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Jack Heggie's 2011 song cycle Pieces of 9/11: Memories from Houston is a collection of six songs with texts by Gene Scheer. Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, it was premiered on September 11, 2011 at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX. Based on interviews with people from Houston by Gene Scheer, this cycle tells stories and experiences by those affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Washington DC, and those aboard United Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Scheer's acclaimed storytelling in each song is beautifully set to varying styles of music composed by Heggie, with the familiar theme from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 woven throughout the cycle. This document is an in-depth look at the cycle to be used by vocal coaches and singers in their preparation and performance. The first introductory chapter is followed by a chapter detailing the song cycle from concept to fruition. The third chapter concentrates on the uses of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007. The fourth chapter discusses the six individual songs first by discussing the background of each text, then an analysis of the music, and concluding with the relevance to 9/11. Chapter 5 includes performance notes, gathered from interviews with Heggie, Scheer, and one of the girl sopranos, Ashley Traughber. Appendices include a timeline of events on 9/11, the three interviews, a chronology of Jake Heggie's vocal works to date, and the author's personal 9/11 story as I was just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center on 9/11.

This document is an outgrowth of my strong desire to gain a deeper understanding of Debussy’s musical style, as well as Jake Heggie’s, and to create a new connection in the existing literature. A recent arrangement of Trois chansons de Bilitis by Jake Heggie creates a vehicle which allows this study to connect the two geniuses. The first chapter is an introduction on the subject, followed by two chapters on Debussy’s, and Louÿs’ lives, where simple yet thorough biographies are established. The fourth chapter is focusing on the collaboration between Debussy and Louÿs, and the birth of Bilitis. Chapter five is an interpretation guide exposing compositional elements including, but not limited to, diction, primary sources, harmony, melody, rhythm, text, and formal structure, including topics most pertinent to performance practice. Chapter six is dedicated to Jake Heggie. The final pages of the document include a full musical score, Eugène Fromont’s first edition, with interpretation markings, suggested breaths, complete International Phonetic Alphabet, and an English translation. Also included is a lexicon, and, with Jake Heggie’s kind permission, a sample page of his arrangement of Debussy’s song cycle, published by Bent Pen Music. This document is intended to aid artists in the preparation of an informed performance of Trois chansons de Bilitis, the song cycle with piano or string quartet.

American composer Jake Heggie's For a Look or a Touch exists as the only classical music work of remembrance based on the topic of remembering homosexual victims of the Holocaust. The composer, after being approached by Mina Miller, wrote this 2007 composition as part of the Music of Remembrance concert series. The music of this work varies in style from a blazing swing dance to a haunting vocalise on "oo." Gene Scheer created the text, delivered in the work by the characters Manfred Lewin and Gad Beck, as a compilation of many influential stories from the documentary film Paragraph 175. For a Look or a Touch chronicles the horrendous treatment of homosexuals before, during, and after World War II. Chapters include an introduction to homosexual persecution during Hitler's reign, a look at current works of remembrance and how For a Look or a Touch came to fruition, an explanation of the texts created by Gene Scheer, a discussion on Jake Heggie's musical setting of this text, and avenues for possible future research. Appendices include text of the German anti-sodomy laws as written in Paragraph 175, the mission statement for the organization Music of Remembrance, transcripts from personal interviews with both Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, correspondence with Heggie, and the source delineation of Gene Scheer's text.

Jake Heggie, American art song and opera composer, began his association with Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ when he composed Dead Man Walking, an operatic adaptation of her memoirs. Though from two very different backgrounds, the two developed a deep friendship and spiritual bond that provided the impetus for further compositions dealing with spirituality. Heggie adapted Prejean's meditations as a text for his song cycle The Deepest Desire in 2002, producing what he considers to be his finest work to date. Using The Deepest Desire as a gateway, this paper explores the social and cultural aspects of their association, revealing their personal perspectives on their relationship, collaborations, and shared sense of spirituality. Chapters include the biographies and spiritual philosophies of both Heggie and Prejean, Heggie's compositional style, Dead Man Walking, a performance analysis of The Deepest Desire, and the continuing influence of the relationship between Heggie and Prejean on Heggie's work. The appendix includes transcriptions of personal interviews with both individuals, Prejean's original meditation texts, correspondence with Heggie, Prejean, and Joyce DiDonato, and performance notes for The Deepest Desire derived from a musical coaching with the composer.