Date Available
2-26-2018
Year of Publication
2018
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Fine Arts
Department/School/Program
Music
First Advisor
Dr. Angelique Clay
Abstract
The Niles-Merton Songs is a two-opus collection of twenty-two songs by John Jacob Niles setting the poetry of Thomas Merton. The songs are beautiful but contrast from his more popular works in poetry and composition. This project explores reasons why these songs are rarely performed, and gives an overview and analysis of ten selected pieces. The document includes a brief introduction, biographies of Niles and Merton, information detailing Niles’s compositional process, and the technical and artistic requirements for performing the songs, including appropriate age and voice type.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2018.054
Recommended Citation
Benningfield, Brittany C., "THE NILES-MERTON SONGS: A PERFORMANCE GUIDE OF SELECTED SONGS" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Music. 110.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/110
