Performances of Fitrabras and the other Schubert operas have been very rare. Parts of Fierrabras were given in concert form in Vienna in 1853 and again in 1858. The first stage production was in Karlsruhe, February 9, 1897, but the music was revised for that performance by 0. Neitzel and the text by F. Mottl. The text was translated into French for a production in Brussels in 1926. A concert version was also heard in London in 1938. None of these performances, with the possible exception of the one in Brussels, was in the original version. It has always been assumed that the work could not be performed as it stands; at any rate, no one has ever tried. True, there are certain problems in production, especially in the rapid shift of scenes in the third act, but modern stage technique could undoubtedly conquer such difficulties easily.

Whereas general conceptions of Menotti's style are available in various articles, none of the previous writings on this subject have attempted to give a detailed analysis of the techniques and devices used by Menotti in his operas. As has been stated, Menottils greatest asset as a composer of opera is his genius for employing a unique fusion of music and drama. The purpose of this study, then, is to isolate the various concepts and devices of composition used by Menotti and deduce how he has used them to create dramatic impact. The work chosen for this analysis is The Medium, which established Menotti as the foremost composer-librettist of modern opera.1 4 It is felt that this opera offers a cross section of the concepts and devices used in all of the operas composed thus far by Menotti.

It is not by accident that virtually every important study of Debussy's life or works (including the recent and definitive biography by Edward Lockspeiser) has been made from a psychological viewpoint. The peculiar nature of the composer's art, resulting from his intimate ties with the French symbolist poets and his contacts with many other extra-musical influences, makes such an approach not only advantageous, but necessary. In this brief study of Pelleas et Melisande, the composer's only completed music drama, an attempt will be made to trace these many and varied influences, correlate them with the composer's musical style, and thus arrive at a deeper understanding of the nature of this remarkable work, along with its place in the history of the music drama. The actual study of the structure of the opera will give equal consideration to both the literary and the musical elements. As the unique quality of this work is grasped, the justification of such an approach will perhaps be verified.

Instead of putting the emphasis on color in his orchestration, Brahms felt that the music was more important; not the orchestration. However, it would be a mistake to feel that he was deaf to orchestral color. When discussing color in regard to Brahms' orchestration it is necessary to realize that his use of color is much different than that of his contemporaries. This thesis discusses the four symphonies of Brahms and his usage of brass instruments within these symphonies, specifically the french horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba. It is apparent that he used considerable care in writing for the brasses as well as the other instruments and had complete command of the use of their individual colors.

Bela Bartok's art is a perfect microcosm of the art of the twentieth century. It is interwoven with the musical conceptions and techniques of the great Western European masters, without in any way obscuring the individuality, the national consciousness, and the personal style and originality of the composer's own musical language -- a language rooted in the glorious tradition of his people. In the six volumes of the Mikrokosmos, or "little world," Bartok has presented a series of progressively difficult pieces designed -- if not intentionally, at least effectively -- to introduce to the piano student a technical approach to piano playing in the modern idiom. Admittedly, the etude does not cover every pianistic technical problem. It clearly shows that Bartok fully appreciates the worth of the great wealth of piano literature, and does not prescribe his method as a "cure-all" for the technical problems of piano playing.

The sacred anthem has had a unique conception and development that compares readily to that of other major forms of sacred music. Since an abundance of this music is used in our services, it is the purpose of this study to trace the history of the anthem from its origin in the early Tudor period to its culmination in the works of William Byrd. A special study will be made of the anthems by this master of the form.

It can be said that Strauss not only brought the valved trumpet to prominence but revived somewhat the use of the trumpet as a solo instrument to the importance it had attained during the baroque period. From the time of these works to the present there have been many improvements in the instruments themselves and the players have become more proficient. At the time these works were written and first performed the trumpets were not yet perfected. They were difficult to play and the intonation of the instrument was very poor. With the improvements in the instruments and the works of Strauss to show what could be done by the trumpet, composers started using the instrument in more important passages. In the compositions for orchestra written in the twentieth century up until the present time it is not uncommon to find the trumpet used extensively as a solo instrument. Some of the more prominent compositions employing the trumpet in this manner are: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Dimitri Shostakovich, The Quiet C by Aaron Copland, L'Histoire du Soldat by Igor Stravinsky, Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra by Maurice Ravel. In fact, in most of the larger orchestral works written in this century it is common for the trumpet to be used much in the same manner as Strauss used the instrument in the three symphonic poems cited. It can be stated, therefore, that Richard Strauss, although he did nothing really new or revolutionary so far as the instrument is concerned, started a trend in the use of the trumpet that was to be developed much more by the composers to follow. The trumpet today is secondary in importance to no other wind instrument in the orchestra.

Roy Harris is an American composer who has contributed and is still contributing to the field of modern music. This study is concerned with his choral music and the substantiation of the fact that his contributions in this field are outstanding and are expressive of a living Americanism. It is also the purpose of the study to examine and analyze the choral works of this notable Oklahoma composer and teacher in an effort to determine what Harris has to say musically and his method of expressing himself.

Leo Sowerby is an American composer who has, in the writer's opinion, made a fine contribution to the field of modern music. This fact will be substantiated in the following study, the purpose of which will be to examine and to analyze to some extent the works of this eminent Chicago composer, teacher, organist, and choir-master. This study will-be of particular interest to students of the organ, for it concerns itself chiefly with the organ works of Sowerby, and to students of composition and modern harmonic trends, for the study high lights the composer's characteristic procedures in these two directions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the songs Tre Sonetti del Petrarca by Ildebrando Pizzetti. Effort is made to provide the performer with musical and poetic analyses to aid him in the preparation and interpretation of the songs. A consideration of the development of Italian solo song from 1822 to 1950 and brief biographical sketches of both the composer and the author of the text are included as background material. It is assumed that a detailed examination of the music and poetry will lead to a more meaningful expression in performance.