Thesis (M.M.) PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Tracing the transmission of plainchant depends on the identification melodic formulas. This thesis will address the concept of formula, as it relates to methods of pre-notational transmission, memorization, fixity, formal analysis, and digital encoding. Thus, it aims to present an overview of the major issues and theories relating to chant transmission in the early medieval period. Focus is given to analyses by Leo Treitler, Kenneth Levy, and Theodore Karp in order to illuminate shifts in scholarly understanding of "formula." This thesis touches on the tension between the New Historical and Traditional views of plainchant transmission. The second-mode tract Deus, deus meus is used a focal point for the discussion of formula. Finally, this thesis offers an examination of the XML language MEI for encoding scholarly analysis. / 2031-01-01

Robert Morris’s (1993) Contour-Reduction Algorithm—later modified by Rob Schultz (2008) and hereafter referred to as the Modified Contour Reduction Algorithm (MCRA)—recursively prunes a contour down to its prime: its first, last, highest, and lowest contour pitches. The algorithm follows a series of steps in two stages. The first stage prunes c-pitches that are neither local high points (maxima) nor low points (minima). The second stage prunes pitches that are neither maxima within the max-list (pitches that were maxima in the first stage) nor minima within the min-list (pitches that were minima in the first stage). This second stage is repeated until no more pitches can be pruned. What remains is the contour’s prime. By examining how the reduction process is applied to a given c-seg, one can discern a hierarchy of levels that indicates new types of relationships between them. In this thesis, I aim to highlight relationships between c-segs by analyzing the distinct subsets created by the different levels obtained by the applying the MCRA. These subsets, or sub-csegs, can be used to delineate further relationships between c-segs beyond their respective primes. As such, I posit a new method in which each sub-cseg produced by the MCRA is examined to create a system of hierarchical comparison that measures relationships between c-segs, using sub-cseg equivalence to calculate an index value representing degrees of similarity. The similarity index compares the number of levels at which two c-segs are similar to the total number of comparable levels. I then implement this analytical method by examining the similarities and differences between thirteen mode-2 Alleluias from the Liber Usualis that share the same alleluia and jubilus. The verses of these thirteen chants are highly similar in melodic content in that they all have the same prime, yet they are not fully identical. I will examine the verses of these chants using my method of comparison, analyzing intermediary sub-csegs between these 13 chants in order to reveal differences in the way the primes that govern their basic structures are composed out.

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abstract: ABSTRACT The early music revival in Paris, which came into full swing in the 1890s, had a defining impact on the composer Claude Debussy. Among the leaders of this movement were the Chanteurs de Saint Gervais under the direction of Charles Bordes and the Schola Cantorum, a school Bordes founded for the study and performance of early music in Paris. Debussy wrote admiringly of the performances of the Chanteurs and opera productions he saw at the Schola. He also spoke of the revelatory nature of performances of Renaissance masses that he heard in Italy after he won the Prix de Rome. Finally, he most likely visited Solesmes, important in the revival of plainchant. Hitherto unknown documents raise questions about the date of that visit, which most likely took place in 1892 or 1893. A powerful manifestation of the influence of early music on Debussy’s compositional style is a melodic gesture that he referred to as “arabesque.” Debussy made many comments about the “divine arabesque,” which he related to the “primitives,” Palestrina, Victoria, and di Lasso. Further, Debussy connected those composers’ use of the arabesque to plainchant: “They found the basis of [the arabesque] in Gregorian chant, whose delicate tracery they supported with twining counterpoints.” Debussy’s writings on early music provide a deeper context for understanding how plainchant, as well as music from the Renaissance, contributed to his compositional style, specifically in his use of modes and his notion of the arabesque. These influences are especially apparent in his only a cappella choral work, Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans. Until now, analysis of the Trois chansons has not sufficiently considered the importance of either plainchant or the arabesque and their influence on the style and character of this work. Viewing Debussy’s musical aesthetic through the lens of plainchant and the arabesque brings his music to life in a new and exciting way, resulting in a richer understanding and more informed performance practice, especially in the Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

The master thesis focuses on a neumed breviary, which presently resides in the Czech National Library under the signature VI.E.4c. The source, originally from the library of women's Benedictine monastery of St. George at the Prague Castle, dates from the middle of 12th century and is the oldest neumed manuscript from the convent. However, it is not clear where it was created and for whom. The breviary might have been intended for the convent from the beginning or got to its library later. Therefore, the main aim of this work is to find out the provenance of the codex. The first chapter deals with the physical description of the manuscript. Especially the musical-palaeographic aspects are inspected, both the original and younger (written usually in margins). The newly discovered fragment XXIV.A.65, which originally belonged to the breviary, is also investigated. With the use of these aspects, the possibilities of the source's provenance are specified. The content of the breviary is examined in the second chapter. The single sections of the manuscript are described: calendar, tonary, Commune Sanctorum and the liturgical year itself. The chapter also mentions some of the typical specifics, which appearred during the work at the musical-liturgical index of the third and fourth section of the breviary,...

The purpose of this research is to explore the benefits of chant music and its pedagogical applications for the individual trombonist or ensemble member. Several common method books are examined and categorized as either musical exercise or lyrical etude. Through this analysis I highlight a gap between the two method types that can be bridged through practice of chant. I support this claim through an analysis of chant characteristics that make it an ideal candidate to encourage pure sound production and connection in a performable work. Practice of chant in trombone chamber or choir ensembles will also encourage the development of skills necessary to play as a member of a group. I propose regular practice of this music will aid the ensemble in blend and balance, intonation, articulation, and slide coordination. The final chapter of the research provides the reader with a brief summary of the works refenced to promote further study as one chooses.

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The term "ekphrasis" is indisputably problematic. In fact, depending on which definition one might use ekphrastic processes can either be broad, that is extended to any type of description as it was taught in rhetoric treaties during antiquity, or according to its modern definition circumcised to literary representations of works of art. Since ekphraseis are a key feature of Huysmans's work, this study strives to explore their scope through describing the sacred art in the so-called "catholic novels" Huysmans wrote after his religious conversion and the Church's representation that stems from them. This study focuses on two forms of religious art: the plainchant and the architecture. Based on a broad theoretical frame ranging from ekphrasis and hypotyposis figures of speech to intermediality, the study shows that the medieval Church is considered as quintessentially a pluri-medial entity or as Wolf puts it, a "syncretistic medium". Thus, it seems possible to establish a connection between this image of an ideal Church and the notion of Gesamtkunstwerk. Last but not least, this depiction which arises from Huysmans's work sheds light on a broader societal phenomenon that occurred in the transitional period which was the late 19th century, namely a strong interest in medievalism.

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