Papers Copyright (c) 2013 Illinois Wesleyan University All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers Recent documents in Papers en-us Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:00:29 PDT 3600 20th Century Trends in the Rhythmic Interpretation of the Cantigas de Santa Maria (Honors) http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/5 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/5 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:50:14 PDT The musical notation of the Cantigas de Santa Maria has been a nebulous issue for the majority of the 20th century. This paper discusses recent trends in the rhythmic interpretation of the Cantigas manuscripts, from the theories of the early 20th century scholars through the varied approaches taken by later 20th century early music ensembles in performance.

]]> Chelsey Belt Ravel and Roussel: Retrospectivism in Le Tombeau de Couperin and La Suite pour piano, op.14 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/4 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/4 Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:29:38 PDT Urged by an increasingly pervading nationalism, many French composers at the beginning of the twentieth century sought to create unique French music by linking to their past musical traditions. This trend of the retrospective approach to musical composition is evident in the works of contemporary French composers such as Vincent d’Indy, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Albert Roussel. Of the latter two composers, however, personal stylistic traits differentiate their Retrospectivism on both the musical level and the aesthetic one.

]]> Qingfan Jiang Fatalism, Tragedy, and Morality: A Study of the Men in Verdi's 'Il trovatore' (Honors) http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/3 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/3 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:29:36 PDT Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera Il trovatore has long stood as one of the most popular dramas of the nineteenth century due to its compositional craftsmanship and remarkable, quintessentially Romantic storyline. Leading research thus far on Il trovatore has largely focused on the overall structure, pacing, harmonic language, and individual characters of the opera. This paper takes such research farther via the means of both textual and musical analysis in order to demonstrate the complexity of the characters' relationships and to discern an underlying moral philosophy present in the opera. More specifically, it shows that Verdi's opera draws an inverse relationship between the leading men's senses of honor and their ability to express authority over their situation. To draw such a connection, Verdi ascribes multiple, distinct roles for each character, and it is the interplay between each role within and between characters that ultimately defines the tinta of the entire work.

]]> John Hanlon Die Schöne Müllerin: The Creative Genius of Wilhelm Müller and Franz Schubert http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/2 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/2 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:43:10 PDT Die Schöne Müllerin is a cycle of twenty songs for solo voice and piano, with poetry by Wilhelm MUller and music by Franz Schubert. It is the romantic story of a young miller who befriends a stream which leads him to a mill.

]]> David C. Rayl '77 Integration of Women into the Flute Section of Orchestras from 1950 to the Present (Honors) http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/1 http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/music_papers/1 Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:01:37 PDT The progress that women have made in integrating themselves into various occupations is particularly evident in the world of instrumental music. Women have made great strides in becoming part of the elite group of orchestral musicians, a job once considered only appropriate for men, even making their way into the top five orchestras in the United States. For the purposes of this project, these five major orchestras are the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra. While other American orchestras maintain outstanding ensembles and employ talented musicians, these five orchestras are of the highest caliber and offer some of most desirable orchestral positions.

In the interest of narrowing the field further, this paper looks specifically, at the progress within the flute sections of these major orchestras, although much of the ,data included in this project represents the progress of female orchestral musicians in general. It includes the results and opinions obtained through interviews completed with professional flutists offering their perspectives on what they have encountered in their audition, experiences for various orchestras. Also incorporated are their experiences as performers in various orchestras. Embedded in an interest in the integration of women into these top-tier orchestras are the answers telling when these changes occurred and,why the changes that took place did at those points in history.

]]> Deborah Boersma