A justification for the study of folk song settings, or the arrangement as a valid composition

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dc.contributor.advisorBailey, Walter B.en_US
dc.creatorBusselberg, Paulen_US
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-03T21:08:41Zen_US
dc.date.available2009-06-03T21:08:41Zen_US
dc.date.issued2007en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis explores arrangements of British Isles folk song melodies as set by major composers: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), and Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). These composers found vivid inspiration and a certain amount of success by setting folk songs as art music, but a survey of available scholarship centering on their works in most instances reveals only a superficial discussion of their folk song arrangements. Moreover, folk song studies, which tend to focus on the existence of melodies, their origins, and modern efforts in collection, also avoid the arrangements by serious composers. A few important studies exist which deal specifically with folk song arrangements, but by and large this area suffers from neglect. This is no doubt due to a misunderstanding of the term arrangement as it applies to the examples from the works of these composers, and its connotation as a composition of lesser value than wholly original works. This paper explores the folk song arrangements by these four composers through a study of similar melodies from their collections, which altogether number more than eight hundred songs. A review of the historical context of these collections reveals the degree of importance they occupied in each composer's overall output of works. Then an analysis of one melody set three different ways by Vaughan Williams, as well as analytical comparisons of arrangements of seven other melodies set by pairs of these four composers demonstrates the various devises each used to bring originality, creativity, and musical artistry to a work despite the limitations proscribed by a preexisting melody.en_US
dc.format.extent102 p.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS MUSIC 2007 BUSSELBERGen_US
dc.identifier.citationBusselberg, Paul. "A justification for the study of folk song settings, or the arrangement as a valid composition." (2007) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/20580">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/20580</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/20580en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectMusicen_US
dc.titleA justification for the study of folk song settings, or the arrangement as a valid compositionen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentMusicen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineMusicen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Musical Artsen_US
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