TALLY HORN! ECHOES OF HOOFBEATS AND HAUNTS: RECORDED SELECTIONS FOR HORN AND PIANO

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the European hunting horn was an instrument associated with the thrill of the chase, rustic scenes, and the pageantry of royal hunts. The sound of this horn and the music that evolved from its heritage would inspire composers writing for the modern horn. TALLY HOrn! Echoes of Hoofbeats and Haunts: Recorded Selections for Horn and Piano are two compact discs of works for horn and piano as well as solo horn reflecting this association with the hunt and include additional works of expressive contrast – lyrical pieces and nocturnes. Nine of the pieces reflect the modern horn’s beginnings and they are Abbot’s Alla Caccia, Berge’s Horn-Lokk, Boutry’s Chassacor, Bozza’s En Fôret, Büsser’s La Chasse de St. Hubert, Pessard’s In the Forest, Piantoni’s Air de Chasse, Schmid’s Im Tiefsten Walde, and Vinter’s Hunter’s Moon. By contrast, three of the selections, Gliére’s Nocturne, Strauss’ Nocturno, and Van Ecchaute’s Nachtpoëma are nocturnes that showcase the expressive quality of the horn. In addition, Bush’s Autumn Poem, Bacon’s Song After the Rain, and Webber’s Summer Pastures are included for their lyric qualities and evocations of nature. The largest work of the project is John Williams’s Concerto for Horn. Its five movements feature both hunting horn traits and expressive qualities. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Grace Cho were the two pianists engaged for the recording. The recording engineer was Edward Kelly. The producer was Carlos Rodriquez. The pieces were recorded at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church sanctuary in Spencerville, Maryland between November 2010 and February 2011.

THE ART SONG OF SOUTH AMERICA: AN EXPLORATION THROUGH PERFORMANCE

The repertoire included in this dissertation was presented over the course of three recitals, The Songs of Argentina, The Songs of Brazil, Chile and Venezuela, and The Songs of Perú and Colombia. Each recital was supplemented by written program notes and English translations of the Spanish, Portuguese and Quechua texts. The selections presented in this study was chosen in an effort to pair the works of internationally renowned composers like Argentine composers Alberto Ginastera and Carlos Guastavino, and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, with those of lesser-known composers, including Venezuelan composer Juan Bautista Plaza, Peruvian composers Edgar Valcárcel, Theodoro Valcárcel, and Rosa Mercedes Ayarza de Morales, and Colombian composer Jaime Léon. Each composer represents a milestone in the development of art song composition in South America. All three recitals were recorded and are available on compact discs in the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM). This dissertation was completed in May, 2011.

USE OF VARIATION AND FUGUE IN PIANO MUSIC FOLLOWING THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

The variation and fugue originated from the 15th and 16th centuries and blossomed during the Baroque and Classical Periods. In a variation, a theme with a particular structure precedes a series of pieces that usually have the same or very similar structure. A fugue is a work written in imitative counterpoint in which the theme is stated successively in all voices of polyphonic texture. Beethoven’s use of variation and fugue in large scale works greatly influenced his contemporaries. After the Classical Period, variations continued to be popular, and numerous composers employed the technique in various musical genres. Fugues had pedagogical associations, and by the middle of 19th century became a requirement in conservatory instruction, modeled after Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. In the 20th century, the fugue was revived in the spirit of neoclassicism; it was incorporated in sonatas, and sets of preludes and fugues were composed. Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy presents his song Der Wanderer through thematic transformations, including a fugue and a set of variations. Liszt was highly influenced by this, as shown in his thematic transformations and the fugue as one of the transformations in his Sonata in b. In Schumann’s Symphonic Études, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Copland’s Piano Variations, the variation serves as the basis for the entire work. Prokofiev and Schubert take a different approach in Piano Concerto No. 3 and Wanderer Fantasy, employing the variation in a single movement. Unlike Schubert and Liszt's use of the fugue as a part of the piece or movement, Franck’s Prelude Chorale et Fugue and Shchedrin’s Polyphonic Notebook use it in its independent form. Since the Classical Period, the variation and fugue have evolved from stylistic and technical influences of earlier composers. It is interesting and remarkable to observe the unique effects each had on a particular work. As true and dependable classic forms, they remain popular by offering the composer an organizational framework for musical imagination.

OPERA IN AMERICA: MUSIC OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE­: A PERFORMANCE DISSERTATION

Opera in America: Music of, by, and for the people is a study of the relationship between American popular culture and opera in the United States. Four performance projects demonstrate the on-going exchange between the operatic community-including its composer, singers, and patrons-and the country's popular entertainment industry with its broad audience base. Numerous examples of artistic cross pollination between lowbrow and highbrow music will illustrate the artistic and social consequences created by this artistic amalgamation. Program #1, By George! By Ira! By Gershwin!, is a retrospective of Gershwin's vocal music representing a blending of popular and serious music in both style and form. The concert includes selections from Porgy and Bess, a work considered by many musicologists as the first American opera. Program #2, Shadowboxer, is a premiere performance of an opera by Frank Proto and John Chenault. For this newly commissioned work, I serve as Assistant Director to Leon Major. Shadowboxer provides a clear example of opera utilizing popular culture both musically and dramatically to tell the true story of American hero and legendary boxer, Joe Louis. Program #3, Just a Song at Twilight, is an original theatrical music piece featuring music, letters, diaries, and journals of the Gilded Age, an era when opera was synonymous with popular entertainment. Special attention is focused on tum-of­ the-century singers who performed in both opera and vaudeville. Program #4 is a presentation of Dominick Argento's Miss Manners on Music and illustrates the strong relationship that can exist between opera and American popular entertainment. Originally conceived as a song cycle, I have staged the work as a one-act opera sung and acted by soprano Carmen Balthrop. This piece is based on the writings of pop icon and newspaper columnist Judith Martin, otherwise known as Miss Manners. All four performances are recorded in audio and video formats.