Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University.
Bibliography: [p. 157]-161. / Although little remembered today, Ethel Barns was
recognized in London between 1895 and 1928 as an
accomplished violin virtuoso and composer, who performed her
own and others' works in chamber music concerts and
occasionally in orchestra concerts as violin soloist. Like
many performers of her day, Barns wrote music which both she
and those closely associated with her performed, in the
tradition of such nineteenth-century virtuosi as Henryk
Wieniawski and Henri Vieuxtemps. Many of her works,
particularly for violin, deserve to be incorporated into
present-day repertoires.
In keeping with popular tastes of the time, Barns wrote
more short pieces for violin and piano (53), short piano
pieces (19), and songs (37) than she did large-scale works,
which include 5 violin sonatas, 2 works for piano trio, 2
suites for violin and piano, a Fantaisie-Trio for Two
Violins and Piano, and three works for violin and chamber
orchestra. Of the more than 120 compositions attributable
to Barns, 87 are extant. The 15 manuscripts which this
study has brought to light and which are now located in the
British Library, together with her 72 published works, are
discussed in this dissertation.
Many of Barns's violin works utilize virtuosic techniques
such as double-stops (most notably sixths), ricochet,
staccato, and arpeggiando figures, the melodic use of the
G-string, and cadenza-like passages. Writing first in the
High-Romantic harmonic style, with Brahmsian characteristics
evident in her well-written, though conservative Sonata No.
2 in A major, Op. 9 (1904), Barns gradually incorporated
Late-Romantic style characteristics such as extensive
chromaticism and formal expansiveness, as well as
Debussy-like traits such as parallel harmonic progressions,
metric flexibility, and added-note harmonies in her mature
compositions [e.g., the Sonata No. 4 in G minor, Op. 24
(1910) and the Fantaisie for Two Violins and Piano].
Chapter One of this dissertation gives Barns's life
history, while the two chapters on her career are largely
devoted to details of the Barns-Phillips Chamber Music
Concerts (1895-1913), which featured Barns and her baritone
husband, Charles Phillips. The last four chapters comprise
a complete discussion of her works by genre and are followed
by appendices, including excerpts from some of her major
compositions, a list of works, and a discography.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/8791 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | Englesberg, Barbara J. |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This dissertation is made available in OpenBU at the request and on the authorization of its author, who retains all other rights to it. |
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