Theses and Dissertations - Department of Music (Applied & Theory)

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Classical jazz: the life and musical innovations of Nikolai Kapustin
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Roberts, Jonathan Eugene; Engebretson, Noel J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This is an extended study of the historical significance, life, and music of Nikolai Kapustin, Russian composer and pianist. Kapustin's music creatively fuses the virtuosity and structure of traditional classical music with the musical language of jazz. Having composed over 147 works, including twenty piano sonatas, twenty-four preludes and fugues, and six piano concerti, he is arguably one of the most prolific composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The study consists of three parts. The first part is an overview of the history of classical-jazz fusion and illustrates how Kapustin stands apart from composers whose music is typically categorized as "crossover" or "third stream." The second part documents Kapustin's biography and musical development throughout the various stages of his life and is the most thorough account of Kapustin's career to date. The third part presents an analysis of the combination of jazz and classical styles in two contrasting pieces: Kapustin's Sonata No. 2, Op. 54, and his Prelude and Fugue Op. 82, No. 10. As a preface, this part will also include an overview of some basic jazz compositional techniques that will help the reader understand the analyses.
The development of Taiwanese western vocal music since 1895: an overview
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Tseng, Li-Han; Fleming, Susan C.; Williams, Susan E.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The term Taiwanese first came into use after World War II. In 1949, civil war (the Communist Revolution) in China forced General Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣中正, 1887-1975) to move to the island of Taiwan. Many immigrants from mainland China followed him. Some inhabitants of Taiwan, the descendants of 17th century immigration, called themselves Taiwanese to distinguish themselves from the new wave of immigrants following Chiang Kai-Shek. These new immigrants were labeled “Out-of-State” (外省人) people. Nonetheless, today, with yet another change in political climate, people call themselves Taiwanese—even those people who came to Taiwan after World War II—to differentiate themselves from the citizens of the People’s Republic of China. Currently, Taiwanese refers to people who were born in Taiwan, grew up in Taiwan, were educated in Taiwan, and hold a passport from Taiwan, the Republic of China. This complicated historical background motivated people (especially since the 1970s) to focus more on Taiwan’s varied cultural identity and inspired them to create beautiful, nationalistic art. Since 1895, both Western musical traditions and the political climate in Taiwan exerted heavy influence on Taiwanese vocal music. This recital and accompanying manuscript offer glimpses into the expression of the Taiwanese spirit through song during three distinct political periods in Taiwan’s history: the music and poetry of Teng Yu-Hsien (鄧雨賢, 1906-1944), written during the Japanese colonization and lasting from 1895-1945; the work of Lu Chuan-Sheng (呂泉生, 1916-2008) and Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然, 1938-2015), who composed much of their work during the period after World War II and up to 1990; and from 1990 to the present, during which many composers continue to work with Western influences and their Taiwanese heritage. Since 1949, because of the political climate, Taiwan's political status has remained controversial. Many people claim Taiwan an independent country known as the Republic of China, and it functions in this way today; others insist Taiwan is merely an island constituting part of the People’s Republic of China.
The evolution of the heldentenor: Siegmund, Grimes, Samson, and Otello
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Seay, James; Fleming, Susan C.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this manuscript is to set into context a recital which highlights the attributes of the Heldentenor. The recital was held on 11 March 2014 and was comprised of operatic excerpts from Wagner's Die Walküre (1870), Saints-Saëns' Samson et Dalila (1877), Britten's Peter Grimes (1945), and Verdi's Otello (1887). All four of these operas have become mainstays in the repertoire of the Heldentenor. The program from the recital appears in the appendix at the end of this manuscript, and the program includes translations of the operatic excerpts and the text of spoken introductions that were read as part of the recital. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Heldentenor voice classification has played an integral role in popular opera theater. The origin of the Heldentenor classification can be traced back to the abrupt change in the performance practice of the upper register of the tenor voice with the now famous performance of the full-throated, chest high Cs in Rossini's Guillame Tell sung by Gilbert-Louis Duprez (1806-1896) at the national opera in Paris in 1837. As the technique involving the upper register of the tenor voice changed, the vocal and dramatic demands placed on the voice type increased. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Heldentenor voice classification had emerged from the popular operatic compositions of Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, and several of their contemporaries. Since that time, this voice type has played a major role in opera theater. In fact, the creation of the Heldentenor marked a shift in vocal pedagogy and musical style for the tenor voice that has had wide ranging effects for generations of singers and composers. Even though the cultivation of the heavier Heldentenor often requires time, patience, and careful training, new artists possessing the rare dramatic vocal color and the ability to sing over large, powerful orchestras continued to emerge throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The purpose of this manuscript and accompanying recital is to define the Heldentenor in terms of its voice classification and dramatic musical style. A pedagogical discussion on the Heldentenor voice and an understanding of the distinctions between voice classification and the Fach system are central to this purpose. Also, the history and development of the heroic voice type are imperative in order to understand its evolution. Through commentaries, biographical material, reviews, and articles, this manuscript will explain the forces that led to the creation, establishment, and subsequent progression of one of the most specialized and rarest of voice types in the operatic repertory, the Heldentenor. Students and teachers attempting to train in this difficult voice classification must understand the history of the repertoire and persons who have achieved success singing it. For this reason, an account of the important Heldentenors who have propelled the voice type forward will also be included in the discussion. This manuscript will provide a better understanding of both the historical and developing trends that contribute to the Heldentenor voice in order to provide new singers with better insight regarding the training and performance practice of the Fach.
Kaija Saariaho's path to the met: the merger of conventional and unconventional musical devices in L'amour de Loin
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Prickett, Amy; Houghtaling, Paul H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
On December 1, 2016, the Metropolitan Opera presented Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin, the Met’s second production of a work by a female composer, and the first since Ethyl Smyth’s Der Wald in 1903. Although opera companies around the world regularly produce operas written within the last fifty years, new operas are a small percentage of their total productions. This document includes biographical information and educational background for the composer Kaija Saariaho. An evolution of her compositional style and artistic path to composing in the genre of opera is explored. The majority of the document examines the opera L’Amour de loin itself, focusing on its commissioning, libretto, compositional structure, and reception history. This document also illustrates how much of Saariaho’s success with her operas, especially L’Amour de Loin, lies in her incorporation of conventional operatic elements and musical devices, common in music since the seventeenth century, into her own contemporary musical language. Saariaho does not rely on functional harmony to provide forward motion within her music. Instead, in her combination of timbre, texture, and harmony (often non-diatonic and generally non-functional), she develops musical energy and direction by placing the highest priority on timbre or color for structural momentum. She also created specific motifs to signify the individual characters (similar to leitmotifs) and recurring musical gestures woven throughout the opera. She employs musical devices such as text painting, common to music throughout history, as well as musical genres such as the tarantella, a traditional dance. In fact, Saariaho has contributed to a resurgence of interest in new opera around the world and rearticulated an art form she once viewed as outdated. Her compositional style creates fields of sonorities focusing on timbre while using a combination of serial techniques, along with tonal context or pitch centers with spectral ideas. These techniques will be further discussed within the document. In essence, her work has defined a new multimedia art form recognized by major opera companies, including the Met.
Lori Laitman: the influence of prosody on melodic content, accompaniment, and form in the songs "will there really be a `morning'?" and "dear march"
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Bryant, Jennifer Michelle; Houghtaling, Paul H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The process by which an art song composer writes is central in understanding his or her artistic persona. It is through the recognition of this process that we see the creative principles in each artist. For composer Lori Laitman, an emotional response to the words is the first step in her process. This response includes an awareness of the formal structure of a poem as well as attention to the natural word stress and dramatic delivery of each phrase. Therefore, the fundamental properties of her songs--melody, accompaniment and form-- are determined by the text. Laitman has set the poetry of Emily Dickinson with frequency throughout her career. Therefore, in order to explore Laitman's compositional process and artistic persona this document will study two of her Dickinson settings, "Will There Really Be A `Morning'?" and "Dear March" with a particular interest in the formal organization and melodic design of the songs in relation to meter, word and phrase inflection, and overall character in the poems. Following a brief introduction, Chapter Two presents an overview of Laitman's musical education and experiences. While studying for a performance degree at Yale University, she took a course in film composition. This proved to be a pivotal experience for Laitman as she was exposed to the many facets of dramatic music, in particular, understanding mood in text and communicating that mood through music. The next chapter explores the writing style of Emily Dickinson with a focus on verse patterns and punctuation as well as the aphoristic qualities of her poetry. The purpose of this chapter is to reveal significant attributes of Emily Dickinson's writing style, which influence Laitman's musical interpretations. Chapter Four provides an examination of Laitman's musical settings, "Will There Really Be A `Morning'?" and "Dear March." The analyses will focus on melodic construction and form in relation to the structure of the poem. Finally, in order to further define Laitman's style, Chapter Five will include a comparative study of her settings with musical settings of the same poems by Aaron Copland ("Dear March") and Richard Hundley ("Will There Really Be A Morning?").
Luigi Dallapiccola's Il Prigioniero and Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul: a comparative study
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Stephenson, Jennifer Graham; Houghtaling, Paul H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
As art reflects life, so too does it hold a mirror to the lives of the people who create it. The turbulent events of the first decades of the twentieth century, including two World Wars and the rise of Italian Fascism and German Nazism in the 1920s and 30s, affected millions of lives across several continents. This document explores the ways in which Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–1973) and Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) voice their reactions to these events in their operas, Il Prigioniero (1948) and The Consul (1950). Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola spent twenty months in internment during the First World War, and would be forced on several occasions to go into hiding during the Second World War. His opposition to Mussolini and the Italian Fascists, coupled with his quasi–obsession with internment and freedom, led to his composition of three works of “protest music,” of which Il Prigioniero is the second. Il Prigioniero tells the story of a prisoner of the Inquisition, his attempt at escape and eventual capture. Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti emigrated to the United States in 1928, at age seventeen, and spent a great much of his time traveling and working in various countries. Having friends and family in many nations, and being of “alien” status in the United States, Menotti was very aware of the processes of immigration and the plight of refugees. The Consul is the story of a woman attempting to obtain an exit visa to escape persecution in her home country. She is met by bureaucratic “red tape” at every turn, and is unable to flee, resulting in her suicide. Although Dallapiccola and Menotti did not know each other, nor do they appear to have been familiar with each other's work, both composers drew the same conclusions about the nature of freedom due to their life experiences through shared historical events. Both Il Prigioniero and The Consul explore themes of hope, prayer, accessibility to freedom, and the culpability of both action and inaction in perpetuating oppression.

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations - Department of Music (Applied & Theory) by Author "Aversa, Elizabeth Smith"

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