We are very pleased to announce the new Masters Thesis on Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata by Clara María Blat Barrachina (Clara Blat) of Valencia, Spain! Clara speaks about the importance of Rebecca Clarke and her work with a particular focus on Clarke’s Sonata for viola and piano. Furthermore, Clara carries out a technical and pedagogical analysis of the viola part, based on surveys of viola teachers and students.
Below is the title and abstract as well as the first few pages of the Thesis and the OneDrive link to the full PDF thesis in Spanish.
Rebecca Clarke: Sonata, for viola and piano. An analysis about their study in higher education centers
Abstract
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) was a British violist, composer and musicologist with post-romantic and impressionist influences. In 1919 she finished her Sonata, for viola and piano, written for the composition competition of the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival, in Pittsfield (Massachusetts). One of the requirements was for the participants to present their compositions with a pseudonym. The Sonata was tied with a Suite, for viola and piano. Finally, the sponsor of the contest decided that the latter was the winner. After awarding the prize and revealing the names, Ernest Bloch turned out to be the winner, with Clarke in second place. At the end of the 20th century, thanks to genre music studies, Clarke’s works began to be recovered. In the theoretical framework of this research an analysis is offered about the life of the composer, her style, the genesis of her sonata, and the historical context in which it was written. In the practical framework, a comparative musical analysis is exposed, a compilation of the published editions and the recordings recorded in various instrumental dispositions. The experimental study gathers the methodological principles used by teachers and students from various higher education centres from Germany, Scotland, Spain, the United States, Netherlands and Poland.
Here you may read the full Masters Thesis! (For quick and easy translation, simply open the PDF document in Google Docs and select your desired language)
