Collaboration and the creation of a new piece of music : an analysis of the roles played by composer, poet, and singer in William Bolcom's Briefly it enters for soprano and piano
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Date
2012
Authors
Sinnott, Rachel
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts
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Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Fine Arts
Abstract
This document looks at American composer William Bolcom’s song cycle Briefly It Enters, from a collaborative standpoint. The cycle was written with soprano Benita Valente in mind and the poetry is taken from the work of American poet Jane Kenyon. Chapter one of the thesis offers a brief history of the practice of writing for specific singers among composers in Europe and the United States. Chapter two provides biographical information about the participants involved in the project. The third chapter narrates a timeline of events leading up to the work’s premiere; chapter four is a musical analysis of the cycle from a singer’s standpoint. Included within chapter four are ideas about the poetry, vocal considerations for Valente, and the effect of Kenyon’s death upon the creation of this work. The fifth chapter provides insight for performers who wish to learn and perform this cycle in the future.
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Keywords
collaborative composition , Valente, Benita , Kenyon, Jane , Bolcom, William , contemporary classical music , voice and piano compositions , serious art song , song cycle