Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Queensland, 2006. / Compact disc comprises recorded performances of the compositions. Includes bibliographical references.

The Crucifixion, a composition for three vocal soloists, four-part mixed chorus, and instrumental ensemble, is a setting of passages taken from the four Gospels of the Holy Bible. It describes the mocking of Christ and includes the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross. It uses serial technique in the structuring of pitches and rhythm. Special attention is paid in designing and combining pitch and rhythm to create monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic textures. Besides traditional performance techniques, the work employs some modern vocal and instrumental techniques.

The succeeding pages contain scores of my music—Passage to Kublb, Dalamhati ni Osang, Pintig, and Talibun-ag. "Passage to kublb" , for large orchestra, is a travelogue. Using a certain number of intervals, the instruments go through a journey, signifying life's constant changes and ceaseless motion. Melodic and rhythmic motives are used, fragmentation, and variation of timbral colors. "Kublb" is a fictional place; in essence, a destination of one's life journey. "Dalamhati ni Osang" (Lament of Osang) for a soprano, bass clarinet and marimba, is a composition revolving around a hextatonic scale which goes through a process of change as the music progresses. The text, written in the Filipino language, conveys the lament of a woman wanting to escape from her sorrows as she pleads her beloved to "lull" her; thus the repeated phrase "iduyan mo, o hirang" which means lull me or cradle me, my beloved. The woman's concept of "sleep" is an end-goal from which she frees herself of bitter memories of the past. The nuances of the vocal lines point to some native materials common to the Filipino "kundiman"(ballad). Use of expressive lines in legato phrasing, repeated sections (ABA form), and in some instances, use of embellishments like the repeated grace notes. The hextatonic scale is the composer's own material injected to some pre-formed structure already existing as in the mentioned ballad. "Pintig" (Pulses of Mother Earth) which was originally written for the "Elektra Women's Choir" during a pre-Christmas choral reading is a study of tribal vocables and different vocal effects. Stomping of foot, tapping, and other ritual sounds are employed to concoct an amalgam of primitive or earthy vista. (Note that the recording provided with this thesis is simply a reading session of the piece). "Talibun-ag " is a coined title from the Filipino words "tali" and "bun-ag" (bondage and birth) which if combined literally can mean "birth of freedom". This is a music drama for a chamber ensemble (piano, alto flute and percussions), a mono-dramatist and a choral quartet. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

This composition is a single-movement work for three choirs and full orchestra, including celesta, piano, and four percussionists. Total duration is fifteen minutes. The music is divided into six sections, with the overall form being substantially influenced by the structure of the poem, War Is Kind, by Stephen Crane (1871-1900). Many devices are utilized to contrast tension and relaxation, as associated with ironic elements of the text, with repetition and development of musical elements and motives providing unity for the entire work.

Jonah's Prayer is a choral work for solo tenor, a mixed choir of not fewer than 30 members, two pianos and a few percussion instruments to be played by choir members. The piece lasts about 13 minutes; it is a work intended for church choir use but could be performed in other venues as well.

John Blow (1649-1708) was among the first group of boys pressed into the service of King Charles II, following the decade of Puritan rule. Blow would make compositional efforts as early as 1664 and, at the age of nineteen, began to assume professional positions within the London musical establishment, ultimately becoming, along with his pupil and colleague, Henry Purcell, London's foremost musician. Restoration sacred music is generally thought of in connection with the stile nuovo which, for the first time, came to be a fully accepted practice among English musicians for the church. But the English sacred polyphonic art, little threatened by England's largely political Reformation, embodied sufficient flexibility as to allow it to absorb new ideas, thereby remaining vital well into the seventeenth century. Preserved from decisive Italian influences by the Interregnum, the English sacred polyphonic tradition awoke at the Restoration full of potential for continuing creative activity. In addition to studying Blow's polyphonic compositions, including the transcription of several not available in modern edition, this paper seeks to address the unique nature of the English polyphonic tradition which allowed it to retain its vitality throughout the seventeenth century, while other polyphonic traditions were succumbing to the ossifying influences of the stile antico concept. Identification of the Continental stile antico through pertinent treatises and scores revealed a marked distinction between its application and the English polyphonic art as seen in the work of John Blow. In the end, the peculiar nature of Restoration polyphony is seen to be derived from a number of factors, among them, the continuation of liturgical ceremonial within the independent English church, the flexibility of the English polyphonic medium with regard to new musical developments, and the interruption of England's cathedral music tradition just as Italian influence was beginning to be felt in liturgical music. The sacred polyphony of John Blow represents the last great flowering of the English polyphonic tradition, with all of its idiosyncracies, in a lively, as yet unfettered style.

Opus 25 is a collection of compositions which I created between September 1995 and April 1997. Instrumentation varies; there are works for choirs, chamber ensembles, solo voice, solo harp, solo piano, and orchestra. All the works included in this collection have been performed at some point during this same period, and recordings of these performances can be found on the accompanying cassette.

Opus 25 is a collection of compositions which I created between September 1995 and April 1997. Instrumentation varies; there are works for choirs, chamber ensembles, solo voice, solo harp, solo piano, and orchestra. All the works included in this collection have been performed at some point during this same period, and recordings of these performances can be found on the accompanying cassette. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Includes 1 sound cassette / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to identify certain aspects related to sight singing which tend to cause difficulty in teaching junior high school students and to suggest exercises that might be used to aid in overcoming these difficulties, Data included a questionnaire to junior high school teachers in three states. Subjects researched and discussed were the physical, intellectual, and emotional development of the adolescent; the changing voice and the range and vocal limitations of junior high singers; and rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, and other aspects of sight singing. Included were vocal procedures to be used with young voices, suggestions for choosing and/or arranging appropriate music, and original compositions designed to meet the needs and interests of junior high school students.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 26, 2010 Thesis advisor: Dr. W. Thomas McKenney. Includes bibliographical references.