Ēriks Ešenvalds is an early twenty-first century composer who has been commissioned to write works for some of the most noteworthy ensembles in the world. Having written over 100 compositions to date, 72 of which are choral pieces, Ešenvalds is quickly becoming one of the most prolific and significant composers of his time. He currently works as a full-time composer out of Riga, Latvia. Ešenvalds’s choral works are primarily unaccompanied, while some include brass band, saxophone quartet, percussion, or orchestral accompaniment. Textures vary from three to twelve voice parts. His oratorio Passion and Resurrection (2005), written for soprano solo, SATB quartet, SATB chorus, SS soli, and strings, is an amalgamation of compositional techniques drawn from all eras of music history. This project identifies characteristics of Roman Catholic and Byzantine chant that are imitated throughout Passion and Resurrection. A succinct history of both styles is presented along with a detailing of Ešenvalds’s compositional technique and an overview of his oratorio. Aspects of form, melody, text, rhythm, harmony, and texture present in each movement are also discussed. This study provides conductors with insight into the chant-like aspects of Ešenvalds’s work and any influences on performance. Listings of notable Passion settings and Ešenvalds’s choral output are also included.

During the eleventh century the Aquitanian monastery of St. Yrieix, located forty kilometers south of Limoges, acquired a new gradual, a manuscript containing the liturgical Mass chants for the year. The Gradual of St. Yrieix, now at the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale (Pa903), includes both text and music, redacted with the musical notation typical of the region of Aquitaine. The objective of this research is to analyze Pa903 as a document of liturgical musical practice and as a participant in the historical events of its region and time. While the Gregorian chant repertory dominates the gradual, this dissertation addresses the neo-Gregorian chants of Pa903, composed in the period following the dissemination of Gregorian chant throughout Europe. These neo-Gregorian chants were open to the influence of the contemporary regional musical style and cultural traditions surrounding St. Yrieix. Chapter II reviews the backdrop of historical events surrounding Pa903, focusing on the reform and expansion at St. Yrieix and its transition from a monastery to a chapter of canons. The musical and liturgical characteristics of Pa903 (Chapter III) show that St. vii Yrieix favored its senior patron St. Martin of Tours and St. Aredius (its patron saint) above St. Martial of Limoges (a powerful neighbor) and presented in the gradual a community of saints with strong regional influence. Chapters IV and V analyze the concordances of antiphons, tropes, prosulas, prosas, and neo-Gregorian Mass chants of Pa903 with those of the Aquitanian graduals and other sources throughout Europe. The tropes of the Proper and Ordinary, the complete repertory of prosulas and prosas, and the neo-Gregorian Mass chants of Pa903 are collected together here for the first time outside of Pa903. The neo-Gregorian chants are found in the sanctoral, temporal, and the ritual Masses and include a group of chants that reflects textual and musical elements of the prior Gallican tradition. The chant repertory of the gradual also presents a subgroup of forty-nine antiphons, prosas, prosulas, and neo-Gregorian Mass chants found only in Pa903, documented here with musical examples. / text

Diss.--Philosophie--Tübingen--Eberhard-Karls-Univ., 1982.

Thèse--Théologie--Lublin, 1988. / Bibliogr. p. 375-389.

This work contains a narrative about a liturgical chant, its history and various genres and styles. A lot of attention is paid to explaining the theory and practice of various ancient chants. All this helps to understand better the meaning of the phrase "spiritual influence". The second part of the work deals with the practice of the choir directors' (regents') work, the choice of the repertoire and the relationship between the choir director, the choir and the priest. It is about the influence of various musical styles, the tempo and power of the sound of the performed works on the spiritual state of a person. Speaking about the liturgical basis of choir singing in the Orthodox Church, I reveal the concepts of theory and practice. I recall the early Christian practice of psalm chant, traditional singing in an Orthodox church and also modern liturgical singing. The Church Charter is of great importance for understanding the choir singing. The essence of church chant is to convey the meaning of the prayers performed by musical means as fully as possible and transmit them to all those participating in the service, as the choir is the mouth of the worshipers. The challenges facing the Orthodox Church at the present time are not less important than those that faced it a hundred years ago. The future...

Le but de cette thèse est d’étudier tout particulièrement le répertoire du chant tripolitain au sein de la tradition musicale libyenne, de façon à mettre en lumière, à la fois, les modèles mélodiques et les modèles rythmiques qui caractérisent ce chant, ainsi que les structures compositionnelles qui s’en dégagent. Une place centrale sera accordée à l’étude de l’évolution/acculturation du chant tripolitain. / The main aim of this thesis is to study in a special form the trabelsi singing in the core of the tradition of the Libyan music with a method explains at the same time, the melodic models and rhythmic models that describe this singing, as well as compositional structures highlighted by these models. In addition, this research will deeply concentrate in studying the development and acculturation of the trabelsi singing.

Th. doct.--Musicologie--Paris--CNSMDP, 1999. / Liste des oeuvres de G.-G. Nivers p. 565-578. Bibliogr. p. 579-621. Index.

Texte remanié de: Dissertation--Department of musicology--University of South Africa, 1985. / Bibliogr. p. 323-328.

Solo percussionist and composer Glenn Kotche has achieved international fame with his experimental percussion-based music, collaborating with and composing for renowned contemporary music ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, Band on a Can All-Stars, So Percussion, and Eighth Blackbird. One of his most celebrated compositions in recent years is Monkey Chant, which combines acoustic and electronic elements in a solo multiple percussion setting. Written and premiered in 2006, Kotche was inspired to compose Monkey Chant after listening to original field recordings in Bali from the Nonesuch Explorer Series. Found in these recordings is the popular Balinese music and dance drama known as Kecak. Monkey Chant showcases, through percussion, the intricate vocal patterns and recounting of the Ramayana Epic featured in Balinese Kecak. This monograph serves as an informational performance guide for Monkey Chant that simplifies and resolves performance questions and issues. It provides a contextual setting for the work with a brief biography of Glenn Kotche, including his musical influences and inspiration for the composition. Balinese Kecak is examined as well as the Hindu Ramayana tale as it relates to Kotche’s composition, revealing the function for its compositional form. This document also clarifies and details preparatory procedures for collecting and building the unique instruments required, also detailing schematics for electronic audio equipment and setup. Lastly, there is an analysis of compositional style and form, offering optional solutions to performance obstacles.

Thesis--Oxford, 1989. / Bibliogr. p. 353-379. Index.