Dave Brubeck's The Light in the Wilderness: A Conductor's Analysis

Graves, Jim

Dave Brubeck's The Light in the Wilderness: A Conductor's Analysis

dc.contributor.advisor	Zielinski, Richard
dc.contributor.author	Graves, Jim
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Enrico, Eugene
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Ellis, Sarah
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Wakefield, William
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Banz, Martha
dc.date.accessioned	2017-06-16T15:50:12Z
dc.date.available	2017-06-16T15:50:12Z
dc.date.issued	2017
dc.date.manuscript	2017-06-16
dc.description.abstract	The Light in the Wilderness was the first sacred choral work of renowned jazz legend, Dave Brubeck. At the time of its premier in 1968 he was 47 years old and known only as a jazz pianist. It was the success of this piece that led to the composition of seventeen major choral works, seven choral fugues, more than sixty-five miscellaneous vocal compositions, and more than forty-two chorale/anthems. After breaking up his most famous quartet–including Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, and Eugene Wright–Brubeck dedicated himself to writing large-scale “Classical” compositions. Although his jazz trio/quartet performance break was short lived, his compositional output was considerable. The premier performance of The Light in the Wilderness received tremendous success and was soon taken on tour in Europe. A thorough analysis of this work reveals a creative sense of text driven thematic and formal development using a variety of compositional constructs. This document will provide a conductor’s analysis of the historical and musical material surrounding Brubeck’s oratorio, The Light in the Wilderness. Some analyses of this composition and other related material exists. This document expands and analyzes anew the work and provide a framework for a pedagogical approach to its preparation and performance. Correspondence with the Brubeck family and those who worked closely with Dave Brubeck contributes insights into the compositional mind of the composer and the musical commentary that he imbued on the scriptural text that was set. The Light in the Wilderness is a stunning composition that demonstrates Dave Brubeck’s expansive compositional breadth. Brubeck makes use of quintal harmonies, tone rows, modal melodies, polyrhythms, polytonality, and chromaticism throughout. He uses jazz style and harmony, world music, and improvised meditations. With all of these constructs in place Brubeck still manages to uniformly align his message and take the listener on a coherent journey through the temptations and teachings of Christ. Brubeck should be recognized for his significant contribution to the twentieth-century American choral-orchestral repertoire.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11244/50939
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Brubeck	en_US
dc.subject	Sacred oratorio	en_US
dc.subject	Choral	en_US
dc.subject	Choir	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	D.M.A.	en_US
dc.title	Dave Brubeck's The Light in the Wilderness: A Conductor's Analysis	en_US
ou.group	Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts::School of Music	en_US
shareok.orcid	0000-0003-2057-635X	en_US