An Examination of Vocal Music by John Musto
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UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-2009 An Examination of vocal music by John Musto Stephanie R. Thorpe University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Composition Commons Repository Citation Thorpe, Stephanie R., "An Examination of vocal music by John Musto" (2009). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 958. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/2301811 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN EXAMINATION OF VOCAL MUSIC BY JOHN MUSTO by Stephanie R. Thorpe Bachelor of Arts Briar Cliff University 1999 Master of Arts University of Iowa 2002 A music document submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts Department of Music College of Fine Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2009 UMI Number: 3383998 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform 3383998 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Stephanie R. Thorpe 2009 All Rights Reserved Dissertation Approval mfflwsEt IWSMaiHM The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas April 3 _,2009_ The Dissertation prepared by Stephanie R. Thorpe Entitled An Examination of Vocal Music by John Musto is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committ& Member Examination Committee Member Graduate College Faculty Representative 1017-52 11 ABSTRACT An Examination of Vocal Music by John Musto by Stephanie R. Thorpe Dr. Tod Fitzpatrick, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor of Voice University of Nevada, Las Vegas John Musto, a contemporary composer based in New York, is known for his vocal, piano, and orchestral compositions. Musto is an active performer, who accompanies his own compositions in performance and on recordings. Several festivals and foundations have commissioned his compositions, many of them vocal works. This document will examine a song set, a solo song and two song cycles by John Musto, which represent the composer's developing vocal compositional style from beginning to present. Equally informed by classical and jazz techniques, his style is comprised of popular idioms, ambiguous key structures, irregular rhythms and meters, unpredictable intervallic movements, and large vocal ranges. Two by Frost, "Triolet," Quiet Songs, and Dove Sta Amore..., provide the material for my study of John Musto's compositional style. Musto's first set of songs, Two by Frost, was composed in 1982 and published in 1987; and "Triolet," a solo song with poetry by Eugene O'Neill, was published in 1987. The cycle, Quiet Songs, published in 1991, was iii commissioned by the New York Festival of Song and premiered in 1990 by soprano Amy Burton and pianist Steven Blier. As a result of winning the Concert Artists Guild International Competition in 1991, soprano Lauren Wagner commissioned John Musto to compose Dove StaAmore... for soprano and piano. The song cycle was first composed for voice and piano, rescored for voice and orchestra and premiered by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in Jacksonville, Florida on March 2, 1996. The orchestral version was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1997. Dove StaAmore... was published in 1998 in a piano/vocal format. John Musto, Amy Burton, Steven Blier and members of the New York Festival of Song gave extensive interviews throughout the course of my research and continue to be accommodating and encouraging. Musto's vocal compositions were recently published in one volume with slight revisions to some songs and significant alterations to others. I will discuss each of these modifications in the document. My document will also address Musto's songs through compositional and stylistic analysis, performance practice, vocal and dramatic issues, as well as pedagogical aspects. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix CHAPTER 1 JOHN MUSTO: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION 1 Purpose of this Document 1 Musical Background 1 Compositional Theories, Styles and Influences 3 Contemporary Opinions 6 CHAPTER 2 TWO BY FROST 9 "Nothing Gold Can Stay" 10 "The Rose Family" 14 CHAPTER 3 "TRIOLET" 19 "Triolet" 19 CHAPTER 4 QUIET SONGS 25 "maggie and milly and molly and may" 25 "Intermezzo" 32 "Quiet Song" 34 "Christmas Carol (To Jesus on His Birthday)" 44 "Palm Sunday: Naples" 54 "Lullaby" 59 CHAPTER 5 DOVE STA AMORE 66 "Maybe" 67 "Sea Chest" 72 "The Hangman at Home" 80 "How Many Little Children Sleep" 88 "Dove staamore" 95 APPENDIX I 112 Permission to Use Copyrighted Material 112 Schedule "A" 113 v APPENDIX II 116 Catalog of Vocal Compositions by John Musto 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 119 VITA 123 vi LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Musi Example 1 'Nothing Gold Can Stay," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 12 Musi Example 2 'Nothing Gold Can Stay," John Musto: Selected Songs, 1987 13 Musi Example 3 'Nothing Gold Can Stay," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 13 Musi Example 4 'The Rose Family," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 15 Musi Example 5 'The Rose Family," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 16 Musi Example 6 'The Rose Family," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 17 Musi Example 7 'Triolet," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 21 Musi Example 8 'Triolet," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 23 Musi Example 9 'maggie and milly...," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 27 Musi Example 10 'maggie andmilly...," John Musto: Quiet Songs, 1991 28 Musi Example 11 'maggie and milly...," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 28 Musi Example 12 'maggie and milly...," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 30 Musi Example 13 'maggie and milly. .," John Musto: Quiet Songs, 1991 31 Musi Example 14 'maggie and milly ."John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 31 Musi Example 15 '2b. Intermezzo John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 33 Musi Example 16 '3b. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 37 Musi Example 17 '3b. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 38 Musi Example 18 '3 b. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 38 Musi Example 19 '3b. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 41 Musi Example 20 '3b. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 41 Musi Example 21 '2a. Intermezzo,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 43 Musi Example 22 '3 a. Quiet Song,' John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 43 Musi Example 23 'Christmas Carol .." John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 45 Musi Example 24 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 46 Musi Example 25 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 47 Musi Example 26 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 48 Musi Example 27 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 50 Musi Example 28 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 51 Musi Example 29 'Christmas Carol .." John Musto: Quiet Songs, 1991 52 Musi Example 30 'Christmas Carol ..," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 52 Mus: Example 31 'Christmas Carol .."John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 53 Musi Example 32 'Palm Sunday: Naples," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 56 Mus: Example 33 'Palm Sunday: Naples," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 57 Musi Example 34 'Palm Sunday: Naples," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 57 Musi Example 35 'Palm Sunday: Naples," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 58 Mus; Example 36 'Lullaby," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 62 Musi Example 37 'Lullaby," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 63 Musi Example 38 'Lullaby," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 64 Musi Example 39 'Maybe," John Musto: Dove Sta Amore..., 1998 69 vii Mus: Example 40 'Maybe," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 70 Musi Example 41 'Maybe," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 71 Musi Example 42 'Maybe," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 72 Musi Example 43 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Dove Sta Amove..., 1998 74 Musi Example 44 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 75 Musi Example 45 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 76 Musi Example 46 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 78 Musi Example 47 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 79 Musi Example 48 'Sea Chest," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 80 Musi Example 49 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 83 Musi Example 50 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 83 Musi Example 51 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 84 Musi Example 52 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 ...85 Musi Example 53 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008 ...87 Musi Example 54 'The Hangman at Home," John Musto: Collected Songs, 2008... 88 Musi Example 55 'How Many Little.