The collaborative arrangements of Alice Parker and Robert Shaw

This document is a comprehensive survey of the two hundred and twenty-three choral arrangements created in the collaboration between Alice Parker (b.1925) and Robert Shaw (1916-1999). This repertoire was written between 1950 and 1967 for seventeen RCA Victor recordings made by the Robert Shaw Chorale. Part I presents an overview of the music, title listings, and publisher information. Part II is a history of the collaboration, beginning with its genesis and the working relationship between the two. Their work occurred in the "Golden Age" of choral music in America and during the American folk music revival, both of which contributed to commercial album sales and the fame of Shaw and the Chorale. Part III describes the style of the arrangements, whose nineteen style characteristics are demonstrated in excerpts from six different songs. A detailed method developed by Dr. Parker for identifying distinguishing features of these arrangements is applied to one of the folk hymns. Over half of the Parker-Shaw arrangements are then compared in spreadsheets, found in Appendix III, with successive appendices presenting summaries of the results of the comparisons. This process reveals, among other things, the central role of melody and counterpoint in determining the nature of this music, and the arrangers' preference for working with melodies based on traditional church modes and gapped scales over those with strong tonal implications. Part IV demonstrates that the enduring quality of this repertoire can be credited principally to Shaw's comprehensive grasp of both classical and popular music, and Parker's mastery of Shaw's arranging technique. Also important were Parker and Shaw's continual desire to select folk-based music of high quality, to be faithful to the spirit of the melody and text, and to entertain the listener. The document concludes that Parker and Shaw's greatest contribution to the choral repertoire was in their arrangements of early American folk hymns. Though these folk hymns were originally not intended for choirs, the Parker-Shaw arrangements preserve the spirit of the original hymn while making full use of the resources of a four-part chorus, providing the choral world with a significant genre of excellent repertoire. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Progressive transcriptions for the novice jazz saxophonist: a starting point for developing improvisational skills and style

There are many great pedagogical texts and method books that deal with the subject of jazz improvisation and style. These resources range from volumes of play-a-longs, to collections of improvised solo transcriptions, to analyses that explain idiomatic jazz formulae and how to navigate them. However, most of these materials are geared towards the advanced music student. The authors and editors assume of the reader a considerable level of technical facility or a rather advanced theoretical knowledge. There are materials that do cater to the novice jazz improvisor, but they often lack an explanation of how and why certain decisions may have been made by the soloist. Furthermore, those that focus on style often rely on composed etudes that remove the improvisational component altogether. Therefore, there is a need for materials related to jazz improvisation and style designed for the novice jazz student that actually use improvised solos as a starting point and that have accompanying analyses to help the student understand what they are hearing/playing. This document remedies this deficiency in the pedagogical literature by providing transcriptions and analyses of recorded improvised jazz solos chosen for their simplicity, both of required technical facility and music-theoretical knowledge. This document should serve as a starting point for novice jazz students looking to develop their own jazz style and improvisational skills. Students can take the concepts learned from studying these transcriptions and analyses, and begin to apply them in creating convincing and stylistically correct solos in the jazz idiom. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Fusion of Korean and Western musical styles in HaeSik Lee's Duremaji

This document introduces Duremaji, a Concerto for Flute and Korean Traditional Orchestra by the Korean composer HaeSik Lee (b.1943). It argues that the diverse orchestration exhibits a contemporary, traditional, and multicultural character. The genre of this concerto is Changjak-Kukak (Korean new traditional music). In Duremaji, Lee fused together contemporary flute repertoire and traditional Korean music. In the concerto, the flute expresses the character of both contemporary Western and traditional Korean music; Lee explains how Dure, which refers to cooperative farming communities in Korea, signifies the conversation between Western and Korean music through the flute. The document presents the influences of folk and shamanic ritual music and dance on the composer after 1970 and contextualizes Duremaji within the genre of Changjak-Kukak. The document also presents an analysis of the work and examines how Lee adapts traditional Korean instrumental techniques to the Western concert flute. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Landscapes, Series II by Traci Mendel: a pedagogical approach

Because there are limited resources that discuss how young horn players can approach contemporary music, this document offers a thorough examination of Landscapes, Series II by Traci Mendel. Inexperienced horn players may find this piece of contemporary music unapproachable unless they have the necessary knowledge to dissect the piece into manageable sections. For Landscapes, Series II, programmatic components provide information that is useful when interpreting the piece; a pedagogical analysis offers a phrase-by-phrase presentation. Through numerous interviews with the composer, as well as my own multiple experiences of extensively preparing Landscapes, Series II, I will show what an inexperienced horn player should focus on in order to successfully prepare this piece for performance. This will be achieved by first explaining the programmatic content as conveyed by the composer, so the performer has a firm concept of Mendel's artistic vision; then dissecting difficult rhythmic passages in order to aid with issues of ensemble; and finally through pedagogical suggestions for horn specific technical considerations that will aid in accurately relating the intent of the composer as well as efficiently and effectively executing extreme and nontraditional music for the horn. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Evolving nationalism in Korean music as seen in Ahn Eak-Tai's Korean fantasy and Missa Arirang by Huh Cool-Jae

The purpose of this study is to discuss Korean nationalism as seen in Huh Cool-jae's Missa Arirang and Ahn Eak-tai's Korea Fantasy, works that are significant in Korean culture and ethnomusicology. Korean nationalism has influenced Huh's Missa Arirang and Ahn's Korea Fantasy; however, to date, there is no study with representative analysis of Korean nationalistic music trends. Nationalism, as a movement, began in Korea in the late nineteenth century, as an effort to keep Korea culturally and ethnically distinct from China and Japan after repeated invasion attempts by both neighboring countries. The movement was further strengthened when the Japanese invaded and annexed Korea in 1910 and continued throughout the 35 year Japanese rule. Korean nationalist movements continued after liberation from Japan as, following World War II and the Korean War, the country was divided, changing the focus of the movements from protecting Korea from outside invasion to attempting to reunify the nation. The Korea Fantasy is a milestone in Korean music history because it contains the official national anthem of the Republic of Korea. The Korea Fantasy itself is meaningful to Koreans because it was composed as an appeal to Korean patriotism while Korea was under Japanese domination. Performance of the first Korean national anthem, The Anthem of the Greater Korean Empire, was prohibited by the then-ruling Japanese. In the Korea Fantasy, Ahn wrote the current national anthem and incorporated it in its entirety in his Korea Fantasy. The Korea Fantasy could not be prohibited because it was composed outside of Korea and because it was presented in its entirety within a symphonic piece. Missa Arirang, a Korean mass, incorporates musical tunes and phrases from one of the most popular Korean folksongs, Arirang. Arirang is a folk song known by all Koreans throughout the world, and the folk tune melody of Kyeonggi Arirang has served as an unofficial national anthem of Korea for centuries. Missa Arirang uses the folk melodies of the Arirangs of each Korean province to manifest a longing for reunification of the Korean nation among the people, which has been present since the Korean War. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Influence of occupational socialization on occupational identity and the perspectives and practices of the applied professor

Studies of occupational socialization and occupational identity reveal that the pre-college years (acculturation stage of occupational socialization) have the most profound and lasting impact on individuals in medicine, law, law enforcement and physical education. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of occupational socialization on the perspectives and practices of two applied music professors considering both musician identity development and the artist-teacher philosophy. The purpose of this research was to explore the influences of the three stages of occupational socialization on musician identity formation and the perspectives and practices of two applied music professors, and to what extent these influences are reflected in the degree to which the applied music professors concur with G. James Daichendt's artist-teacher philosophy. The study used a qualitative approach to teacher identity as well as each professor's perspectives and practices. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and the twenty statements test. The data were analyzed using analytic induction and constant comparison. Key findings were: 1. The acculturation stage of occupational socialization has the greatest apparent influence on the identity orientation of applied music professors, 2. The perspectives and practices of the participating applied professors reflect their occupational socialization and occupational identity, and 3. The applied professor's identity orientation and occupational socialization are reflected in the level of adherence to G. James Daichendt's artist-teacher philosophy. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Classical jazz: the life and musical innovations of Nikolai Kapustin

This is an extended study of the historical significance, life, and music of Nikolai Kapustin, Russian composer and pianist. Kapustin's music creatively fuses the virtuosity and structure of traditional classical music with the musical language of jazz. Having composed over 147 works, including twenty piano sonatas, twenty-four preludes and fugues, and six piano concerti, he is arguably one of the most prolific composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The study consists of three parts. The first part is an overview of the history of classical-jazz fusion and illustrates how Kapustin stands apart from composers whose music is typically categorized as "crossover" or "third stream." The second part documents Kapustin's biography and musical development throughout the various stages of his life and is the most thorough account of Kapustin's career to date. The third part presents an analysis of the combination of jazz and classical styles in two contrasting pieces: Kapustin's Sonata No. 2, Op. 54, and his Prelude and Fugue Op. 82, No. 10. As a preface, this part will also include an overview of some basic jazz compositional techniques that will help the reader understand the analyses. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries