Francesco Geminiani was highly regarded as a violinist, composer, and theorist during the late Baroque era. During his lifetime he was considered equalin status to the foremost composers of the day; however, relatively little information is available regarding his life and works today. This lack of information is largely a result of controversy among his peers regarding the merit of his work, specifically in reference to melodic style, structural consistency and harmonic practices. Critical views of such authors as Sir John Hawkins and Charles Burney have been reflected in later historical writings, considerably suppressing further interest in the composer. The first objective of this thesis is the examination of Geminianis 1752 treatise, Guida Armonica, its content, and implications for potential harmonic and structural functions. The second objective is to identify specific characteristics of Geminianis music that distinguish him from other composers of the period. Comparative analyses of selected movements by Geminiani and his teacher, Arcangelo Corelli, identify traits unique to Geminiani. The third objective of this project is to explore possible relationships between the work of Geminiani and the content presented in Guida Armonica. It is the intent of this study to provide expanded information about Guida Armonica and Geminiani’s compositional style, identify possible parallels between the music and treatise, and explore how the distinguishing stylistic details of his work may correlate with the criticisms he faced.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 28, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of English, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Diploma thesis is focused on the personality of the Arcangello Corelli and his contribution on the field of musical forms and violin. Work is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter I describe Arcangelo Corelli ´s life in a historical context.In the second chapter I focus on musical forms whose development contributed Corelli and I also give a concentration on individual works. The third chapter is devoted to the field of issue of the ornamentation of 17th and 18th century as well as Corelli´s fifth opus, which is an indispensable source of knowledge to period - style ornamentation. I hope this work will serve as a source of information not only about extraordinary composer, but also contribute to clarify the issue of ornamentation of 17th 18th century which is still an area somewhat elusive for many musicians.

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The comparison of structural and formal traits in the concert grossi of Corelli's Opus VI and Vivaldi's Opus III will proceed in the following manner: first, the cycle as a whole will be taken up; next, the individual movements will be considered. Finally, in each instance of comparison, Corelli's music will be dealt with first.

This thesis explores women’s writing and its place in the formation of female film culture in the British silent cinema era. The project focuses upon women’s literary engagement with silent cinema as generative of a female film culture, looking at materials such as fan letters, fan magazines, popular novels, short story papers, novelizations, critical journals and newspaper criticism. Exploring this diverse range of women’s cinema writing, the thesis seeks to make an original contribution to feminist film historiography. Focusing upon the mediations between different kinds of women’s cinema writing, the thesis poses key questions about how the feminist film historian weights original sources in the reclamation of silent female film culture, relative to the varying degrees of cultural authority with which different women commentated upon, reflected upon, and creatively responded to film culture. The thesis moves away from conceptualization of cinema audiences and reception practices based upon textual readings. Instead, the thesis focuses upon evidence of women’s original accounts of their cinemagoing practices (fan letters) and their critical (newspaper and journal criticism) and creative (fiction writers) responses to cinema’s place in women’s everyday lives. Balancing original archival research with multiple overarching methodological frameworks—drawing upon fan theory, feminist reception theory, audience studies, social history and cultural studies—the thesis is attentive to the diversity of women’s experiences of cinema culture, and the literary conduits through which they channeled these experiences. Shifting the recent focus in feminist silent film historiography away from the reclamation of lost filmmaking female pioneers and towards lost female audiences, the thesis thus constructs a nationally specific account of British women’s silent era cinema culture.

Only a few of RakJimaninov's compositions were popular with audiences during the lifetime of this Titan of the piano. Such youthful works as the Prelude in c# minor, op. 3, no. 2 and the Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 18 demonstrated only one facet of a creative process that evolved throughout his life. The purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to consider the extent of Rakhmaninov's stylistic evolution, especially the changes embodied in the large scale piano solo, Variations on a Theme of Corelli, written in the last decade of the composer's life. In the discussion of Rakhmaninov's lifelong stylistic development the author considers three distinct stages in his life as important landmarks. The first stage shows certain early influences upon the composer's creative powers, whether conscious, such as his acknowledged sensitivity to melody, or unconscious, such as medieval chant (Dies Irae), the sound of church bells, poetry and painting. The second addresses the question of the mixed legacy of Rakhmaninov's break with the past, when he left Russia in 1917 to re-settle in the United States the next year. On the one hand he never entirely broke his links with "Mother Russia," his fascination with the sounds of bells and chants, in his last decade of musical composition. For example, a comparison of the ancient Dies Irae theme with the La Folia tune that Corelli had used reveals striking similarities that Rakhmaninov undoubtedly found attractive, albeit unconsciously. On the other hand, he was inspired to seek a new conciseness of style and form in composition. The third stage relates to trends nurtured perhaps by his friendship with eminent string players and performers in America such as Fritz Kreisler. It is not surprising that Rakhmaninov's last two important works owe their themes to famous violin pieces: the Folia tune used by Arcangelo Corelli in the Corelli Variations and Paganini's well known 24th Caprice in the Paganini Rhapsody. These new directions in Rakhmaninov's music are most clearly present in the Corelli Variations, which are examined in terms of: (a) a new keyboard style; (b) string influenced variations; (c) elements of American jazz; and (d) a new clarity of structure. Finally, the writer examines similarities between the Corelli Variations and the Paganini Rhapsody that writers have sometimes touched upon. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

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