THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE SCHOOL OF MUSIC CAPTURING THE CHARACTERISTIC: TRANSCRIPTION IN THE MODERN WIND BAND RYAN CZEKAJ SPRING 2019 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Music Education with honors in Music Education Reviewed and approved* by the following: Dennis Glocke Director of Concert Bands Thesis Supervisor Linda Thornton Professor of Music Education Honors Adviser Eric Bush Associate Director of Bands University of Iowa Faculty Reader * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the function of transcription in the modern wind ensemble. Data were gathered via the creation of an original transcription, interviews with Elgar scholars, a survey of the Big Ten Band Director’s Association, and an analysis of concert programs from Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) bands. Elgar’s Mazurka from the Three Characteristic Pieces, Op. 10 was transcribed for modified wind ensemble. Live interviews were conducted in July 2018 with ten Elgarians from a variety of musical backgrounds. All BTAA band directors were contacted and asked to complete a survey consisting of six open-ended questions, as well as submit concert programs for their ensemble(s) from fall 2013-spring 2018. Findings suggest that a modern transcriber must actively seek to capture a composer’s sound, through means such as a conceptual transcription and manuscript study. All Elgarians interviewed stated that the transcription of the Mazurka preserves the characteristics of Elgar’s sound. Out of twelve total characteristics of quality transcriptions listed by responding BTAA directors, 62.5% of respondents included “integrity of the music is preserved” and 56.3% included “transcription writes for winds with characteristic sounds”. Of the 1,909 performances catalogued in this study, 416 (21.8%) were transcriptions, with 297 (15.6%) being specifically transcriptions of orchestral literature. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... vi PREFACE .................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Transcription in the Wind Band ....................................................................................... 1 Sir Edward Elgar .............................................................................................................. 2 Elgar’s Three Characteristic Pieces, Op. 10 .................................................................... 4 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 5 Need for Study ................................................................................................................. 6 Questions .......................................................................................................................... 6 Limitations and Definitions .............................................................................................. 7 Procedures ........................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 “Mazurka” from the Three Characteristic Pieces, Op. 10 by Sir Edward Elgar: A Transcription for Wind Ensemble ..................................................................... 9 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 11 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 11 Results .............................................................................................................................. 15 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 3 Capturing the Characteristic: Scholarly Interview of Prominent Elgarians 20 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 21 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 22 Results .............................................................................................................................. 23 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 24 Chapter 4 A Survey of Current Attitudes and Philosophies Regarding the Programming of Transcriptions Among Big Ten Band Directors ............................................... 27 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 29 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 29 Results .............................................................................................................................. 30 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 5 Programming Trends of Big Ten University Wind Bands and Transcription Programming Practices ......................................................................................... 37 iii Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 39 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 39 Results .............................................................................................................................. 40 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 6 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 48 Appendix A Guiding Questions for Elgar Interviews and Transcription Survey. ...... 51 List of Guiding Questions for Live Interviews ................................................................ 51 Transcription Survey ........................................................................................................ 52 Appendix B “Mazurka” from the Three Characteristic Pieces, Op. 10 – Conceptual, Pure, and Final Transcriptions for Wind Ensemble .............................................. 53 Conceptual Transcription ................................................................................................. 53 Pure Transcription ............................................................................................................ 62 Final Transcription ...........................................................................................................76 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 90 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1: Four-part reduction of rehearsal [A] ..................................................................... 12 Figure 2-2: Rehearsal [A] of Elgar's published piano version of the Mazurka ........................ 13 Figure 2-3: Violins at m. 1, published score (1899) ................................................................ 16 Figure 2-4: Clarinets at m. 1, transcription .............................................................................. 16 Figure 2-5: Violins and violas, m. 93-94, original (1899) ....................................................... 17 Figure 2-6: Clarinets, alto sax, and euphonium, m. 93, transcription ...................................... 17 Figure 2-7: Primary theme in the clarinet (m. 11), published score (1899) ............................. 18 Figure 2-8: Primary theme in the clarinet (m. 11), The Elgar Complete Edition (2015) ......... 18 Figure 2-9: Primary theme in the clarinet (m. 11), manuscript ................................................ 18 Figure 2-10: Primary theme in the clarinet (m. 11), transcription ........................................... 18 Figure 4-1: Estimated number of transcriptions programmed per year ................................... 30 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1: Conceptual transcription of Mazurka, rehearsal [A] .............................................. 14 Table 3-1: Characteristics of Elgar's sound.............................................................................. 23 Table 3-2: Rationale for military band commission conjectures ............................................. 24 Table 3-3: Rationales affirming the presented transcriptions .................................................. 24 Table 4-1: Philosophy for including transcriptions .................................................................. 31 Table 4-2: Transcribers reported to be programmed with greater frequency .........................