Date of Award
2014
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
School of Music
Sub-Department
Music Performance
First Advisor
Scott Weiss
Abstract
The French Revolution witnessed the greatest output of music for wind band before the twentieth century. The importance of wind bands and wind repertoire grew for several reasons including, most notably, their participation in government sponsored outdoor national festivals. Festival celebrations were large gatherings in which wind band music was a central component. The French National Guard Band was the dominant musical ensemble in revolutionary France; its leaders, François Gossec, Bernard Sarrette, and Charles-Simon Catel, were among France's most important musical figures between 1789-1799. These men, in combination with music schools established in Paris during the Revolution, helped shaped the style and content of French national music for a decade.
Over 500 pieces were created for winds including many single movement pieces in sonata form. Many of France's most distinguished composers wrote music for wind band. These composers included Gossec, Catel, and Hyacinthe Jadin. This study has carefully selected three instrumental works, one from each of the preceding composers, as representative works of the period. Using primary sources from the National Library of Paris, critical editions have been created with optional parts for the purposes of modern performance. The editions are accompanied by a composer biography, information on each work's background and instrumentation, and a detailed comparative analysis. The study also contains information on instrumentation concerns with suggestions to aid in modern performance and a critical commentary list for each work.
Rights
© 2014, Adam Gary Kehl
Recommended Citation
Kehl, A. G.(2014). Critical Editions and Comparative Analysis of Three Representative Wind Band Works from the French Revolution. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/2578