The Victor Brass Quartet: Its Genesis, History, and Literature
Smith, Michael Kevin
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/85690
Description
Title
The Victor Brass Quartet: Its Genesis, History, and Literature
Author(s)
Smith, Michael Kevin
Issue Date
2001
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Elliot Chasanov
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
D.M.A.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Music
Language
eng
Abstract
This thesis examines the history, literature, personnel, and recording activities of the Victor Brass Quartet from 1901-1912. This study begins in 1856 with the musical activities of William Horatio Clarke, the famous American organist and organ builder, and includes biographies on the early years of William's sons Herbert L. Clarke, Edwin Clarke, and Ernest Clarke. The Clarkes' activities are traced to Indianapolis in 1884. Chapter two contains an account of the musical activities of the Clarke family in Indianapolis during 1884-1885, which includes William Horatio Clarke's involvement with the Plymouth Congregational Church as organist and musical director, and his sons' involvement with the Biessenhertz Band and English's Opera House. A biography of Walter B. Rogers, the famous cornetist and boyhood friend of Herbert, is included. Chapter three examines the history of the Schubert Brass Quartette (Walter Rogers and Herbert Clarke, cornets; Edwin Clarke, alto horn; Ernest Clarke, trombone) in Indianapolis during 1884-1885. The original quartet books of this ensemble are examined in detail. Chapter four documents the careers of Walter Rogers and the Clarke brothers from 1885-1904, which includes their association with the bands of Gilmore, Cappa, Sousa, and Neyer. Chapter five provides an overview of the early recording industry in America and includes the inventions of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Emile Berliner, and Eldridge R. Johnson as they relate to the formation of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Early recording equipment and the recording process are also discussed. The final chapter reveals the involvement of Herbert Clarke, Walter Rogers, and Arthur Pryor with the Victor Talking Machine Company. The recordings, activities, and personnel of the Victor Brass Quartet are examined, as well the relationship between the Schubert Brass Quartette Books and the recordings of the Victor Brass Quartet. The sources used to compile a discography of the Victor Brass Quartet are also included. The appendices include a complete discography of the Victor Brass Quartet, a compact disc of original Victor Brass Quartet recordings, and a complete score and critical edition of the Schubert Brass Quartette Books.
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