Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1987. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Harold Abeles. Dissertation Committee: Robert Pace. Bibliography: leaves 286-290.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / From the thirteenth century on, the antiphons to the propers of the Mass and to certain canticles of the Offices in the Roman Rite were sung to polyphonic motet settings. After the English Reformation in 1534, antiphons eventually disappeared from the services of the Book of Common Prayer and with them the motets. Because they had been a popular feature of the services, it was not long before a need was felt for an equivalent and the English anthem came into being. (The word "anthem" is but a corruption of the earlier terms for "antiphon".) The reformers desired that the complex additions of medieval pietism to the Roman Rite be either omitted or simplified and the attitude applied also to church music as did the ruling that all of the services be in a "tongue understanded of the people". The first Full Anthems of Tye, Tallis, Shepherd, Farrant, and others were in the simple, familiar style but with brief imitative "points" at the beginning of each phrase of the English text. The wish that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, had expressed to Henry VIII that "the song...should not be full of notes but, as near as may be, for every syllable a note" was at first meticulously followed." [TRUNCATED]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southern Calif., 1969. / Photocopy. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms, 1980. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-219).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southern Calif., 1969. / Photocopy. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms, 1980. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-219). Also issued in print.

The manner in which Billings’s music contrasts with the Puritan musical ideal clearly demonstrates his role in the transition from ritual to art in the music of eighteenth-century New England. The tenets of Puritan worship included the restriction that music should serve primarily as a form of communal prayer for the congregation and in a secondary capacity to assist in biblical instruction. Billings’s stylistic independence from Puritan orthodoxy began with a differing ideology concerning the purpose of music: whereas Calvin believed music merely provided a means for the communal deliverance of biblical text, Billings recognized music for its inherent aesthetic worth. Billings’s shift away from the Puritan musical heritage occurred simultaneously with considerable change in New England in the last three decades of the eighteenth century. A number of Billings’s works depict the events of the Revolutionary War, frequently adapting scriptural texts for nationalistic purposes. The composition of occasional works to commemorate religious and civic events reflects both the increase in society’s approval of choral music beyond its nominal use in worship, both in singing schools and in choirs. With his newfound independence from Puritan ritual, Billings seems to have declared himself one of the United States of America’s first musical artists.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--North Dakota State University, 2008. / Dissertation / North Dakota State University, Music. Typescript. Abstract: leaf iii. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-48).

In this study I attempted to create a historically informed performance of Handel's Four Coronation Anthems at the pitch of a1 = 423, without the benefit of baroque instruments. The issue of lowering the performance pitch from a1 = 440 to a1 = 423 had varying effects on the singers and instrumentalists. Replicating the baroque sound required some modifications to modern instruments and some mental and vocal adjustments for the singers. Several singers experienced vocal relief due to the lowered pitch, while some instrumentalists were faced with re-adjusting their technique to compensate for the modifications made to their instruments. The modifications ranged from exchanging the violin and viola strings from steel to gut to lengthening the oboe reeds and the bassoon's bocal enough to effectively lower the pitch almost a half step, or .17 Hertz (Hz.). Through the aid of audio and visual recordings of the performance and the performer's questionnaires, several discoveries were made about creating a historically informed performance. Primarily, when changing the pitch of a composition, it is better to adjust the pitch in half steps rather than quarter-tone increments. It was further revealed when changing the pitch that some singers experienced difficulty maintaining pitch due to their vocal muscle memory, whereas, some instrumentalists possess varying degrees of individual pitch memory and perception. In order to deal effectively with the issue of maintaining pitch, it was revealed that it is important to have more rehearsal time at the adjusted pitch. With respect to the modifications made to the instruments, it is vital to the success of the performance to allow the players enough time with modified instruments to be able to maintain consistent tuning within the instrument. The musician's individual pitch perception and preference have an affect on the performance, and the conductor would be well advised to refer to the discoveries presented in this document. This study was successful in discovering ways to present a historically informed performance at a pitch other than a1 = 440 and several suggestions for creating further historically informed performances were explored.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]).

Thesis--University of Michigan. / Vol. 2 consists of Weelkes anthems, edited from original MSS. and transcribed into modern notation in score, by Walter Stowe Collins. The anthems are for chorus and organ. Includes bibliographical references.