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Nationalism is commonly interpreted as evidence of an "inferiority complex," a kind of adolescent attitude on the part of a nation to assert itself in lieu of holding rank as a world power. A more kindly concept of nationalism defines it as a "declaration of independence," an inherent desire of a people to stand in their own strength. Nearly always the existence of nationalistic attitudes implies a need for unity and a desire for common ideals and values, for one tradition. Nationalism may also mean that a country possesses pride and self-respect, that it is aware of its own ability and creative worth.

The purpose of this study is to determine factors influencing musical preference. The most important factor related to preference for classical music is thought by some to be the cultural background of the listener. According to Lazersfeld, "there is probably no question so sensitive to socialize differences as listening to serious music." This is consistent with the opinion of musicians and music critics who state that discriminating musical taste is a result of frequent listening to good music.

The purpose of this thesis is to present an account of the endeavors of Carlos Chávez to reveal Mexican nationalism through music. The study begins with a brief survey of Mexico's history with emphasis upon the presence of caciquismo and caudillismo. Politically, Mexican nationalism is a blend of the dynastic nationalism of sixteenth century Spain and the popular nationalism of the late eighteenth century. Ethnologically, Mexican Nationalism includes elements of Spanish, Indian, and mestizo culture. During the century following Independence as well as during Spanish domination the art and music of both Indians and mestizos were thrust aside in favour of a culture of foreign importation. It was the Revolution of 1910 which directly stimulated a rebirth of genuine Mexican culture. Art, literature, music all had the precursors and their exponents. In music, Carlos Chávez early assumed the leadership.

It is seldom that a critical assessment of a writer's work can even attempt to be definitive during the writer's lifetime. It is even more rare when that writer continues as an active observer, participant and contributor in the humanities for two decades after publishing his last book and publicly announcing his retirement from writing. But such a writer is Carl Van Vechten. His first volume was published in 1915, his last in 1932. In those seventeen years he produced nineteen volumes, ten of them collections of essays on music and the arts, two devoted to the lore of the cat, and seven of them highly individualistic novels. Through them all, in addition to the genial personality of their author, runs the revolt and the search for release, the strength and the sickness of the unique American era that produced them.

Throughout the ages, man has found music to be essential in voicing his own innate sense of beauty. Music is not a thing apart from man; it is the spiritualized expressions of his finest and best inner self.

This thesis presents transcriptions into modern notation of a group of organ Magnificats and organ hymns contained in an early seventeenth-century manuscript of liturgical keyboard music which belongs to the Library of the Cathedral Chapter, Visby, Sweden. The principal objective of this thesis is to present in modern notation, compositions of Hieronymous Praetorius, Jacobus Praetorius and Johann Bahr. Heretofore, these organ works have been accessible only in their original manuscript form, written in the obsolete ‘new German organ tablature.’ New German organ tablature was the type of notation used in Germany from the middle of the sixteenth-century through most of the Baroque era. It consists of letters of the German alphabet, indicating pitch, and rhythmical signs placed over each letter or group of letters. There must be a reduction of these rhythmical signs by half in order for the compositions to be rendered correctly. One of the major problems in transcribing this taplature was the matter of deciphering, interpreting and editing. The Appendix lists places in the manuscript where negligence and carelessness on the part of the composer, scribe, or keeper of the manuscript have necessitated the reconstruction of certain passages. Points of interest, both musically and technically, are also cited in the Appendix. Probably the most perplexing aspect of the manuscript is the use of what are thought to be signs and symbols indicating ornamental embellishments. No explanation for the interpretation or execution of these signs and symbols was offered by the composer or scribe, and there are no comtemporary sources which deal with this problem. The importance of a project of this nature is that the music may now be stylistically and analytically studied and evaluated for more detailed knowledge of the era in which it was written. Also, it adds to the limited quantity of music available in modern notation of somewhat obscure composers. It may be assumed that the mus

The social practice of table music, i.e. music performed at banquets or meals, has not, apparently, been previously considered as a subject for organized research. The term is not even given an entry in many of the major musical dictionaries and encyclopedias; those which do include the term offer only surface and, in general, incomplete definitions. The present study, therefore, attempts to present a history of the social uses and types of table music from antiquity through the eighteenth century. The findings of the study are based on three sources of information: actual score examples of music composed for or performed at table, literary descriptions of such performances, and works of art depicting banquet or mealtime scenes in which musicians are present and apparently performing. The study of actual scores of table music has been limited in that the earliest discovered, specific table music dates from 1454, and such works are found in abundance only during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The feasts of the ancients were often enlivened by music. The Bible contains several accounts of such use of music. Egyptian wall paintings offer a most fruitful source of visual representations of banquet musicians. Among the Greeks, various types of mealtime singing were most popular. During the Roman era, music was a most important part of the lavish feasts of the wealthy, and excellent accounts of such meals are contained in the writings of several authors, the most famous of which being Petronius' description, in his Satyricon, of Trimalchio's dinner. From the later Middle Ages to the end of the Baroque period, table music served various functions. Prior to the meal, a call to table was usually given by music, and the guests were sometimes even escorted to the table by musicians. A concert was sometimes presented before the meal. During the meal, there were loud fanfares to announce each different course, and softer music while the guests were

Among the cultural forces of growing influence in America is the increasing scholarly and literary attention being given to the native American art form, Jazz. This dissertation will illustrate that Jazz owes its recognition to American literature and that all genres of the literature of Jazz have adopted an attitude of Liberal Romanticism in their treatment of Jazz. This attitude is in keeping with the outlook developed by the musicians themselves.

The symphony evolved from the Italian opera overture called the sinfonia. The earliest concert-symphonies were written in the 1730’s and 1740’s and exhibit the same formal traits as the opera sinfonias written at the same time. Both consisted of three movements in contrasting tempi: fast-slow-fast. Occasionally a minuet was substituted for the last movement and aby 1765 or 1770 the minuet became the third movement of the then standard four-movement plan: fast-slow-minuet-fast. Some movements, particularly the first in these symphonies demonstrate the growth of sonata form from the binary form common in Baroque dance movements. By the 1750’s and 1760’s the principle of the second theme was well established. The development sections were usually short in these early symphonies, consisting of restatements or transpositions of the initial idea with some modulatory passage work. Movements in which the development section was followed by a formal restatement of the first theme were fairly common in symphonies by the 1760’s. The Preclassical symphonies also illustrate important growths in idiomatic instrumental writing. The interchangeable part of the past began to give way to a part more characteristic of each instrument. The strings were given the melodic activity and figuration while the winds provided harmony and body. The woodwinds began to take on a more vocal and sustained part, often supplying the harmony on sustained notes. As the symphonies became more homphonically oriented and the writing of basso continuo parts declined, the brass supplied rhythmic punctuation, sustained harmony, volume, and color. George Christoph Wagenseil (1715-1777) was the leader of the Viennese Preclassical school of symphonic composers. Since only a small portion of Wagenseil’s output in the symphonic medium is available in modern edition it was necessary to obtain copies of the eighteenth century printed parts to some of his symphonies now located in the Bri