History and criticism

Three original suites, composed during 2008-2009, are presented and discussed with respect to form, style, and compositional techniques. The subjects are Suite No. 1 (clarinet and piano), Suite No. 2: For Paul, A Master of Music (clarinet, piano, double bass and drums), and Suite No. 3: L'Chaim (two clarinets, flugelhorn, French horn, bandoneon, piano, violin, and cello). Common to all three pieces is the inspiration of klezmer, a Jewish music genre that, during its reemergence over the past thirty-five years, has welcomed the influence of other musical styles. In keeping with the eclectic nature of klezmer, each suite builds upon the previous one with regard to instrumentation, style and technique, and embraces additional genres (jazz and tango). Brief reviews regarding the history and musical characteristics (including modes, ornamentation and improvisation, song types and instrumentation) for all the included genres are also presented for the benefit of compositional context.

Scholars of the literary depictions of lynching have given the majority of their attention to the emasculation of the black male, but the representation of the black female lynch victim has been overlooked. My thesis examines the deaths of black women that had the same effect as lynching practices used against men. This specific literary form of lynching will concentrate on two plays: Mary P. Burrill's They That Sit in Darkness (1919) and Marita Bonner's Exit: An Illusion (1929) and two novels by Toni Morrison, Beloved and Sula. Considering the contours of these black female deaths we can expand the traditional definition of lynching to include the black female lynch victim. The aspects that make her death a lynching are encased in more subtleties than a traditional definition of lynching allows for, and less visible.

Stanislaw Moniuszko (1819-1872) is the father of the Polish national opera, and yet he is little known outside Poland. His two masterpieces, Halka and The Haunted Manor, are operatic works that contributed to the development of national music. Moniuszko composed during the middle of the nineteenth century when Poland was under control of the three Powers: Russia, Prussia, and Austria. A study of Polish history reveals the understanding of Moniuszko's position as an artist and the role of his operas. The national elements portrayed in his compositions include Polish dances, such as the polonaise, mazurka, and krakowiak, as well as folk tunes, and most importantly, the libretto with social and patriotic stances. This thesis intends to enlighten English speakers about the development of Polish national opera, its innovator, and his techniques.

The physical sale of music and the effectiveness of traditional media are expected to continue to decline, challenging marketers to develop new methods to create awareness about music. Although music sales are declining, interest in music is healthy, and strongest amongst the American young adult market - between the ages 18-34. This marketing plan uses traditional and innovative techniques to capture the attention of the target market, which is more culturally diverse and technologically advanced than any previous demographic.

When John Cage invented the prepared piano in 1940, he created a sound world and body of music unlike anything heard before. The innovative music he wrote for prepared piano requires a completely new approach to performance, and expands our understanding of the piano's capabilities. This study will examine the main prepared piano works by John Cage, with a detailed analysis of the Sonatas and Interludes. Cage's Table of Preparations will be examined to establish an aesthetic rationale for this preparation. Different modes of listening will be explored through a selection of the Sonatas and Interludes recorded in three different technological systems - conventional AB 2.0, surround 5.1, and Disk Jecklin. The latter allows for a true "surround sound" experience as Cage himself might have heard his own pieces. Included is a compact disc of selections from Sonatas and Interludes recorded in each of the three technological systems.

There remain two recurring criticisms of John Updike's fiction. The first comes from feminist critics who condemn his negative portrayal of women, accusing his fiction of denigrating women. The second comes from late twentieth century critics who accuse him of avoiding political and historical discussions in his fiction. However, it is my contention that Updike is willing to address both of these concerns, and I arrive at such an argument by carefully analyzing his collection of short stories compiled in Too Far To Go: The Maples Stories. Within these stories, Updike's female characters illustrate the shifting gender paradigms over the course of the fifties, sixties, and seventies amidst the middle-class, suburban American milieu. Updike's women act as agents of history providing testament to the shifting gender paradigms and historical, cultural, political, and social milestones of a maturing country and its growing pains.

This thesis demonstrates how some women used the power of their ancestry and family name to run for political office, to become a positive role model for other women, and also to help pass laws favorable to the improvement of gender equality. Edna Pearce Lockett was unique, but also a reflection of the values of her community. Women who ran for office tended to have strong male figures in their lives that treated them as equals. They often were savvy enough to use the novelty of their gender to encourage positive press. Far from trying to be men, they accentuated their femininity through press accounts detailing their fashion sense, their dedication to feminine pursuits, and their ability to be ladies as well as serve their constituency. Edna Pearce Lockett's life also illustrates what society was like in central Florida during the first half of the 20th century for men and women living on and around the cattle industry.

The genre of the "picaresque" (romances of roguery), which were popular in sixteenth-century Spain, contain the literary type of the "picaro" or rogue, which can appear at times as a "student." The current work presents the historical context of the Spanish university and of the student's life as well as the representation of the "student" in several picaresque novels, namely, Mateo Aleman's El Guzman de Alfarache, Vicente Espinel's Marcos de Obregâon, Jerâonimo de Alcalâa y Yâanez's El donoso hablador, and Francisco de Quevedo's El Buscâon, in order to contrast the social reality of the student and its literary representation. The literary character of the "student" does not depart only from its reality. Its characteristics are based on the student stories from the oral medieval tradition, a residual cultural elements, as described by Maxime Chevalier, as well as the emerging picaresque narratives.

Paule Maurice (1910-1967) is the little known composer of Tableaux de Provence: Suite for Saxophone and Orchestra, one of the most frequently recorded and studied classical saxophone compositions in history. A more in depth study of Paule Maurice reveals a talented composer and dedicated professor whose career at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and l'Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris spanned over twenty-five years until her untimely death at age fifty-seven. Maurice composed for theatre, ballet, French National Radio, orchestra, voice, piano, flute, clarinet, and saxophone. There is question as to the whereabouts of many of her manuscripts. This thesis attempts to bring to bear the life and accomplishments of a talented French composer not well remembered in music history.

The presence of music, especially in the form of freedom songs, is a notable constant in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Participants sang spirituals and freedom songs everywhere in the South - at mass meetings, demonstrations, and in jails. An engaging and participatory activity, singing unified, empowered, and historicized activists, allowing everyone an opportunity to be included in the action. Without these songs, the African-American communities across the South may not have been able to band together to become such a force for change; while the activists were the facilitators for progress, the songs were the inspiration. Freedom songs democratized the Civil Rights Movement, enabling the participation of ordinary people at a grassroots level, therefore creating a strong mass movement.