The object of this paper is to effect a comparison between the early Shakespearean songs and their more recent settings and to discuss in detail differences in style and technique, with emphasis upon textual and melodic characteristics.

The significance of a complete analysis of Schubert's orchestral larger works is self-evident to musicians and scholars. In the literature today one may find adequate analysis of many of the larger choral and orchestral works of the various masters, but rarely is it possible for one to secure a scholarly and intelligent analysis and interpretation of the smaller forms, especially the vocal works. Perhaps the reason for this state is the lack of interest in many of the aspects and phases of song literature as vocalists and teachers have probably been more concerned with the artistic rendition of the songs rather than an academic approach. But with the turn of the present decade, a decided interest has become apparent in musicological scholarship and the present study is but one evidence of the trend toward critical and academic analysis of smaller forms heretofore omitted in music literature.

The English classical song is peculiarly native to Britain. It roots in the mystic elements of ballads and nature. It was the influence of the early English ballad, first spoken, then sung, then joined in the happy culmination of voice and melody to make a song that is immortal and unique in music.

MUSICAL THEATRE HANDBOOK FOR THE ACTOR By Maggie Elizabeth Marlin, MFA A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009 Major Director: David S. Leong Chairman, Department of Theatre Musical Theatre is a performance style deeply woven into the fabric of the American theatre. We live in time and social climate where over half of the productions open on Broadway right now are musicals. If actor training institutions profess a mission to prepare their students for a career in the entertainment industry, why are so many components of an actor’s skill set left to the side and considered peripheral? One can make the argument that their actor training program is exclusively for the theatre, and even more specifically for straight plays for the theatre. Of course, what your career preparation institution chooses to target is your prerogative and as long as that is clear to the incoming students who wish to specialize only in that one faction of the artist’s opportunities for work then my argument is moot. However, if you believe that actor training has a duty to prepare actors to work in an ever changing and transforming field and to be competitive in meeting the demands of various media, among many other areas of focus you should consider preparing your students to develop their craft for musical theatre as legitimately as you would for a classical or contemporary straight play. In this thesis I propose an approach to creating a role for musical theatre using as an example my character development technique for the role of Sally Bowles from a recent production of Cabaret. My desire is to illustrate a seamless continuation of the actor’s craft to meet the additional requirements of skills necessary to perform in a musical. Rather than signifying a separate style of acting for musical theatre which is identified as being altogether different and often dismissed as inferior to the craft of acting in a straight play, I hope to challenge the reader to consider a new perspective in which the foundation of musical theatre performance is built on the fundamentals of acting in a straight play.

Most research into blues music over the past thirty years has examined either how the blues contribute to or reflect African-American identity, or how blues lyrics may be used as windows into African-American culture, values, and attitudes. Scholars have generally relied on more conventional songs about male-female relationships in this research, largely ignoring the subset of topical blues songs that related information about current events. Given the widespread illiteracy among African Americans during the height of the blues' popularity, these topical songs are particularly compelling. To date, however, no one has coupled topical blues together with their consumers' educational attainment to consider if and how songs about current events served as a mode of education in the African-American community. By employing Houston Baker's theory of the blues matrix to examine topical blues songs, it becomes clear that functionally illiterate African Americans relied on topical blues as a spoken newspaper during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.

TITLE: The use of the child songs lyrics in literary education at primary school SUMMARY: The subject of this dissertation are the texts of children's songs and composited poetry for children and their using in teaching literary education at primary school. The tagret to achieve was to develop a series of literary education lessons built on the principles of constructivist teaching methods using work with interactive text. Based on the assumption that work with the song leads students to a sensitive perception and understanding of texts, the recitation and the development of children's reading skills. Result of this work is a series of ten lesser-known songs with a specific practical methods of working with text in which the student actively participates. KEYWORDS: children song, literary education, primary school, lyrics

The diploma thesis is concerned with the symphonic poem Praga, Op. 26 composed by Josef Suk in 1904 in need to create a music image of Prague at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century. The thesis deals with the current research and literature situation and it presents Suk as a composer and a musician at the turn of the century. The crucial part of the thesis informs about circumstances of Praga's origin, its premieres, publication and reviews in newspapers at the beginning of the 20th century. It is particularly concerned with the description of the form and the analysis of Suk's composition. In following two chapters, Praga is set into a broader context. The first of them describes the city of Prague and its depiction in artworks at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century. The second contextual chapter discusses Suk's symphonic poem in the connection with the Hussite movement tradition formed at that time and with a Hussite song Kdož jste boží bojovníci (Ye Who Are God's Warriors) infiltrating into the awareness of the cultured and educated society during the 19th century.

The thesis builds on the extensive work of bachelor of 2012. It examines the manuscript collection of songs Podstrážišťské Josef Václav Kratochvil. The first part describes the folk songs of Pelhřimov, folk songs in general and describes the development of folk songs in Bohemia and Moravia. This chapter also deals with the division of folk songs by region, collections of these regions and their collectors. These sub-themes also include sources and their gaining. Finally, the thesis refers to the collector Josef Václav Kratochvíl and his manuscript collection Podstrážišťské songs. In the next section the thesis classifies the literary aspect of songs, their themes and types also by the music side. In the following section the thesis discusses in general stylization of accompanied of folk songs. It also includes the possibility of using part of the folk songs and presents some selected examples of folk ensembles, folk institutions and the media which folklore spreads. The final section discusses the specific arrangements of folk songs from our collection and stylized accompaniment which has been discussed in previous chapters. The last chapter of the thesis includes 97 songs transcribed from the manuscript collection of Josef Václav Kratochvíl into a notation software. KEYWORDS: Folk Song,...

The thesis builds on the extensive work of bachelor of 2012. It examines the manuscript collection of songs Podstrážišťské Josef Václav Kratochvil. The first part describes the folk songs of Pelhřimov, folk songs in general and describes the development of folk songs in Bohemia and Moravia. This chapter also deals with the division of folk songs by region, collections of these regions and their collectors. These sub-themes also include sources and their gaining. Finally, the thesis refers to the collector Josef Václav Kratochvíl and his manuscript collection Podstrážišťské songs. In the next section the thesis classifies the literary aspect of songs, their themes and types also by the music side. In the following section the thesis discusses in general stylization of accompanied of folk songs. It also includes the possibility of using part of the folk songs and presents some selected examples of folk ensembles, folk institutions and the media which folklore spreads. Lay stress on the role of a family. Next the folk song is presented as a material that can be used in a pedagogical field. The essential part of the thesis is a supplement that contains 97 songs from the manuscript collection of songs compiled in a notation software.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of anonymous Kancionálek (printed in Prague at K. F. Rosenmüller between 1712-1727). The thesis shows, based on survey sources, his relationship to other hymn-books and his possible sources (non-Catholic "litterati" hymn- book and other). Main part of the thesis analyzes the modifications of the old repertoire and overall concept of the hymn-book: purpose is to describe the editorial strategies for creating a small non-noted hymn-book for broad masses of people. The appendix consists of catalog of all the songs, that are included in Kancionálek.