Browsing by Author "Al-Zand, Karim"
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Item A concert of works by guest composer DAVID CRUMB and by CHEN YI KARIM AL-ZAND PIERRE JALBERT KURT STALLMANN Thursday, February 20, 2003 8:00 p.m. Lillian H. Duncan Recital Hall(Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, 2003-02-20) Crumb, David (guest composer) and by Yi, Chen; Al-Zand, Karim; Jalbert, Pierre and Stallman, Kurt; Ritscher, Karen (viola); Kierman, Jeanne (piano); Brown, Richard (percussion); Wadden, Nuiko (harp); Webster, Michael (clarinet and conductor); Kamins, Benjamin (bassoon); Nelson, Maureen (violin); Stanislav, Tereza (violin); Brophy, Robert (viola); Belcher, Richard (cello); Luks, Joel (flute); Montoya, Elizandro Garcia (clarinet); Goldsmith, Kenneth (violin); Fischer, Norman (cello)PROGRAM: Xian-Shi (for viola, percussion and piano) (1983, rev. 2002) / Chen Yi -- Duet (for viola and harp) (1999) / Karim Al-Zand -- Soundings (for clarinet, bassoon, and piano)(1994) / David Crumb -- Episodes (for string quartet) (1999) / Kurt Stallmann -- Visual Abstract (for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion) (2002) / Pierre JalbertItem A Guide to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Two Vocal Duets: A History and Musical Analysis of His First Settings of Walt Whitman(2014-04-24) DeLoach, Marcus; Bailey, Walter B.; King, Stephen; Al-Zand, Karim; Campana, JosephVaughan Williams composed the two duets, “The Last invocation” and “The Love-song of the Birds” for soprano, baritone, and violin with pianoforte (and string quartet ad lib.) in 1904. This study examines these two works, which were designed to be performed together, their origins, and the people and places associated with their premiere performances in Reading and London. It also discusses the biographies of the singing duo that premiered the work, Arthur Foxton Ferguson and Beatrice Spencer, and explores the Wagnerian influences in the music. Walt Whitman’s transcendental poetry, its appeal to Vaughan Williams, and the techniques by which the composer adapted and manipulated his chosen texts are discussed in detail. Through an examination of the various manuscript versions of the “The Love-song of the Birds” (all held in the British Library), the author proposes a chronology for the revisions of the work. Following its premiere performances, Vaughan Williams, and subsequently his wife Ursula after the composer’s death in 1958, suppressed Two Vocal Duets until 1996. This paper explores that suppression and argues why the materials, which were premiered in the same year as the song cycles The Songs of Travel and The House of Life, should now be published and made available to the public.Item A History of Keyboard Hand Division: Note (Re)Distribution in Keyboard Music from the Renaissance to the Twentieth Century(2021-04-23) Clark, Michael; Al-Zand, Karim; Ward-Griffin, Danielle; Sickles, RobinThis thesis considers the history of redistribution, the practice of altering the hand assignment of one or more notes, in keyboard music from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. Chapter 1 explores methods of notating and executing hand division in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through the writings of contemporary performers and composers. Keyboard music appeared in two broad categories of notational formats: those that indicate hand distribution (“prescriptive”), such as the two-staff Italian intavolatura, and those that do not (“non-prescriptive”), including open score and Spanish and German tablature. Performers using non-prescriptive formats considered factors such as equal division of labor, wide spans, and ornamentation when determining which hand plays what, important precursors to the principles guiding the practice of redistribution. Chapter 2 traces two parallel trends in eighteenth-century keyboard music described by C.P.E. Bach. He asserts that the notation of three or more voices across two staves does not represent the hand division required to play them, establishing a particular freedom of fingering in polyphonic music. In contrast, Bach emphasizes the care he took to notate hand distribution in his own music through changes in stem direction and clef. Chapter 3 considers how Chopin and Liszt approached the division of notes in their own works. As composers, they were prescriptive, using multiple notational strategies to clarify the intended distribution of the notes between the hands, but as teachers, they were flexible. Chopin’s own markings in his students’ scores and Liszt’s comments in master classes reveal that they suggested alternative note distributions in their own compositions. Chapter 4 examines the history of “practical” or “instructive” editions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using Beethoven’s piano sonatas as a case study. I survey the uses of redistributions in five editions of the sonatas: those of Sigmund Lebert/Hans von Bülow, Karl Klindworth, Moritz Moszkowski, Alfredo Casella, and Artur Schnabel. My analysis reveals five broad applications of alternative distributions that are common to each, representing a strong consensus for how redistribution was used by pianists of this era.Item A Mouthful of Gravel and Other Predicaments for Chamber Orchestra(2009) Greene, Etan Frederic; Gottschalk, Arthur; Al-Zand, Karim; Brandt, AnthonyA Mouthful of Gravel for chamber orchestra couples a continuous, yet evolving motor rhythm with one large thematic unit, presented "chopped up" throughout the piece with gradually-waning intensity. The harpsichord takes on a prominent role throughout, though the piece is by no means a concerto. Structural signposts appear in the way of verbal mumbling by sections of the orchestra, percussive striking of a metal bowl atop an oven grate, and instrumental mimicry of gravel and speech sounds. The piece is approximately seven minutes long.Item A Singer's Guide to the Songs of Ildebrando Pizzetti(2014-04-22) Whatley, Mark; Bailey, Walter B.; King, Stephen; Al-Zand, Karim; Fette, JulieIldebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968) composed approximately forty songs for voice and piano, thirty-three of which were published during his lifetime. Although many of his songs are of high quality, they have not become a part of the standard repertory. This guide is designed to make Pizzetti’s songs more accessible to singers. Toward this end it is organized in the following manner. The paper begins with an introduction that reviews the need for a guide to Pizzetti’s songs; it also details the methodology followed in creating the main part of the document, entries on each song. Chapter two briefly discusses Pizzetti’s life and provides information on the songs in general. The next three chapters contain detailed descriptions of each of the songs (they are organized according to publication dates). Each song entry contains: (1) a section that details facts about the song, such as the name of and dates for the author of the text, the composition date, publication information, and other useful information specific to the music of the song, such as range, key, meter, tempo, etc.; (2) a section that contains the text of the song, a word-for-word translation of the song, and an IPA transcription of the song; and (3) a brief discussion of the song that includes information about its inception and first performance (if known), its music and text, and its musical and vocal difficulties. In some cases, suggestions for performers are included. The remainder of the paper includes a complete listing of Pizzetti’s songs (Appendix A), an annotated bibliography of resources in English that deal with Pizzetti’s songs (Appendix B), and a new idiomatic translation of Pizzetti’s Due poesie di Giuseppe Ungaretti (Appendix C).Item An exploration and analysis of William Bolcom's "Black Host"(2009) Gurney, Lois Bertha; Al-Zand, KarimBlack Host, a work for organ, percussion, and electronic tape, is essentially a dramatic work. The main characters of the drama are two hymn tunes, the Dies Irae and Donne Secours, whose struggle for predominance direct the course of the work. The texts associated with these tunes imply a tension between fear and hope, especially when seen in reference to the title of the work "Black Host." While the focus of the Dies Irae melody is on the interval of a minor third, Donne Secours centers around a major third. Deeper analysis, however, shows that although the hymn melodies have different personalities, they derive from the same dorian mode and are essentially part of one entity. By the end of the work it is clear that these two distinct emotions and motives can exist side by side. The work is couched in eclectic musical language, a combination of styles, genres and gestures drawn from both the Western art music tradition and American popular music. Despite the seemingly unrelated blocks of sound, the work has a flow and a unity that belies its contrasts.Item ...and Silver Lining(2006) Paredes, J. R.; Stallmann, Kurt; Al-Zand, Karim"...And Silver Lining" for orchestra explores the idea of creating "clouds" of sound and having the musical elements within the "clouds" gradually spin out of their textures and reveal themselves during the course of the piece. The "silver lining" refers to how the "clouds" of pitches and rhythms are often doubled and outlined by various instruments of contrasting colors.Item Dance Music for Orchestra(2015-04-24) Dougherty, Thomas; Gottschalk, Arthur; Al-Zand, Karim; Jalbert , PierreDance Music for Orchestra is a collection of three concise dance movements that are merged into one eight-minute overture-like work. These movements are meant to exaggerate the energy and spirit of the Op. 46 and Op.72 Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvořák. This is achieved through intricate, polyrhythmic structures and harmonic quotation. The second dance of Dance Music for Orchestra transforms the harmonic progression from Dvořák’s Op. 72, No. 2 E minor Allegretto Grazioso into a waltz that is carried along by a persistent Passacaglia bass-ostinato. While there are identifiable traces to Dvořák’s music, the whimsical, zany opening material is what perseveres through the entirety of the piece and links the three dances together.Item Diptychon(2013-12-05) Gillespie, Kenya; Al-Zand, Karim; Brandt, Anthony K.; Gottschalk, Arthur W."Diptychon" is a visual and musical exploration of the effects of the commodification of identity on one’s soul. The video begins with symbolic images of the psychological world. This leads into the heart of the piece, which depicts images of storefronts and merchandise to represent the process of the commodification of identity. These images repeat themselves and break apart into increasingly smaller split screens, resulting in an image of a man covered in plastic and money. The underlying basis, the soul, of the music is the harmony from Bach’s “Chaconne” from his "Violin Partita No. 2." The string orchestra and electronics gradually disrupt the harmony and the solo melodic violin line, adding various layers—a four-part canon, pitch and rhythmic layers, layers of voice recordings—that escalate into a climactic twelve tone chord. This recedes into a coda that captures the essential musical identity of the piece.Item Don't go there(2005) Beecher, Lembit; Al-Zand, KarimDon't Go There is a seven minute long piece for full orchestra composed during the spring of 2005. It has a simple and transparent form. The piece opens with a fast but subdued murmuring section that grows quickly to a climax. This leads into a slow, melodic B section. The A section returns but only after a strange detour through a new harmonic and textural world. The second A section grows to a crashing climax which is followed by brief, slow coda—a memory of the slow melody from the B section. Like most of my music, Don't Go There draws inspiration from many different, and sometimes opposing extra-musical sources. But I think that two principal images were particularly important to me during the compositional process. One is that of the Pacific Ocean, which was a few miles down the road from the house I grew up in. The other image, a more abstract one, is that of urban life. Where is “there” exactly? I am actually not sure. Perhaps it is in the loud, registrally extreme chords near the end of the piece, or perhaps in the surprising c, d, e-flat cluster that occurs right before the return to the A section. But wherever “there” is, we only get a brief glimpse of it, before returning to the world we are used to.Item Dream Collage(2014-04-22) Lee, Joungbum; Jalbert, Pierre; Al-Zand, Karim; Stallmann, KurtAll dreams are unique, yet they share commonality in reflecting the human subconscious. People in the field of music, especially composers, often write music in reaction to a dream. I had this experience, and I became more interested in how strangely my subconscious unfolds the stream of scenes than in the music that I heard in the dream. After waking up, I realized that even though there is no correlation between the first and the last scenes in the dream, there has always been an inevitability from one scene to another. I was inspired by this illogical progression which is a reflection of our subconscious, and this is reflected in the very free formal structure of this work. I put more emphasis on directionality, going from one stream of sound to another, so that the piece could portray the ambiguous boundary of the dreamer who is both creator and the observer of the scene at the same time.Item Eclecticism, Evolution, and Return in Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp, and Percussion(2020-04-22) Lin, Natalie; Al-Zand, KarimLeonard Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion (1954) draws influences and sources from an eclectic array of musical traditions, styles, and genres, revealing elements from American vernacular styles, including jazz, musical theater and other dramatic genres, as well as from the Western classical tradition, including the violin concerto, the symphony, solo piano music, and the sacred. Underpinning the work is the composer’s own ideals about American modern music and a pedagogical agenda that is consistent with the composer’s broader musical career. This study examines how these various and otherwise disparate musical elements are woven together through two governing sets of compositional principles: evolution and continuity; return and balance. While seemingly opposing, these principles work together to bring cohesion and consistent compositional procedures to the entire work, as well as contribute to the Serenade’s rich musical narrative.Item Exploring Contemporary Violin Techniques: Bridging the Disconnect Between Tradition and Innovation in Pedagogical Practice(2024-04-18) Chen, Evie; Al-Zand, KarimThe prevailing pedagogical emphasis in contemporary violin repertoire centers on technical proficiency and mechanical execution of extended techniques, as exemplified by the proliferation of exercises targeting such techniques within the existing literature. This common approach isolates contemporary violin techniques and thus impedes a holistic learning and performative experience. The spectrum of extended techniques found in contemporary music retains unobserved connections to conventional and established musical practices. Thus, a continuum of technical resources, drawn from music of the past and present, has the potential to form the basis of a violinist’s musical education. In this way, contemporary music enhances and adds dimension to conventional violin techniques and learning methodology. This paper argues that musicians engaging with contemporary repertoire should prioritize bridging links between contemporary music’s innovative techniques and traditional technical principles. More broadly, it advocates a violin pedagogy that emphasizes a similar integration, one that leverages the new and expanded demands of contemporary music to enrich traditional precepts.Item Folk and western influences in Pancho Vladigerov's "Rhapsody Vardar"(2008) Smith, Cameron M.; Al-Zand, Karim; Parker, Jon Kimura; Bailey, Walter B.; Maas, Michael R.This thesis presents an in-depth discussion and analysis of the stylistic influences of Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978), and their presentation in his Rhapsody Vardar , Opus 16. Vladigerov's background includes studies in both his native Bulgarian folk music, as well as formal western training at two different music academies in Berlin. The first chapter provides relevant biographical information, and explores aspects of Vladigerov's compositions which derive from Western European traditions, including a discussion of the composers and styles that influenced his writing. This is done through discussion and analysis of his Three Pieces for Piano , Opus 15, a work written in the same year as his Rhapsody Vardar . Chapter two provides a general overview of Bulgarian folk music, especially during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chapter three brings together these observations in an analysis of Vladigerov's landmark piano work, Vardar Rhapsody .Item Interiors(2008) Lee, Christopher; Al-Zand, KarimInteriors, an 8 minute work for symphony orchestra, explores the sonic potential of that medium through expansion of a primary theme. This material is presented in a variety of harmonic settings of increasing complexity and in a series of episodes that increase in tempo and transform the rhythmic character of the primary theme. The work is also meant to serve as a metaphor for ever-changing degrees of internal psychological conflict, and their eventual cathartic resolution.Item Late Eighteenth-Century English Violin Concertos: A Genre in Transition(2013-07-24) Siu, Eric; Al-Zand, Karim; Winkler, Kathleen; Barnett, Gregory R.; Bartel, BonnieClassical violin concertos by English composers are relatively obscure nowadays, as the genre is largely monopolized by Mozart’s last three concertos. This study explores the compositional and violinistic traits of ten English concertos from the late eighteenth century, as well as the social and cultural circumstances under which they were written. These concertos are challenging violinistically, suggesting that they were primarily intended as virtuosic showpieces. In addition, a number of the concertos display musical eccentricities that hint at the quirky personalities of their composers. In some respects, these concertos are unadventurous, particularly in terms of harmony and thematic contrasts. However, they contain a number of unique compositional features that are worthy of our attention. The most notable of these is the incorporation of Baroque features in a large number of the concertos, despite their general adherence to the new galant style. All evidence suggests that the two styles were combined deliberately as a compositional technique, and this is perhaps the most distinctly “English” characteristic of these concertos.Item Lilac and Orange over Ivory(2020-04-24) Vinetz, Max Cooper; Al-Zand, KarimOrange and Lilac on Ivory, scored for large orchestra, is a study in cyclical forms and narrative development through gradual motivic transformation. The work consists primarily of two types of music: a bombastic tutti and a stark ostinato that consists entirely of 8th notes. Through the course of the piece, the central materials continuously evolve, sometimes breaking down and seeping into one another, at other times following their own respective trajectories. By the end, the central materials have completely melded together, having achieved a sense of closure.Item "Linear Motion" for wind ensemble(2010) Stewart, Kenneth David; Al-Zand, KarimLinear Motion explores a persistent ostinato figure throughout its entirety. Such through-composed use of a perpetual rhythmic pattern establishes contact with a Baroque Prelude or Toccata. Sometimes the ostinato dominates the texture whereas at other times it provides background atmosphere. The slow harmonic rhythm provides a spacious context for the exploration of textural and rhythmic details. Scored for woodwinds, brass, percussion and four double basses; the work roughly conforms to a standard wind ensemble instrumentation but calls for the double basses in order to provide a uniquely dark and dense coloring. The music's predominate mood is one of youthful energy and restlessness.Item Messiaen and plainchant(2007) Hardink, Jason M.; Al-Zand, KarimThis paper discusses the varying levels of influence that Gregorian chant exerted on the music of Olivier Messiaen. The religious symbolism of Catholic theology dictated the programmatic elements of Messiaen's works, and the music of the Roman Catholic liturgy functioned as an important symbol within his compositional language. This paper offers both a comprehensive discussion of the relationship between Gregorian chant and the music of Messiaen, as well as an examination of important chant paraphrases within his compositions.Item Nine early eighteenth century Italian cantatas on librettos by Antonio Ottoboni(2004) Allouache, Joan E.; Al-Zand, Karim; Farwell, JoyceThe aim of this thesis was to produce a performing edition of nine cantatas which form part of a collection by librettist Antonio Ottoboni. The cantatas have been transcribed into modern notation and consequently two of them have been ornamented. The collection is dated as 'gathered in Rome, 1709', and so the author has investigated what daily life in Rome during this period would have been like. There is also a section on the history of the cantata. Following this there is a detailed discussion on the librettist, Antonio Ottoboni and the collection of manuscripts kept at the British Library in London (Add. Ms. 34056). Using a comprehensive investigation into vocal treatises of the Baroque, the author has then ornamented two cantatas accordingly. Both have sections of recitative and both have at least one da capo aria. Editorial policy is clearly spelt out. Details regarding analysis of all nine cantatas in terms of form, subject matter, tonality, meter, tempo and poetic structure used are to be found in Appendix I. Appendix II has the texts of all nine cantatas and translations for the two ornamented ones. Appendix III has details of the particular ornamentation and the reasons for so doing. Appendix IV lists all the manuscripts investigated before the author settled on Add. Ms. 34056.