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Critical Reaction to Serge Koussevitzky's Programming of Contemporary Music with the Boston Symphony Orchestra 1924-1929

Description: Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924-1949, had, throughout his career, a reputation as a champion of modern music. The anticipation of his arrival in Boston in 1924 sparked a great deal of public debate about his reported modernism which the critics reflected and contributed to. This thesis analyzes the critical reaction, preserved in scrapbooks of newspaper clippings at Symphony Hall, Boston, to Koussevitzky's programming of contemporary music during his fir… more
Date: August 1982
Creator: Morgan, Richard S. (Richard Sanborn)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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French Theories of Beauty and the Aesthetics of Music 1700 to 1750

Description: Studies of eighteenth-century French musical aesthetics have traditionally focused on questions of taste treated in the critical literature of the day. During the first half of the century, however, certain French writers were dealing with aesthetics in the stricter sense of the word, proposing theories of beauty that suited existing philosophical values. The treatises in which these ideas were set forth--Jean-Pierre de Crousaz' Traité du beau, Jean-Baptiste DuBos' Réflexions critiques sur la p… more
Date: August 1982
Creator: Dill, Charles William
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The String Quartets of Franz Berwald

Description: This thesis is concerned with the historical context and evaluation of the string quartets of Franz Berwald. It will establish the environment within which Berwald composed these quartets, and show the results of his efforts. The material for this investigation was gathered from musical scores and literature about music. Chapter I gives an introduction to the thesis and a short biographical sketch of Berwald. Chapter II surveys the string quartet in the first half of the nineteenth century, cit… more
Date: May 1977
Creator: Coffman, Randall Edson
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Busoni's Doktor Faust

Description: It is the intent of this thesis to shed a new investigative light upon a musician whose importance as a creative personality and aesthetician has been sorely underestimated or at least unappreciated by fellow musicians and audiences of his own and succeeding generations, a musician who formulated a new musical aesthetic which involved the utilization of compositional techniques diametrically opposed to those which had held dominant influence over the musical world for more than half a century, … more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Harrison, Charles Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Johann Friedrich Reichardt and His Liederspiel "Liebe und Treue"

Description: The purpose of this investigation is to examine Reichardt's reasons for his development of the genre Liederspiel. A brief biographical sketch of Reichardt reveals an innovative character who was responsible for several developments within the history of music. The Liederspiel was particularly affected by the French vaudeville. However, an investigation into the character of each shows that they are really quite different. A translation of an article by Reichardt from the Allgemeine Musikalische… more
Date: May 1979
Creator: Peacock, Daniel F.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Jewish Elements in Representative Published Piano Works of Charles Valentine Morhange (Alkan)

Description: The purpose of this study is to show interrelationships between the thematic contents of those piano works by Alkan that are considered to be representative of his general style and the more commonly used melodic phrases taken from the Jewish Synagogue, mainly prayer chants and accents. An attempt will be made to point out the reason behind consequent unacceptable of Alkan's piano works, despite the efforts of Busoni, d'Albert, and Lewenthal to bring them to public attention. The results of thi… more
Date: December 1971
Creator: Radford, Wanda J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Remarks and Reflections on French Recitative: Ban Inquiry into Performance Practice Based on the Observations of Bénigne de Bacilly, Jean-Léonor de Grimarest, and Jean-Baptiste Dubos

Description: This study concerns the declaimed performance of recitative in early French opera. Because the dramatic use of the voice was crucial to the opera genre, this investigation begins with a survey of historical definitions of declamation. Once the topic has been described, the thesis proceeds to thoroughly study three treatises dealing with sung recitation: Bacilly's Remarques curieuses, Grimarest's Traité de recitatif, and Dubos' Reflexions critiques. Principles from these sources are then applied… more
Date: August 1985
Creator: Reid, Michael A. (Michael Alan)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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An analysis of Brahms' Quintet in B minor, op. 115, for clarinet and strings

Description: Although many volumes concerning the life and works of Johannes Brahms have been written, it has been found that the majority of these writings treat the material of the subject in a rather poetic and romanticized fashion. This is especially unfortunate in those volumes where the works of Brahms are analyzed with pragmatic implications, since Brahms himself eschewed the use of extramusical elements in his composition. This investigation, therefore, is an attempt to present a careful analysis of… more
Date: January 1968
Creator: Graham, Jack E. (Jack Eldon)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Respond Motets from Matins for the Dead by Robert Parsons

Description: The three respond motets from Matins for the Dead by Robert Parsons constitute an important part of the sacred Latin repertory of mid-sixteenth-century England, illustrating central features of the English mid-century style. Although he worked within a conservative musical tradition, Parsons experimented with that tradition in personal and individual ways. Specifically his modal and thematic construction as well as his practice of musica ficta are singled out for closer analysis. Consequently, … more
Date: August 1984
Creator: Nosow, Robert Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Édouard Batiste's Symphonie militaire (1845): edition and commentary

Description: Symphonie Militaire is a three movement work for twelve solo wind instruments composed by Edouard Batiste (1820-1876), a professor at the Paris Conservatoire and organist. The composition is scored for flute, two oboes, two B-flat clarinets, two bassoons, E-flat trumpet with valves, two F horns with valves, trombone, and B-flat ophicleide. In this edition, which was prepared from the original manuscript, the trumpet part is transposed to B-flat and a tuba has been substituted for the ophicleide… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Smialek, William
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Zweyer Gleich-Gesinnten Freunde Tugend- und Schertz-Lieder by Johann Jacob Löwe and Julius Johann Weiland

Description: The purpose of this thesis was to make available for performance and study an edition of the twenty-two secular songs published in this collection by Johann Jacob Löwe and Julius Johann Weiland in 1657. The thesis contains twenty-two secular songs for one, two, or three voices with continuo accompaniment and ritornellos for one or two violins, and/or viola, as well as translations of Lowe's preface and dedication and a poem to Lower and Weiland by Heinrich Schaffer. The work contains three chap… more
Date: May 1978
Creator: Clayton, Nancy Jean
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Alban Berg as Liedkomponist: An Analytical Study of his Two Settings of "Schliesse mir die Augen beide," 1907 and 1925

Description: Alan Berg's two musical settings of Theodor Storm's poem"Schliesse mir die Augen beide" have received little in the way of scholarly analytical attention. The three major chapters of this thesis deal with the two settings on three different levels. Chapter II surveys the political and cultural milieu in which Berg functioned as a young composer of Lieder in the years 1900-1910. Chapter III examines the special quality of lyricism which is often attributed to Berg and his works. Chapter IV provi… more
Date: May 1986
Creator: Ray, Karen, 1951-
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Drama and Characterization in Opera Settings of "A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream" by Britten and Siegmeister

Description: Although Shakespeare deliberately downplays characterization in his moonlit dream fantasy, both Britten and Siegmeister exploit this dramatic element as the basis of their opera settings of the play. Through the operas, the shallow characters take on new dimensions, creating musical experiences existing quite independently of Shakespeare, while at the same time retaining the atmosphere of a dream-fantasy. Placing emphases upon varying aspects of the play, the two composers create entirely diffe… more
Date: August 1982
Creator: Allen, Debra K. (Debra Kaye)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Translation of and Commentary on The Noble Art of Music, by Juan Miguel Urtasun de Yrarraga

Description: This study is a translation of and commentary on an eighteenth-century treatise written by Juan Miguel Urtasun de Yrarraga. Its purpose is to contribute to the field of knowledge of eighteenth-century Spanish materials, making an original work of that era accessible to the reader unfamiliar with the Spanish language.
Date: December 1972
Creator: Barrera, Xavier
Partner: UNT Libraries
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'T Uitnemend Kabinet: Vol Pavanen, Almanden, Sarbanden, Couranten, Balletten, Intraden, Airs: Volume II

Description: 'T Uitnemend Kabinet is a two-volume collection of two and three-part instrumental music from Germany, France, Italy, and Holland, published by Paulus Matthysz in Amsterdam (1646 and 1649). Volume I consists of 54 folios in the treble part book, and 19 in the bass part book; Volume II has 37 folios in the treble part book and 21 in the bass part book. he main part of this edition consists of a transcription of the 103 pieces of Volume II, which is accompanied with a brief commentary on the comp… more
Date: December 1974
Creator: Wallace, Barbara K.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Lady of the Lake: a Reconstructed Piano-Vocal Score, with Commentary on the Historical Background

Description: The document consists of a commentary on the historical background of the work and an edition of the restored score. The commentary treats its relationship to the ballad opera, sources and alternate settings of the music and libretto, a history of the development of "Hail to the Chief," biographical sketches of the primary composers, and a section on early productions in England and America. The commentary includes a history of the English and American premieres, lengths of the first-runs, and … more
Date: May 1979
Creator: Knox, Robert E., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Johann Anton Kobrich's Wohlgeübter Organist

Description: Johann Anton Kobrich (1714-1791) was the priest and organist of the parish church of Landsberg am Lech in upper Bavaria from 1730 until his death. A prolific composer, Kobrich wrote several works for organ, including the Wohlgeubter Organist (1762), a three-part collection of preludes, fugues, and toccatas. The major portion of this thesis consists of an edition of twenty-six selected pieces from the original fifty-eight in this collection. Also included are a bibliography of Kobrich, a discuss… more
Date: May 1982
Creator: Carnes, Nancy Warlick
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Representative Nineteenth-Century Choral Symphonies

Description: This study is concerned with the examination of choral symphonies by major nineteenth-century composers. Its purpose is to delineate the common characteristics which these works have. Emphasis is given to the investigation of the choral elements in the symphonies. Detailed musicological studies of nineteenth-century music are minimal; there has. been a particular lack of interest in nineteenth-century works for chorus. Therefore, the principal sources of data for this study were the full scores… more
Date: December 1971
Creator: Alexander, Metche Franke
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Comparison of the Use of Music in the Holy Eucharist of the Roman Catholic Church and the Sabbath Morning Service of the Jewish Synagogue in the Middle Ages

Description: The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of comparing the medieval musical traditions of two of the world's most influential religions. The similarities are discussed in two major categories: the comparison of liturgical texts and ritual, and the comparison of the music appearing in each ritual. This study has one main purpose. That purpose is to demonstrate how, through musical traditions, each religion has developed through the influence of the other. Samples of the litu… more
Date: July 1971
Creator: Simmons, Sandra K. (Sandra Kay)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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The Prodromus Musicalis of Sébastian de Brossard

Description: Sebastien de Brossard (1655-1730) was a French priest, a zealous collector and historian, a musician of merit, and the author of one of the first dictionaries of musical terminology, the Dictionnaire de musigue of 1703. Largely self-taught in music, Brossard studied theology and philosophy at Caen. He was appointed curate at Strasbourg A in 1687 and maitre de musique in 1689. In 1698 he was made grand chapelain and mattre de musique at Meaux, where he remained until his death. His complete work… more
Date: May 1973
Creator: Bolton, Thomas W. (Thomas Wayne)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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An Edition of Verse and Solo Anthems by William Boyce

Description: The English musician William Boyce was known as an organist for the cathedral as well as the Chapel Royal, a composer of both secular and sacred music, a director of large choral festivals, and the editor of Cathedral Music, the finest eighteenth-century edition of English Church music. Among Boyce's compositions for the church are many examples of verse and solo anthems. Part II of this thesis consists of an edition of one verse and three solo anthems selected from British Museum manuscript Ad… more
Date: August 1975
Creator: Fansler, Terry L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Clavichord Traits in Selected Late Eighteenth-Century Keyboard Pieces

Description: Several late eighteenth-century keyboard composers indicated that some of their works were written specifically for the clavichord, as opposed to the harpsichord or pianoforte. This demand was indicated by a composer's commentary, remarks made by a contemporary, or by Bebung and Tragen der Tone indications in the music. The thesis examines selected works of C.P.E. Bach, Johann Eckard, Nathanael Gruner, Johann Hassler, Christian Neefe, F.S. Sander, and Daniel Tt*rk, and discusses elements of the… more
Date: May 1983
Creator: Clark, Alice Ham
Partner: UNT Libraries
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A Study of the Vocal Chamber Duet Through the Nineteenth Century

Description: In this study of vocal chamber duets the various approaches used in duet writing from the late sixteenth century through the nineteenth are examined. Various meanings attributed to the terms "vocal duet" and "chamber duet" are considered, and an appropriate delineation of the genre is determined. The study begins with examination of bicinia, dialogues, and concertato madrigals of the late sixteenth century, three kinds of works related to the continuing lines of interest in duets of later centu… more
Date: December 1974
Creator: Brusse, Corre Berry
Partner: UNT Libraries
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On the Nature of Melody in Asia and Medieval Europe

Description: In current musicological research, considerable attention is given to the description of melodic structure and pitch organization. But it is problematical that the analytical concepts and terminology of the Common Practice Era are largely inadequate for meaningful description of melody of Asia and medieval Europe. For most traditions of melody in Asia and medieval Europe, there is some sort of developed system of theory, but each system is limited to the repertory it describes. Consequently, th… more
Date: December 1983
Creator: Siddons, James
Partner: UNT Libraries
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