Implications surrounding body ownership prove to be an enduring struggle from their prevalence in ancient literary sources through more modern, contemporary works. I analyze the notions of body ownership and its lack thereof set forth in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the Homeric “Hymn to Demeter” regarding the myth of Persephone. Then, I consider larger meanings through analysis of the following contemporary works, approached in terms of the narrators: Rita Dove’s Mother Love, Louise Glück’s Averno, A.E. Stallings’s “Hades Welcomes His Bride” and “Persephone Writes a Letter to Her Mother,” and D.M. Thomas’s “Pomegranate.” The complexities within the myth itself amplify the complications in the contemporary interpretations of the myth. There is a range of differing levels of accepting sentiments in the contemporary works about the idea that no one ever has complete ownership or control over his own body. Comparing the different lenses through with the contemporary authors (and ancient authors!) chose to incorporate the myth of Persephone into their works reveals overarching themes, enlightening the reader about the nuances of the arguably most famous abduction in history.

The combination of observational, anecdotal and circumstantial evidence suggests that, in the present-day Christian church, older, traditional hymns are slowly but inexorably being replaced by modern, contemporary ones. Whilst it is a truism that hymnody, like every other aspect of civilisation, moves forward with the times, there still remains a large number of people, congregations and clergy for whom the early eighteenth century English hymn is a genre that remains ever-popular. This research focuses deliberately on the eighteenth century hymn for four main reasons. First, hymns from this period are widely used in most Christian denominations. Second, the eighteenth century was a particularly fertile period for hymnody. Third, this was the era of Watts and Wesley, arguably two of the greatest hymn writers of all time; their burgeoning popularity thrust the eighteenth century into a period of proclivity for hymn writing. Finally, the whole area of hymnody in the Church of Ireland appears to be under-researched. Thus, in seeking to determine why older, more traditional hymns continue to be published in Church of Ireland hymnals this research fills a very obvious gap. This study establishes that this resilience is real and not merely perceived. Eighteenth century hymns are still widely sung in today’s Church, irrespective of size, location, setting, status, leadership or congregation. The study explores the many reasons behind this resilience—reasons that go beyond the more obvious musical and liturgical ones and highlight the impact of hymnody from a variety of angles. / Thesis (PhD (Liturgics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The combination of observational, anecdotal and circumstantial evidence suggests that, in the present-day Christian church, older, traditional hymns are slowly but inexorably being replaced by modern, contemporary ones. Whilst it is a truism that hymnody, like every other aspect of civilisation, moves forward with the times, there still remains a large number of people, congregations and clergy for whom the early eighteenth century English hymn is a genre that remains ever-popular. This research focuses deliberately on the eighteenth century hymn for four main reasons. First, hymns from this period are widely used in most Christian denominations. Second, the eighteenth century was a particularly fertile period for hymnody. Third, this was the era of Watts and Wesley, arguably two of the greatest hymn writers of all time; their burgeoning popularity thrust the eighteenth century into a period of proclivity for hymn writing. Finally, the whole area of hymnody in the Church of Ireland appears to be under-researched. Thus, in seeking to determine why older, more traditional hymns continue to be published in Church of Ireland hymnals this research fills a very obvious gap. This study establishes that this resilience is real and not merely perceived. Eighteenth century hymns are still widely sung in today’s Church, irrespective of size, location, setting, status, leadership or congregation. The study explores the many reasons behind this resilience—reasons that go beyond the more obvious musical and liturgical ones and highlight the impact of hymnody from a variety of angles. / Thesis (PhD (Liturgics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [227]-249).

Thesis (M.A.)--Briercrest Biblical Seminary, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-80).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [227]-249).

abstract: Everyday Arias for soprano and orchestra was composed largely in Arizona and completed in February 2011. The text was taken from a small collection of the composer's own poetry referencing her memories of life in rural Mississippi. Everyday Arias endeavors to elevate these prosaic experiences and settings to art, expressing the everyday as beautiful and worthy of artistic treatment. The primary compositional model for this work was Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, but other influences included Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, and Dominick Argento. Barber's and Argento's musical treatment of prose style seemed particularly appropriate to the goals of Everyday Arias. Ives and Copland used hymn tunes both to evoke certain associations of worship and as sources of interesting material. The vocal writing of all five composers was influential, but the orchestration techniques for winds are largely a product of studying Ives and Argento, while many string gestures are more obviously tied to Britten and - more historically - Debussy.The primary motive that weaves through the work features an ascending major second followed by a descending perfect fourth, in a long-short-long rhythmic pattern. As a melodic fragment, the motive is often inverted to a descending-ascending pattern, or distorted slightly by expanding the second interval to a perfect fifth, or used in retrograde. The motive was derived from the first measure of the melody "Toplady" (1830) by Thomas Hastings, better known as the hymn "Rock of Ages." In the first movement, the motive is used most frequently in sequences. The second movement treats the motive as a melodic element and as a unit in ostinati. The final movement humorously transforms it into a syncopated gesture to evoke ragtime. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2011

This study represents an effort to analyze the forms used by Flor Peeters in his Thirty Chorale Preludes on Well-Known Hymn Tunes, op. 68, 69, and 70. Through this analysis it has been found that Flor Peeters has systematically used certain devices in the treatment of the cantus firmus. Furthermore, these devices can be used as a criterion in developing a classification system for the chorale preludes, which logically divide into six groups or types. The first type includes the chorale preludes in which the composition begins immediately with the first phrase of the chorale melody and continues without interruption to the end of the melody. The chorale melody is used in its entirety, the last note occasionally being sustained as an inverted organ point or organ point to form a coda. The chorale melody appears without ornamentation, but the rhythm may be subject to augmentation or diminution. The second type resembles the first type, with the exception that the chorale melody has been treated with ornamentation. Included in the third type are the chorale preludes in which the chorale melody appears in detached phrases, each phrase being separated from the next by an interlude or transition, the first phrase usually being preceded by an introduction. The chorale melody appears without ornamentation, but the rhythm may be subject to augmentation or diminution. The final note of the chorale melody may be sustained as an organ point or inverted organ point. Ornamentation constitutes the major difference between the third and fourth types. In the fourth type the chorale melody has been ornamented. The fantasia-type chorale preludes included in the fifth type make free use of the chorale melody. Entire phrases of the original chorale melody are omitted. The phrases used in the composition may appear in fragments or complete phrases with rhythmic and notational changes. The sixth type contains the chorale preludes wherein the chorale melody forms the basis of a series of variations, which constitute a partita. Each of the partitas in this type consists of an opening movement, three or five variations, and a finale. The variations are usually developed according to the specifications of types I, II, and IV. A minor consideration of this study is the harmonic devices used by Flor Peeters. Secondary chords and their sevenths, as well as parallel open fifths, are characteristic of the harmonic treatment. Like the composers of the Baroque period, Flor Peeters has composed the ornamented, figured, and the partita types of chorale preludes. In the thirty compositions considered in this study there is not an example of the canonic or the motet types. Even though Flor Peeters has not adhered to these latter types, he has made use of such devices as fugal expositions and imitation.

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