<p>Schenker and Schoenberg are the two most important and influential theorists of the early twentieth century. Yet Schenker's theory of the Ursatz, or fundamental structure, is viewed by many as contradictory to Schoenberg's Grundgestalt concept. It is remarkable that such brilliant theorists from Vienna could develop such profound and different theoretical concepts. However, In spite of the dispute that is continued to this day among Schenker's and Schoenberg's followers , the two theories need not be considered opposites. This thesis demonstrates , through a critical comparison of two analyses of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, that, although the music is approached from different angles, the analyses are not incompatible, but instead are remarkably similar and complementary to one another. Chapter One briefly reviews Schenker's and Schoenberg's theories and outlines important issues concerning the dispute between the two theorists , highlighted in three relatively recent papers. Chapters Two and Three examine two analyses of the Appassionata Sonata, one of which is Schenker's, the other a Schonebergian approach by Patricia Carpenter. It is concluded In Chapter Four that the two theories contain similarities and complementary features which, if used in conjunction with one another, would present a more complete and well-balanced understanding of musical phenomena than either is capable of on its own.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis defends the legitimacy of expressive interpretations of music 1 by proposing how critics might reconcile a work's expressive, or extramusical inferences 2 , with its autonomous or purely musical substance. It focuses on the music of Gustav Mahler, whose resurgence in popularity in the 1960s owed a great deal to his music's richness in extramusical associations. As one critic observed: "The magnitude and intensity of reactions to Mahler suggests that more is involved than purely musical or aesthetic appreciation."3</p> <p>Amidst this century's skepticism towards matters of expression in music, there has been a tendency to regard a work's extramusical inferences as entirely arbitrary. Rather than examining the musical elements which may have given rise to these inferences, critics have often dismissed them as musically inconsequential. This thesis counters that many of the non-musical inferences that are drawn from Mahler's music actually underscore purely musical properties; hence, expressive interpretations may be regarded as a complementary, not competing method of musical understanding.</p> <p>1 Which may be defmed as critical discussions of works which draw comparisons between music and various non-musical phenomena such as ideas, emotions, objects and events.</p> <p>2 Both expressive inferences and extramusical inferences may be defmed as nonmusical information which is achieved through expressive interpretations.</p> <p>3 Eva Hoffman. "Mahler for Moderns". Commentary 59 (June 1975), 52.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>By the early 21st century, the term 'musical genre' has been repositioned in popular usage in comparison to its premodern/modern function. Instead of merely classifying pieces according to established formal structures in mainly western art and folk music, it has evolved through modernity and postmodernity into an enormous, complex and highly, problematic system, phenomenon or construction seeking not just to fulfill that function, but also seeking stylistically to classify the popular and art music of every culture and era. Using the Wikipedia online listing of musical genres as one manifestation of the public usage of the term, one sees entire repertories, traditions and their sub-categories such as jazz, motown, indie garage and mohabelo placed on non-hierarchical par with formal genres such as symphony, lament, ballad and strathespy. This paper combines theoretical. researched. and anecdotal information around musical genre's nature and behaviour from a postmodern perspective. It examines the reimagining of musical genre which has characterised the postmodern age, and proposes models for understanding it based on the work of Theodor Adorno, Marhsall McLuhan and lean Baudrillard using three very different genres of church music as illustrations. Finally, in addition to reporting on Genre Implosion, a weekly radio show which aired on CFMU 93.3FM throughout the duration of the project, it seeks to locate itself within the concepts of 20th century pragmatism underlying it, which make it less about positing 'truths' about musical genre than about encouraging its practical use and application in the flexible and multi-faceted forms inherent to postmoderniry.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

The purpose of this paper, analyzing Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve is to Chapter provides the background information, laying out the direction of the paper, and a review of literature pertaining to each chapter. Chapter two presents the origins of flamenco in two separate historical narratives as argued by flamenco scholar, Robin Totton, explaining the difference of … Chapter three analyzes Manuel de Falla’s childhood and his upbringing in the Andalucían city of Cádiz as he encounters elements of gitano culture, which later make their way into his compositions during his nationalistic period. Chapter four analyzes Falla’s first operatic work, La vida breve and focuses on a few musical selections that express flamenco influence. Chapter five brings all of these elements together and discusses the formation of a national identity that utilized flamenco and gitano culture as a way to bring the nation together to form one defining identity. In order to complete this paper, I analyzed a number of biographies on Manuel de Falla, books that documented the development of Spanish music, and previous research documents that discussed the Spanish national identity and its origins that lie within gitano representation. I also analyzed segments of Manuel de Falla’s score for La vida breve to identify the flamenco elements.

Many skilled flutists place a high priority on "good" tone quality, or timbre. Timbre can be defined as the audible difference in character that a listener perceives for two notes played at the same pitch. Different timbres are determined by the combination and balance of harmonics that comprise a note. Unlike pitch and rhythm, timbre is difficult to objectively quantify. This project explores (1) how tone quality is described by skilled flutists, (2) whether the harmonic spectrum has some correlation with tone quality, (3) whether certain harmonic spectra are preferred, or considered "good". Thirty-one flutists ranging from high school students to professionals were recorded. A set of samples was used in surveys and interviews to capture descriptors and ratings of tone quality. All of the recorded samples were analyzed using application programs, Harmonic Analysis Tools (HAT), created for this study. HAT uses digital signal processing techniques to produce "spectral signatures". The signatures consist of the harmonic content, pitch, and amplitude of a sample. In the future, with further development, HAT may be a useful tool for musicians for tone development in the practice room. The outcome of this research is a baseline set of some often used descriptors. In addition, results showed some correlation between harmonic spectra and descriptors. There were also trends in preferences with respect to certain spectral characteristics. An unexpected finding was that University students showed divergent timbre preferences compared to highly experienced flutists.

It is the purpose of this study to organize the music written originally for flute and available in this country on the basis of a critical analysis which will give the reader a brief but authoritative word picture of each composition listed. This includes only music for C flute or without piano accompaniment. There are no arrangements or transcriptions included.

This work was written for ten performers plus tape. The instruments are divided into two groups, each with a distinct personality: flute, clarinet, horn, violin and cello in an "orderly" group, and three percussionists, piano, doublebass and tape in a "chaotic" group. The first two sections introduce these groups separately. The third section returns to the order group, which begins to show a chaotic influence. The fourth section, for tape alone, echoes the first in its stability. The final section, for the entire live ensemble, fuses the two groups into a texture which is not entirely chaotic, nor entirely orderly.

One of the social phenomena of our time (1960s) has been the popularization of a kind of music among the youth known as rock 'n' roll. It was the intent of this study to determine if the medium of rock did, in fact, maintain a posture of promulgating unchastity, the use of drugs and departure from traditional concepts of family and religion.Supported by statements from leading rock musicians it was found that the big beat had a cultural root in the Negroid race. Coupling the big beat gospel rhythms of the south with the white country and western music, there was a mixing of black and white races musically.Rock's appeal was found to be visceral, sensual and focused on sex sensation. Added to psychedelic art, the rock medium supported philosophies of rebellion, dissent and anti-Christian principles. A survey of LDS students revealed that over 50 percent held an attitude of approval toward rock music.

The Ephesus Seventh-day Church, one of the first Black SDA churches that were formed in the New York City area during the late 1920s and early 1930s, is one church that has been faced with the challenge of maintaining traditional repertoire and musical practices, while including more popular genres and styles that lay outside the SDA guidelines. Located in Central Harlem, Ephesus is surrounded by the cultural and historical influences within the Harlem community. The Ephesus Church, based on extant hymnals and the recollections of church members, continued in the Euro-centric musical traditions of early SDA churches until the 1960s, when it began to explore African-inspired musical practices. Around 1970, close in time to the SDA 1972 Music Guidelines were instituted, a struggle between Euro-centric versus Afro-centric musical cultures became apparent. Following introductory chapters on the history of African-American membership in the SDA Church from the 19th century to the early 20th century and early musical leaders of Ephesus Church, the musical practices of Ephesus from 1970 to 2010 serves as the focus of this study.

The recorded music industry experienced declining revenue from 1998 to 2014, but it saw a return to growth in 2015. This thesis uses a sample of 17 countries to explore the determinants behind this revenue expansion, and to assess whether this sales growth can be sustained. I examine the impact of eight factors on the overall, physical, digital, and streaming music revenue and revenue per capita, as well as the digital and streaming revenue share. The eight independent variables include the GNI per capita, the total population, the percentage of the young people, the percentage of the young females, the gross enrollment rate in secondary education, the percentage of Internet users, the percentage of mobile cellular subscriptions, and the percentage of fixed broadband subscriptions. Based on my study, the fixed broadband subscription rate has an impact that is both statistically significant and economically important on the streaming revenue share, which makes it the most important indicator for the industry’s potential sustainable development. The percentage of the young population also shows statistical significance and economic importance for explaining the overall and physical revenue per capita, but it has no effect on the digital and streaming revenue share. Also, although the Internet penetration rate and the mobile cellular subscription rate are statistically insignificant for the digital or streaming revenue share, point estimates suggest that these factors have important economic impacts.