Thesis Trickery

I have been thinking a lot about my master thesis.

At the end of the previous school year, I was set on writing my master thesis about a woman named Barbara Strozzi.  Now, I would not write it about her, but her music.  Specifically it would comment on a piece of hers.  And that piece would serve as an example accessibility of early music.

I love early music.  I find it to be very accessible in many situations.  The piece I found of hers was somewhat accessible, as long as not all parts are sung by the choir (a duet at the beginning would be a great addition).  It's only three minutes long.

Since the end of the previous school year, I have felt some doubts as to this thesis topic.  I find Strozzi fascinating, but I also understand that I should focus on the music, not the composer.  As much as I would love to write a thesis about her role as a woman composer, that does not really line up with my degree, which is in conducting.  I could comment on her role as an early woman composer, but it wouldn't be the main focus of my thesis.  Plus, not all of her music is accessible.  One has to sift through her other music (which is captivating, by the way) to find the accessible pieces, and I think this could be a point in my thesis (what makes it an accessible piece, what to look for and what to avoid, what logistical and musical concerns there may be).  Maybe this is how it goes with many early woman composers?  Many wrote for their own voice, so pieces tend to be based on solo voices than a group of people singing one or two parts.

The other option is to write a thesis on a piece written by Brahms.  I found two pieces I enjoy- Opus 17 and Opus 44.  I would rather have my women's choir sing Opus 44, plus it was written somewhat close to the German Requiem.  The 12 Lieder and Romances were written after Schumann died but before his mother, so it may make for an interesting analysis.  Or not.  Opus 17 was also written near the same time (both were written for female chorus).  The 4 Songs (for two harps and two french horns, plus SSA chorus) are beautiful.  The 12 Lieder are a little more demanding (4 part and a cappella).

I am not sure which is the best route.  I have already done much research on Strozzi and I love early music.  I also love Brahms, but have done no research.  I think Strozzi will be a harder sell to my teacher, but the other two people I want on my committee both are early music scholars.  I think adding to the field of early music will contribute to the early music field, but I could be very specific if I went with a Brahms thesis- I couldn't find any dissertations or thesis writings about either of those two women pieces.  It would be more specific, so maybe less applicable.  Brahms is free off of IMSLP.  Strozzi would be free if I put together a performance edition, but I don't know if I trust my skill at transcribing anymore, plus I'm worried about the additional time it would take because- what if I really remember nothing about transcribing?  There is one performance edition out there, I believe, which I could probably use, but I may not like it and it's not free.  Then there are the questions about which one would contribute more to the field and which one would look better on my future applications for jobs.

I find both of them very interesting, although I do fear that both will end up being incredibly boring to other people and therefore useless.

I need to have a discussion with my teacher about his thoughts... and with my graduate advisor.  I need to put together my thesis proposal before the second week of school so I can register to write my thesis. Time will be a LOT more crunched if I do the Brahms, but I don't want that to be an excuse to not do it.

I also wouldn't mind using one of the topics to put together an article for the Choral Journal.  Speaking of which, it seems as though I might be able to write repertoire reviews for the Choral Journal!  That's exciting, too.  I heard back from the guy in charge of reviews and he said he would be sending me some rep to review shortly.