Graduate Studies

 

First Advisor

John Bailey

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.)

Committee Members

Ora Paul Haar, Tyler White

Department

Music (Flute Performance)

Date of this Version

5-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A doctoral document presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts

Major: Music (Flute Performance)

Under the supervision of Professor John Bailey

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, Sanda Mašić. Used by permission

Abstract

Flute pieces by twentieth-century Serbian composers Ljubica Marić and Enriko Josif are little-known gems of modern repertoire that are almost completely unknown outside Serbia. Unique in their styles, these works illustrate the composers’ close relationship to the Serbian culture in which they lived and the religions they practiced. In addition, these works reflect the time they were created in, and are, therefore, modern with a distinctive sound. This document presents a study of seven selected flute works by these two important Serbian composers, places them in historical context, and reveals influences from both Serbian religious music (Orthodox and Jewish) and Balkan folk music.

The first chapter of this document establishes the value of the works by Josif and Marić, the importance of this research, and very real research challenges: the works are in general only available in difficult-to-decipher manuscript, sometimes in copies not by the composer, with conflicting information, and these manuscript sources are hard to locate. Almost all important biographical and secondary material is in Serbian.

The second chapter presents biographical information for Ljubica Marić and examines three of her works: Song for the Flute, The Wondrous Milligram for flute and soprano, and The Flute Solo with Coda in Piano. Research on these three pieces provides formal analysis, motivic discussion, and possible programmatic aspects of composition (in Marić’s duet for flute and soprano). All three pieces were influenced by Serbian Octoechos, the tonal system for organizing Byzantine Chant of the Christian Orthodox religion, and therefore a brief review of the system and its history is provided, and the relationship between these three pieces and the melodies of Serbian Octoechos is clarified.

The third chapter of this document provides biographical information on Enriko Josif and discusses three of his pieces for solo flute: Psalmody 1, Psalmody 2, Ballade, as well as Monody, his duet for flute and harp. Research on these four pieces provides formal analysis, motivic analysis, and historical influence. For instance, Psalmody 2 was inspired by Psalm 137 (By the Rivers of Babylon) from the Hebrew Bible and its structure reflects this. A comparison of the two composers’ approach to composition concludes the study.

Advisor: John Bailey

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