Thesis (Ph. D.)--Yale University, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-185).

This study provides insight into the compositional features of the monophonic ballata, a genre developed in the early to mid-fourteenth century in northern Italy. In analyzing the formal structure, melodic contour, application of musica ficta, and relationship between text and melody, I suggest ways in which performers of this repertoire can highlight the exceptional qualities of this music while remaining rooted in a historically-informed tradition of early music performance practice. Using principles of Schenkerian ideas of prolongation, Salzerian approaches to constructing voice-leading analyses of early music, and Steve Larson's theory of musical forces as criteria for well-formed melodies, I created a method that shows every note as structural or ornamental at every given level. The use of these theoretical approaches serves to highlight what about this music is compelling and what can be brought out as 'familiar' in a piece, what repeats, and what connects sections and how. I conclude that counterpoint is behind the organization of these works at the structural level, even as monophonic songs. I acknowledge that there are features we could construe as "tonal," but that information is only useful to a performer familiar with tonal elements, and it is therefore only one of many layers of understanding that should be accessed by the modern performer.

Despite its generally agreed importance, very little has been written about The Apostles. Even among the extant publications that address The Apostles, scholars have focused on its history and development, its reception, or analytical descriptions of its surface themes. The aim of this study will therefore be to provide neither a biography of Elgar, nor an account of the genesis of the work, but to analyze The Apostles in a manner that will achieve a deeper understanding of the oratorio. Chapter 1 explores the complexities that surround Judas and the different ways in which he was perceived throughout history. Then, through my analysis of the surface motives in Chapter 2 and their significance in relation to the large-scale harmonic structure in Chapter 3, I will suggest that Elgar does not denigrate Judas as the betrayer of Christ in The Apostles, but rather depicts him as a tragic yet crucial figure in achieving the redemption of mankind, and through this Judas himself is redeemed.

Multithreading, or applying different analytical tools to a piece or work concurrently in order to produce an ultimate deduction. In this presentation, the author analyzes Manuel Ponce’s Variations sur “Folia de España” et Fugue, a sophisticated amalgamation of German counterpoint and French harmony, infused with Spanish music. Utilizing analytical tools such as Sonata theory, Schenkerian analysis, and Hermeneutic discourse, this analysis provides insight into the ways multithreading can produce a holistic analysis without being too broad or narrow. The author first applies a narrative to Ponce’s work, and proposes that its various tonal areas and orchestration are in dialogue with sonata form. The author then uses Schenkerian graphs to support this hypothesis by mapping out the piece’s harmonic landscape and identifying correlations between thematic areas at the deep middleground level. An underlying narrative regarding D minor’s role in the struggle between fate and free will in the piece is discussed. / Music Education

The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate and compare, through a representative historical sampling of music, the concepts of tonality evolved by Paul Hindemith in his Craft of Musical Composition, Vol. I; and Heinrich Schenker in his Tonwille, MusijNkeael ische Theorien Fantasien, Das jeisterwerk in der Musik, and Per Freie Satz.5 When feasible, these two concepts will be compared with the conventional concept.

This study investigates the influence of the Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker on American music theory since 1940, including a survey of writings related to Schenker and theory textbooks displaying his influence. The Schenker influence on American music theory includes many journal articles on Schenker and his principal students. His methods are employed often in analytical discussions of various issues. In addition to numerous dissertations and theses written about Schenker, a number of textbooks are now based wholly or in part on his approach to musical understanding. The current trend towards accepting Schenker's theories is likely to continue as more people are exposed to his teachings.

When Schenkerian theory began to influence scholarly circles in the United States, the primary - although not the only - work to which scholars had access was Schenker's last monograph, Der freie Satz. Reading textual passages and examining the many musical graphs in the companion volume of examples influenced their concept of the fundamental structure as Schenker understood it, as well as the relationship of the other levels (Schichten) to the larger structure. The problem is that most of the second generation of Schenkerian scholars were reading the 1956 second German edition, not the 1935 first German edition. The second edition had been altered for textual and musical content by Schenker's student, Oswald Jonas - so there is already a disconnect between the original version and the text scholars were reading at that time (the 1950s, 60s, and 70s). Furthermore, many younger North Americans were insufficiently fluent in German to be able to read the work in the original language. In order to make Schenker's treatise accessible to English-speaking scholars, Ernst Oster set about translating the work into English, a task completed in 1979 just after his death. The text was based on the second German edition (ed. Jonas, Vienna, 1956), but the first edition (Vienna, 1935) was consulted also. Examples that were changed from the 1935 edition in the 1956 edition were not restored. The first problem for those interested in gaining a more accurate understanding of Schenker's theories is that the first German edition is still unavailable in complete translation. The second and more serious issue involves the genesis of the first German edition. All these problems concerning the publication of the various editions have led to an incomplete understanding of the work. Complicating matters is the relatively unexplored state of the late manuscript of Der freie Satz in the Vienna collection. This study investigates the differences between the late manuscript material preserved in Vienna and the 1935 German printed edition of Schenker's Der freie Satz. The author seeks to provide new insight into the ordering of the text, and reveals, translates, and elucidates some omitted text and analyses.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Music Theory, College of Music, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on March 30, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-158). Also issued in print.

The translator's Thesis--Northwestern University. / The translator's vita.