New publication

 From a recent Facebook post:  

I just published an essay "American Songs, 1900-1930" as part of a series on ascending and upper-register cadence gestures. I was inspired by Michael Buchler's engaging and insight-filled work on this repertoire. https://hdl.handle.net/2152/136686

Marion Bauer, The Linnet

From March 2026: A post with information and links to galleries of simple ascending lines and to other essays of mine published on the Texas Scholarworks platform: link.

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Marion Bauer, "The Linnet is tuning her flute" (1915). In the beginning, full exploitation of the pastoral ^6. See the long-note pattern in the voice, the ^5-^6-^8 that is then echoed and filled out in the subsequent ascending cadence. The song is brief: this is the first verse of two, where the second has the same music. 

It really is quite remarkable how often one finds a "diversion" from ^7 in the ascent or, of course far more often, from ^2 in the descent, going back at least to the clichéd cadences of the mid- and later 18th century.

Pauline Viardot, two songs from the 1890s

From March 2026: A post with information and links to galleries of simple ascending lines and to other essays of mine published on the Texas Scholarworks platform: link.

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IMSLP page for "C’est toujours lui," VWV 1159: link. From a manuscript in the Houghton Library, Harvard University; obviously a fragment though musically  complete, but I know nothing more about it. The modern notation is by Pierre Girod. A mirror line, beginning from ^8 with a clear descent to ^5 in bars 6-8, then an even more pronounced, direct linear ascent in bars 13-16.

"Bonjour mon cœur!" is decidedly more complicated. Also a fragment, at least in the sense that it sets only the first verse of Ronsard's famous poem, this has one of the most tangled approaches to a structural cadence I have seen in any repertoire. Therefore, I have worked out three readings of the more abstract levels of melodic direction. These are a bit retrogressive as they are the well-worn three possible Schenkerian readings one teaches students to make: from ^3, from ^5, and from ^8--but they do the job for the present purpose. The harmonic reduction is mine. 

Score for page 1. The IMSLP page for "Bonjour mon cœur!": link.

From ^3:

From ^5:

From ^8:

Each reading has its virtues.

Alternate endings

Toward the end of his lecture on register in popular songs from c1900-1950, Michael Buchler summarizes his main points as a list of "Some Suggestions." For information on the lecture, see my post from 16 March: link. 

The fifth of his suggestions is: "Embrace a broader notion of obligatory register. The upper register is the most likely space for closure in certain types of music- especially vocal music."  An extended segment of the talk--starting at 27:00 and going to 35:00--is given over to this, the songs being "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma! (1943) and "It's Been A Long, Long Time" by Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) 1945. 

Here are six more with written-out alternative high-register endings:

Charles K. Harris, "Just Behind the Times" (1896).  Copy uploaded to IMSLP from the University of Wisconsin Libraries.

Richard Whiting, "Throw Me a Kiss (From Over the Sea)" (1917). Copy uploaded to IMSLP from the Ohio State University Libraries.

Charles K. Harris, "The Last Farewell" (1906). Copy uploaded to IMSLP from Duke University Library. 

Egbert van Alstyne, "Because You're Irish" (1917). Digital copy from the Library of the University of Maine. 

Ray Henderson, "I wonder who's dancing with you tonight" (1924)

          M. Tennent, "Tomorrow Morning" (1926). 

Harris's "Just Behind the Times" comes from fairly early in his career, and that's obvious from the old-style (and low-quality) print. But the performance practice of ending high is clearly taken for granted (as it probably was on the musical stage much earlier in the 19th century).

Richard Whiting, "Throw Me a Kiss (From Over the Sea)" (1917). 

Charles K. Harris, "The Last Farewell" (1906). This and the remaining examples are remarkable for their fully written-out upper-register second endings. I haven't shown it but ^5 is a particularly clearly defined focal tone earlier in the chorus.

Egbert van Alstyne, "Because You're Irish" (1917) digital copy from the Library of the University of Maine. Fully written out upper-register second ending.

Ray Henderson, "I wonder who's dancing with you tonight" (1924). Fully written out upper-register second ending.

H. M. Tennent, "Tomorrow Morning" (1926). Fully written out upper-register second ending.

Michael Buchler's lecture on songs

Michael Buchler is Professor of Music Theory in the College of Music, Florida State University. He has uploaded to Vimeo a version of his keynote address for the 2025 conference of Music Theory Southeast: link. The title of the file is Buchler MTSE Keynote 2025. 

Here is a list of songs he discusses, in order of appearance. Not all have rising lines, but all involve register in an important way and all are given analyses and interpretations that are appealing and illuminating.

• "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue Has Anybody Seen My Girl" Ray Henderson (music) Sam Lewis and Joe Young (lyrics) 1925
• "Singin" in the Rain" Nacio Herb Brown (music) Arthur Freed (lyrics) 1929
• "In Florida Among the Palms" Irving Berlin 1916
• "Bewitched" Rodgers & Hart 1941
• "All er Nuthin'" from Oklahoma! (1943)
• "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma! (1943)
• "It's Been A Long, Long Time" Jule Styne (music) Sammy Cahn (lyrics) 1945
• "Keep Marching" from Suffs Shaina Taub (music and lyrics) 2024