This DMA supporting document is a performer's guide to the analysis and interpretation of the song cycle "Songs for a Winter's Evening," by Scottish composer Thea Musgrave. In 1996, Musgrave was commissioned by the 17 th Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival & and 1st Burns International Festival to create a composition using some of the poetry by Robert Burns, a well-known Scottish poet. It is undisputable that Musgrave's music is linked to Burns. Her ability to reflect historically to echo Burns's time while fastening in her own contemporary compositional style make "Songs for a Winter's Evening" an excellent case study for today's modern voice major. The careful and detailed analysis performed in this document will help singers prepare for performing this cycle, but will largely impact a performer in a more significant way. This analysis should demonstrate the steps with which a performer should take in creating a thorough examination of a medium-large scale vocal composition. Performers can draw from the step-by-step process provided in this document, and upon reading the analysis of "Songs for a Winter's Evening," the singer may use this knowledge and apply it to other works performed in the future.

The challenge of this work is that it is necessary to know Burns's tunes before understanding Musgrave's composition and the history behind its genesis, especially since Musgrave incorporates the original music in both the vocal line and accompaniment throughout. I will document the material a performer can use as a supporting source in preparing for a performance of this song cycle.

First, I will briefly discuss the history of the song cycle, followed by background on Thea Musgrave as a person, musician, and composer with details on her song cycle. Next I will give a short description of Robert Burns, his history and poetry, and will complete the introduction of this paper with a detailed description of the process I applied while analyzing Musgrave's cycle. I will then discuss each song in detail touching on: the history of each Burns poem and song, Musgrave's corresponding song and her inclusion and treatment of the original tune from Burns, as well as comparison and contrast between each composer. The ultimate section will be comprised of IPA and word-for-word translations for each poem.