Franz Schubert (1797-1828) left many musical scores containing his earliest compositional efforts. Here 'earliest' is taken, for convenience, to refer to the works from the first extant (1810) up to and including the lied Gretchen am Spinnrade (1814), his first generally recognized masterpiece. This dissertation tells the story tracing those efforts in a chronological series of analytical essays. The essays mention only incidentally the external evidence of the home environment, lessons received, concerts attended, and so on, but refer instead primarily to the internal evidence of the compositions themselves, that is, the notes on the page. That story has not previously been told in these terms. The dissertation is thus a contribution to musical analysis applied to a quite important and certainly instructive but very little-known repertoire. An essential feature is that the story proceeds chronologically, to the (fairly large) extent that the exact chronology is known. Over a hundred works are involved, some containing several movements, so the story is necessarily long. Further, music is by no means a simple phenomenon, so the story is necessarily detailed. Another feature contributes to the tracing of the skein of anticipations of resources used in Schubert's later and more famous works, as well as to the evidence of derivation from models of other composers' works. Each work studied is provided with identifying information; musical incipits are also provided in view of the unfamiliarity of the repertoire. This identifying information, though necessary, is merely auxiliary to the story being told, and is accordingly set off from the latter. After the chronological story has been completed, a series of summaries is presented under the various categories of musical analysis; these summaries naturally refer back to the individual works. The ferreting out and telling of the story is itself the aim; no hypothesis is entertained. A review of the story yields several main results concerning the various elements of musical composition. (1) Schubert's attitude to the important matter of sonata form ranged from initial rather extreme experimentation possibly combined with some degree of misunderstanding to a clearly demonstrated ability to handle it convincingly first shown perhaps in his First Symphony D082 (October 1813). (2) Melody and text setting also showed early extremes as in the long and wild ballad Der Taucher D077 (first version September 1813 - April 1814), subsequently settling down, from about his first Opera D084 (first version October 1813 - May 1814), to a more suitable range of expression which was to serve him so well. (3) Counterpoint remained something of a weakness throughout, being used often but only in simple manifestations. (4) Harmony and orchestration were in general well handled throughout and many experiments were noted in methods of modulation. (5) An important factor to be found not in the notes but in the text of the score contributed to the mastery shown in Gretchen am Spinnrade (among other factors which are explored): Schubert's coming into contact with the inspiring poetry of Goethe. Three conclusions are offered on the broadest level. (1) The extent of Schubert's progress as a composer over the period studied was on the whole slight, because of the wealth of resources already at his disposal at the starting point at age 13. (2) The time at which Schubert wrote his first Symphony and first Opera - about October 1813 - is proposed as marking a settling down from earlier extravagance to more acceptably controlled writing. That applies to the two genres, instrumental and vocal music, on the one hand, as well as to the techniques of form and expression, on the other. It thus divides the period studied into two stages. (I naturally hope here to avoid oversimplification and acknowledge that the division is by no means watertight.) (3) By October 1814, the end of the present investigation, it was only in vocal music and specifically the lied, thus not also in instrumental or stage music, that real mastery can be recognized.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2006. / Mode of access: Internet. Title from title screen. Description based on content viewed Feb. 14, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-180).

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Master of Music / Department of Music / Julie Yu / This document is focused on three excerpts from a graduate vocal recital, completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree. The recital was held on January 23, 2012 at seven-thirty o’clock in the evening at All Faiths Chapel on the campus of Kansas State University. Selections for this recital were selected upon the theme of Seclusion. The three characters examined further in the document are Alcina in the G. F. Handel opera, Alcina (HWV 34), Gretchen in German Lieder Gretchen am Spinnrade (D. 118) by Franz Schubert, and Lily from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, The Secret Garden, by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman. Each chapter, devoted to a specific work, contains the following: 1) biographical information on the composer, 2) textual analysis, and 3) compositional, stylistic, and technical considerations.

The great novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) arguably made his most significant contribution to the artistic world with his literary masterpiece Faust I. Goethe’s love of music and melody is evident throughout all of Faust, particularly in the expressive poetry of the character of Gretchen, whose meaningful words gave inspiration to a variety of musical manifestations, especially in German Lied. This document serves as a performance guide for vocalists. It provides vital information on the setting and arrangement of the poetry within the musical settings, the background and significance of the composer and his works, and the organization of the music. The examination of each piece will involve assessment of musical phrasing, tessitura, and overall vocal complexity in eight German Lieder settings of Gretchen’s soliloquy “Ach neige, du Schmerzenreiche” from Goethe’s Faust. The suggestions within the investigations are based on examination of pedagogical practices as well as personal experience and discoveries made while singing and performing these pieces. Through an investigation of each piece, the singer will be able to attain a successful understanding of the framework and approach to the music and poetry, and thereby achieve awareness of accurate performance practice. This document examines in order of composition, the settings by Bettina von Arnim, Franz Schubert (including the completed fragment as arranged by Benjamin Britten), Conrad Kreutzer, Bernhard Klein, Johann Loewe, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Fredric Joseph Kroll. Because this document serves to investigate only German Lieder settings, it will not examine the choral works of Hans Pfitzner, Antoni Radziwill, Julius Röntgen, Giuseppe Verdi’s Italian setting “Deh, pietoso, oh Addolorata,” nor Richard Wagner’s Melodram. This document will also very briefly discuss the lost and inaccessible settings of Gretchen’s prayer, including those of Carl Debrois van Bruyck, Edmund von Freyhold, Moritz Hauptmann, Justus Lecerf, Leopold Lenz, Louis Schlottmann, and Hans Sommer.

The thesis Sexual Harassment in the Media on the Example of American Television Fox News aims to describe the sexual harassment affair in the American television company Fox News and compare it with similar cases in other American media organizations. The 2016 case led to the dismissal of Roger Ailes, the company's longtime director, and set off a wave of accusations of sexual harassment in other media, leading to the discrediting of several moderators and prominent figures in the American media. The main goal is to find out whether sexual harassment is a known, systemic phenomenon in America or not. Sexual harassment is also associated with the world-wide anti-sexual harassment movement Me Too, which emerged shortly after the Ailes scandal broke out. Therefore, I want to refute or confirm the hypothesis whether most cases of sexual harassment in the media began to appear only after Me Too became a world-famous movement. The main research method is a search of selected media, such as the New York Times, which has dealt extensively with the case. One of the main results should also be to find out whether harassment has always led to the release of the culprit and whether the victims have received apology or compensation from the media.

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