Date of Award
1986
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
The works analyzed in this report--Mosaic, Divergents, The Seventh Seal, To Be Fed By Ravens, and Kaddish--were selected by the composer, W. Francis McBeth. Each of these compositions is analyzed according to the following criteria: instrumentation and scoring, harmony, melody, rhythm, form, and rehearsal and performance problems. A short introduction to each analytical chapter includes background information on the composition under investigation. Errors in the full and condensed scores, as well as the individual parts, of each work for wind band are listed in the introduction to the final section of each analysis. The rehearsal and performance problems discussed by this investigator include problems of precision, intonation, balance, and interpretation. A biographical chapter precedes the theoretical analyses and includes major events in the life of McBeth which have influenced his professional career as a composer, conductor, teacher, and musician. This research report is divided into four volumes. Volume one includes the introductory chapter, review of related literature, biography of McBeth, and analyses of Mosaic and Divergents. Volume two, on the other hand, includes analyses of The Seventh Seal and To Be Fed By Ravens. The analysis of the final work, Kaddish, appears in the third volume along with the summary, conclusions, and recommendations. The fourth volume contains the condensed and full scores to each wind-band composition analyzed in this report. The conclusions by this investigator include techniques of composition which are characteristic of McBeth's musical style in the five works analyzed in this dissertation, such as the rare use of individual solos, the use of open parallel-fifths as a sonorous scoring technique, parallel chord progressions, frequent and extreme dynamic contrasts, use of polydynamics, use of polychords, polytonality/polymodality, an economic use of compositional materials, secundal harmony, use of inverse-chord and regular-chord pyramids, use of ostinato rhythmic structures, and the use of organic growth as an aspect of form.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Richard James, "Theoretical Analyses and Practical Applications to the Rehearsal and Performance of Selected Wind-Band Compositions by W. Francis McBeth. (Volumes I-Iv)." (1986). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 4205.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/4205
Pages
1179
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.4205