A Conductor's Analysis of Poetry and Music in J. A. C. Redford's Antiphons Brenda Lowe Rudd Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2016 A Conductor's Analysis of Poetry and Music in J. A. C. Redford's Antiphons Brenda Lowe Rudd Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Rudd, Brenda Lowe, "A Conductor's Analysis of Poetry and Music in J. A. C. Redford's Antiphons" (2016). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4400. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4400 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. A CONDUCTOR’S ANALYSIS OF POETRY AND MUSIC IN J. A. C. REDFORD’S ANTIPHONS A Monograph Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in The College of Music and Dramatic Arts by Brenda Lowe Rudd B.A.Ed., Northwestern State University, 1979 M.M., Northwestern State University, 1982 December 2016 Copyright ©2016 All Rights Reserved Brenda Lowe Rudd ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Soli deo Gloria I am profoundly indebted to the composer of Antiphons, J. A. C. Redford, for his composition of such mystically beautiful Advent settings and for his artistic collaboration with me during the research process. I am truly honored to have been granted the opportunity to investigate, analyze and write on this captivating and thought provoking choral work. It has been an inspirational journey and my heart is full of a renewed sense of awe, reverence, and wonder for the Advent season. I offer my sincere appreciation to the members of my doctoral committee for diligently editing the document and for providing invaluable instruction and supervision. I am eternally grateful to my mentor and committee chairman, Dr. John Dickson, for intuitively introducing me to the Antiphons as a research topic and for his invaluable assistance throughout my doctoral studies. I am also deeply grateful to my committee members, Dr. Alison McFarland, Dr. Daniel Shanahan and Dr. Jill Trepanier for their expert mentorship, and to Dr. Lori Bade for her support. Finally, I dedicate this monograph to my family with love. I thank my mother, Geraldine Graham Lowe, my first music teacher, for instilling the enduring joy of music in my heart at a tender age. I thank my husband, best friend, and soul-mate, Richard, for his unending love, support, prayers, and encouragement throughout the duration of my doctoral endeavors. My “cornerstone” was fashioned from his unwavering optimism and his steadfast faith in me. To our son and daughter, Matthew and Rachel, I extend a heartfelt thank you for their ceaseless enthusiasm and endless moral support. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1 Need for the Study ...............................................................................................................1 Related Literature.................................................................................................................2 Methodology ........................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER TWO. J. A. C. REDFORD .......................................................................................4 A Biographical Overview ....................................................................................................4 The Creative Child ...................................................................................................6 I Will Be a Composer ..............................................................................................8 A Missionary in Italy .............................................................................................10 Heeding The Divine Call .......................................................................................10 The Refining of a Craft ..........................................................................................12 The Cultivation of a Gift ........................................................................................15 A Spiritual Awakening ..........................................................................................17 A Composer of Concert and Chamber Music ........................................................19 The Mastery of Counterpoint .................................................................................21 A Cascade of Concert Works .................................................................................24 CHAPTER THREE. THE GREAT O ANTIPHONS ..................................................................31 History of the O Antiphons ................................................................................................31 Symbols of the O Antiphons ..............................................................................................34 Symbol for “O Sapientia” ......................................................................................34 Symbol for “O Adonai” .........................................................................................35 Symbol for “O Radix Jesse” ..................................................................................36 Symbol for “O Clavis David” ................................................................................36 Symbol for “O Oriens” ..........................................................................................37 Symbol for “O Rex Gentium”................................................................................38 Symbol for “O Emmanuel” ....................................................................................39 A Textual Analysis of “O Sapientia” - “O Wisdom” ........................................................39 “O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High” .............................41 “reaching from one end to the other mightily” ......................................................41 “and sweetly ordering all things” ...........................................................................42 “Come and teach us the way of prudence.” ...........................................................43 A Textual Analysis of “O Adonai” - “O Lord” .................................................................43 “O Adonai and leader of the House of Israel” .......................................................44 iv “who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush” .....................................45 “and gave him the law on Sinai;” ..........................................................................46 “Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.” .................................................46 A Textual Analysis of “O Radix Jesse” - “O Root of Jesse” .............................................48 “O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;” ....................................49 “before you kings will shut their mouths,” ............................................................50 “to you the nations will make their prayer:” ..........................................................50 “Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.” ........................................................51 A Textual Analysis of “O Clavis David” - “O Key of David” ..........................................51 “O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;” ..........................................52 “you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open:” ..........................53 “Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,” .........................................54 “those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” ......................................54 A Textual Analysis of “O Oriens” - “O Dayspring” ..........................................................55 “O Dayspring, splendour of light enternal and sun of righteousness:”..................56 “Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” .....58 A Textual Analysis of “ Rex Gentium” - “O King of the Nations” ...................................59 “O King of Nations, and their desire,” ...................................................................60 “the cornerstone making both one:” ......................................................................62 “Come and save the human race, which you formed out of clay.” ........................64 A Textual Analysis of “O Emmanuel” - “O God With Us” ..............................................65 “O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,” ..........................................................66 “the hope of the nations and their Savior.” ............................................................67 “Come and save us, O Lord our God.” ..................................................................68