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Opera is about people in conflict, sung, played and performed in non-realistic fashion; it does not faithfully imitate real life. I claim that nevertheless, opera can enliven the characters and their state of mind, causing the listener-spectator experience a sensation unequalled by other genres. My aim is to show the musical means by which Berlioz achieved characterization. To do this I select three of his dramatic works, created at different periods of his career, and follow some key figures through the action, analyzing their role. Part One deals with a theoretical approach to characterization and the multiple components of opera. My investigations use the libretto's role only as a basis for the musical events, and exclude the visual element. I present nineteenth-century's aesthetic principles and match them with Berlioz's own credo. I compare some aspects of the novel and poetry with opera. From these readings one can sense Berlioz's urge to express inner feelings, their `psychological essence'. I consider contemporaries' reception of his operas that shows that he was appreciated mainly by a few but first-rank artists. Criticism over the last century is also reviewed, and an assessments made of the composer's own aesthetic position. Part Two provides the Case Studies of characters and deals with the operas Benvenuto Cellini, La Damnation de Faust, and Les Troyens. I also demonstrate the characterization of different atmospheres and of whole operas. In Benvenuto Cellini I concentrate on the role of Teresa, which shows imaginative use of a motive that represents the essence of her character. This method comes close to a 'Leitmotif. In La Damnation de Faust there is a focus on the supernatural, relating to Mephisto. Music is Margarita's natural way of expression and personifies her chaste character. Her music contrasts starkly with Mephisto's. In this unstaged opera music plays a special dramaturgical role. In the opera Les Troyens Aeneas is characterized as a fully rounded and complex person. Music takes an active part in the unfolding of Aeneas's development, as he assumes leadership; in each phase of his development, in intimate situations or in authoritative ones, Berlioz found the adequate musical idiom to deepen our comprehension of his motivations. In conclusion: Characters achieve a `psychological essence' because they appear as human beings with weaknesses and virtues. Berlioz applied no single method, but a deep understanding both of human nature and of the language of music. It is possible to follow the composer's intentions by listening attentively to the symbolic language in which they are offered.

This study examines the history of the French solo, Ravel's influences,and the characteristics and relationships of his own music.

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the piano style of Maurice Ravel, including his musical style and influences of other composers on his piano works.

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.

Favorable judgment of a work of art, or of a man, usually means that the work of art, or a record of the man, will be preserved for future generations to judge for themselves. An unfavorable judgment may result in a richly deserved obscurity or an irreplaceable loss, unless favorable circumstances combine to preserve the evidence for a more perspicacious generation. One can be forgiven if he distrusts history's judgment; mistakes which have been corrected are legion (the case of J. S. Bach comes most vividly to mind) and skepticism is warranted unless or until the facts are available for confirmation. It is difficult to explain the paucity of information about Jacques-Christophe Naudot, Not that he is another J. S. Bach; neither Fleury, who made the first serious effort to revive interest in his music in the early 1920's, nor Ruf, who has done much in this regard recently, nor this writer makes any such claim. He does not, however, deserve the obscurity that has been his lot. If his music is not always profound, it nevertheless has both intrinsic and historical value, and some of his works reveal considerable contrapuntal skill. It may be that Naudot stood in the shadow of Blavet, whose prowess as a flutist bolstered his reputation as a composer, or that his music was never quite the right style for the time; in any case, although his name was not unknown, he never gained the fame that earned a contemporary biographer. As a result, no autographs and very little biographical data have been found, although one or more printed copies of all his known works, except two, are to be found in various libraries, principally the Bibliotheque National in Paris.

The purpose of this study, ve to analyze the stylistic characteristics in the unaccompanied music of one twentieth century composer, Francis Poulenc, in order to discover the choral problems which would confront choruses and conductors as they performed his music. It is hoped that this study will not only enable choral conductors to better understand, interpret, and appreciate the music of Poulenc, but also will serve as a guide toward the investigation of other twentieth century composers and their works.

This lecture-recital investigated the lineage of French composers who were influenced by jazz during the first half of the twentieth century, with a focus on compositions from the solo trombone repertory. Historically, French composers, more than those of other European countries, showed an early affinity for the artistic merits of America's jazz. This predilection for the elements of jazz could be seen in the selected orchestral works of Les Six and the solo compositions of the Paris Conservatory composers. An examination of the skills of major jazz trombonists early in the twentieth century showed that idioms resulting from their unique abilities were gradually assimilated into orchestral and solo repertory. Orchestral works by Satie, Milhaud, and Ravel works showing jazz traits were investigated. Further, an expose of the solo trombone works emanating from the Paris Conservatory was presented. Although written documentation is limited, comparisons between early recorded jazz trombone solos and compositions for orchestral and solo trombone was established. These comparisons were made on the basis of idiomatic jazz elements such as high-tessitura ballad melodies, blue tonalities and harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and many of the aspects of style associated with improvisation. All major French solo trombone repertory to mid-century was surveyed and examined.

This thesis proposes to determine the construction of the two string quartets and to reveal through the study of the quartets the similarities and contrasts of the creative musical characteristics of Debussy and Ravel.

This study has three purposes: first, to point out the stylistic elements of music that are present in the piano works of Debussy and Ravel; second, to determine how the composers have used these elements; and third, to discover the effects that have been achieved through individual uses of the elements.