Dissertation Index
Author: Francis, Timothy P Title: Modal Prolongational Structure in Selected Sacred Choral Compositions by Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams Institution: University of Oregon Begun: January 2013 Completed: June 2012 Abstract: While some composers at the beginning of the twentieth century drifted away from tonal hierarchical structures, Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams sought ways of integrating tonal ideas with new materials. By analyzing the music of Holst and Vaughan Williams using a technique expressly designed for the analysis of tonal musical structure—Schenkerian Analysis—this study looks at ways in which the composers combined old and new techniques and what that means with regards to our understanding of their music. To do this, the current study focuses on the sacred choral repertory because it can form a stylistic bridge between nineteenth-century tonality and the composers’ more experimental works. This repertory also provides an opportunity for interpreting text-music connections that help us understand the music at a deeper level. In order to establish groundwork for the analytical methodology, I begin the study with background information on the composers and previous research done on their music, after which I summarize their most pertinent stylistic features (including their use of diatonic modes and other pitch collections, their harmonic, melodic, and contrapuntal techniques, and their formal structures). I then discuss how an analyst can determine prolongational structure in Holst’s and Vaughan Williams’s music by establishing the tonic or pitch-class center, establishing the context for harmonic and melodic stability, and following formal patterns. Finally, I apply the analytical methodology in detail to Vaughan Williams’s _Benedicite_ and Holst’s _The Hymn of Jesus_, two substantial single-movement choral works that represent both the conservative (Benedicite) and experimental (The Hymn of Jesus) sides of the composers’ style. The modified Schenkerian analytical techniques used in these analyses show that even though Holst and Vaughan Williams used a number of twentieth-century compositional techniques, their prolongational structures still follow expected patterns and closely resemble traditional structures. Keywords: HOlst, Vaughan Williams, Schenkerian Analysis, Prolongation, Sacred, Choral, Diatonic modes TOC: Introduction Style and Technique in Vaughan Williams\'s and Holst\'s Sacred Choral Music Applying Schenker\'s Analyticla Technique Vaughan Williams\'s _Benedicite_ Holst\'s _The Hymn of Jesus_ Conclusion Contact: Dr. Timothy Francis Assistant Professor of Music Dixie State University 225 South 700 East Saint George, Utah 84770 (435)-652-7789 tpfmusic@gmail.com |