Four plays of the medieval comic theatre of Japan, Kyogen , are presented here in English translation; Fujimatsu, Chigiriki, MlkKazuki, and Hachiku Renga. The plays all deal with the medieval comic linked verse form of poetry, Haikai no Renga. They were selected for the insight which they offer into both art forms. The analysis introducing the plays discusses the similarities between the Haikai no Renga and Kyogen in terms of historical development and aesthetic attributes. The translations were made as literal as possible, relying on the collection of Kyogen plays by Koyama Hiroshi, Kyogen Jo, Ge. Koyama based his collection on a text of the Okura school, the Yamamoto Azuma Jiro hon. This is the text currently used by the Okura school in performance. Because of the terseness of the original scripts, the analysis of the plays is supported in large part by observations of actual performances of the plays in Japan. This was thought to be valuable in that the plays depend heavily on mime for their humor. Chapters I through IV present the analysis of the four plays. The plays themselves comprise the final section of the paper. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Music, December 1999. / Includes performance notes and notes on instrumentation. Score is notated in C. Also available on the Internet.

abstract: In 1975 the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) invited John Cage to write a composition for the bicentennial birthday of the United States. The result was Lecture on the Weather, a multi-media work for twelve expatriate vocalists and/or players with independent sound systems, magnetic tape, and film. Cage used texts by Henry David Thoreau, recordings of environmental sounds made by American composer Maryanne Amacher and a nature-inspired film by Chilean visual artist Luis Frangella. The composition opens with a spoken Preface and is arguably one of Cage’s most overtly political pieces. A year later the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and six major United States orchestras commissioned Cage to compose another work commemorating the United States bicentennial of the American Revolution. In response, he created Renga with Apartment House 1776, which follows his concept of a “music circus,” or simply, a musical composition with a multiplicity of events occurring simultaneously. Scored for voices, instrumental soloists and quartets, Renga with Apartment House is a multi-faceted work marked by layers of American hymns and folk tunes. Cage’s United States Bicentennial compositions – and his other pieces created in the 1970s and 1980s – have received little attention from music scholars. Unique and provocative works within his oeuvre, these compositions raise many questions. Why was Cage commissioned to write these works? How did Cage pay tribute to this celebratory event in American history? What socio–political meanings are implied in these pieces? In this thesis I will provide political, cultural, and biographical contexts of these works. I will further examine their genesis, analyze their scores and selected performances, reflect on their meaning and critical implications and consider the reception of these works. My research draws on unpublished documents housed in the CBC’s archives at McGill University, the archives of C. F. Peters, the New York Public Library and it builds on research of such scholars as David W. Bernstein, William Brooks, Benjamin Piekut, and Christopher Shultis. This thesis offers new information and perspectives on Cage’s creative work in the 1970s and aims at filling a significant gap in Cage scholarship. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Music 2015