Humfrey's music, which is chiefly sacred, includes a large number of anthems, odes, services and songs. His compositions, particularly his sacred compositions, have received extensive investigation only on one other occasion, in Henry Bryce Jordan's unpublished dissertation on the subject. Of his sacred music, the anthems form by far the largest and most signification part. Six of them were printed in W. Boyce's Cathedral Music (London, 1760); twelve more, including the "club anthem" and an evening service, are to be found as part of the Tudway Collection of the British Museum (Harl. MS 7338) and others are extant in manuscript at the libraries of Ely, Salisbury, Windsor, the Friz-william Museum (Cambridge), Christ Church (Oxford, Birmingham University, St. Michael's (Tenbury), and the Additional manuscripts in the British Museum. It was primarily int he anthems that Humfrey introduced into England some of the declamatory methods of the French theatre and thus secured for himself the credit of having established their form and style. His solo songs, on the other hand seem to occupy a somewhat less esteemed position, attributable perhaps to their remarkable simplicity, and in few cases to their apparent neglect of such musical fundamentals as melody and rhythm. It is the songs, more accurately the secular songs for solo voice, which have been chosen as the topic of this study.

The purpose of this study is to give some insight into the solo songs of John Alden Carpenter and show their position in the history of song composition in general.

Because of the nature of the poetry, the interpretation of Banalites in this study has involved certain subjective decisions. These deductions were, nevertheless, colored by statements of the poet, the composer, and authorities on each. This is not to imply, however, that this is the only interpretation. Both poet and composer have given evidence that their creation requires a subjective response on the part of the interpreter. This is perhaps the greatest challenge offered by the work.

The English art song in the 20th-century presents a performance challenge unique in the solo song repertoire. Unlike the corresponding bodies of German Lied and French mélodie, which proceeded from a well-ingrained national tradition of music and poetry, the English art song had no such background. The many British composers who have contributed to the song literature of this century reflect varied backgrounds and influences. Lennox Berkeley combined his English heritage with the French background of his mother's family, largely self-taught musical skills and an innate sensitivity to poetry to become one of the most prominent song composers of this century. He trained with Nadia Boulanger, gaining exposure to the formal and melodic techniques of Faure and the neo-classicism of Stravinsky. Berkeley composed a total of seventy-eight solo songs. His acceptance and furtherance of a fundamentally traditional songmaker's craft place him more directly in the post-war line of succession of English song than Benjamin Britten, whose innovative musical techniques place him in the vanguard of new music.This document explores those aspects of Berkeley's life and work that contribute to his compositional choices. It provides an overview of all of Berkeley's known solo songs as well as a more detailed analysis of Five Songs (Walter de la Mare), Five Poems CW.H. Auden) and Another Spring. The paper illustrates the qualities of Berkeley's songs which justify his inclusion among the most successful art song composers of this century

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the changes and developments of the accompanied solo song throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, including instrument usage and song types.