Exploring America's Musical Identity: a Comparison Study Of
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KHATIBZADEH, NATALIE M., D.M.A. Exploring America’s Musical Identity: A Comparison Study of Indianist Piano Pieces by Amy Beach and Arthur Farwell. (2020) Directed by Dr. Andrew Willis. 155 pp. This document compares the purposes and philosophies that guided the composition of Indianist pieces by Amy Beach and Arthur Farwell. By relating Beach’s and Farwell’s output to movements of the early twentieth century, including antimodernism and American nationalism, this study suggests ways in which Beach and Farwell deviated from previously established trends. Through each Indianist piece that attempted to arrange Native American songs, Beach and Farwell introduced new strategies for incorporating melodic transcriptions. Musical analyses within the document reflect Beach’s and Farwell’s goals for writing Indianist pieces, including their intentions for how to communicate with audiences. Both composers’ usage of dissonances, manipulation of melodic motives, and treatment of text shaped each piece’s portrayal of Native American music. Beach’s and Farwell’s Indianist pieces are further analyzed in relation to current musical practices, tracing the process through which compositional practices became more inclusive and diverse during the later twentieth century. EXPLORING AMERICA’S MUSICAL IDENTITY: A COMPARISON STUDY OF INDIANIST PIANO PIECES BY AMY BEACH AND ARTHUR FARWELL by Natalie M. Khatibzadeh A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts Greensboro 2020 Approved by __________________________________ Committee Chair APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation written by NATALIE M. KHATIBZADEH has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair Committee Members ____________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee ___________________________ Date of Final Oral Examination ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my family and friends for their continuous encouragement. Without their love and support, this dissertation project would not have been possible to complete. Thank you to my mother, father, sisters, and all of my family for the care that you have provided in too many ways to count. Thank you to my adviser and piano professor, Dr. Andrew Willis, for helping through each step of the research process. Throughout my studies at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Willis has helped my classmates and me to conduct research with precision, integrity, and curiosity. I will forever be grateful to Dr. Willis for support he has given. Finally, thank you to Dr. Adam Ricci and Dr. John Salmon for your thorough critique. I learned new methods of analysis that helped to achieve the goals of the research project. Thank you to Dr. Ricci and Dr. Salmon for your constant patience and mentorship. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER I. THE APPROPRIATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ...........................................1 II. THE DEBATE ...................................................................................................11 III. NATIVE AMERICAN SOURCES ....................................................................25 IV. ANALYSIS OF AMY BEACH’S INDIANIST PIECES FOR PIANO ............34 “Arctic Night”.......................................................................................... ..35 “The Returning Hunter”........................................................................... ..44 “Exiles”...................................................................................................... 51 “With Dog-Teams”.................................................................................... 59 From Blackbird Hills, Op. 83 ................................................................... 69 V. ANALYSIS OF ARTHUR FARWELL’S INDIANIST PIECES FOR PIANO ......................................................................................................... 83 “The Mother’s Vow” ................................................................................ 86 “The Old Man’s Love Song” .................................................................... 90 Dawn, Op. 12 (1902) .................................................................................94 “Receiving the Messenger”........................................................................98 The Domain of Hurakan, Op. 15 (1902) ................................................. 103 “Pawnee Horses” .................................................................................... 111 “Navajo War Dance” .............................................................................. 114 Questions Surrounding Navajo War Dance No. 2 ...................................116 VI. BEACH’S AND FARWELL’S LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS .....................121 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................149 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Form Diagram of “Arctic Night” .........................................................................39 Table 2. Form Diagram of “The Returning Hunter” ......................................................... 46 Table 3. Form Diagram of “Exiles” .................................................................................. 54 Table 4. Form Diagram of “With Dog-Teams” ................................................................ 62 Table 5. Form Diagram of From Blackbird Hills, Op. 83 .................................................72 Table 6. Farwell’s Indianist Piano Pieces ..........................................................................85 Table 7. Form Diagram of “Receiving the Messenger” ................................................. 101 Table 8. Form Diagram for Mm.1–39 of The Domain of Hurakan .................................109 Table 9. Subphrase Structure in Mm.52–76 of The Domain of Hurakan ........................110 v LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Transcriptions from The Central Eskimo that Beach Harmonizes in “Arctic Night” .................................................................................................. 37 Figure 2. Development of Boas’ Melody XIII in “Arctic Night,” Mm.1–8 ..................... 40 Figure 3. Chromatic Alteration of the Minor Seventh Arpeggio Motive from “Song of a Padlimio”: Mm. 9–16 from “Arctic Night” ................................. 41 Figure 4. Beach’s Transition to the Key of E-flat Minor (Mm.25–32), Based Upon the Untitled Melody .................................................................. 43 Figure 5. “Arctic Night,” Mm.23–24: Descending Line Between the Alto and Tenor Voices .......................................................................................... 44 Figure 6. “The Returning Hunter” from The Central Eskimo, Page 653 ...........................45 Figure 7. “Song” from The Central Eskimo, Page 654 ..................................................... 45 Figure 8. “The Returning Hunter” from Eskimos, Mm. 1–28 .......................................... 47 Figure 9. Harmonization of “Song” in “The Returning Hunter,” Mm. 36–43. .................48 Figure 10. Chromatic Alterations that Lead to V 4/2 of the Neapolitan ........................... 49 Figure 11. Chromatic Alterations in “Arctic Night,” Mm. 48–52 .................................... 50 Figure 12. Chromatic Alterations in “The Returning Hunter,” Mm. 46–53 ..................... 51 Figure 13. “The Fox and the Woman” from The Central Eskimo, Page 655, and Harmonization of “The Fox and the Woman” in “Exiles,” Mm. 1–10 ........ 52 Figure 14. “Exiles,” Mm. 24–31 with Pick-up ................................................................. 55 Figure 15. “The Fox and the Woman” in “Exiles,” Mm. 30–34 ...................................... 56 Figure 16. “The Raven Sings” from The Central Eskimo, Page 655 ................................ 57 vi Figure 17. “The Raven Sings” Followed by Transition with Broken Octaves in “Exiles,” Mm. 9–20 with Pick-up ................................................................ 58 Figure 18. Fourth Statement of “The Raven Sings,” Mm. 40–47 with Pick-up ...............59 Figure 19. Transcriptions from The Central Eskimo that Beach Harmonizes in “With Dog-Teams” ....................................................................................... 61 Figure 20. “With Dog-Teams,” Mm. 5–10 ....................................................................... 63 Figure 21. Measure 5 from “Oxaitoq’s Song,” Followed by Mm. 91–92 of “With Dog-Teams” ....................................................................................... 65 Figure 22. Harmonization of “Song” in “With Dog-Teams,” Mm. 25–33 ....................... 66 Figure 23. Third Statement of “From Lyon, Private Journal” with Two Neapolitan Chords and a German Augmented 6th, Mm. 47–57 ................... 67 Figure 24. Bass Line Contrasts Between the 3rd and 4th Statements of “Song No. VII” .............................................................................................. 68 Figure 25. “Children’s Song for ‘Follow My Leader’” from A Study of Omaha Indian Music,