The underrepresentation of Mexican art song has left classical singers with few Spanish-language repertoire options. Currently, the music of Spain dominates this scene and Mexican art song has yet to earn a place in academic curricula and concert halls. Manuel María Ponce (1882-1948) retains an important position in Mexican music. However, Ponce's vocal repertoire—consisting of over 150 songs—remained dormant for many decades after his death due to its misclassification by music aristocrats in Mexico that greatly affected their diffusion. Consequently, few copies were published during Ponce's life, making them difficult to find. The need in the singing community for repertoire of this kind has raised many questions not only about its existence and availability, but also about its origins and relationship to the established Art Song canon. To promote the diffusion of this underrepresented repertoire, a style analysis of Ponce's Romantic Mexican Art Song is offered through the lens of his writings about Mexican Song. The analysis includes vital information about the origins, form, style, and subjects of these songs. Tangible examples of these traits are provided from Ponce's Doce Canciones Mexicanas along with historically-informed suggestions for singers and translations of the text with IPA transcriptions.

Rapsodies pour voix, clarinette, alto, et piano is a set of three songs by Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) with text by Maurice Rollinat (1846-1903). The songs were composed in the summer of 1898 but never published during Loeffler's lifetime. This study compares Loeffler's holograph and copyist scores, showing differences in pitch, rhythm, and various articulation markings. Loeffler and Rollinat's biographies are included, along with scans of the holograph and copyist scores.

Abstract in German and English / Die Masterarbeit untersucht die 20 meist gespielten Hillsong-Lieder aus dem Jahre 2016 in Deutschland. Untersuchte Aspekte sind die Hauptthemen der Liedtexte, die Sänger- / Adressat-Perspektive, die Einordnung in das gesamtbiblische Narrativ sowie die Funktionen der Lieder innerhalb des Gottesdienstes. Anhand dieser Aspekte wird der Kritik, die an die Lieder gerichtet wird, begegnet. Kritisiert wird unter anderem die theologische Substanzlosigkeit der Lieder, das verzerrte Gottesbild, fehlende Themen wie Leid, Klage, Soziale Gerechtigkeit oder die Fokussierung auf das Individuum anstatt auf Gott. Die Arbeit weist nach, dass die Kritik an mangelndem Inhalt erechtfertigt ist. Die Lieder kommunizieren darüber hinaus ein einseitiges Gottesbild, das Jesus im Fokus hat. Es wird dargestellt, dass die Themen Leid, Klage und Soziale Gerechtigkeit unterrepräsentiert sind. Auf der grammatikalischen Ebene weisen die Lieder einen starken Fokus auf das Individuum auf. Durch die Untersuchung der Funktionen wird jedoch gezeigt, dass die meisten Lieder trotz einer Ich-Perspektive stark gemeinschaftsstiftend sind. Das liegt vor allem an der koinonialen Funktionen sowie der Kombinationen von diakonischer und seelsorgerlicher Funktion mancher Lieder. Neben diesen Funktionen übernehmen die Lieder oft noch die kerygmatische, missionarische und pädagogische Funktion. / The master thesis examines the 20 most played Hillsong songs from 2016 in Germany. Aspects examined are the main themes of the lyrics, the singer-/ addressee perspective, the classification into the biblical narrative as well as the functions of the songs within the worship service. Based on these aspects, the criticism directed at the songs is met. Criticized are, among other things, the theological lack of substance of the songs, the distorted image of God, missing topics like suffering, lamentation, social justice or the focus on the individual instead of God. The work proves that the criticism of lack of content is justified. In addition, the songs communicate a one-sided image of God that strongly focuses on Jesus as an addressee. It shows that the issues of suffering, lamentation and social justice are nderrepresented. On the grammatical level, the songs have a strong focus on the individual. Examining the functions, however, shows that most of the songs, despite a first-person perspective, are strongly community-building. This is mainly due to the koinonial function and the combinations of diaconal and pastoral function of some songs. In addition to these functions, the songs often take on the kerygmatic, missionary and pedagogical function. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)