The Klezmer Influence in Paul Schoenfield's Klezmer Rondos
THE KLEZMER INFLUENCE IN PAUL SCHOENFIELD’S KLEZMER RONDOS Mark Trimble, B.M., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2011 APPROVED: Mary Karen Clardy, Major Professor Dennis Fisher, Minor Professor Don Taylor, Committee Member Lynn Eustis, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Holt, Chair of the Division of Instrumental Studies James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Trimble, Mark. The Klezmer Influence in Paul Schoenfield’s Klezmer Rondos. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), December 2011, 43 pp., 24 figures, bibliography, 17 titles. Paul Schoenfield’s Klezmer Rondos is a work for flute, male vocalist, and orchestra revised in 1994 according to the score given to me by the composer. A review of current research in klezmer heritage music is the starting point to place Klezmer Rondos in the context of art music infused with klezmer flavor. Klezmer music can be defined as the instrumental folk music of Eastern European Jews, however because of its adaptability and quality of assimilating other cultures within it, this heritage music is constantly in flux. By looking at the research in this field, I describe how the sound of klezmer music has evolved and how popular notions have been formed. The body of this research explores the main musical aspects of Klezmer Rondos that can be tied to the klezmer tradition: scales and thematic materials, improvisatory elements, ornamentation, and instrumentation. Klezmer Rondos moves beyond a simple arrangement of vernacular music for orchestra; it is a fusion of contemporary art music with the elements of klezmer style.
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