Master of Music / Department of Music / Amy Rosine / This report consists of extended program notes for a master’s vocal recital for soprano, given by Mai Shibahara on April 20, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in All Faiths Chapel Auditorium on the Kansas State University campus. Included on the recital were works by Franz Lachner, Vincenzo Bellini, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Giacomo Puccini, and Dominick Argento. The program notes include biographical information about the composers and a textual and musical analysis of their works, which were performed on this recital. / Seit ich in gesehen by Franz Lachner; Vaga luna che inargenti, Per pietà, bell̕idol mio, Ma rendi pur contento by Vincenzo Bellini; Oh!quand je dors, S'il est un charmant gazon by Franz Liszt; Die Mainacht, Wir wandelten, Wie Melodien zieht es mir by Johannes Brahms; "O soave fanciulla" from La Bohème, "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta" from La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini; Six Elizabethan songs by Dominick Argento.

Dominick Argento (1927-) is one of America¡¦s most distinguished contemporary composers. He composed ten song cycles. Songs about Spring is his first vocal work which composed in 1950 and 1955. This song cycle contains five songs. Argento selected five poems about spring season from American poem Edward Estlin Cummings¡¦ collections of poem, and named the song cycle as Songs about Spring. The study of the lecture recital document contains five main sections: the biography about Argento, the characteristics of Argento¡¦s art songs, a brief introduction of poet Edward Estlin Cummings, the compositional background of Songs about Spring, and a performance analysis of Songs about Spring. The purpose of this study is to explore how Argento made use of music device to express variable sentences, telescoped words, harmony of sound and poem¡¦s frame of mind from Edward Estlin Cummings¡¦s poem, and expects to reinforcing profundity in performance.

In this comparatively brief chapter I begin by introducing my central research proposition. I then introduce my corpus of films and establish their significance both in their own right and as somewhat representative examples of a broader area of cinema. Following this I introduce my corpus of theory. Throughout, I seek to position my research within its wider context, identifying precedents for the approach I will take, alongside the originality of the thesis as a whole. My central contention in this thesis is that the films made by the Italian directors Sergio Leone and Dario Argento between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s are distinctive instances of a Deleuzean hybrid cinema. Gilles Deleuze suggests that we can identify two main, contrasting forms of cinema. These are the cinema of the movement-image and the cinema of the timeimage. As a philosopher of difference, Deleuze tends to present the two cinemas as alternatives. This is enhanced by their most important respective manifestations. The movement-image is associated with classical Hollywood genre cinema, the time-image with modern European art cinema. Accordingly, a Deleuzean approach leads to two contradictory hypotheses on the nature of Leone and Argento’s films. On the one hand, that they are genre works (westerns, gangster, thrillers and horror films) suggests they are movement-image. On the other hand, that they are post-Second World War continental European films suggests they are time-image. My contention is that we can resolve this apparent contradiction by considering the films as including combinations of movement-images and time-images. This entails reading Deleuze’s theory somewhat against the grain, by suggesting the existence of a continuum between the two image regimes. Crucially, however, there are a number of precedents for using Deleuze’s ideas to investigate hybrid cinemas, with these also demonstrating the value of modifying or extending his theories. In addition, I would suggest that we can deploy notions of hybrid cinema as a means of exploring the career trajectories of certain directors, by considering the proportions and types of movement-image and time-image apparent over their filmographies. My main corpus of films comprises fourteen works by Italian directors Sergio Leone (1929-1989) and Dario Argento (1940-). The Leone films span the period 1964 to 1984 and are all westerns with the exception of his final film, which belongs to the gangster/crime genre. The Argento films span the period 1970 to 1982 and are all giallo thrillers or fantasy-horror films, with some overlap between these genres. The Leone films are A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Duck You Sucker (1971), My Name is Nobody (1973) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984). The Argento films are The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Cat o’ Nine Tails (1971), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), Deep Red (1975), Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and Tenebrae (1982). The exclusion of Argento’s later films allows for a clearer and closer comparison to be made with Leone’s films, my contention being that the two directors were doing similar things in their respective genres during this time period. Argento also broke into filmmaking through collaborating with Leone upon Once Upon a Time in the West.

The purpose of this thesis is to show how the music of “The Masque of Angels” articulates and supports the drama. The various musical techniques which make the complete composition will be examined to show how the composer draws them into one statement and proves himself the dramatist. The effect of the music on the text and that of the text on the musical construction is investigated to gain a clearer concept of the composer’s intent and the opera’s value to the twentieth century listener.

Det här arbetet behandlar Dominick Argentos sångcykel The Andrée Expedition, ett verk som beskriver den historiska händelse i slutet av 1800-talet då tre svenskar med hjälp av luftballong försökte bli de första någonsin att ta sig till Nordpolen. Arbetet beskriver och utforskar den konstnärliga processen, instuderingen och framförandet av verket. Utgångspunkten ligger i den del av förberedelsearbetet som har skett innan den textliga och musikaliska instuderingen har påbörjats: utforskande och sammanställning av information som beskriver de tre personerna Salomon August Andrée, Knut Frænkel och Nils Strindberg. Syftet med arbetet är att utforska hur denna förberedelseprocess har påverkat framförandet av verket. Efter genomförda efterforskningar i texter och litteratur som behandlar dessa tre historiska personer har en karaktärsanalys genomförts. Denna analys har sedan satts i relation till det komponerade verket och således kompositörens tillvägagångssätt att beskriva och gestalta karaktärerna. Genom att utgå från dessa två förutsättningar har en tolkning av verket utkristalliserat sig. Studien har lett till slutsatser om värdet i att inte bara låta sig påverkas av impulser från det faktiska verket som ska framföras. Utöver den text och musik som verket utgör så finns det en mängd källor som kan ge upphov till tankar och inspiration som sedan leder till en personlig tolkning och ett intressant framförande. / <p>Dominick Argento</p><p>The Andrée Expedition</p><p>Viktor Rydén, baryton</p><p>Joakim Martinsen, piano</p>

abstract: Many of the works of Dominick Argento have been researched and analyzed, but his choral work Evensong: Of Love and Angels s has received limited attention thus far. Written in memoriam for his wife Carolyn Bailey Argento, Evensong draws its musical material from her initials C.B.A. These letters, translated into note names, form a conspicuous head motive that is present in each movement of the work, and it serves multiple functions: as a melodic feature, as the foundation for a twelve-tone row, and as a harmonic base. This paper provides an overview of the work's conception with specific relation to Argento's biographical details, compositional style, and work habits; a brief review of the critical reception of the work; and a succinct analysis of the form and cyclical materials found in each movement. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2011

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<p>This study is a conscious attempt at opening up the discussion on the Italian giallo film of the 1960’s & 1970’s. Part of its mission is examine views and writings currently available on the giallo and using these to analyse the body of films known as the giallo. It is also an attempt at the generic definition seeing the giallo as a series of thriller films according to Tzvetan Todorov’s model and in depth discussing the influence of the horror story and the whodunit. Beyond that it is a close look upon the form and devices of giallo narration, with focus upon the role of the eyewitness, focalization and point of view as first person narration. The study also traces the giallo’s influences interdisciplinary including placing it in the cultural context of the Italian adult comics known as fumetti neri. The study also includes a close look upon the idea of the eroticised violent set piece tracing it to the French theatre of horror – the Grand Guignol. Furthermore the study addresses the concept of seriality as understood in reference to the giallo. Finally the study examines the role of the giallo hero and suggests that the giallo is posing existential questions, and can be understood as existential suspense thrillers. The findings are exemplified through a wide scope of films including brief references and longer analytic examples elaborating on topical discussions in this developing field of study.</p>

This study is a conscious attempt at opening up the discussion on the Italian giallo film of the 1960’s &amp; 1970’s. Part of its mission is examine views and writings currently available on the giallo and using these to analyse the body of films known as the giallo. It is also an attempt at the generic definition seeing the giallo as a series of thriller films according to Tzvetan Todorov’s model and in depth discussing the influence of the horror story and the whodunit. Beyond that it is a close look upon the form and devices of giallo narration, with focus upon the role of the eyewitness, focalization and point of view as first person narration. The study also traces the giallo’s influences interdisciplinary including placing it in the cultural context of the Italian adult comics known as fumetti neri. The study also includes a close look upon the idea of the eroticised violent set piece tracing it to the French theatre of horror – the Grand Guignol. Furthermore the study addresses the concept of seriality as understood in reference to the giallo. Finally the study examines the role of the giallo hero and suggests that the giallo is posing existential questions, and can be understood as existential suspense thrillers. The findings are exemplified through a wide scope of films including brief references and longer analytic examples elaborating on topical discussions in this developing field of study.