WRIGHT-DISSERTATION-2016.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A SURVEY OF SELECTED, ORIGINAL CHAMBER MUSIC FOR SAXOPHONE WITH DIVERSE INSTRUMENTS BY MARILYN SHRUDE Andrew Wright, B.M.E., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2016 APPROVED: Eric Nestler, Major Professor Dennis Fisher, Committee Member John Scott, Committee Member Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost of the Toulouse Graduate School Wright, Andrew. A Survey of Selected, Original Chamber Music for Saxophone with Diverse Instruments by Marilyn Shrude. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), August 2016, 172 pp., 1 table, 164 musical examples, bibliography, 30 titles. Marilyn Shrude is a champion for contemporary concert music. Throughout her career, she has written multiple works including the saxophone that utilize its unique timbre. Atonality is a chief characteristic of her compositional style. Her contributions to the saxophone repertoire include solos, duos with piano, chamber works, quartets and larger works with band. This study surveys five chamber pieces that include saxophone with diverse instruments written by Marilyn Shrude. The pieces includes are Splintered Visions (1985), Notturno: In Memorium Töru Takemitsu (1996), Transparent Eyes (2000), Face of the Moon (2000) and Within Silence (2012). The analysis of each work includes information pertaining to the creation of cohesion and atonality throughout the piece. Copyright 2016 by Andrew Wright ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincerest gratitude to Marilyn Shrude for your devotion to chamber music and the saxophone, in addition to your never-ceasing willingness to share your compositional processes through this entire project. Furthermore, a heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Shrude and Dr. Sampen for their unending hospitality while I conducted the interviews. Thank you, Dr. Nestler, for your patience, support and generous expertise during the completion of this document. Likewise, I am grateful to Professors Fisher and Scott for their support and guidance. My thanks to my family for encouragement through this adventure. Finally, thank you to my loving wife, Jessica, and our two sons, James and Ethan, for your patience and support while I become “doctor daddy.” I want to extend appreciation to Schott Music Corporation for example 92 as it an excerpt from Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. Additionally, gratitude is extended to G. Schirmer Incorporated. Examples 106, 108 and 118 in this dissertation are excerpts from Alfrèd Desenclos’s Prelude, Cadence et Finale, Jacques Ibert’s Concertino da Camera and Jindřich Feld’s Quatuor de Saxophones, respectively. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ........................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: NOTTURNO: IN MEMORIAM TÖRU TAKEMITSU ....................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3: TRANSPARENT EYES .................................................................................................. 54 CHAPTER 4: FACE OF THE MOON .................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER 5: SPLINTERED VISIONS ................................................................................................. 97 CHAPTER 6: WITHIN SILENCE ...................................................................................................... 151 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 169 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 172 iv LIST OF TABLES 1. Works premiered at World Saxophone Congresses ........................................................... 6 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Music eXamples are used by permission from these copyright holders: *1997 by Schott Music Corporation †1935/1956/1984 by Alphonse Leduc 1. Viennese trichord in C ...................................................................................................... 17 2. Inverted Viennese trichord in C ........................................................................................ 18 3. Opening motive in measures 1-2 of piano ....................................................................... 27 4. Measures 3-8 of piano ...................................................................................................... 28 5. Measures 18-21 of the piano ........................................................................................... 29 6. Measures 95-102 .............................................................................................................. 30 7. Measure 9 ........................................................................................................................ 31 8. Measures 12-13 of violin and saxophone ......................................................................... 31 9. Measures 32-34 ................................................................................................................ 32 10. Measures 44-47 ................................................................................................................ 33 11. Measures 89-93 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 35 12. Measures 75-76 of piano .................................................................................................. 37 13. Measures 74-75 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 38 14. Measures 89-91 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 39 15. Measures 22-24 of piano .................................................................................................. 40 16. Measures 63-65 of piano and violin ................................................................................. 41 17. Measures 78-79 of piano .................................................................................................. 41 18. Measures 41-43 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 43 vi 19. Measures 34-35 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 44 20. Measure 58 of piano ........................................................................................................ 45 21. Measure 83 of piano ........................................................................................................ 47 22. Measures 57-60 of ensemble ........................................................................................... 48 23. Measures 25-26 of piano .................................................................................................. 49 24. [0134] set class ................................................................................................................. 49 25. Measures 10 and 11 of violin and saxophone .................................................................. 50 26. Measures 92-93 of saxophone ......................................................................................... 50 27. [01256] set class ............................................................................................................... 51 28. Measures 36-40 of violin and saxophone ......................................................................... 52 29. Measure 1 of first piano ................................................................................................... 56 30. Measure 1 of first piano condensed into one octave ....................................................... 57 31. Measure 2 of second piano .............................................................................................. 57 32. Measure 2 of second piano condensed into one octave .................................................. 58 33. Measures 1-5 of piano parts ............................................................................................ 58 34. Measures 10-12 of first piano .......................................................................................... 59 35. Melody from Bach’s Air on a G String .............................................................................. 59 36. Measures 2-4 of flute and saxophone .............................................................................. 60 37. Measures 6-7 of flute and saxophone .............................................................................. 60 38. Measure 9 of flute and saxophone .................................................................................. 61 39. Measure 13 of saxophone and pianos ............................................................................. 62 40. Measures 14-16 of flute ................................................................................................... 62 vii