The marula tree has already become a very important alternative crop in South Africa with a great potential for further improvement. There are, however, no accurate records that have been reported on the fruit yield and quality of marula tree in Southern Africa. To utilise the fruit fully, to make proper selections from the wild trees and to develop new selections/cultivars, there is a need to have information on yield potential and fruit quality aspects. The overall objective was to determine the yield potential and to evaluate the fruit quality of different marula selections putting more emphasis on fruit quality parameters such as the fruit mass, size, total soluble solids (TSS), acidity and juice content. Four marula selections were identified during their peak production season(2004/2005/2006/2007) at Schoeman Boerdery (Orchard) between Marble-Hall and Groblersdal in Mpumalanga Province (South Africa). From each of the selections, namely; Pharulani, Toularula and Swarula, five trees were selected randomly and marked, while from the Wild marula only four trees were selected and marked. For the purpose of experimental design, the four selections were regarded as four treatments, and the marked trees per selection as the replicates. All selected trees were more or less the same in size and were in full production. The trees were growing in an orchard with planting distance of 9 m (interspacing) and 4.5 m (intraspacing). To determine yield potential, the number of fruit per square meter per tree was counted on pre-labelled branches on five positions around the tree canopy at three stages of fruit development. Collected data were converted to grams of fruit per square metre. Tree canopy size (CS), expressed as m2, was calculated by using the radius (r) of each canopy in the following formula: CS= (╥.r2) 4. For calculating the yield per tree, the average canopy size was multiplied by the number of fruit counted per m2. Twenty fruits from each labelled marula tree per selection were randomly selected; collected and taken to the Ecophysiology Laboratory at University of Pretoria for fruit quality traits, weight (mass), size, stone mass, peel mass, juice content, Total Soluble Solids (TSS) and Titratable acidity (TA). The yield efficiency/potential for both tree unit and hectare (ha) basis in 2006/2007 season, showed that the Swarula selection had the highest total yield as compared to other selections. Results showed that there was a positive relationship between fruit weight and size, that is, the bigger the weight, the bigger the size and the opposite. Generally, three selections, Swarula, Toularula and Pharulani had a higher fruit mass and size than “wild” marula. Pharulani had the highest seed/stone mass whereas “wild” marula had the lowest seed mass during the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 fruiting seasons. Pharulani selection had the highest juice mass during both seasons whereas Swarula selection had the lowest juice mass. Results also showed that ‘wild’ marula had the highest TSS/TA ratio during both seasons whereas Pharulani had the lowest TSS/TA ratio. Optimal traits were therefore found in different selections and not in the same selections as envisaged. Copyright / Dissertation (MInst Agrar)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

This thesis has been written in order to provide, especially for the non-German-reading musician, a fuller picture of Loewe and his ballads than has been available up to now. This picture is developed within the literary background history of the ballad poems, and the literary, mental, and musical climate at the beginning of the Romantic era; further, Loewe's life, as revealed in his many letters, his diaries, and his autobiography, provides the human context from which the ballads emerge as a logical extension of his personality. These earlier parts of the thesis have considerable bearing on the appreciation of Loewe's timely position in musical history, treating as they do with the popularity of the ballad poems, the rapid expansion of the means of musical/emotional expression, and the complete acceptance of that most romantic and versatile of soloinstruments, the piano. Loewe's temperamental affinity with the poetry of the ballads is shown to have affected his choice of subject, and in many cases the ultimate quality of the music is obviously dependent upon the strength or otherwise of his attraction. After observations on Loewe's vocal and piano writing, the thesis treats the ballads primarily with regard to their feeling and emotional content, and investigates the musical means by which this is conveyed. Categories are suggested, and ballads of similar dramatic, pictorial, or emotional type are discussed and compared. Certain formal characteristics are examined, in particular Loewe's use of highly organised motivic work in certain ballads, which foreshadows its later use by Liszt, Wagner and others. Over one hundred of Loewe's 120 ballads are dealt with, some in extensive detail~ and copious musical examples are given. The few comparatively well-known ballads receive due attention, but it was regarded as important to bring to light some of the more neglected or unknown ballads, many of which possess great beauty and originality, amply repaying study and, still more, performance. As a corollary, the approach of the performer is considered, and the Conclusion argues for an informed :esthetic appreciation of Loewe's ballads and their place in teday's vocal repertoire.

The clarinet works of Marcel Mihalovici (1898-1985) represent significant contributions to the twentieth-century clarinet repertoire. Metric and rhythmic variability, melodic primacy, counterpoint, structural clarity, and elements of Romanian folk music permeate his writing and reflect a highly developed musical language. Mihalovici's educational background and cultural heritage provide important clues toward understanding his artistic legacy. His clarinet works are musically demanding and contain some of the most technically challenging passages in the repertoire, while at the same time, exhibit a distinctively French style influenced by traditional Romanian music. Mihalovici's writing follows familiar but variable formal procedures and conveys a diverse, modally influenced approach to tonality. While his harmonic language is frequently dissonant, his clarinet music offers a unique variety of musically rewarding styles.

Scriabin's piano miniatures are ideal for the study of evolution of his style, which underwent an extreme transformation. They present heavily concentrated idioms and structural procedures within concise form, therefore making it more accessible to grasp the quintessence of the composer's thought. A plethora of studies often reviews isolated genres or periods of Scriabin's legacy, making it impossible to reveal important general tendencies and inner relationships between his pieces. While expanding the boundaries of tonality, Scriabin completed the expansion and universalization of the piano miniature genre. Starting from his middle years the 'poem' characteristics can be found in nearly every piece. The key to this process lies in Scriabin's compilation of certain symbolical musical gestures. Separation between technical means and poetic intention of Scriabin's works as well as rejection of his metaphysical thought evolution result in serious interpretive implications. Music of Scriabin provides an excellent opportunity for a performer to find a proper balance between rational and intuitive. The lack of any of these qualities will impoverish his works, making their interpretation incomplete. Following one of main Scriabin's ideas - synthesis of all arts - this study approaches his music not from the narrow analytical, but broad synthetic standpoint. The suggested solution is an informed performance, based on Heinrich Neuhaus's teaching method that encompassed all arts. 'Cross-art' comparative analysis justifies the composer's artistic searches and highlights significance of his ideas, which disclose a strong correlation with the characteristic features of the creative faculty, the nature of music and its synergetic aspects.

Robert Eugene Ward's impressive body of work encompasses almost every genre of music. He has composed symphonies, operas, large orchestral pieces, chamber works, solo instrumental pieces, extended choral works, short choral pieces, ceremonial works, a ballet, theatre pieces, and even jazz and swing band pieces. Ward's name is recognized in most musical circles but usually only for his opera The Crucible, a work for which he earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1962. In fact, a survey of all the dissertations, articles, interviews, and books written about Robert Ward shows that the vast majority of these studies focus on his most famous opera. His choral works, though they comprise some of Ward's most expressive work, have received little attention. Ward's works show a deliberate use of symbols and allusions. While this use is far from an innovative concept in composition, Ward distinguishes himself with a consistent and purposeful application of these devices establishing an unmistakable interweaving of text, composition, and context. This study examines several of Ward's short choral compositions as they relate to the composer's use of symbols and allusions. Comparisons are made to Ward's use of these devices in his operatic works as a means of determining the consistency of their use throughout his vocal works. Chapter 1 looks at the composer's background, influence, and experience as to their impact on his approach to composition. Chapter 2 lays the groundwork for the discussion of symbols and allusions in music by establishing their basis and function in literary arts in general. The final chapter explores Ward's use of symbols and allusions in four of his choral works.

The ornamentation in the keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti is investigated in light of evidence from late seventeenth and early eighteenth century Spanish treatises and collections. Additionally, calligraphic and statistical evidence from the earliest known manuscripts and printed source for the keyboard sonatas is explored. The study is focused on three ornaments--the appoggiatura, trill, and tremulo--and concludes that: the appoggiaturas in this repertoire were short unless cadential or present in a cantabile tempo, in which case they could be one-third to two-thirds the value of the resolution note; trills were begun on the main note unless preceded by a grace note; tremulo was usually an alternation of a main note with its lower neighbor note and this ornament is normally indicated at points of harmonic prolongation. The last chapter discusses general approaches to arranging these works for the guitar and the specific influence of ornamentation on the performance of the sonatas on guitar. Details from eight sonatas arranged for the guitar are used to exemplify the conclusions of the research.

David Werner Amram III, born in Philadelphia in 1930 is a celebrated American composer whose works have increasingly gained worldwide attention. His compositions embrace many genres including incidental music, film scores, symphonies, concertos, sonatas, instrumental trios, quartets, cantatas and operas as well as songs. One of Amram's earliest published songs, Pull My Daisy, is from his musical score for the experimental film of the same name. The song, text by Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac, is set in a jazz style. Twelve of his songs, published in three collections are drawn either from his incidental music for Shakespeare plays or from his chamber opera, Twelfth Night. Another group written for baritone voice, wind and string quintets is entitled Three Songs for America. Trail of Beauty for mezzosoprano, oboe and orchestra contains four settings of Native American texts. The first chapter of this paper provides a biography of the composer. Succeeding chapters give some analysis of representative songs from each published group, background to their composition, texts, information from reviews where available, and the composers own comments from telephone interviews with the writer. An appendix contains brief illustrations of music from representative songs. It is observed that Amram's multifaceted musical interests have led him to write appealing and interesting music, both instrumental and vocal.

The keyboard works of the English virginalist Peter Philips have been little studied in comparison with his more famous contemporaries, William Byrd, John Bull and Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. While Philips left comparatively fewer keyboard works than these composers, his music contains very unique attributes. This study compiles the latest research of Philips' life as well as an analysis of representative works showing many of the individual and uncommon features to be found in Philips' works for keyboard. Pieces from all genres of Philips' keyboard output are represented and discussed, including Pavanes and Galliards, Fantasias and Intabulations of madrigals. Musical examples of each of these works are provided. A description of the instruments needed for the performance of the music and an illustration of the rare type of keyboard instrument required in the Pavana and Galliarda Dolorosa is included. A discussion of Philips' style, particularly regarding ornamentation, is included with a comparison to the works of his contemporaries.

The compositional language of Russian composer-pianist Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) demonstrates an evolution of the traditional forms and harmony. Following the classical and romantic traditions, Medtner's compositional technique reveals his individual and original approaches to form and harmony. The unique architectonic in his works is achieved through particular tonal-harmonic juxtapositions of the sections, the frequent prevalence of the monothematic principle, the increased role of the developmental material in the exposition, and contrapuntal combination of themes. Harmonic vocabulary is characterized by chromatic harmony, altered dissonant chords, augmented triads, complex chains of modulations, and usage and combination of modes and octatonic scale. Counterpoint is of great importance toward understanding the chord progression found in his music. Skazki (fairy tales) are pieces in small form, such as preludes, or novelettes; they hold an important place in Medtner's oeuvre. The fairy tale genre is associated with many artistic traditions, including Russian folk art. Medtner's 38 fairy tales, varied in imagery and character, were composed during different periods of his life. The evolution of the genre is seen in form and harmonic language. The lyrical, subjective mood of the fairy tales of the earlier period, such as op. 8, op. 9 and op. 14, evolve into large-scale works, such as fairy tales op. 20 and op. 35. In his later years, in fairy tales from op. 42, Medtner imbues the form with a greater clarity of expression, a tendency to move toward simpler musical expression, and an expanded use of thematic Russian folklore sources, including more definite ties with song and dance genres.

This study examines the the songs of Yrjö Kilpinen and their use in the poems of Christian Morgenstern.