DOCUMENT RESUME ED 065 445 2 14 SO 004 686 AUTHOR Shull, Carl N. TITLE The Development of an Annotated Guide to Music by Distinguished Composers for Children's Voices. Final Report. SPONS AGENCY Office of Education (DREW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of Research. BUREAU NO BR-9-13-120 PUB DATE 15 Oct 70 GRANT OEG -2 -9-480 -120-1064 -010 NOTE 218p. EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$9.87 DESCRIPTORS *Annotated Bibliographies; *Choral Music; Elementary Grades; Music; *Music Education; *Vocal Music ABSTRACT Since earlier research revealed a general scarcity of song materials, this annotated bibliography of vocal music composed for elementary children's voices by a number of distinguished 19th and 20th century composers was compiled. Correspondence with contemporary composers served as a main source of data but composerst biographies, music dictionaries and periodicals, publishers' catalogs, and lists of published music were also used..Over 500 titles of songs are arranged alphabetically, first by composer and then alphabetically under each composer by title. The original compositions vary from four measures of very easy melodies to long musical forms of considerable difficulty written for professionally trained choirs, and from functional, diatonic styles to avant garde and expressionistic styles. In order to assist users in determining appropriate compositions for their groups, analytical annotations include information on musical and textual characteristics, and each composition has been assigned a ranking of difficulty using a scale of five degrees. Information on textual source, language, content, and publication is provided. (S7M) jeif-/c2 /49 c_S FINAL REPORT Project No. -B-120 ,1,41,1614919,1 Grant No. OEG-2-9-480120-1064 (010) THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO MUSIC BY DISTINGUISHED COMPOSERS FOR CHILDREN'S VOICES Dr. Carl N. Shull Music Department Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 17022 Pia . --* October 15 1970 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research U.S. DEPARTMENTOF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLYAS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATKM FINAL REPORT ORIG- INATING IT. POINTSOF VIEW OR OPIN- IONS STATED DONOT NECESSAMLY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU- CATION POSITION ORPOLICY Project No. 9-B-120 Grant No. OEG-2-9-480120-1064 (010) THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO MUSIC BY DISTINGUISHED COMPOSERS FOR CHiLDREN'S VOICES Dr. Carl N. Shull Music Department Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 17022 October 15, 1970 The research reported herein was performed pursuant to a grant with the Office of Ed- ucation, U. S. Department of Health Educa- tion, and Welfare. Contractors undertaking such projects under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their pro- fessional judgment in the conduct of the project. Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore,' necessarily represent official Office of Education position or pol- icy. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SUMMARY 1 CHAPTER I. Introduction 3 Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Research Research Procedure. Annotated Guide to Music by Distinguished Composers for Children's Voices 10 Alphabetical Listing of Composers and Compositions Key to Publishers and Sources Index of Composers Index of Titles Conclusions 212 Conclusions Recommendations REFERENCES 215 3 SUMMARY The basic research problem involved compiling an annotated guide to music by distinguished composers for children's voices. Need for such a study was founded on the premise that a small percentage of songs in American elementary school music series are by well-known composers and the great majority of these songs were not originally intended for children to sing. A survey of current music education textbooks also revealed a general lack of pro- fessional knowledge about the existence, scope, and nature of such music. Music included in the guide are original works by nineteenth and twentieth century composers, who have achieved sufficient status to be listed in one of the standard biographical dictionaries of musicians. The music listed includes a few songs or collections involving action or dancing, but dramatic works, arrangements of folk music, and music using adult and children's voices in combination -have not been included. While most of the compositions are intended for children comparable in age to American elementary school children, some music (espe- cially that written for boys' voices and certain European schools) was intended for choirs in which older children participate. Correspondence with contemporary composers served as one main source of data but composers' biographies, music dictionaries and periodicals, publishers' catalogs, and lists of published music were also investigated. Research revealed an extensive number of composi- tions varying in geographical origin, musical style, and complexity. The majority of composers are from the United States and Europe, the compositions vary from four measures of very easy melodies intended for pre-school or early grade children to long musical forms of considerable dif- ficulty written for professionally trained choirs, and the musical styles vary from those of a functional, diatonic type to those in avant garde and expressionistic styles. An analysis of the musical and textual character- istics was made, and each composition or collection has been assigned a.ranking of difficulty using a scale of five degrees. Information about textual source, language or languages used, and a brief description of content has been provided along with publication data or other sources from which scores were secured. -1- In making each analysis the investigator attempted to approach both music and texts objectivelylin order to provide a description which would assist those persons using the guide to determine compositions that appear to be appropriate for their groups.) Statements as to the investigator's personal preferefiCes of specific composi- tions or composers have been omitted on the assumption that teachers, knowing the abilities, interests, and needs of their classes, should make their own judgments as to the possible usefulness and values of any individual music composition. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Statement of the'Problem Ever since the first elementary School music series of Luther Whiting Mason was made available to American teachers in 1860, a number of such series have been pub- lished to provide various types of materials for classroom instruction. Over the years the publishing companies have produced new or revised editions of these instructional materials in order to meet current professional needs, to provide series compatible with prevailing educational philosophies, and to provide music and texts within the contemporary interests of children. These school music series have included songs of various types from diverse sources, but not always in balanced proportion. In one study of elementary music series a researcher found that approximately thirty to fifty percent of the series published between 1920-1940 consisted of folk materials and of those published in the 1950's approximately seventy-five percent were folk songs.1 This increase in appearance of folk materials came as a result of publishers' and teachers' opinions that folk songs were the most interesting and appropriate music for school children. A subsequent study found, however, that primary grade children preferred folk songs only a little better and disliked them a little less than composed songs. For upper elementary grades, the evidence gave no support to the frequently expressed belief that folk Tusic possessed extraordinary attractions for chil- dren.4 1ElizabethE. Dominy, "Music Textbooks in Elemen- tary Education - The Appropriateness of Current Textbook Material in Relation to the Aims and Purposes of Modern Elementary Education" (Unpublished Ed. D. dissertation, New York University, 1958). 2Dorthea Blyler, "The Song Choices of Children in Elementary Grades," Journal of Research in Music Educa- tion, Vol. VIII,,No.=-3Prng,03.-. -3- Of the relatively small percent of songs by famous composers included in elementary series since 1950, the majority are complete, arranged or excerpted art songs, parts of arias or portions of major choral works, most of which were originally composed for adult voices. Many of the remaining composed songs were written especially for specific series by editors or other persons, frequently for as much a pedagogical as an aesthetic value. A brief perusal of some more recently published series reveals no significant change in the basic contents, although a few series have included biographical material about and a few compositions by one or more contemporary composers along with some composers of past periods. The general scarcity of song materials by well- known composers in the music series has its corollary in textbooks designed for music and classroom teachers, many of which rarely mention or elaborate upon the potential values of music by famous composers. A few music educa-, tors including L. Eileen McMillanl and Maurine Timmerman4 have pointed to the importance of having children acquainted with compositions of known composers, but most of the authors refer to art songs of great composers and not to music composed specifically for children. Other educators like Charles Fowler3 have stated in rather emphatic