Browsing by Author "Meconi, Honey"
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Item A rhymed office for the feast of the visitation by John of Jenstein(1995) Batts, James Boyd; Meconi, HoneyOf several rhymed offices written for the Feast of the Visitation in the late fourteenth century, John of Jenstein's Office, Exurgens autem Maria, is possibly the first composed for the newly promulgated feast. Composed to implore the intercession of the Virgin to end the Great Schism, the office contains both poetic and prose liturgical items set to chant for the singing of the complete office cycle. Chants display characteristics of late medieval melodic style and compositional techniques. Being carefully planned, the office displays great unity of text and music throughout.Item Analysis or inspiration? A study of Gyorgy Ligeti's "Automne a Varsovie"(2002) Tsong, Mayron Kacy; Meconi, HoneyThis thesis begins by tracing the rise of the piano etude from Chopin to Ligeti, establishing historical and compositional precedence for Ligeti's Etudes pour piano. Special emphasis is given to the formal, virtuosic, and rhythmic development in the etude in the hands of selected composers, as these are the central features to be discussed in Ligeti's music. Formally, examples drawn from Debussy's etudes show experimentation in defining form using sonority and figuration. Technically, the etudes of Liszt and Rachmaninov set a new level of proficiency at the keyboard with their dazzling virtuosity. Excerpts showing polyrhythmic passages and the manipulation of rhythm are extracted from the etudes of Chopin, Skryabin, Bartok, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. These examples also show hemiola as a starting point for rhythmic and temporal complexity. A compositional and pianistic overview of Ligeti's three books of Etudes pour piano and a brief chapter on Ligeti's life and musical style follow. However, the core of this document is an in-depth analysis of Automne a Varsovie and a discussion of formal principles and the effect of "chaotic order" as achieved through the manipulation of rhythmic perception. The basic structural musical shape of Automne a Varsovie consists of an expectant build to climax followed by a sudden sabotage of musical momentum. This is achieved primarily through the accumulation and subsequent disintegration of texture, dynamic, and rhythmic complexity, as shown through numerous music examples. The effect of chaos is achieved through the manipulation of rhythmic perception---in particular, Western notions of such. Central African music and the player piano music of Nancarrow are discussed as non-traditional influences. Further, extensive illustration of the rhythmic illusion inherent in the hemiola and Ligeti's innovations in extending this principle are discussed. The last chapter of this document deals with the relationship between performance and traditional, "serious" analysis by questioning the usefulness of such detailed analysis of Automne a Varsovie in practical performance. Referencing writings by Cone, Meyer, Berry, Rink, and Fisk, the concluding chapter also describes some interpretative choices and other types of analysis used in preparing a meaningful performance of this work.Item Five percussion pieces of the Ewe tribe: Analysis and performance guidelines(2005) McClung, James Matthew; Meconi, HoneyIn the interest of the preservation of traditional African music as well as in fostering the increasing interest of Western audiences and scholars in the same, analyses, transcripts, and performance guidelines are presented for five percussion pieces of the Ewe tribe in the Volta Region of Ghana: Gahu, Kinka, Tokoe, Bawa and Adzogbo. The versions of these pieces are based on field research performed in June and July of 2002, at the Dagbe Cultural Center in Kopeyia, Ghana. Also included are detailed descriptions of the instruments and techniques involved, comparisons with previously available transcriptions, and a discussion of the learning environment as pertains to the contrasting nature of African teaching styles. All pieces are discussed as taught by Victor, Ruben, and Emmanuel Agbeli, the sons of legendary Ewe master drummer, Godwin Agbeli.Item Frederic Rzewski's "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!": An analysis and historical perspective(1998) Melton, Laura; Meconi, HoneyFrederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is a compositional tour-de-force that successfully combines a lengthy series of opposite forces uniting musical trends of both the past and the present. This duality extends to the social and political context of the work as well as its position in the history of keyboard music. Through his highly-organized structural plan, Rzewski achieves a pianistic masterpiece that successfully straddles the fence between the academic high-art of atonality and the more accessible realm of tonality. Despite all the differing influences and styles integrated within the work, Rzewski manages to maintain a certain unity through the lengthy piece, producing a landmark in the history of variation form.Item Sacred Harp traditions in Texas(1989) Hardaway, Lisa Carol; Meconi, HoneySacred Harp singing has been a tradition in American music for almost two hundred years. Studies of this practice are important since the older singers who are our vital links to the past are rapidly disappearing. The Sacred Harp tradition is largely undocumented in Texas. Primary sources of information for this study include minutes of Texas Sacred Harp organizations, interviews, questionnaires and correspondence with singers. In addition, the five Texas singings that were observed have been tape rercorded and photographed for this study. The resulting study shows that Sacred Harp music has increased in importance since a low point a dozen years ago. It is kept alive through regular singings and through singing schools. Certain families have also played a crucial role in its maintenance. Although the social makeup of the singers appears to be changing, the practice itself seems as if it will survive.Item Stylistic transformation in the chansons of Antoine Busnois (France)(1994) Dalton, Dana Lee; Meconi, HoneyThe transmission of the majority of Antoine Busnois's chansons into Italian sources suggests the composer may have visited the country and may have assimiliated musically Italiante characteristics into his compositional style. An analysis of the chansons shows that although a slight style change does occur in the chansons disseminated into Italian sources, this change is not necessarily Italiante in nature.Item Swedish piano music by Stenhammar in the shadow of Grieg(2001) Frost, Johan; Meconi, HoneyAs a music-producing part of Europe between 1843--1957 Scandinavia is well known through composers such as Jean Sibelius (1865--1957), Carl Nielsen (1865--1931) and especially Edward Grieg (1843--1907). Grieg is still a national hero in his home country and was immensely popular during his lifetime in Europe as his piano music found its way into the homes of the average music lover. Sweden, the biggest Scandinavian country, has as rich a cultural heritage as Norway, a tremendous treasure of folk music, and a highly important political and historical influence over Scandinavia. Why didn't it have a composer during this time to put Sweden on the international landscape? In this dissertation, I will attempt to answer this question. I will compare Grieg with Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871--1927) who was a remarkable Swedish composer and pianist and the major composer of piano music in Sweden during this time. I will start by giving a brief history of Grieg's and Stenhammar's lives and careers as well as examples of how they expressed themselves through the piano. In chapter three and four, I will discuss facts and circumstances that have been to Sweden's disadvantage in developing a musical atmosphere that could have been seen in other countries as something typically Swedish.Item The aesthetic and technical treatment of the clarinet in selected nineteenth-century French orchestra treatises(2001) Shands, Patricia Marie; Meconi, HoneyThis thesis investigates the specific treatment of the clarinet family in selected nineteenth-century treatises that were written in Paris, or were influenced by their author's experience in Paris. Four works by Georges Kastner, Hector Berlioz, and Francois Gevaert have been selected. These influential treatises were written and revised between the years 1836 and 1885. The primary purpose of these treatises was to serve as instruction manuals for students of musical composition. Demonstrating a strong unity in information they also diverge on various points, reflecting the changing state of instrument manufacture, performance abilities and aesthetic requirements demanded by composers.Item The early guitar in Paris: A comparative study of the music of Adrian Le Roy and Guillaume Morlaye(1990) Hoyt, Trevor Todd; Meconi, HoneyFor a brief period in the 1550's the guitar enjoyed a popularity that rivaled that of the lute: nine books of guitar music were published in the span of about five years. This thesis presents transcriptions in modern notation of two Parisian books of Renaissance guitar music--one by Adrian Le Roy, the other by Guillaume Morlaye--and a comparative study of their contents. The music was aimed primarily at amateur musicians and consists mainly of guitar arrangements of popular vocal tunes and a great variety of instrumental dances. Moreover, the quality of the music varies greatly and gives every indication that in Paris at least, the guitar was a fad. Several tunes in Morlaye's book sound very odd on both the modern guitar and reconstructions of Renaissance guitars. Le Roy's music is generally of much higher standard and reflects his great reputation as one of the pioneers in music publishing.Item The grand organs of Notre-Dame and Saint-Sulpice, Paris: The "Magna Opera" of Aristide Cavaille-Coll and a critical comparison of their alterations(2002) Bell, Joby Ray; Meconi, HoneySince the time of Cavaille-Coll, the grand organs of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the parish church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, have enjoyed steady international recognition and attention. This is due not only to their status as Cavaille-Coll's two largest creations and among his most famous opera but also for the subsequent tonal and mechanical changes made to them over the years by their titulaires and restorers. Although both instruments were comparable in size and completed within six years of each other, various installation peculiarities and Cavaille-Coll's ever-evolving style produced two rather different instruments whose tonal paths have diverged yet more ever since. The organ in Saint-Sulpice, of which the majority of tonal resources, mechanisms, and chests are still as they were in 1862, has escaped significant invasive overhaul. In contrast, since its completion in 1868, the Notre-Dame organ has undergone radical alteration more than once and now stands as a monument as much to modern technological progress as to its various builders. This oblique divergence between the two organs is largely the result of changes made to the Notre-Dame organ by titulaires Louis Vierne and Pierre Cochereau. However, the modern-day use of these organs also represents important differences between the two. The Notre-Dame organ is now capable of playing literature from all eras of organ music, yet improvisation is the most performed genre on this organ. In contrast, the organ at Saint-Sulpice is better suited to playing French music, yet it is on this organ that the music of German composers such as Bach and Mendelssohn is also regularly played. Social matters are also of interest. "Decorum" and guarded admission were de rigueur at Saint-Sulpice during the tenures of Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupre. Such intense social consciousness was not so strict at Notre-Dame. In contrast, today the Saint-Sulpice organ is a weekly host to numerous tourists, but that of Notre-Dame is virtually inaccessible to the unannounced visitor. Finally, although alterations are necessarily shaped by the personalities involved, other factors such as architecture and even the weather have also played important roles in the daily use of these instruments.Item The Naples L'homme arme masses, Burgundy and the Order of the Golden Fleece: The origins of the L'homme arme tradition(2004) Dawson-Marsh, Brandylee; Meconi, HoneyThis study discusses the L'Homme arme tradition in Burgundy and places the six Naples L'Homme arme masses in that tradition. The first part of the thesis describes the court of Burgundy and the Order of the Golden Fleece as well as masses based on L'homme arme possibly connected to the Court. The second part shows how the six anonymous masses based on L'homme arme, now conserved in Naples, are connected to the Burgundian court and, by extension, the Order of the Golden Fleece. I show how the coat of arms in the manuscript of the masses could be of Burgundian origin. I then show how the language of the dedication and also the Kyrie tropes points to a Burgundian genesis.Item The orchestral music of Tania Leon(2002) Harvey, Bethany Louise; Meconi, HoneyA biographical sketch describing Tania Leon's musical education and activities introduces the study, which focuses on elements of Leon's compositional style. Her style is marked by colorful orchestration and rhythmic complexity. Eight orchestral scores by Leon will be examined here to reveal these traits. The conclusion to the study explores Jacques Barzun's idea of program music relative to Leon's orchestral music.Item Warren Benson's "Five Lyrics of Louise Bogan"(2002) Jaber, Andrea H.; Meconi, HoneyWarren Benson's Five Lyrics of Louise Bogan is a relatively rare example of a composition for solo voice and flute. The thesis is an examination of this cycle, highlighting its distinctive characteristics and providing a singer's view of its inherent challenges. The musical analysis is preceded by a discussion of the lives of both poet and composer. For a singer, knowledge of the circumstances of Bogan's life dramatically deepens understanding of the work.