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Canadian Solo Trombone Recital Repertoire: an Annotated Bibliography

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Canadian Solo Trombone Recital Repertoire: an Annotated Bibliography Canadian solo trombone recital repertoire: An annotated bibliography by Dale Sorensen A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Dale Sorensen, 2015 Canadian solo trombone recital repertoire: An annotated bibliography Dale Sorensen Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto 2015 Abstract The first major Canadian compositions for solo trombone were written in the 1950s, a time when Canadian concert music composers began to flourish. Since then, more than 240 Canadian works for solo trombone (including alto, tenor and bass) have been composed. This annotated bibliography is a comprehensive examination of 135 of these works, delimited to include those composed in a 60-year period from 1952 to 2012, in two subsets of the repertoire typically performed in a standard recital: music for unaccompanied trombone, and music for trombone with piano accompaniment. The performance and/or study of Canadian music is a curricular requirement in many Canadian school music programs, and the performance of Canadian works is often mandatory for recitals and solo competitions. An annotated bibliography is an important resource that allows performers, teachers and students to identify and evaluate a body of musical works. The present document responds to the demand for such a resource by musicians searching specifically for Canadian solo trombone music, and significantly expands the scope of such previous research. The works chosen for inclusion in this study are presented in five sections based on instrumentation (divided by alto, tenor or bass trombone, and by unaccompanied solos or works ii with piano accompaniment – at the time of writing there were no unaccompanied alto trombone solos). The information provided for each work includes point-form details (such as difficulty level, pitch range, etc.), more detailed analyses (of technical and musical characteristics, and pedagogical/performance value), supplementary information (such as premiere details, information on recordings, etc.), and musical examples. Appendices include six indexes of the included repertoire sorted according to anticipated common search parameters, a discography of CD recordings of repertoire included in the study, and publisher and composer contact information to help increase the works’ availability. This research has been undertaken with the goal of providing an indispensable resource that allows students, educators and performers to evaluate any work in the included repertoire, which will ultimately result in more frequent performances of this music, and perhaps even stimulate the composition of new works. iii Acknowledgments This work is dedicated to my wife Sandy, and our children Alexandra and Bailey. I could not have done it without your love and support. The sacrifices made by everyone to be with me throughout this process were turned into opportunities, and I am so proud of everyone for making the best of it. Many thanks to my supervisor Cam Walter, whose guidance, help and encouragement were much appreciated. Thanks also to the other members of my advisory committee, Hilary Apfelstadt and Robin Elliott, and to the additional members of my defense committee, Harcus Hennigar and David Russell Martin. A special thanks to all the composers who so willingly provided information and/or scores, and to my teaching and performing colleagues across the country who provided important information. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background, context, and need for study ........................................................................ 1 1.2 Project summary ............................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 8 2.1 Repertoire search methods and collection ...................................................................... 8 2.2 Delimitations ................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 3 Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Analysis of bibliographies for trombone and other instruments ................................... 12 3.2 Identification and discussion of database fields ............................................................ 13 3.3 Discussion of duplicate work ........................................................................................ 27 Chapter 4 Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 29 4.1 Expected significance of research ................................................................................. 29 4.2 Recommendations for further study .............................................................................. 30 v Chapter 5 Study: Description and Evaluation of Works ............................................................... 35 5.1 Unaccompanied Tenor Trombone ................................................................................ 36 5.2 Unaccompanied Bass Trombone ................................................................................ 118 5.3 Alto Trombone and Piano ........................................................................................... 130 5.4 Tenor Trombone and Piano ........................................................................................ 134 5.5 Bass Trombone and Piano .......................................................................................... 262 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 302 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 309 A. Works indexed alphabetically by composer’s last name ................................................ 310 B. Works indexed by title .................................................................................................... 317 C. Works indexed by grade level ......................................................................................... 324 D. Works indexed by instrumentation ................................................................................. 333 E. Works indexed by composers’ geographical region ....................................................... 341 F. Works by women composers .......................................................................................... 351 G. Discography of CDs containing works included in study .............................................. 352 H. Publisher/composer contact information ........................................................................ 354 vi List of Tables Table 1. A categorical overview of Canadian solo trombone works (1952-2014). ........................ 2 Table 2. Availability of works within and outside the CMC. ......................................................... 3 Table 3. Number of works composed in each decade since 1950. ................................................. 4 Table 4. Overview of bibliographies examined, sorted by category. ........................................... 11 Table 5. Six-point grading system used to assess difficulty level. ............................................... 16 Table 6. Criteria for assessing difficulty levels 1-3. ..................................................................... 18 Table 7. Criteria for assessing difficulty levels 4-6. ..................................................................... 19 Table 8. Sample bibliographic entry (fictitious). .......................................................................... 26 Table 9. Canadian solo trombone works included in other annotated bibliographies. ................. 28 Table 10. Demographic distribution of composers of trombone solos. ........................................ 31 Table 11. Number of women composers and compositions for trombone. .................................. 32 Table 12. Distribution of compositions by grade level. ................................................................ 33 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Scientific Pitch Notation System. .................................................................................. 15 Figure 2. System used to identify the pitch range, tessitura, and clefs used in a work. ................ 15 viii List of Appendices
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