With Hecate Nocturne, I set out to create a unified piece of substantial length. The piece features certain sounds of British Columbia---birds, animals, wind, water, machinery, and folksong; their musical depictions represent a growing interest of mine, one which was expanded significantly in this piece. / The primary goal of the thesis is a close interconnection of all musical material, at all levels; that a limited pool of material could produce, through motivic development, all the components of the piece, from small to large. The secondary goal is to give the music a "sense of place" through depictions of natural sounds occurring---in this case---in British Columbia. The tertiary goal is to write musical returns, or recapitulations, that are always significantly altered from their original presentations, to give the piece a feeling of consequence or alteration. This last goal arises from the aesthetic application of some of the composer's philosophical beliefs.

In this dissertation, I examine Stevie Wonder's compositional style from his celebrated "classic period," (1972-1976) focusing specifically on the concentrated two-year time span from 1972-1974 marked by his unparalleled creative output that launched him into superstardom. My study operates on the premise that most melodic relationships are governed by a fundamentally pentatonic process and that harmonic relationships are largely governed by jazz-influenced tonal processes. I have transcribed dozens of examples from the time period under review in order to survey the expressive interaction between these two related but distinct systems and the resulting effect their usage has on melody and harmony. Using Schenkerian reductive analysis as my primary tool, I uncover recurring patterns that shape and shed light on his style. The final chapter of this study focuses on the ways in which Wonder's improvised melodic lines relate to the voice-leading framework of the basic melodic ideas in his performance of "I Love Every Little Thing About You" and also the ways in which his improvisation impacts forward motion in the course of this song.

The thirteenth-century jeu-parti was a sung debate between two or more poet singers. In the jeu-parti, singers exchanged stanzas composed to the same melody, rhyme scheme and syllable count. What else was exchanged in the composition, performance and inscription of the jeu-parti? Grounded in a definition of violence as the non-consensual deployment of power on a subject, this thesis investigates whether any modes of exchange in the jeu-parti were non-consensual, and therefore violent. The form of the jeu-parti has the potential for what Zižek calls 'symbolic violence', in which the structures and meaning of one trouvère's song are appropriated and undermined by their opponent. This symbolic violence is discussed throughout the thesis. Several early jeux-partis are contrafacts of other trouvère songs. They were created in an aristocratic milieu that was deeply, and often violently, divided; contrafacture stages these aristocratic disputes and animates the form of the jeu-parti, which itself was created in a process of successive contrafacture. Later jeux-partis do not have the same context of aristocratic dispute, but are nevertheless a platform for symbolic violence. This is manifest in jeux-partis melodies, which are frequently tonally divided. In the interaction between textual structures and divided tonal structures, trouvères were able to enact symbolic violence against one another by subverting their opponent's tonal arguments. Furthermore, the jeu-parti was performed and created in a cultural context that praised violent acts. Set against the cultural backdrop of chivalric literature and rituals, the disputatio, the trial by inquest, the tournament, the joust, and scientific and lyric definitions of sound as the product of a violent act, the jeu-parti was a genre through which violent practices could be praised, defined, and censured.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (MMus (Performing Art))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

A study of selected chance and indeterminate piano pieces was made with a two-fold purpose: (1) to provide an intermediate stage between the composition and performance of the selected works and (2) to illustrate the diverse ways spontaneity may be invoked. The investigation centered on three points: (1) the problems the performer might encounter in examining the pieces, (2) implications of the instructions and (3) possible realizations of the score. While each score examined showed a slightly different approach to chance or indeterminacy, the pieces within the two categories were seen to exhibit common features. Generalizations were made in three broad areas: (1) the instructions in the scores, (2) the notation and (3) possible solutions. The instructions in the indeterminate scores were found to be relatively straightforward; the performer is made aware of his choices or alternatives and manner of performance is discussed. Instructions in chance works are less explicit; the performer is not directed to any one solution. Some explanation of the notation is given and the performer is led to discover how extensive his freedoms are. Indeterminate works on the whole are found to use traditional notation. The notation may be altered in some way, but retains a resemblance to its traditional source. Chance notation is very diverse, but three general categories exist: (1) works using traditional notation, (2) works using traditional and non-traditional (graphic) notation and (3) works using only graphic notation. The possible solutions of indeterminate works are concerned with either the juxtaposition or the metric relationship of material. The degree to which the choices are guided varies in the works discussed. Possible solutions of the chance works involve interpretation of notation and various ideas presented in the instructions. The performer must respond in an individual way, drawing on his own ideas. In general, analyses of the works illustrated some features that might be expected in other chance and indeterminate works. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

The popularity of the miscellaneous wind bands in Italian society through the centuries, and the prominent use of the trumpet within these ensembles and as a solo instrument, become evident in the examination of the development of the banda sul palco (the band on stage) in Italian opera. Gioachino Rossini was the first to use the banda sul palco (stage band) with any regularity. Giovanni Paisiello, Giuseppe Gazzaniga, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must be considered earlier contributors to the growing movement of using instrumental ensembles on stage.

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