OLD BECOMING NEW AGAIN: A FORM-FUNCTION AND NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS’ 'FANTASIA ON A THEME OF THOMAS TALLIS'

<p>Ralph Vaughan Williams, a leading figure in the early twentieth-century movement to preserve traditional English music, composed <em>Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis</em> as a tribute to his love of Tudor music and English folksong. The piece is based on a psalm setting by Thomas Tallis, known as the Third Mode Melody, which features the Phrygian mode. Vaughan Williams discovered this theme while researching for the new <em>English Hymnal</em>. A brief history of the Tallis theme, along with an exploration of Vaughan Williams' education and early endeavors as a composer, are critical to understanding the <em>Fantasia</em>'s historical and musical context.</p> <p>This study analyzes the overall form of the <em>Fantasia</em>, with particular focus on two key transitional sections and their various interpretations by other analysts. It presents a new analysis of the piece alongside previous scholarly interpretations. The study also examines the musical sentence structure of the <em>Fantasia</em> and its impact on the form, as well as the role of musical narrative in shaping dramatic tension through the use of diverse modalities. These shifts in tension are analyzed using narrative curves, which are explored in detail within the context of the work.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Music

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Music

Year dc:date.available

2024

Author dc:creator

• Sager, Aileen E

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Alexander Amato
• Dr. Samantha Inman
• Dr. Stephen Lias

• form
• sentence
• narrative
• curve
• modality
• fantasia
• bridge
• Composition
• Musicology
• Music Theory

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/575

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1622