A Performance Guide to Arthur Bliss's Sonata For
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A PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO ARTHUR BLISS’S SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO ________________________________________ DMA Project ________________________________________ A DMA Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Musical Arts in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky By Andrew Braddock Lexington, Kentucky Director: Mr. Daniel Mason, Professor of Music Lexington, Kentucky 2019 Copyright © Andrew Braddock https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7773-8754 ABSTRACT OF DMA PROJECT A PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO ARTHUR BLISS’S SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO Arthur Bliss’s Sonata for Viola and Piano stands as a significant achievement in early twentieth-century chamber music for viola and is the result of a fruitful collaboration between composer and virtuoso performer. Multiple scholars recognize the sonata as one of Bliss’s finest works. Despite these accolades, the work has failed to attract sustained scholarly investigation. This document provides performers with the necessary tools for a thorough and contextualized presentation of the work. The main body of this study details the technical aspects of performing the sonata: viola technique, expressive challenges, and ensemble concerns. Preceding this, I cover the relevant biographical details from Bliss’s life, examine the roots of his chamber music writing for viola by analyzing two early works, and investigate the collaboration between Lionel Tertis and Bliss in creating this work. KEYWORDS: Viola, Arthur Bliss, Lionel Tertis, Viola pedagogy, Sonata for viola and piano Andrew Braddock (Name of Student) December 9, 2019 Date A PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO ARTHUR BLISS’S SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO By Andrew Braddock Daniel Mason Director of DMA Project Lance Brunner Director of Graduate Studies December 9, 2019 Date TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .................................................................................... vi PART I INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Need for this study .................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Scope and Limitations............................................................................................. 3 1.4 Literature Review.................................................................................................... 3 ARTHUR BLISS ....................................................................................... 13 BLISS’S CHAMBER MUSIC .................................................................. 21 LIONEL TERTIS AND BLISS’S EXTERNAL INFLUENCES .............. 34 4.1 Lionel Tertis and Bliss’s Sonata for Viola and Piano ........................................... 39 4.2 Lionel Tertis, Arthur Bliss, and Early Performances of the Sonata...................... 41 4.3 The Viola Sonata ................................................................................................... 43 PERFORMING THE SONATA................................................................ 49 5.1 Left-Hand Technique ............................................................................................ 49 5.1.1 Hand Frame and Finger Patterns ................................................................... 49 5.1.2 Shifting and High Passages ........................................................................... 53 5.1.3 The Viola’s Register in Bliss’s Chamber Music........................................... 54 5.1.4 High Registers in the Viola Sonata ............................................................... 57 5.1.5 Shifting .......................................................................................................... 59 5.1.6 Tertis’s Fingerings ........................................................................................ 61 5.1.7 Double Stops ................................................................................................. 67 5.2 Right-Arm Technique ........................................................................................... 71 5.3 Ensemble Considerations ...................................................................................... 77 5.3.1 Balance .......................................................................................................... 77 5.3.2 Rhythm and Tempo ....................................................................................... 80 5.4 Musical Expression ............................................................................................... 82 iii CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 90 PART II DMA RECITALS ............................................................................................................. 94 RECITAL 1 ........................................................................................................... 94 RECITAL 2 ........................................................................................................... 99 RECITAL 3 ......................................................................................................... 105 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 110 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Bliss’s chamber music with strings. ................................................................ 22 Table 4.1. Bliss’s compositions written for specific performers. ..................................... 37 Table 5.1. Type and frequency of double stops in Bliss’s Viola Sonata .......................... 68 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 3.1. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt I, mm. 1–4 .................24 Example 3.2, Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt I, mm. 16–20 .............25 Example 3.3, Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt I, mm. 28–34 .............25 Example 3.4. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt I, mm. 39–44 .............26 Example 3.5. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt II, mm.1–11 ..............27 Example 3.6. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt III, mm.76–81 ...........29 Example 3.7. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 3] (1941), mvt I, mm.1–4 ..................29 Example 3.8. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet [no. 1] (1914), mvt III, mm.70–74 ...........30 Example 3.9. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. III, mm. 1–3 ......................................31 Example 3.10a. Piano Quartet, mvt II, mm. 1–2 .........................................................31 Example 3.10b, String Quartet [no. 1], mvt. I, mm. 1–2 .............................................32 Example 3.11. Arthur Bliss, Piano Quartet, mvt. I, mm. 49–51 ..................................32 Example 3.12. Arthur Bliss, Piano Quartet, mvt. I, mm. 1–6 ......................................33 Example 5.1. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. I, mm. 4–6 ...................50 Example 5.2. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. I, mm. 63–64 ...............51 Example 5.3. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. II, mm. 12–14 .............52 Example 5.4. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. II, mm. 16–21 .............52 Example 5.5. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. II, mm. 66–70 .............53 Example 5.6. Arthur Bliss, Sonata for Viola and Piano, mvt. II, mm. 49–50 .............53 Example 5.7. Arthur Bliss, Oboe Quintet, mvt. III, mm. 174–191..............................55 Example 5.8. Arthur Bliss, Clarinet Quintet, mvt. IV, mm. 104–106 .........................55 Example 5.9. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. III, mm. 252–255 ..............................57 Example 5,10a. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 208–211 .............................58 Example 5.10b. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. IV, mm. 47–52 ..............................58 Example 5.11. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 143–45 .................................59 Example 5.12a. Arthur Bliss, String Quartet no. 3 (1941), mvt. I, mm. 220–224 .......60 Example 5.12b. Arthur Bliss, Violin Concerto, mvt. I, mm. 7–11 ..............................60 Example 5.13. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 54–58 ...................................61 Example 5.14. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. IV, mm. 27–28 ................................61 Example 5.15. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. II, mm. 19–24 ..................................64 Example 5.16. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 148–156 ...............................65 Example 5.17. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt II, m. 12 ............................................66 Example 5.18. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 28–33 ...................................69 Example 5.19. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. I, mm. 22–27 ...................................69 Example 5.20. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt. III, mm. 138–143 ............................70 Example 5.21a. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt I, mm. 74–75 ..................................72 Example 5.21b. Arthur Bliss, Viola Sonata, mvt I, mm. 79–80 ..................................72