Master of Music / Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Reginald L. Pittman / This Master’s Report extensively examines repertoire written for the lyric tenor voice. The text will explore the compositions of Francesco Paolo Tosti, Richard Strauss, Ernest Chausson, and Jake Heggie’s song cycle, Friendly Persuasions: A Homage to Poulenc. The text provides biographical information on each composer, text and translations, figures and interpretations, and some pedagogical insight. The pieces discussed are Tosti’s La Serenata, Non t’amo più, and Ideale; Strauss’s Morgen, Traum durch die Dämmerung, and Die Nacht; Chausson’s Printemps triste, Hébé, and Le temps des lilas; and Jake Heggie’s song cycle Friendly Persuasions: A Homage to Poulenc (2008). The graduate recital was presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree in vocal performance on April 1, 2017 at Kansas State University in All Faiths Chapel. The recital featured the talents of tenor Mitchell Jerko and pianist Randall Frye.

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Jack Heggie's 2011 song cycle Pieces of 9/11: Memories from Houston is a collection of six songs with texts by Gene Scheer. Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, it was premiered on September 11, 2011 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX. Based on interviews with people from Houston by Gene Scheer, this cycle tells stories and experiences by those affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington DC, and those aboard United Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Scheer's acclaimed storytelling in each song is beautifully set to varying styles of music composed by Heggie, with the familiar theme from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 woven throughout the cycle. This document is an in-depth look at the cycle to be used by vocal coaches and singers in their preparation and performance. The first introductory chapter is followed by a chapter detailing the song cycle from concept to fruition. The third chapter concentrates on the uses of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007. The fourth chapter discusses the six individual songs first by discussing the background of each text, then an analysis of the music, and concluding with the relevance to 9/11. Chapter 5 includes performance notes, gathered from interviews with Heggie, Scheer, and one of the girl sopranos, Ashley Traughber. Appendices include a timeline of events on 9/11, the three interviews, a chronology of Jake Heggie's vocal works to date, and the author's personal 9/11 story as I was just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center on 9/11.