R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Barnett, Gregory R."

Browsing by Author "Barnett, Gregory R."

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Defining Manon: Three Operas on Abbé Prévost’s Manon Lescaut
(2013-09-16) Boudreaux, Emily; Citron, Marcia J.; Bailey, Walter B.; Barnett, Gregory R.
Abbé Prévost’s novel L’Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1731) has inspired at least four operas, notably by Daniel Auber, Jules Massenet, Giacomo Puccini, and Hans Werner Henze. This study will look at the three nineteenth-century operas based on that novel: Auber’s Manon Lescaut (1856), Massenet’s Manon (1884), and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (1893). Massenet’s treatment receives the most attention because it is the most popular, and arguably the most well-known, of the three operas. I will discuss Manon’s role in the novel and operas, and its impact on the dramatic conception of each work. In the three operas I will examine her arias and other music, and her relationships with other characters. The goal is to gain a better understanding of each composer’s interpretation of Prévost’s heroine and to explore why Manon is different in each work.
Late Eighteenth-Century English Violin Concertos: A Genre in Transition
(2013-07-24) Siu, Eric; Al-Zand, Karim; Winkler, Kathleen; Barnett, Gregory R.; Bartel, Bonnie
Classical 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.
Perspectives of violin pedagogy: A study of the treatises of Francesco Geminiani, Pierre Baillot, and Ivan Galamian, and a working manual by Jonathan Swartz
(2003) Swartz, Jonathan Ward; Barnett, Gregory R.
This paper presents an original working manual for violinists, building on selected pedagogical principles from eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century violin treatises. The pedagogical method at the heart of this manual is the conceptualization of various techniques by means of mental models. The idea or image of "hanging" the fingers of the left hand from the strings of the instrument is one such model whose purpose is to ensure a relaxed and flexible left-hand technique. Through the exploration of earlier treatises---those of Francesco Geminiani (1751), Pierre Baillot (1835), and Ivan Galamian (1962)---this paper illustrates continuity in the development of violin technique from the eighteenth century to the present day. At the same time, there is a fundamental progression in violin pedagogy demonstrated by these treatises that informs the approach taken here: earlier treatises simply provide brief statements of what the violinist must do, whereas later treatises, Galamian's in particular, present more detailed descriptions of the physical actions of violin playing while also exploring the correlation between the mind and the muscles. Mental models are used throughout this manual to facilitate that correlation between the mind and muscles by suggesting easily graspable images that in turn effect a desired result in technique.
Saint-Saëns, d'Indy, Debussy, and the Reconstruction of the Past in fin-de-siècle France
(2014-04-24) Jiang, Qingfan; Bailey, Walter B.; Citron, Marcia J.; Barnett, Gregory R.; Blattler, Damian
My thesis explores the highly individual reconstruction of the past in the works of Camille Saint-Saëns, Vincent d’Indy, and Claude Debussy in the context of the larger retrospective impulse in fin-de-siècle France. Specifically, it investigates the appropriation and incorporation of the “old” into the “new,” which results not only from artistic need, but also from a compulsion to justify the present by way of the past. Chapter one shows Saint-Saëns’s and d’Indy’s different approaches to restoring early repertoire stemming from their divergent aesthetic views of the relationship between music and history. Chapter two illustrates Debussy’s attempt to forge a connection with Rameau and thereby defend his French identity not by imitating Rameau’s music but by constructing a French image of Rameau. The past was never far from the creative process, and it served as an important instrument in the definition and defense of their musical styles and artistic identities.
The Evolution of Viola Playing as Heard in Recordings of William Walton's Viola Concerto
(2011) Milisavljevic, Milan; Barnett, Gregory R.
This document examines the evolution of viola playing as heard through recordings of William Walton's Viola Concerto, written in 1929. The sixteen commercially issued recordings of the concerto, unevenly spaced, offer a variety of interpretative approaches. Its first performers were indebted to a style of performance practice with roots in the Romantic era, which emphasized the individuality of the performer above other considerations. Hallmarks of this style are tonal beauty, overt emotionalism and a freely subjective approach that included alterations to the music. The performers used portamento liberally, not yet demonized as a sign of poor taste, and thus had a uniquely vocal style of phrasing. Early violists' interpretations are striking for their flawed uniqueness, but, as we move toward the 1960s, a more modem approach takes over. It is characterized by fidelity to the score and consistent technical perfection, as well as less use of portamento in favor of continuous vibrato. The personal input of the performer is less pronounced; he is now more a conduit for the composer's intentions. Modern violists thus take fewer liberties and sound more alike, while exhibiting an unprecedented level of technical assurance. The reasons for this increase in homogeneity will be discussed. In addition, violinists' recordings of the Walton will be examined for signs of a violinistic mode of interpretation of the Walton.
Trabaci's "Cento Versi" (1615): Liturgical changes and the church tones in post-Tridentine organ music
(2004) Flowers, Margaret Alice Taylor; Barnett, Gregory R.
In 1615 Giovanni Maria Trabaci (c. 1675--1647) published the Cento Versi---one non-cantus firmus keyboard versets for use in both Mass and Divine Office---as a book within Il Secondo Libro de Ricercate. Trabaci's music utilized recent developments in liturgical practices, composition, organ building and voicing to reflect the liturgical and musical practices of the early seventeenth century in Naples. The composer created a new kind of organ music free of chant cantus firmi and composed in the eight church tones newly derived from the psalm tones. The versets exhibit forward thinking in liturgical performance while they also continue the long-standing use of the organ in alternatim psalmody. The Cento Versi provided a seventeenth-century keyboard tonary for use in church services. By including these versets with other liturgically appropriate pieces in his book, Trabaci provided a complete resource for the organist that was easy and efficient to use. He also wrote commentaries on the Cento Versi about the theoretical bases for the versets, although he remained silent about their lack of chant quotations and specific liturgical uses. Moreover, Trabaci contrasted the tonal system of the Cento Versi to the modally ordered ricercars of his two keyboard books, but he did not address their differing liturgical applications. The case is made here that both the Cento Versi and the ricercars served liturgical purposes, which is evidenced by their respective collations in cyclic order. The liturgical changes associated with the Tridentine reforms affected the composition of the Cento Versi. The differences between medieval liturgies and changes promulgated by the Council of Trent are the result of precise codifications of liturgical practices (a new development made possible by printing), pruning of the Divine Office; and specific designations of interpolated organ music in the liturgies. In this context, the Cento Versi stand as evidence of leaner liturgies that required flexible, independent musical resources that were easy to use.
Unification by replication: Music, architecture, and the imperial image of Ercole I d'Este
(2005) Mowrey, Hannah Hutchens; Barnett, Gregory R.
Throughout his reign, Duke Ercole I d'Este (1431--1505) modeled his image as a ruler after those of classical antiquity. This determined and focused agenda was the driving force behind the artistic outpouring of late fifteenth-century Ferrara. By drawing parallels between the music of his most prominent court composer, Johannes Martini, and the classical architecture of Ferrara, I will demonstrate that Ercole's aspirations brought artistic unity to the city. Ercole's musical, architectural, and physical enhancements to Ferrara were unprecedented, and scholars have long admired them as individual accomplishments. Yet a close examination of Ercole's endeavors as a whole reveals a city unified by a specific, imitative technique. This technique relied on extensive quotation, and it is found throughout all of Ferrara's artistic media, reflecting Ercole's efforts to magnify and immortalize his imperial image.

Browsing by Author "Barnett, Gregory R."

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