Browsing by Author "Ferris, David"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A critical full-score edition of the completed movements of Eugene Ysaye's trio for two violins and viola
    (2005) Boen, Tor Johan; Ferris, David
    This is the only trio for two violins and viola composed by Eugene Ysaye. The trio was unpublished at the time Eugene Ysaye died in 1931. It was composed from ca. 1914--1916, and was given its premiere performances in London in 1916. The trio was revised between 1916--1926. The revisions were done in stages and were related to different performances of the work from 1916--1925. It was initially a composition in three movements; the performance parts to the third movement were left unfinished before the premiere performances of the trio in 1916. The initial title was Trio Pour Deux Violons et Alto. After the premiere performances the second movement was abandoned. Eugene Ysaye's final version of this work was of the first movement only and the title was changed to Trio de Concert (en une partie) Pour Deux Violons et Alto. I am presenting a critical full-score edition of the two completed movements to Ysaye's trio based on a careful reading of the composer's surviving autograph manuscripts. The first movement of this edition is primarily based on Ysaye's engraver's copies to Trio de Concert (en une partie) that he intended to publish in January 1926. The second movement is based on the incomplete autograph full score from 1914/1915 and the separate performance parts that were written out and used for the premiere performances of this work in 1916. The fingerings and bowings in my full score are by Eugene Ysaye. The different fingerings of the first movement are a unique opportunity to study the changes in Eugene Ysaye's style over a period of more than a decade. Alternate readings and differences between the composer's different autograph manuscripts are presented in the critical commentary. Editions Ysaye published the first movement of this trio twice in 1970, these editions are full of errors compared to Eugene Ysaye's engraver's copies. The publisher gave them the title Trio de Concert "Le Londres", and Trio "Le Londres."
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    Coordinated effort: A study of Karen Tuttle's influence on modern viola teaching
    (2002) Dane, Matthew Anderson; Ferris, David
    Karen Tuttle is unquestionably a living legacy in the world of viola pedagogy. The potency of her teaching philosophy, along with her dynamic personality, has influenced music students for almost sixty years. She has always been a famously free spirit whose ideas have consistently drawn both controversy and allegiance. Despite changes in cultural climate, Tuttle's belief in the importance of personal exploration has remained steadfast. Her contributions to both the meaning of performance and the mechanics of viola playing have enriched the field of viola pedagogy on a scale that is rare. More than a playing technique or a school, Tuttle's teaching is truly a philosophy. The nature of her playing philosophy, and the level of exposure it has received, has made her teaching both controversial and misunderstood. The purpose of this study is to examine Karen Tuttle's influence on modern viola teaching. Based primarily on many articles and interviews, topics covered include her biography, her teaching principles, and her influence in teaching. This influence is researched through interviews with former students. Of her legacy in viola pedagogy, we see specifically what is most groundbreaking and effective, and how this has made her teaching so revered.
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    Evoking an ancient sound: Richard Wagner's musical medievalism
    (2009) Richardson, Michael Scott; Ferris, David
    Although current scholarship focuses on Richard Wagner's literary medievalism in his operas, little attention has been given to his musical medievalism. Considering that Wagner based nearly all of his operas on medieval legends, one can assume that he desired to evoke a "medieval" sound in the music of those works. When writing music that sounds ancient in his operas, Wagner is being a musical medievalist. He incorporates historical musical forms and styles as well as musical devices that would sound antique to a nineteenth-century audience to make his music sound old and to enhance the medieval aura of his stage works. This paper explores Richard Wagner's musical medievalism in his operas Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal, and in his tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
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    Female Sexual Identity and Characterization in Richard Strauss’s Salome
    (2012-09-05) Murphy, Maria; Citron, Marcia J.; Bailey, Walter B.; Ferris, David
    This thesis examines the sexual development and characterization of the title character in Richard Strauss’s Salome (1905). It contends that Salome experiences a sexual evolution—a "maturing"—that Strauss derives from Oscar Wilde's play and further emphasizes through Salome's musical language and character development. Three structural phases in Salome's sexual development are proposed: a pre-pubescent phase, a phase of sexual awakening, and a phase of dangerous sexuality. The characterization of Salome is also explored through the lens of performance theory, in an examination of the film versions of Götz Friedrich (1974), Jürgen Flimm (2004), and David McVicar (2008). In addition, the thesis applies Wildean literature on aestheticism and spirituality to Strauss’s opera to show that Salome’s sexual transformation presents an alternative path to self-fulfillment apart from religious salvation. Strauss’s setting reveals a secular, or temporal, aestheticism that leads to an earthly spirituality.
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    Submarinul Iertat (Forgiven Submarine), a work for large orchestra
    (2018-04-18) Monds, Shane; Jalbert, Pierre; Ferris, David; Lavenda, Richard; Pitkow, Xaq
    Submarinul Iertat (Forgiven Submarine) is an original music composition for large symphony orchestra. The work is inspired by and written in collaboration with two Romanian authors, Ruxandra Ceseraneu and Andrei Codrescu. The title stems from the opening line in a collaborative poem by Ceseraneu and Codrescu. Like the poem, the orchestral work tries to synthesize elements of eastern European surrealism, magical realism, mid-sixties American avant-garde and “beat” generation aesthetics. The musical work opens in a “sea” of spectral sound and overtone harmonies that depict the bizarre and hallucinatory tableaus of the poetry. This large densely textured music gives way to a strange “love-song” of sorts – representing the work’s coy seduction embodied in the collaborative poem. The final portion of the piece represents the characters succumbing to their own delirium and frenetic energy – the ethereal, unique trance state that is central to Ceseraneu’s poetics.
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    Tuning Your Choral Pipes: An Organist's Manual for Choral Sound
    (2012-09-05) Gundersen, John-Eric; Stallmann, Kurt; Ferris, David; Jaber, Thomas; Mackie, Hilary
    As choir masters, many organists have the responsibility of hiring and working with paid singers as well as a dedicated group of volunteer singers ranging in experience from novice to advanced. The similarities of the human voice to the pipe-organ are numerous. Using these similarities and scientific analysis of the two instruments, organists can familiarize themselves with the tuning system of the human voice. Like the pipe organ, the human voice is capable of wide variety of sounds, qualities, textures, pitches and levels of volume. Unlike an organ pipe, the voice is not a fixed resonator. The voice is the most flexible of all musical instruments. Instructing an ensemble of singers to shape their sound simultaneously is the beginning of “tuning your choral pipes.” It will be important to establish terminology with your singers in order to successfully communicate with them despite their varying levels of ability and pronunciation differences. Becoming familiar with the mechanics of the voice and an alphabet of pure vowel sounds can help organist-choir masters achieve a greater degree of success when working with singers. The stops, pipes and expression pedal of the human voice are defined by the laryngeal muscles as they relate to registration, the vocal tract shape as defined by the vowel, and the amount of volume created by the air pressure. This guide for organists covers these topics and contains exercises for the reader to apply during choral rehearsals.
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    “Un tal baccano in chiesa:” Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca as a Critique of the Catholic Church
    (2022-11-21) McGee, Jennifer; Ferris, David
    This thesis explores Giacomo Puccini’s use of liturgical text and music in “Tosca” to critique the Catholic Church’s role in Italian society at the turn of the twentieth century and how modern stage productions of “Tosca” interact with the composer’s critiques of the Church. “Tosca” provides a glimpse into Puccini’s response to the tenuous relationship between the Catholic Church and the Kingdom of Italy at the turn of the twentieth century. Contrary to current scholarship that often dismisses Puccini as an apolitical composer, his critical treatment of the Catholic Church in “Tosca” shows a politically-aware composer. Moreover, recent scholarship offers little discussion of stage productions of “Tosca,” which is important in an analysis of an opera filled with political and religious commentary like “Tosca.” Ultimately, this thesis seeks to question the idea that Puccini was an apolitical composer by examining Puccini’s treatment of the Catholic Church in “Tosca” and how modern directors interact with Puccini’s critiques of the Catholic Church in stage productions.