Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sonatas (Guitar and harpsichord)'

Sonata transposed to D minor. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Apr. 25, 2005, Sept. 26, 2005, Nov. 27, 2006, and Oct. 13, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).

There is a puacity of original works from the Baroque Era for the guitar. Transcriptions, especially music originally for harpsichord, complement the guitarist's repertoire. Dominating the priviledged space in the guitar canon, represented by Baroque transcriptions, are the composers Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel and Domenico Scarlatti. Underrepresented in the Baroque guitar canon is the music of Spanish composers, most noteworthy, the harpsichordist Padre Antonio Soler, who composed more than 120 sonatas for his instrument. Music is culturally defined and it is clear, through an analysis of the keyboard works of Soler, that his music was imbued with the salient features of his place and time. There is an implicit connection between the guitar and the non-guitar music produced in Spain as guitar gestures are part of the national emblem; this study makes an explicit connection between the harpsichord music of Soler and the modern guitar. The Spanish Baroque style, epitomized by the works of Soler, provide a clear objective for transcription. The current study produces a transcription of Padre Antonio Soler's Sonata No. R.27 and Sonata No. R.100, as well as an analysis of the sonatas to facilitate interpretation for performance and an explanation of the transcription process. The lacunae of Spanish Baroque guitar transcriptions that exists in the repertoire will be partially filled by adding Soler to the distinguished list of composers that currently inhabit the guitarists's library.

Due to the limited repertoire for the guitar from the Baroque period, classical guitarists who wish to perform music from this era have to work primarily with transcriptions. Guitarists draw from various sources from this period such as vocal and instrumental music for the five-course guitar, lute and the harpsichord. Of these sources, the repertoire for the harpsichord is perhaps the most frequently arranged for various guitar formations because its textures are greatly similar to those of the guitar repertoire. As a result, harpsichord music tends to transfer well to the guitar. Baroque harpsichord composers such as Domenico Scarlatti, Johann Sebastian Bach, François Couperin, and Jean-Philippe Rameau-to name a few-have a permanent home in the classical guitar canon and represent the musical tastes and styles of Italy, Germany, and France. These composers exemplify the various stylistic differences between the above-mentioned countries; yet, the harpsichord music of Spain is largely underrepresented in guitar collections. One of the most noteworthy Spanish harpsichordists was Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783), who composed 120 sonatas for the instrument. When considering the ease with which some of his works transfer to the guitar, and specifically guitar duo, much can be gained by expanding the repertoire and exploring the Spanish Baroque style. The purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to present transcriptions of Antonio Soler's Sonata No. 85 and Fandango for guitar duo; second, to provide analysis of Sonata No. 85 with an emphasis on the intervallic features of the motives; third, to give an overview of the transcription process of Fandango for guitar duo while including a study of Spanish Baroque guitar and the appropriate stylistic effects drawn from its repertoire that can be incorporated in the arrangement.

The ornamentation in the keyboard sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti is investigated in light of evidence from late seventeenth and early eighteenth century Spanish treatises and collections. Additionally, calligraphic and statistical evidence from the earliest known manuscripts and printed source for the keyboard sonatas is explored. The study is focused on three ornaments--the appoggiatura, trill, and tremulo--and concludes that: the appoggiaturas in this repertoire were short unless cadential or present in a cantabile tempo, in which case they could be one-third to two-thirds the value of the resolution note; trills were begun on the main note unless preceded by a grace note; tremulo was usually an alternation of a main note with its lower neighbor note and this ornament is normally indicated at points of harmonic prolongation. The last chapter discusses general approaches to arranging these works for the guitar and the specific influence of ornamentation on the performance of the sonatas on guitar. Details from eight sonatas arranged for the guitar are used to exemplify the conclusions of the research.

This dissertation presents the ten sonatas for harpsichord written by American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987). The research aims to define the specific approach to musical style that Persichetti embraced in these works. The methodology employs an analytical approach to define that style. The introductory chapter places the harpsichord sonatas in the context of Persichetti’s keyboard repertoire and his general musical output and outlines the limited scholarly research available on the topic. The second chapter contains a short biography of the composer and a review of existing literature pertinent to this study. In the third chapter, the ten sonatas are individually analyzed. The concluding chapter summarizes common stylistic traits found in the analyses. It emphasizes the importance of these works for contemporary harpsichordists, denoting Persichetti’s passion for the rediscovered instrument in the last several years of his life. The stylistic elements found in Persichetti’s harpsichord sonatas include the use of classical forms, the preference for contrapuntal craft as exemplified accompanied melody, mirror technique, and complementary rhythms, the amalgamated harmonic language, the frequent use of polychords, the use of dynamic markings as indicators of the registration as well as for musical expression and the use of the full range of the harpsichord. This research references for the first time the composer’s Tenth Harpsichord Sonata, published posthumously in 1994.
School of Music

Johann Gottfried Eckard was a self-trained composer and keyboardist studying with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Versuch while he lived in Augsburg. Eckard traveled to Paris with the keyboard instrument builder, Johann Andreas Stein, in 1758 and settled in France for the rest of his life. Eckard only composed eight keyboard sonatas and a set of variations on the Menuet d’Exaudet. He published his works during the transitional period from harpsichord to fortepiano. The eight keyboard sonatas incorporated variations of musical styles which included Italian sonata, galant, and empfindsamer stil. His keyboard sonatas influenced his contemporaries including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Schobert. Eckard was one of the early fortepiano composers in France and tried to promote the new instrument, but wrote in the Foreword of six sonatas (op.1), that they were suitable for the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the fortepiano. The six sonatas of op.1 were published in 1763, two years after fortepiano was advertised for sale in the local newspaper. In 1768, the fortepiano was used in a public concert for the first time in Paris. In the aspect of performance practice, both harpsichord and fortepiano used juxtapose during the transitional period, even though the music would sound better on the fortepiano especially the slow movements in Eckard’s sonatas. The early stage of French fortepiano building was influenced by German keyboard instrument builders. In addition to building harpsichords, French builders, Taskin and Goermann, also started building fortepianos. Eckard was highly respected as both a composer and a performer from music critics in his time.

Comparatively few theoretical studies exist on the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. His music remains largely unexplored. This study investigates formal and functional aspects of the "first halves" in the Venice XIII collection (K 514--K 543) and reveals links to the aesthetics and traditions of his contemporaries. It suggests and examines relationships to the development of the sonata genre. To accomplish this, the study proposes a theoretical base for critical analysis and presents a specialised terminology to examine the features of mid-eighteenth-century sonata forms. The arguments of Michelle Fillion, J. P. Larsen, and Wilhelm Fischer are central to the discussion. Studies by William Caplin, Barbara Foster, Klaus Heimes, Ralph Kirkpatrick, and James Unger also contribute to the development of the theoretical base. An analysis section views the selected repertoire and some contemporary works according to the criteria the thesis establishes. An epilogue sums up pertinent observations made in the analysis section.

Os Sei solo â Violino senza Baßo accompagnato de Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1001-1006) têm sido transcritos para violão em movimentos isolados desde o final do século XIX e a transcrição (1934) da grandiosa Ciaccona pelo espanhol Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) tornou-se uma peça central no repertório para violão, sobretudo porque que a escrita para violino sofreu um redimensionamento na adaptação do violonista. Por outro lado, as abordagens do ciclo completo no violão têm se aproximado cada vez mais da escrita original para violino. Kazuhito Yamashita (1989), autor da primeira gravação do ciclo completo no violão, se mostra ainda influenciado pela prática segoviana de transcrição, mas Frank Bungarten (1988 - Sonatas/2000 - Partitas) chega a rechaçar a transcrição BWV 1006a, em que o próprio compositor adiciona baixos e preenchimentos harmônicos; Elliot Fisk (2001) segue o exemplo de Bungarten, realizando linhas de baixo apenas ocasionalmente e Timo Korhonen (2009- 2010) leva esse tipo de abordagem ao ápice, não fazendo adição alguma. Contrariando a tendência atual, a única referência coeva que temos de J. S. Bach tocando seus solos de violino é ao clavicórdio, adicionando quanta harmonia ele julgasse necessário, segundo seu aluno Johann Friedrich Agricola. Transcrições dele e de seus contemporâneos nos mostram que a prática de transcrição sempre envolvia a modificação da escrita original para violino tendendo uma maior elaboração polifônica da obra segundo os recursos da nova instrumentação (normalmente teclado ou alaúde). Ao se transcrever os Sei solo para o violão, a prática da época revela que uma pretensa fidelidade ao texto original é tão equivocada do ponto de vista estilístico quanto seria a versão de Segovia se essa fosse julgada fora dos padrões de sua época. Por outro lado, há gravações parciais dos Sei solo ao violão que seguem em maior ou menor grau as práticas de transcrição e de execução barrocas, além de várias gravações do ciclo completo por alaudistas e cravistas que não hesitam em transfigurar a textura original da escrita para violino, para a adequação da escrita aos seus instrumentos. O presente estudo visa estabelecer os fundamentos de uma prática de transcrição para violão dos Sei solo com base nas técnicas de transcrição e de execução do período da composição sem a pretensão de autenticidade ou fidelidade, mas como fonte de recursos de instrumentação (pela reelaboração da textura polifônica com adições de linhas de baixo e preenchimentos harmônicos) e de expressão (pela adaptação de recursos estilísticos essenciais como as articulações e os ornamentos). Em segunda instância, o estudo apresenta uma nova transcrição para violão dos Sei solo como exemplo de aplicação dos fundamentos de adaptação dessas obras.
The Sei solo â Violino senza Baßo accompagnato by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1001-1006) have been arranged for guitar as isolated movements since the end of the 19th century and the transcription (1934) of the great Ciaccona made by the Spaniard Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) became a central work on the repertory, mainly for he remodeled the violin writing when adapting it for guitar. In the other hand, more recent approaches of the cycle have been became progressively simpler and closer to the original writing for violin. The first recording of the cycle on guitar, made by Kazuhito Yamashita (1989), still shows influences of Segovia, but Frank Bungarten (1988 - Sonatas/2000 - Partitas) rejects even Bach\'s own transcription of the 3rd Partia, BWV 1006a, where the composer adds bass lines and harmonies; Elliot Fisk (2001) follows Bungarten\'s example, with few bass additions; Timo Korhonen (2009-2010) goes further and does not add any notes, relying just on the violin score. In opposition to today\'s tendency on guitar, the only reference we to Bach himself playing the violin Solos is on the clavichord, adding as much harmony as he considered necessary, as reports his student Johann Friedrich Agricola. Bach\'s and his contemporaries\' arrangements clearly show us that the change of the medium in a composition (usually violin or cello) always involved the modification of the original writing, generally having more polyphonic elaboration after the resources of the new instrument (normally keyboard or lute). The period\'s practice reveals that an intentioned fidelity to the original musical text in a guitar arrangement is as misplaced as it would be the Segovia\'s version when judged by today\'s standards. In the other hand, there are partial recordings of the Sei solo on the guitar that seek to follow the baroque\'s arrangement and performance practices. There are also several recordings of the whole cycle made by lute and harpsichord players that do not hesitated about changing the original writing for violin in order to adequate the works for their instruments. The present study aims to establish the adaptation principles of the Sei solo for guitar based on period\'s arrangement and performance practices with no pretention of reaching neither authenticity nor fidelity, but simply as instrumentation resources (when rewriting of polyphonic texture with additions of bass lines and harmonies) and expression resources (when adapting stylistic essentials like articulations and ornaments). The secondary purpose of this research is to exemplify an application of the adaptation principles by presenting a new arrangement of the Sei solo for guitar.

The guitar chord (a sonority based on the open strings of the guitar) is one of Alberto Ginastera's compositional trademarks. The use of the guitar chord expands throughout forty years, creating a common link between different compositional stages and techniques. Chapters I and II provide the historical and technical background on Ginastera's life, oeuvre and scholar research. Chapter IV explores the origins of the guitar chord and compares it to similar specific sonorities used by different composers to express extra-musical ideas. Chapter V discusses Ginastera's initial uses and modifications of the guitar chord. Chapter VI explores the use of the guitar chord as a referential sonority based on Variaciones Concertantes, Op. 23: I-II, examining vertical (subsets) and horizontal (derivation of motives) aspects. Chapter VII explores uses of trichords and hexachords derived from the guitar chord in the Sonata for Guitar Op. 47.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of North Texas, 2006.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Apr. 26, 1999, Apr. 24, 2000, Oct. 27, 2003, and Mar. 27, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-44).

The purpose of this document is to further the current research and encourage interest in the music of the Mexican composer Ernesto García de León. This paper will advance the current research with an in-depth analysis of the first movement of Sonata No. I, Op.13, Las Campanas (The Bells) for solo guitar. The analysis will focus on the pervasive presence of the melodic and harmonic intervals of perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and tritones as constructive devises throughout the sonata. This will provide interested performers a technical understanding of the composition. In addition to the compositional aspects, the analysis will be extended to consider the programmatic elements described by García de León. Select alternative fingerings will also be given to provide the interpreter options for difficult passages.

abstract: This project presents eight harpsichord sonatas, 3, 5, 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 21, by Sebastián de Albero (1722-1756), arranged for the classical guitar. These pieces were chosen because of the success of other eighteenth-century Iberian harpsichord music that has been arranged for guitar, including works by composers such as Domenico Scarlatti, Carlos Seixas, and Antonio Soler. The popularity and enjoyment of Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas on the guitar today was the inspiration for this project. Historically, guitarists have used arrangements as a means to expand the guitar's repertoire. The late eighteenth century, especially, was a time in which the instrument was undergoing significant changes from being a five-course instrument into becoming the standard six single string instrument of today. Also, composer/guitarists at that time were beginning to abandon tablature in favor of modern staff notation. Because of these changes, the amount of music originally written for the guitar from this period that is suitable to be played on a modern instrument is limited. I chose to focus on eight selected sonatas from Sebastián Albero's Treinta Sonatas para Clavicordio because of the influence of Domenico Scarlatti's harpsichord arrangements for solo guitar. It is intriguing to note that Albero and Scarlatti both held positions at the Spanish Royal Chapel for a number of years and, in this capacity, may have influenced one another in their musical compositions and style. Certain similarities are documented in this paper. Since Scarlatti's music has been successfully arranged, and is popular to play on modern guitar, it is hoped that these sonatas by Albero may enjoy similar success.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Music 2014

abstract: This is a solo guitar transcription of the first five movements, known as the "Joyous Mysteries," of the Mystery Sonatas by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, accompanied by a history of the sonata collection, an analysis of the process of translating a Baroque solo sonata to the guitar, and a guide for performance. The work was chosen because of its significance and popularity within violin repertoire, and the suitability of the solo sonata genre for performance on a guitar. The first section of this project addresses the history and appeal of Biber and the Mystery Sonatas. It is supplemented by a brief survey of guitar transcriptions of Biber's compositions, and the value of the present edition in modern guitar literature. The second section explores the process and challenges of arranging the Mystery Sonatas for solo guitar, followed by a summation of the general allowances and limitations the genre offers to arrangers. The third section focuses on performance practice issues encountered in adapting this series and other Baroque solo sonatas to the guitar. The project concludes with the arrangement, complemented with the original violin and continuo parts for comparison. Although instrumentations may force an arranger to impose speculative harmonies and countermelodies on a thin texture or sacrifice inner voices in a denser texture, the solo sonata's instrumentation of melody and continuo provides an effective balance. This style allows an arranger three important details: a clear and paramount melody, a flexible bass line, and harmonies with unspecified voicings. Similarly, the compositional freedom that Baroque composers allowed to performers also facilitates the arranging process and enables a variety of creative solutions.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Music 2014

abstract: Transcriptions and arrangements of works originally written for other instruments have greatly expanded the guitar’s repertoire. This project focuses on a new arrangement of the Suite in A Minor by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665–1729), which originally was composed for harpsichord. The author chose this work because the repertoire for the guitar is critically lacking in examples of French Baroque harpsichord music and also of works by female composers. The suite includes an unmeasured harpsichord prelude––a genre that, to the author’s knowledge, has not been arranged for the modern six-string guitar. This project also contains a brief account of Jacquet de la Guerre’s life, discusses the genre of unmeasured harpsichord preludes, and provides an overview of compositional aspects of the suite. Furthermore, it includes the arrangement methodology, which shows the process of creating an idiomatic arrangement from harpsichord to solo guitar while trying to preserve the integrity of the original work. A summary of the changes in the current arrangement is presented in Appendix B.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Music 2019

abstract: The current project is a study of five violin sonatas by the German Baroque composer Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755), arranged for guitar. The first part of the document is comprised of an overview of Pisendel's life and career as a virtuoso violinist, primarily focusing on his time of employment with the Dresden Hofkapelle during the Saxon-Polish Union. This section also examines the history and issues surrounding the Royal Court of Dresden's Schrank II (Cabinet II) music collection, which holds all of Pisendel's manuscripts. Although many of his works were previously lost or attributed wrongly to other composers, new research from the 2008 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) funded project: The Instrumental Music of the Dresden Hofkapelle at the Time of the Saxon-Polish Union aids in providing a comprehensive list and description of each of Pisendel's violin sonatas, either ascertained or conjectural. The second part contains arrangements of five selected violin sonatas for solo guitar. Together with the rationale pertaining to interpretive choices that were made in adapting each sonata for solo guitar, each work includes explanatory notes regarding its history and provenance. The analysis and arrangement of each sonata was conducted from facsimiles of the Schrank II manuscripts, which are currently available to the public through the Saxon State and University Library Dresden (SLUB) online database.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Music 2017

abstract: Arrangements of music from other instruments have always played a key role in expanding the guitar repertoire. This project investigates the life and work of eighteenth-century composer Antonio Soler (1729-1783), specifically his sonatas for solo keyboard. This study carries out a formal inquiry on Soler's influences, including a background of Soler's life and training, his connection with Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), and an overview of the eighteenth-century sonata in Spain. Timbres, articulations, tessitura, and other aspects of Spanish folk music are discussed as related to Soler's composition style. Five sonatas are analyzed in connection to Spanish folk music, and part of this study's focus was arranging the sonatas for two guitars: R. 48, 50, 60, 106 and 114. An overview of the current arrangements of Soler's sonatas for guitar is included in Appendix A.
Dissertation/Thesis
D.M.A. Music 2014

abstract: Guitar repertoire from the Baroque period consists primarily of transcriptions, which suggests that modern performers may explore more sources to identify eligible works to transcribe. The Musikalischer Parnassus, a collection of dance suites for harpsichord by Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656-1746), is worthy of such a transcription. This collection has high artistic value and possesses a range and texture that make much of it playable on the guitar. The purpose of this research project is to introduce Fischer and his works to the classical guitar community, and also to explore the artistic qualities of Musikalischer Parnassus that qualify it for transcription for guitar. This document addresses the transcription process of two selected suites: VI, Euterpe and VIII, Polymnia by Fischer. The outcome is an edition for guitar and a performance guide, which includes interpretations and stylistic considerations for each movement.
Dissertation/Thesis
it is the appendix for the dissertation
D.M.A. Music 2013

This study focuses on a guitar duo transcription of four keyboard sonatas composed by the north German Cantor, Christian Gotthilf Tag (1735-1811). While the works were never published and the original manuscripts are lost, the music survives in manuscript copies made by K.H.L. Pölitz, which have served as the source. After a brief discussion of the composer and his life, the author explores transcription techniques used in previous duo transcriptions. The study gives a detailed rationale for the editorial methodology used, with examples from the present transcriptions. A separate volume includes the sonata transcriptions laid out in parallel to the keyboard edition, and provides brief performance instructions, mostly regarding ornamentation. The four sonatas add up to a collective length (including repeats) of approximately 60 to 70 minutes of music.