Award Date

1-1-2003

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Committee Member

Carol Kimball

Number of Pages

116

Abstract

This document is dedicated to the published songs of British composer Madeleine Dring (1923--1977). A look at Dring's musical background, upbringing, training, and career is followed by a close examination of her art songs for solo voice. A breakdown of her vocal works includes many musical examples. Dring, composer of works for solo piano, pieces for small ensemble, and for voice and piano, was quite active as a composer in the 1940s through her premature death in 1977. Few of her pieces for voice and piano were published at the time of her death. This study relates the journey of her widower, Roger Lord, in having Dring's pieces made accessible and recorded in hopes of their acceptance into the standard vocal repertoire; Assessment of each of the thirty-eight published and readily available art songs examines the texts, their specific musical challenges, and compositional devices. Mention of the other songs is included; This paper quotes and annotates many excerpts from Dring's letters, diaries and speeches. Ten photographs documenting her life are included. Also cited are excerpts from nearly four years of correspondence with Roger Lord; Appendices include lists of seventy-six musical examples, correspondence from Roger Lord to the author, a ten-year chronology of Dring's correspondence with Eugene Hemmer, a directory of the songs by title, and a list of photographs; Representing a direct link to the composer, this document is on a topic that has gone largely unnoticed in the United States.

Keywords

Art Song; Dring; Dring, Madeleine; England; Legacy; Lord, Roger; Madeleine; Organizing; Posthumous; Roger Lord; Songs; Women Composers

Controlled Subject

Music; Women's studies

File Format

pdf

File Size

2785.28 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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Rights

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