William Albright's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano: Analytical Insights and Performance Considerations
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 William Albright's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano: Analytical Insights and Performance Considerations. Brian Russell Utley Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Utley, Brian Russell, "William Albright's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano: Analytical Insights and Performance Considerations." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 368. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/368 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 Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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WILLIAM ALBRIGHT’S SONATA FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO: ANALYTICAL INSIGHTS AND PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS A Written Document 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 School of Music by Brian Russell Utley B.M., Murray State University, 1995 M.M., Louisiana State University, 1997 August 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3021457 Copyright 2001 by Utley, Brian Russell All rights reserved. ___ <© UMI UMI Microform 3021457 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright 2001 Brian Russell Utley All rights reserved ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For Seana, whose patience and support has always been unwavering, and for Jeffrey, who helps me keep everything in perspective. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I wish to thank all of the members of my committee, particularly Drs. Griffin Campbell and David Smyth, for their masterful guidance in the preparation of this document and also for their years of invaluable instruction. I would also like to thank my family, both immediate and extended, and my friends for their years of support and understanding. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................iv Abstract .................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1 Movement I: Two-Part Invention..........................................................................................7 Movement II: La follia nuova: a lament for George Cacioppo.........................................24 Movement HI: Scherzo “Will o’ the wisp”.........................................................................37 Movement IV: Recitative and Dance ................................................................................. 50 Conclusion............................................................................................................................65 Bibliography.........................................................................................................................70 Appendix: Letter of Permission...........................................................................................73 Vita........................................................................................................................................74 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract William Albright’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano amply demonstrates the stylistic eclecticism for which he is famous. The four movements exhibit distinct characters and musical languages, including references to compositional practices of the past, as in the two-part invention of the first movement and the follia of the second, and allusions to American popular music, as in the bebop sections of the finale. This polystylistic compositional approach also invites a variety of analytical techniques, including investigation into form, motivic development, register, texture, and pitch usage. This study, the first of its kind on Albright’s sonata, examines these characteristics in each movement and across the entire work, and offers suggestions for the performers based on the analysis. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction William Hugh Albright was bom on October 20,1944 in Gary, Indiana.1 His formal musical training took place at the Julliard School Preparatory Department from 1959 to 1962, and at the University of Michigan where he received three degrees (B.M., 1966; M.M., 1967; D.M.A., 1970). Albright studied composition with Ross Lee Finney and George Rochberg, and organ with Marilyn Mason. Further education included composition study with Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1970. Albright was the recipient of numerous awards and prizes throughout his career, including Fulbright Fellowships in 1968 and 1986, Guggenheim Fellowships in 1976 and 1986, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships in 1976, 1981, and 1984, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in 1970, and the Queen Marie-Jose Prize for his Organbook I. He joined the faculty of his alma mater in 1970 and achieved the rank of full professor in 1982. In addition to his teaching duties, Albright was Associate Director of the Electronic Music Studio at the University of Michigan, and also served as Music Director at First Unitarian Church of Ann Arbor for nearly 20 years. His untimely death came on September 17,1998 when he succumbed to liver failure.2 Evan Chambers, a fellow composer and friend of Albright’s, wrote that Albright was “one of the most gifted composers of our time. His death leaves a gaping hole in the world.. .”3 1 Biographical information, unless otherwise noted, is taken from the following sources: H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie, eds., The Afew Grove Dictionary o f American Music, v. 1, s.v. “William Hugh Albright” by Don C. Gillespie (London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 2001), 25-6; Brian Morton and Pamela Collins, eds., Contemporary Composers, s.v. “William Albright” by James E. Perone (Chicago: St. James Press, 1992), 8-10; and Stanley Sadie, ed., The New Grove Dictionary o f Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., v. 1, s.v. “William Hugh Albright” by Don C. Gillespie (London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 2001), 325-6. 2 Obituary: William Albright, The American Organist 32, no. 12 (December 1998): 37-8. 3 Evan Chambers, “In Memoriam William Albright,” Perspectives o f New Music 37, no. 1 (Winter 1999), 33. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Leslie Bassett said simply, “He loved music, loved composing it, playing it, thinking about it, had cherished it since childhood.”4 Despite these accolades from those close to him, the popularity and study of Albright’s music, while growing steadily, is still in its infancy. The existing literature on his music is relatively scant.5 Albright himself wrote about the music of others