No description available.

The purpose of this study is to present the development of the trumpet from the primitive lip-vibrated instruments of ancient cultures to the baroque trumpet on which were performed the astounding parts composed by the culminating figures of that period, Bach and Handel.

This study seeks to examine the history of the ricercare, specifically in the baroque era. In this work, all types of keyboard compositions that utilize imitative counterpoint have been examined. Late baroque fugues have been examined to determine which characteristics of the earlier ricercare remained in general use and which specific compositions contain elements causing them to resemble strongly the parent form.

Sound tape reel in pocket. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

John Cage, (1912-1992) pioneer in new music, innovator, inventor of the happening and philosopher, writer and artist was one of the most creative forces of the twentieth century. His earliest works were 25-tone contrapuntal compositions. He later developed a strong interest in writing for percussion ensembles and collected instruments that were both found and made. He conducted his own percussion orchestras and discovered that they were the answer to his philosophy of the sounds of the future. He considered percussion music the transition from keyboard-influenced music to music which allowed for all sounds and silences. From 1939-1951 John Cage composed several works for prepared piano that used time as a structural device. Many of these works were written for the dance in collaboration with Merce Cunningham. This document addresses the historical significance of these works and relates Time to other areas that influenced Cage--including Zen and the Dance. This document provides descriptive analyses of Bacchanale, Music for Marcel Duchamp and selected Sonatas from the Sonatas and Interludes. To this writer's knowledge there have not yet been any analyses of Bacchanale or Music for Marcel Duchamp. The analyses reveal Cage's primary structural techniques in which he uses duration of spaces of time. Time lengths and the square root method appear to be the most important. These techniques first appeared in Imaginary Landscape #1 and First Construction in Metal--both dating from 1939. A brief description of all his prepared piano works is included to demonstrate Cage's commitment to rhythmic structuring. All of these works have been studied by this writer and several have been performed in concert by this writer. These include: Music for Marcel Duchamp, Primitive, For a Valentine Out of Season, A Room, Prelude for Meditation, Amores (Movements I and IV), and selected Sonatas from Sonatas and Interludes. A section has been included which explains the nature of materials used for preparations and their timbral effects. A Conclusion is provided demonstrating that Cage chose rhythm over harmony to structure his music. This information is drawn from the influences on Cage, his early percussion works, procedures employed in the percussion works and transferred to the prepared piano and the influence of dancers and Oriental philosophy. An Appendix is included with charts of the Sonatas. A Bibliography which shows the references consulted is included.

No description available.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the presentation of Joan of Arc's life in two lyric works, Jules Barbier and Charles Gounod's Jeanne d'Arc (1873) and Auguste Mermet's Jeanne d'Arc (1876), that premiered in Paris following the upheaval of the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune. Relying on Parisian journals of the day, I follow two trends: some critics called for a historically-informed presentation of Joan's life and others appealed to retain certain supernatural elements, specifically the Fairy Tree and the Voices, of Joan's story. In addition to these trends, I consider an article printed shortly before the premiere of Mermet's opera and discuss the political and religious implications of the final scene (Charles VII Coronation in Reims or Joan's execution in Rouen) in these two stage works. After an introductory chapter and a chapter tracing the geneses of the melodrama and the opera, the remaining chapters each deal specifically with one of the three above-mentioned lines of inquiry as they relate to Joan of Arc's story. Chapter III discusses historical characters (Charles, duc d'Orléans, King René, and Agnès Sorel), historical music (minuet and Vexilla regis), and music believed to have been sung in the presence of Joan of Arc (Veni Creator Spiritus and Orate pro ea). Chapter IV addresses the continuing presence of legendary, supernatural elements--specifically the Fairy Tree and the Voices--and how these elements have changed in nineteenth-century stage works about Joan. In Chapter V, the difficulty of adapting Joan's life on the stage is examined. A closer look reveals that differing views existed during the 1870s as to exactly what her mission entailed. The two works reflect the changing attitudes on this topic. As a whole, this dissertation offers an examination of two rarely discussed stage works that reveal the political, religious, and musical climate surrounding the figure of Joan of Arc in the 1870s.