Identifier
etd-06132005-121320
Degree
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
Music
Document Type
Major Paper
Abstract
French composer Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) lived in Rio de Janeiro from early 1917 to late 1918 as an attaché to the French ambassador to Brazil. While there he discovered its popular music, in particular the works of the Brazilian pianist Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934). Milhaud was fascinated by the Afro-Brazilian syncopated rhythms that constituted Brazilian popular music, which according to Milhaud “helped me better understand the Brazilian soul.” Milhaud’s Brazilian experiences profoundly affected his compositional style and inspired several important works in this idiom. Upon his return to France, Milhaud composed a suite of twelve dances for piano entitled Saudades do Brazil (Longings for Brazil). This suite displays Milhaud’s skillful melodic writing and renowned polytonal technique. The goals of this project were 1) to create of a wind ensemble adaptation of selected movements of Saudades do Brazil, 2) to examine Ernesto Nazareth’s influence upon this work, and 3) to create a conductor’s interpretive guide designed to promote a stylistically authentic and musically satisfying performance of the work. The principal purpose of this project was to enhance the repertoire with a work from a composer of the early decades of the twentieth century, a time when few significant works were composed for wind band. By creating this adaptation, the author hopes to contribute a work of stylistic, historic, and musical significance.
Date
2005
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
Musgrave, Monty Roy, "A wind ensemble adaptation and conductor's analysis of selected movements of Darius Milhaud's Saudades do Brazil, with an examination of the influences of Ernesto Nazareth" (2005). LSU Major Papers. 32.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_majorpapers/32
Committee Chair
Frank Wickes