Theses/Dissertations - Music History & Literature
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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Music History & Literature by Author "Baylor University. School of Music."
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Item The blending of African-American and European aesthetics in the guitar performance of British blues from 1965 to 1967.(2010-02-02T19:55:50Z) Kelly, Patrick T. (Patrick Thomas), 1965-; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.British blues guitarists emerging in the mid-1960s incorporated a musical vocabulary which borrowed heavily from recordings of the modern blues' African-American, postwar originators. Crucial differences in the way the British interpreted this material in their own recorded performances are reflective of deeply embedded aesthetics unique to their European musical heritage and cultural experience. Through the detailed analysis of transcribed performances by British guitarists in comparison to performances by the African-American guitarists they sought to emulate, the syntactical elements of these differences are observable. Using this comparative methodology, this study gathers evidence of the blending of European and African-American aesthetics in sample British blues guitar performances from 1965 to 1967. Placing this musical evidence into context amid the cultural and ideological currents affecting Great Britain during the mid-1960s offers insight to the societal and philosophical forces shaping this influential strand of blues development.Item Comparative repression: examples of musical repression by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.(2007-02-14T21:50:05Z) Maine, Rachel J.; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.This thesis examines acts of musical repression conducted in Germany, Russia, and China under the governments of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. These countries and their repressive periods are compared in several different ways: the historical condition of these countries immediately prior to the repressive periods, the political philosophies of the leaders, the repressive methodology, and various examples of accepted and rejected music. Also, this study limits itself to a particular time span for each country. The evidence from Germany comes from the Nazi period (1933-1945), the repressive period in Russia is limited to "The Great Terror" (1935-1941), and the period in China focuses on the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Musically, examples are selected to represent accepted and rejected music, and many of the pieces are compoitsion that either began as political works or provoked strong political responses. The overall goal of such a comparison is the formation of a viewpoint that sees all of this music in its larger context, as music of repressions, and in its individual context, as music from each specific culture.Item Composers as spiritual mediators : Henryk Górecki and John Luther Adams.(2012-08-08) Cooper, S. Grant (Steven Grant); Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.This thesis considers how composers act as agents of spiritual mediation. It examines two individuals of divergent philosophical and cultural perspectives. Henryk Górecki and John Luther Adams responded to twentieth-century crises with two signature works that reflect a desire to remediate the suppression of spiritual forces. Górecki’s Miserere, opus 44 is a plea for reconciliation prompted by the abuse of Poland’s Solidarity movement, and is examined as a product of political and religious oppression in the composer’s nation, and as an invocation of Roman Catholic traditions that relate to its biblical text. John Luther Adams’s In the White Silence, a defense of wilderness places in Alaska, is examined as an outgrowth of environmental activism that resulted in a musical idiom based on ecological principles. The object of this study is to illuminate the role of composers as mediators between corporeal and incorporeal forces, manifesting the spiritual exigencies of mankind.Item A discussion of the choral music of Samuel Barber.(2008-08-25T16:25:35Z) Berg, Michael W.; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.Within the world of music history, choral music seems to drop off of the map with the end of the Baroque era, and only a handful of major works, such as masses and oratorios, are typically studied in an academic setting. As a result, many exquisite pieces are often largely neglected in many music history courses and textbooks, and it is my firm belief that such a neglect is to our detriment. With that in mind, I have undertaken a study of the published choral music of Samuel Barber (1910-1981). In this thesis, I undertake a study of Barber’s music by observing stylistic techniques in his choral music, particularly those techniques that remain consistent throughout his choral works.Item Ecstatic Utterances explained : a companion to Ecstatic Utterances.(2013-05-15) Simmons, Jim (James D.); McAllister, Scott.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.This paper provides technical and philosophical insight into the composition Ecstatic Utterances. Three distinguishing approaches feature in this thesis: strands, and their accompanying theory; harmonic crescendo and a limited aleatory passage. Of greatest importance amongst these three is the concept of a strand, and the possibilities obtaining therein; possibilities which have crystallized in the writer’s musical and verbal expression, providing methods for both composition and analysis. While these methods remain in need of development, important strides have already been taken: a detailed analysis of portions of Ecstatic Utterances and a brief theoretical foundation titled “A Beginning to the Discussion of Strands as a Form of Musical Expression: A Conceptual Glossary.” Both documents were developed simultaneously in an attempt to be systematic. All work is original unless otherwise cited.Item For such a time as this : classical music and 9/11.(2012-11-29) Phillips, Ariana S.; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.This thesis takes as a foundational principle the conviction that music is a vital component of the process of mourning. From this foundation, I focus on three of classical music's responses to 9/11: John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls, John Corigliano's One Sweet Morning, and Steve Reich’s WTC 9/11. The first chapter sets up analytical paradigms for the use of music in expressions of mourning, while the second applies those paradigms to music of the past. The third chapter discusses the compositional histories of each contemporary work, and chapter four analyzes structural characteristics that augment their expressive qualities. Chapter five focuses on the relationships between each work and memory, as well as the messages those entail. Aspects of reception history, including performance records and critical responses, form the basis of the sixth chapter, while chapter seven argues for these works' importance in the ongoing process of mourning 9/11.Item Functions of film music and sound within a genre: the revenge western.(2007-02-14T21:53:22Z) Timmons, Lena G.; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.The music of two scenes from four revenge westerns made between 1956 and 2001 is analyzed for generic similarities possibly shared between the films. The thesis looks at how four directors and composers set similar dramatic moments to music and how each film treats elements of sound during these moments. Though the plots shared by these films are similar their usage of music and sound at two shared moments (a tragic offense and the moment of revenge or rescue) is remarkably different. The flexibility of the genre itself is discussed as well as unique aspects of each film's director and composer. Despite the differences, each film displays adherence to and detraction from principles of film music set forth by the Classical Hollywood Cinema prevalent between the 1930s and 1950s.Item A history of music ministry at the United States Air Force Academy Chapel with an emphasis on Protestant worship, 1954-1984.(2013-09-16) Lassitter, John A.; York, Terry W.; Music, David W., 1949-; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.The primary objective of the United States Air Force Academy is to produce quality leaders that serve as officers in the United States Air Force. Many programs at the Academy help accomplish this goal, one of which is the Chapel Music Program. This paper will explore the musical institutions at the Academy by researching and studying the work of various music directors including James Roger Boyd, Edmund L. Ladouceur, and Joseph M. Galema, the music of the worship services, and related concerts at the United Sates Air Force Academy Chapel from 1954-1984. Primary sources used in research for this project include worship bulletins, concert programs, newspaper articles, and interviews. Further, records of music performed at the Academy including hymns used in worship services, repertoire from the various choirs, and organ recitals have been catalogued from surviving sources and appear in the appendices of this paper.Item Paul Simon's Graceland and its social and political statements on apartheid in South Africa.(2007-01-11T22:37:46Z) Greer, Jonathan David.; Boyd, Jean Ann.; Music.; Baylor University. School of Music.Paul Simon's Graceland album is one of the most controversial rock-and-roll albums in history because of its strong connection with South Africa during the apartheid. Simon's interest in South African music led him to record the album, which became a collaboration between South African popular music and American rock-and-roll music. Through the album, Simon makes a social statement, but because of the political issues within South Africa during the release of Graceland, many believe the album also makes a political statement. Graceland not only makes the strong social statement Simon intended, but also provides an important political statement on apartheid in South Africa.