Identifier

etd-04092007-102150

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Music

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem (1868) has been the focus of much scholarly research. The present study focuses specifically on the work’s dialectic: the presentation and resolution of a conflict between mortal suffering and eternal joy. It takes an Schenkerian approach to the tonal content of the piece, which provides a musical reflection of the human spiritual journey to the afterlife. It examines how Brahms brings his chosen texts to life with the aid of musical processes such as mixture, register transfer, coupling, covering lines, and contrasting textures. The present study will cite previous authors who have noted the opposing forces in the Requiem’s construction. To the wealth of theoretical and historical writing about Brahms's Requiem the present study will contribute an Schenkerian account of musical processes that are integral parts of the work's philosophical dialectic.

Date

2007

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Jeffrey Perry

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1501

Included in

Music Commons

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