Advisor
Malde, Melissa
Committee Member
Peercy, Norman L.
Committee Member
Luedloff, Brian Clay
Committee Member
Ehle, Robert C.
Department
Music
Institution
University of Northern Colorado
Type of Resources
Text
Place of Publication
Greeley (Colo.)
Publisher
University of Northern Colorado
Date Created
12-1-2011
Genre
Thesis
Extent
277 pages
Digital Origin
Born digital
Description
In his eight song cycles for soprano, American composer Richard Pearson Thomas offers soprano recitalists, their teachers and audiences a diverse palette of fresh, accessible repertoire. Mr. Thomas writes very idiomatically for both the voice and the piano, due in large part to the fact that he is an accomplished pianist who often collaborates with singers. Three of his cycles also include stringed-instruments: violin, viola and cello. Thomas' songs range from dark and dramatic to light and whimsical in nature; they also vary in musical complexity and technical difficulty. While some of the songs are appropriate for younger students, others, especially the chamber music cycles, are better suited for advanced performers. This dissertation explores the following cycles: A Little Nonsense, At last, to be identified!, Songs to Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Three Kisses, Race for the Sky, A Wicked Girl, Spring Rain and Twilight. These cycles include settings of poetry by Edward Lear, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sara Teasdale, Sylvia Plath, Hilary North, Alicia Vasquez and Christina Rossetti. It includes a biography of the composer, a thorough musical analysis of each cycle, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, transcriptions of two interviews with the composer and one interview with Lisa Radakovich Holsberg, a soprano who commissioned and premiered Race for the Sky, a complete list of works to date and a brief guide for performers, teachers and coaches in selecting repertoire from these cycles.
Notes
Dean's Citation for Excellence
Degree type
DA
Degree Name
Doctoral
People
Holdsberg, Lisa Radakovich
People
Thomas, Richard Pearson, 1957-
Language
English
Local Identifiers
Bateman_unco_0161D_10109
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by author.
