is interrupted and left incomplete while other material from the movement returns. The chorale is then finished at the close of the first movement. The second movement more clearly separates the flute and the string quartet. For the strings, the movement is demarcated by various textural and rhythmic changes. The chorale is obscured and never presented conventionally. Rather, the opening string accompaniment derives its harmonic development from the opening chords of the original chorale. The flute floats above the strings creating a fluid melodic through-line across the entire movement. The third and final movement is comprised of two textures divided across five sections creating a rondo-like movement. The first texture in the opening section is dense and fast, driven by the outer-voice duet between flute and cello. They are accompanied by the inner voices (violins and viola). As in the second movement, the third movement excludes the chorale in its conventional four voice texture, instead, I use the chorale’s harmonies to provide pitch material for these inner voices. The second texture of this movement is slower and more lyrical than the first, across all instruments. In general, the flute is prominent melodically while the strings accompany. In the final section of the movement, I finally bring back the original chorale in a more recognizable way. But even here, I avoid its original four-voice texture, in favor of an extended solo passage for the flute, imitating the cadenza of a concerto with occasional support from the string quartet.
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    Piramagrun
    (2022) Ismael, Rizgar; Wilson, Mark E; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The title Piramagrun (Kurdish: پیرەمەگرون), refers to the name of a rocky massif mountain around the city of Sulaymaniyah (Kurdistan of Iraq). It is part of the Zagros Mountains, with a maximum elevation of 2624 meters, making it the city's highest peak. This mountain peak is known to many people but not many have attempted climbing it due to its rough terrain, steep ridges, and dead ends. However, I was able to climb it and reach the summit on two separate occasions. In essence, borrowing the name and applying it to my dissertation work is a reference to my personal journey to the mountain peak told through a musical narrative that is governed by my own experience. Before embarking on a challenging journey, one’s mental state can be occupied by a wide array of emotions such as, desire, fear, motivation, belief, failure, and achievement. The title Piramagrun is a metaphor for one’s journey through life; overcoming obstacles; climbing the ladder of success; and reaching one’s goal in life. Thus the general storyline and ideas in these movements were the inspiration used to build the tone poem's structure. Piramagrun is an orchestral work of about thirteen minutes. The structure of this symphonic poem consists of four main movements played without a break with the first movement containing a sub-movement/sub-title; each movement linked together through a number of motifs, and thematic ideas that are constantly developed and transformed as they pass through different obstacles. The work is orchestrated for a piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, and strings: violins I, II (16 each), violas (12), cellos (12), and double basses (8) (with extension). The first movement is titled “Introduction-Contemplation.” The introduction, while short, is highlighted by the main motif (the Shepherd’s call), a perfect 4th interval, and the main polychord, which is used as a leitmotif representing the summit. The beginning chromatic arpeggio figure in the clarinets and bassoons which is accompanied by a steady drone in the violas contains the pitches Ab-C-Eb, which are dissonant with respect to D major chord, and are resolved at the end of the piece. Contemplation, on the other hand, refers to one’s fear of the unknown when contemplating a plan that is filled with obstacles. The chromatic nature and the unstable mood of this section is reflective of the various states of one’s mind. The second movement “Sunrise,” is about the beginning of the journey. In this movement, there is a noticeable shift in terms of texture, melodic, and harmonic content as they become more consonant, hence the reference to “Sunrise” being a metaphor for hope and determination. The transition to the third movement (Pastoral Song) occurs after a brief orchestral high point. The third movement’s pastoral song is where the journey and the hike through the village to the base of the mountain begins. The main theme is constructed around a series of perfect 4th and 5th intervals in reference to the main motif (Shepherd’s call). The pastoral song strives to capture the lush green landscapes, oak trees, bird sounds, and other aspects that govern nature’s soothing and healing power. And yet, there is a great sense of simplicity that is so inviting. The fourth movement “Ascent,” or the climb to the peak, may be considered the high point of this work with its noticeably fast tempo, sparse texture, and highly chromatic nature. At the beginning of this section, the melodic and harmonic material are worked out in phases starting with the low register, and gradually expanding until the final climax (the summit) is reached. The main thematic ideas of the first movement have strong presence in this movement. There are a few intense moments where this forward moving section dies down reflecting what I call moments of reluctance before carrying on with the climb. These slow interludes represent one’s thoughts when contemplating giving up one’s goals to avoid the risks. At the final climax, the dissonant notes of the polychord are resolved into a D major 9th chord indicating the final resting point. The final few measures recall the opening arpeggio figure (Ab-C-Eb) of the introduction but free of dissonances (A-C#-E), in reference to the ultimate state of calmness that this small section exhibits: flowery, colorful, and subtle instrumental dialogues supported by a steady drone making it the prevailing atmosphere of the end.
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    The Rise and Fall of the Composing Violinist: Composition and Interpretation in Recital
    (2021) Sugiyama, Kei; Stern, James; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    On a program for a classical music recital today you will typically find the names of the performers, as well as the names of the various composers who wrote the music. At first, this seems perfectly ordinary, until we consider that there was a time when such a distinction between performer and composer was not always so ordinary. Today, musical composition and performance are seen as separate practices. Looking at the works that dominate the modern repertoire of today’s recitals, a disproportionate number of them are written by composers who also performed those very works themselves. This investigation has traced the history of the composing violinist back to the beginnings of the French Violin School of the 19th century. The composing violinist underwent a transformation into the interpreting and performance-oriented violinist in the latter half of the 19th century as a result of a growth in historical and interpretive performance practices popularized by the Hungarian violinist, composer, and pedagogue, Joseph Joachim. Composing violinists have contributed greatly to the modern violin repertoire and their works comprise a significant portion of essential learning materials for the consummate violinist. This dissertation explores such works, through scholarly examination and performance, composed by Niccolò Paganini, Eugène Ysayë, and Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. These are complemented by works written by composers associated with the rise of the interpreting violinist, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Finally, the program is completed with three original works composed by myself as a composing violinist.
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    CHORAL REPERTOIRE BY ITALIAN WOMEN OF THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES
    (2021) Kim, Minji; Maclary, Edward; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    For the past few decades, there has been a marked rise of interest and advocacy in music composed by women. Yet, the early vocal ensemble music by historical women composers is still scarcely performed in concert halls. This is not because of the inferior quality of their works compared to mainstream choral works, but rather due to the lack of familiarity and availability of resources to choral directors. Despite the constraints of music education and pursuing their professional careers, many women have left wonderful music repertoire, many of which are unique and deserve much more attention from modern musicians. This dissertation focuses on five sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian women composers and some of their repertoire which can be successfully performed by collegiate and professional choirs. Moreover, this dissertation shares representative musical features of the selected works. The selected composers are Sulpitia Cesis, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Isabella Leonarda, Maddalena Casulana, and Barbara Strozzi. Even with an increasing trend towards equality in concert programming, the low number of performed music by women composers indicates that we still have a long way to go. Dr. Lorraine A. Lynch, in her dissertation, reviews repertoire performed between 1978 and 2016 by selected high school ensembles for the ACDA Eastern Division Conferences. She shares a concerning fact that only twelve selections over the entire repertoire performed for almost forty years were composed or arranged by women. Needless to say, early works by historical women composers are performed even less frequently. It is now the task of conductors to bring this music by historical women composers back into the concert hall and curate their work in the most advantageous performance and listening circumstances. To this end, this dissertation includes four sample choral concert programs, with forty to fifty percent of the repertoire consisting of women’s music. The programs are created to juxtapose harmoniously with other mainstream choral works. My hope is that these programs may encourage other conductors to consider programming more music by women in a creative and organic way.
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    Russian Jazz with Bolshevik Trimmings: Modernist Composer-Pianists in Revolutionary Russia
    (2021) Tumanov Pavlov, Mijail V; Dedova, Larissa; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The purpose of this project is to highlight the piano compositions of the extraordinarily diverse period in Russian music between the emergence of pre-Revolutionary modernism in the early twentieth century and the publication of the “Muddle Instead of Music” article in 1936, the lack of State intervention in artistic matters up until the early 1930s proved to be a boon for Soviet composers. The title of this project is taken from Karleton Hackett’s review of the 1921 premiere of Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges in the Chicago Evening Post. Hackett’s misguided characterization is very telling – The Love for Three Oranges contains neither jazz nor Bolshevik influences. The figure of the composer-pianist played an important role in the development of Russian piano music in the early twentieth century; every one of the composers featured in this project was an accomplished pianist. This project presents but a small fraction of the solo piano repertoire created by the remarkable innovativecomposers of early twentieth-century Russia. A number of these composers failed to remain relevant in the post-1936 political climate and have thus vanished from history books. Yet their works offer a wealth of exciting new repertoire for pianists. In addition to discussions of each work and composer featured, special attention is given to Samuil Feinberg, whose life and works remain in obscurity. An extensive analysis of Feinberg’s Second Piano Sonata, Op. 2, and Berceuse, Op. 19a, is included since available information on Feinberg’s musical language is very scarce. References to thorough analyses and discussion of works covered is provided in the bibliography.
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    CAPTURING SOUND: THE METHODS OF ARRANGING AND EXECUTING INSTRUMENTAL SOUNDS BETWEEN ORCHESTRA AND PIANO
    (2020) Koelzer, Christopher; Sloan, Rita; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The piano stands today as a romantic instrument, designed to produce large amounts of sound, a wide range of dynamic contrasts, and infinite voicing possibilities. The piano’s ability to create and sustain harmonies across its over seven- octave range provides composers a single instrument to express the harmonic expanses of an entire orchestra. Through the nineteenth century, composers around the world imbued orchestral characteristics into their pianistic writing. In contrast, some composers took the opposite route and began orchestrating solo piano works. This dissertation explored several orchestral works transcribed for piano across selected genres in order to portray the techniques necessary to most accurately represent the intricate collaboration of orchestral textures and production of sound through the piano. The pieces performed were as follows: Claude Debussy’s Nocturnes, arranged by Maurice Ravel for two piano, four-hands; Igor Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps, arranged by the composer for one piano, four-hands; Johannes Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn, originally scored for two pianos, four-hands; and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, arranged by the composer for two pianos, four- hands. Collaborators included pianists Dr. Nadežda Mijatović-Sekicki and Dr. Alexei Ulitin. These works were presented at the University of Maryland’s Gildenhorn Recital Hall on September 30, 2018, and December 8, 2019. In lieu of performing the third D.M.A. lecture recital, this dissertation encompassed additional chapters of detailed processes and suggestions on how to facilitate transcriptions and reductions at the piano. Recital recordings can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).
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    Statements on Isolation, Memory, and Acceptance
    (2020) Boatright, John Duncan; DeLio, Thomas; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The dissertation will be comprised of a fixed-media electronic composition approximately 20 minutes in length in two movements. Spoken word recordings of poetry and prose, drawn from several literary works, comprise the entire sound source for the work. In the first movement, fragments of text are drawn primarily from House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. In the second movement, text is drawn entirely from the Emily Dickinson poem informally known as After great pain, a formal feeling comes, catalogued as number 372. To me, the texts serve to represent contrasting emotional states: the fragments in the first movement convey fear, anxiety, tension, and claustrophobia; the Dickinson text conveys resignation, yielding, and desolation. While these texts differ greatly in their content, they all carry certain sonic properties which enables them to undergo similar processes of manipulation: all are consistently dramatic and yet poetic, and all use imaginative and abstract imagery (“the covering memory permanently hitched to everything preceding it” and “the nerves sit ceremonious like tombs”) which enables the composition to rely on the timbre and aesthetic of the language rather than on the specific content. No original sound synthesis is present; the sonic material is instead drawn from the processing of these recorded voices. The first movement, Stories misremembered, is characterized by the technique known as granular synthesis. Samples of the vocal sounds are increasingly reduced in length until they reach a grain size of 50ms or less, at which point hundreds to thousands of these samples are layered over one another to form a timbre that resembles pink noise from a spectral perspective. This composite noise is then very narrowly filtered to a series of frequencies to a degree that the waveform of each band is nearly sinusoidal, with rapid and minute variations in amplitude stemming from the speech patterns of the two vocalists. This process is underscored by a number of other vocal samples which have been manipulated primarily via time stretching to form low frequency pedals that serves the purpose of mirroring narrative aspects of the source texts. The second movement, Stories forgotten, uses the sonic character of the end of the first movement as its starting point. It begins with a series of narrowly filtered clouds of granulated sound underscored by a recitation of the Dickinson poem by six vocalists. This is comparatively static and should be clearly perceptible to the audience - albeit still manipulated, primarily by means of time stretching and splicing of phonemes. This movement was conceived as a clear background and foreground texture; the foreground consists of occasional statements of clearly audible text fragments while the background texture consists of a succession of sustained frequencies. Whereas the filtered frequencies of the first movement are drawn exclusively from an even-tempered tuning system, the frequencies of this second movement are drawn from the first 1000 prime numbers, with the rationale being that ratios of prime numbers are more likely to be irrational and thus heard as less consonant. These frequencies are always presented in pairs, with the frequency ratios of those pairs being irrational ratios which slowly approach – but never reach – the consonant ratios of 4:3, 3:2, and 2:1. The end result is a gradual but inconclusive approach towards consonance, and the end effect on an audience is an almost imperceptible tension which pervades the movement. The two movements together form a narrative and a commentary on the musical nature of the human voice as it is used to articulate these texts. An additional narrative aspect, conveyed through the ordering of the text fragments, in the first movement conveys a narrator pursued through an enclosed space by a beast of their own psyche; the second movement conveys the narrator accepting their role as both victim and perpetrator and resigning themselves to an impending profound loss. An analysis of these two movements using spectrographs reveals that the initially complex timbre of the voice is gradually destroyed until its waveforms almost approach something sinusoidal, before the process reverses itself and the complexity of the voice is once again revealed. The piece is being written primarily using SuperCollider, a programming language developed in the 1990s for the procedural manipulation of sound, and also involves the use of Audacity, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Reason.