UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE NIGHT SONG FOR TENOR AND ORCHESTRA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By JACOB FROST Norman, Oklahoma 2019 Instrumentation NIGHT SONG FOR TENOR AND ORCHESTRA A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC BY Dr. Marvin Lamb, Chair Dr. Konstantinos Karathanasis Dr. Jeffrey Swinkin Performance Notes © Copyright by JACOB FROST 2019 All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents iv Acknowledgements................................................................................................v Abstract..................................................................................................................vi Night Song for tenor and orchestra........................................................................1 Appendix I: Instrumentation..................................................................................56 Appendix II: Performance Notes...........................................................................57 Appendix III: Fair Use Analysis............................................................................58 References..............................................................................................................60 Acknowledgements v I would like to thank Dr. Lamb for his invaluable guidance during my time at OU in matters musical, professional, and personal, Dr. Karathanasis, for patiently guiding me though the unfamiliar techniques and processes of electroacoustic composition, and Dr. Swinkin, for opening my mind to new ways in which music theory can inform my compositional process. I want to express my gratitude to each one of these professors for serving on my committee and for their help in the preparation of this document. It has been a privilege to study with the music faculty at the University of Oklahoma, and I want to thank all of the professors here for guiding me into greater knowledge of and love for the craft of music. I am thankful to all of the teachers from throughout my education who have made an impact on me, especially my undergraduate composition professor, Dr. Carlyle Sharpe, who first taught me what it meant to be a composer and started me on the path that led me here. I also would like to thank my many wonderful colleagues at the University of Oklahoma who have supported, challenged, and accompanied me as comrades on my journey. My parents, Jim and Diana Frost, have been unwavering and unconditional in their love and support for me. I owe them a profound debt of gratitude that I cannot imagine ever being able to repay. To them and to my whole family go out my deepest love and thanks. Finally, for all things, thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the true Light-giver, who has not withdrawn His hand from the hands that reach out to Him, but has poured Himself out for us, and in whom this piece finds its fulfillment and its end. Abstract vi Night Song for tenor and orchestra is a setting of the poem “Night Song” from Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, translated into English by R.J. Hollingdale. The piece is 24 minutes in length, and is scored for lyric tenor (range D3-B4) and orchestra, with instrumentation as follows: 3(Picc.)-3(E.H.)-3(B.Cl.)-3(Cbsn.); 4-3-2(B.Tbn.)-1; Timp., 3Perc., Pno., Cel., Harp, Str. In Nietzsche's text, the speaker is the philosopher-prophet Zarathustra, who serves as Nietzsche's mouthpiece for the doctrines of the Übermensch and the Will to Power. Driven by these ideas and by the terrible knowledge of the Eternal Recurrence (the cyclicity of time), Zarathustra finds himself isolated and starved for human connection. "The Night Song" begins as a florid lament expressing sorrow in solitude and longing for true companionship but devolves into madness as the speaker’s thoughts turn inward on themselves, expressing the dark desires stemming from his isolation. In correspondence with the poem, two musical paradigms struggle for dominance throughout the piece; the first is melody-driven, lush, and triadic while the second is rhythm-driven, cold, and dissonant. The changing role of the tenor evokes this division. During the opening lament, the vocal melodies drive the harmonic and dramatic progression of the piece. When the text becomes more introspective, so does the vocal line: its range shrinks and its melodies fragment while winds and percussion take over the primary thematic material. This is meant to illustrate the illogical and destructive nature of the unbidden chatter produced by the mind lacking an outside object to focus its attention. The contrast between these musical paradigms explores the psychological dynamics of isolation implicit in the text and the way in which they relate to the intense but distant relationship of artist to audience. 1 Poetry by Friedrich Nietzsche Night Song Translated by R.J. Hollingdale for tenor and orchestra Jacob Frost Adagio con espressione (q=60) 3 Flutes ° 4 3 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 a 2 2 Oboes 4 3 j j j 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ 8 p English Horn 4 3 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 a 2 3 Clarinets in Bb 4 j j j j j 3 j j j j 6 & 4 ∑ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Œ Ó 4 ‰ #œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ nœ Œ Œ 8 p a 2 #œ œ œ œ 2 Bassoons 4 3 #œ 6 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ‰ J ‰ J ‰ J ‰ J 4 ‰ J Œ Œ ∑ 8 p Contrabassoon ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 3 ∑ ∑ 6 ¢ 4 4 8 3 3 3 3 3 j Horns in F I/II ° 4 ‰#œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ‰ ‰ #œ œ 3#œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ≈ #œ œ 6 & 4 Ó Œ ‰#œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ‰ ‰ #œ œ 4#œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ≈ #œ œ 8 3 3 3 J 3 3 mf mp mf mf mp mf mp 3 3 3 3 3 j Horns in F III/IV 4 ‰#œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ‰ ‰ #œ œ 3#œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ 6 & 4 Ó Œ ‰#œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ‰ ‰ #œ œ 4#œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Œ 8 3 3 3 J 3 3 mf mp mf mf mp mf j 3 Trumpets in C 4 3 ≈ 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Ó ‰ œ ˙ œ œ 8 œ ˙ ≈ œ œ mJf mp Trombone 4 #w nw 3 6 ? 4 ∑ 4 ˙™ b˙™ 8 mp Bass Trombone 4 3 6 ? 4 ∑ 4 8 #mwp nw ˙™ b˙™ Tuba ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 3 ∑ ∑ 6 ¢ 4 4 8 Timpani °? 4 3 6 4 ∑ #w ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 ¢ mf Percussion I 4 3 6 °/ 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 T.-t. j Percussion II 4 3 æ æ 6 / 4 ∑ w w 4 ∑ ‰ œæ ˙æ 8 mf pp mp Percussion III 4 3 6 ¢ / 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 Tenor Solo ° 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 3 ∑ ∑ 6 ¢& 4 4 8 ‹ 4 3 6 & 4 ∑ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ 4 bœ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 8 Harp p 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 6 ? 4 ∑ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 4bœ œ œ bœ œ œ 8 4 3 6 {& 4 ∑ 4 #œ œ œ œ œ œ 8 œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ Celesta p 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 6 ? 4 ∑ #œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ 4 œ œ œ #œ œ œ 8 Adagio con espressione (q=60) Violin I {° 4 3 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 Violin II 4 3 6 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 Viola 4 3 6 B 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 ∑ ∑ 8 div. pizz. Violoncello ? 4 #œ œ œ nœ œ œ 3 6 4 ∑ # œ œ Œ œ n œ Œ œ œ 4 œ œ œ Œ bœ œ 8 p pizz. Double Bass 4 #œ œ œ nœ œ œ 3 6 ? 4 ∑ Œ Œ 4 œ œ œ Œ bœ œ 8 ¢ p Music © Jacob Frost 2019 Text © Penguin Books 1961 2 6 2. 3 Ob. ° 6 j j j j j j 4 j 2 5 3 & 8 ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ #œ #œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ 4 ‰ nœ Œ œ œ œ œ œ 4 ˙ 8 œ #œ œ œ™ 4 3 J 3 mf f Cl. I/II 6 ‰ j ‰ j ‰ j j ‰ j Œ™ 4 ‰ j ‰ j ‰ j ‰ j 2 j ‰ j 5 j ‰ j ‰ 3 & 8 #œ œ œ #œ #œ 4 nœ œ œ œ 4 #œ #œ 8 #œ #œ 4 3. 6 6 6 Cl. III 6 ∑ ∑ 4 Œ ‰ ‰ ‰™ 2 ‰ ‰™ 5 ‰ ‰ 3 & 8 4 œ œ œ œ 4 #œ #œ 8 #œ #œ œ œ 4 p #œ œ œ #œ œ#œ #œ œ#œ œ 2. #œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ #œ œ œ Bsn. ? 6 ∑ ‰ ‰ J ‰ J ‰ 4 ‰ J Œ J 2 5 ™ 3 8 4 3 3 4 8 3 4 mf f Cbsn. 6 j 4 2 5 3 ? 8 ˙ œ œ œ 4 4 8 4 ¢ ™ ™ w #˙ œ œ™ 3 3 3 3 j j j j j Hn. I/II ° 6<#>œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ 4#œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ ‰ 2 ∑ 5 ∑ 3 & 8<#>œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ 4#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 4 ˙ 8 œ #œ œ œ 4 J 3 J J 3 J 3 3 ™ mf mp mf f 3 3 3 3 3 3 j j j j C Tpt.