Music
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Item The Voluble Viola: Music for Viola Inspired by Text and Poetry(2019) MacDuff, Timothy Joseph; Murdock, Katherine H.; Music; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This project is an exploration of music that draws inspiration from text or works that utilize programmatic themes. The vision for this project comes from Ernest Bloch’s Suite 1919 in which the composer created the music with a programmatic element in mind, but made the decision to not include extra-musical material in the title of the work or its movements. Bloch wrote quite eloquently about his extra-musical inspiration in his notes about the piece, but leaves the performer the option of relaying this information to their audience. I was not aware of the program notes Bloch wrote the first time I heard this work. My perception of the music changed after I read Bloch’s intended titles for each movement, as well as his written words about the colorful and evocative scenes he was imagining when writing the piece. The music came alive and moved me in a different way once I knew of Bloch’s inspirations. From this experience, I wanted to further my understanding of how a composer uses music to depict non-musical images or scenes when using text as a source, and how these extra-musical elements serve the performance and affect the expressive power of music. The first program focuses on poetry and literature set to instrumental music, featuring two poetic oboe, viola, and piano trios by August Klughardt and Charles Martin Loeffler, as well as Prokofiev’s musical portrait of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Vocal chamber music and the exploration of text as part of the performance is the theme of the second program, including works by Johannes Brahms, Frank Bridge, Charles Martin Loeffler, and Benjamin Britten. The final program interprets music titled “Fairytales” by Robert Schumann, as well as further examining poetic settings by Vincent Persichetti and Toru Takemitsu. The recitals were performed on November 2, 2018, February 22, 2019, and April 28, 2019 at the University of Maryland School of Music’s Ulrich Recital Hall, and I was assisted by oboist Michael Homme, mezzo-soprano Gabriela Estephanie Solis, clarinetist Dane Clark, and pianist Andrew Welch. The CD's for this dissertation recording project are available on compact discs which can be found in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).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.