The Compositional Style of Horatio Parker as Demonstrated in Selected Cantatas

Abstract

Few musicians are familiar with the works of American composer, Horatio Parker (1863-1919), and those who know him likely are familiar only with his church music. This dissertation aims to bring attention to Parker and his secular choral output, specifically his cantatas. The author has chosen three representative examples of his dramatic secular works for choir and orchestra in order to examine the development of Parker's compositional style. They are The Ballad of a Knight and His Daughter (1884), Dream-King and His Love (1891), and A Star Song (1901). After a brief biography, the author pays particular attention to Parker's increasing use of thematic elements as well as the harmonic language and formal construction of the selected works. A course of development is demonstrated highlighting Parker's increasingly sophisticated use of themes and more chromatic harmonic language.