Archaeological Testing at the John Brice II (Jennings-Brice) House, 18AP53, 195 Prince George Street, Annapolis, Maryland

In the fall of 1989, emergency excavation was undertaken in conjunction with restoration work at the John Brice II (Jennings-Brice) House, 18AP53. The exact date of construction for this brick home is problematic, and it was hoped that archaeological investigation could provide conclusive evidence to firmly establish the structure's date of construction. Excavation of one 5 X 5 ft. unit revealed the presence of 10 separate soil layers and four features of note, described in detail below. Unfortunately, no builders trench or similar feature by which we might date the house's construction was recovered. Future plans and possibilities for excavation at the property are outlined with the hopes of performing subsequent work at this rich site. We anticipate a focus on the arrangement and changes in use of the houselot, amassing evidence to support the presence of a vernacular garden on the property during the 18th century, as well as researching refuse disposal patterns, and clues to changing lifeways through the 18th century.

SELECTED CHARACTER PIECES OF FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849), FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) AND JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

During the 19th century, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Franz Liszt (1811- 1886), and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) were among the most recognized composers of character pieces. Their compositions have been considered a significant milestone in piano literature. Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) did not give descriptive titles to his character pieces. He grouped them into several genres such as Mazurkas, Polonaises. His Mazurkas and Polonaises are influenced by Polish dance music and inspired by the polish national idiom. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was influenced in many ways by Chopin, and adopted Chopin’s lyricism, melodic style, and tempo rubato. However, Liszt frequently drew on non-musical subjects (e.g., art, literature) for inspiration. “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses” and “Années de pèlerinage” are especially representative of character pieces in which poetic and pictorial imagination are reflected. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a conservative traditionalist, synthesizing Romantic expression and Classical tradition remarkably well. Like Chopin, Brahms avoided using programmatic titles for his works. The titles of Brahms’ short character pieces are often taken from traditional lyrical or dramatic genres such as ballade, rhapsody and scherzo. Because of his conservatism, Brahms was considered the main rival of Liszt in the Romantic Period. Brahms character pieces in his third period (e.g., Scherzo Op.4, Ballades of Op.10, and Rhapsodies of Op.79) are concise and focused. The form of Brahms’ character pieces is mostly simple ternary (ABA), and his style is introspective and lyrical. Through this recording project, I was able to get a better understanding of the styles of Chopin, Brahms and Liszt through their character pieces. This recording dissertation consists of two CDs recorded in the Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. These recordings are documented on compact disc recordings that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.

INNOVATIONS IN FRENCH CHAMBER MUSIC AND MÉLODIE (1886 – 1962) – A COLLABORATIVE PIANIST’S PERSPECTIVE

French chamber music in the last quarter of the nineteenth century displayed significant advances in musical innovations and technical developments. As the Parisian public began to favor instrumental music and mélodie over opera, vocal and chamber music with piano became one of the main genres to express French composers’ creativity and individuality. The composers Franck, Debussy, Fauré, Duparc, Ravel, Chausson and Poulenc were the major contributors to this unusually creative period in French music. French mélodies of this period blend precision with lyricism, and demand the performer’s elegance and wit. They show careful settings of the French language’s rhythmic subtleties and increased expressiveness in and importance of the piano accompaniment. The chamber works of this period demanded superior pianistic and instrumental virtuosity while displaying wide ranges of sonority, multiple tone colors, and rhythmic fluidity. The three recitals which comprise this dissertation project were performed at the University of Maryland Gildenhorn Recital Hall on 27 October 2006, All Nations Mission Church (Dayton, NJ) on 5 December 2009, and the Leah M. Smith Lecture Hall of the University of Maryland on 11 May 2010. The repertoire included Poulenc’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1962) with oboist Yeongsu Kim, French mélodies by Fauré, Chausson, Debussy, Ravel and Duparc with soprano Jung-A Lee and baritone Hyun-Oh Shin, Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Horn (1932-1939) with flutist Katrina Smith, clarinetist Jihoon Chang, bassoonist Erich Heckscher, hornist Heidi Littman and oboist Yeongsu Kim, Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915) with cellist Ji-Sook Shin, Poulenc’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (1942-1949) with violinist Ji-Hee Lim, Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (1886) with violinist Na-Young Cho, Ravel’s Piano Trio (1915) with cellist Ji-Sook Shin and violinist Yu-Jeong Lee and Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927) with violinist Yu-Jeong Lee. The recitals were recorded on compact discs and are archived within the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM).

THE COMPLETE PRELUDES OF ALEXANDER SCRIABIN: THE EVOLUTION OF HIS REVOLUTIONARY COMPOSITIONAL STYLE

During the second half of the nineteenth century, a series of remarkable advances in musical composition emerged in the works of such innovative spirits as Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner. Their pioneering works exerted an extraordinary impact on the music of the subsequent generation of composers--of disparate nationalities-who were active at the dawn of the 20th century: Including most notably Claude-Achille Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin. These important musical figures, each one leaving an indelible and formative imprint on late-nineteenth century Romantic style, together launched the modern era in music. Scriabin stands alone as a transcendental visionary: His music, initiated in the fashion of Chopin and Liszt, wanders through the realms of Debussy and Wagner, and, ultimately abandoning late Romantic tradition, unlocks the heretofore unforeseen power of atonality, bitonality, polyrhythms and key-signature free compositions. Arguably, Scriabin's compositions count among the most innovative, idiosyncratic and bewitching of all time. The development of Scriabin's groundbreaking compositional style is best understood by means of his piano works, which comprise the majority of his oeuvre. Beyond the larger works-his twelve sonatas, a concerto and a fantasy-Scriabin's piano explorations are also represented by miniature gems: The mazurkas, impromptus, waltzes, poems, a polonaise, etudes, nocturnes, morceaux and, in particular, the preludes. Scriabin's 90 preludes for piano, arranged in several opus numbers, richly exemplify the striking evolution of his ingenious music, his idiosyncratic philosophy and his provocative personality.

A Kinect Based Indoor Navigation System for the Blind

Team NAVIGATE aims to create a robust, portable navigational aid for the blind. Our prototype uses depth data from the Microsoft Kinect to perform realtime obstacle avoidance in unfamiliar indoor environments. The device augments the white cane by performing two signi cant functions: detecting overhanging objects and identifying stairs. Based on interviews with blind individuals, we found a combined audio and haptic feedback system best for communicating environmental information. Our prototype uses vibration motors to indicate the presence of an obstacle and an auditory command to alert the user to stairs ahead. Through multiple trials with sighted and blind participants, the device was successful in detecting overhanging objects and approaching stairs. The device increased user competency and adaptability across all trials.