Commentary on the Portfolio of Compositions submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Composition

John Goodenough Doctor of Philosophy by Composition Durham University Department of Music 2014 Portfolio Contents 1. Ubi Caritas 2009 - for Violin & Piano 4.36 2. String Quartet 2010 - for String Quartet 5.15 3. Echoes of Poems & Prose 2010 - for small ensemble 32.45 4. Fountains 2011 - for String Quartet 4.45 5. Stato di Cambiamento 2012 - for large ensemble 5.10 6. Triptych 2012 - for small ensemble 5.20 7. Divergenza 2013 - for large orchestra 33.12 Total time 91.03 Other musical examples (not part of the portfolio) Sette archi spezzati 2013 - for small ensemble 5.28 This portfolio has three principal themes. The first, explored with the discussion of Ubi Caritas and the (2010) String Quartet, concerns the interpretation of harmony; that is harmony, plainly being the vertical component in music but having an inbuilt propensity for horizontal movement, including line and counterpoint. In echoes of Poems & Prose, there is a disregard for any horizontal reasoning, harmony is constrained to the point of isolation and focus fundamentally shifts to the chord as 'object'. I consider this 'objective' sense in detail, in subsequent music in this portfolio. A second theme hinges on a discussion of 'musical material' (the term devised by Theodor Adorno); this considered alongside Samuel Beckett's description of a relationship, between 'mess and confusion' (Beckett's terms for material) and the 'form' that contains it. In Echoes of Poems & Prose, I consider material explicitly, in particular the singular sound. With Fountains and Stato di Cambiamento control of the sounds and their overall architecture become increasingly obscure, with issues around form, substantively re-defining the compositional process. A third theme is the consideration of aspects of structure, which become of particular significance in the final pieces Triptych and Divergenza (the term 'structure' being as defined by John Cage). In Triptych, exploration is made of a confining form into which structural material grows; material that yields intensely colourful musical moments. In the final piece Divergenza, the Fibonacci sequence applies a vice-like grip on the material, but as I remove the conceptual dependence on this sequence, the music's intrinsic characteristics of rhythm and character grow to become of central importance

Topology of Networks in Generalized Musical Spaces

The abstraction of musical structures (notes, melodies, chords, harmonic or rhythmic progressions, etc.) as mathematical objects in a geometrical space is one of the great accomplishments of contemporary music theory. Building on this foundation, I generalize the concept of musical spaces as networks and derive functional principles of compositional design by the direct analysis of the network topology. This approach provides a novel framework for the analysis and quantification of similarity of musical objects and structures, and suggests a way to relate such measures to the human perception of different musical entities. Finally, the analysis of a single work or a corpus of compositions as complex networks provides alternative ways of interpreting the compositional process of a composer by quantifying emergent behaviors with well-established statistical mechanics techniques. Interpreting the latter as probabilistic randomness in the network, I develop novel compositional design frameworks that are central to my own artistic research

Ganymed's heavenly descent

Schubert's song “Ganymed” has attracted a great deal of interest from analysts due to its progressive tonal plan, often seen as a challenge to Schenkerian theories of tonal structure, and evocative text. This article draws upon a spatial theory of tonal meaning which helps both to resolve the epistemological impasse faced by reductive theories of tonal structure, and to better access Schubert’s interpretation of Goethe’s text through spatial metaphors that derive from the harmony of the song. It also highlights an allusion to Beethoven's Op. 53 “Waldstein” Piano Sonata in the song that has previously gone unremarked, and identifies this as part of a network of references to Beethoven’s sonata that act both as homage to and critique of Beethoven's middle-period style. These serve both as a window into the song, and into Schubert’s aesthetic stance vis-à-vis his most pre-eminent musical forebear. The theory of tonal space draws upon previous publications, but is re-explained in music-theoretical terms relating to diatonicity and triadicity here. It realizes latent directional metaphors in the diatonic sharp-flat and triadic dominant-subdominant dimensions, which are of hermeneutic value for tonal music. Such a theory helps us interpret Schubert’s tonal plan, explain his choices of keys, and better understand his reading of Goethe's text and aesthetic priorities in setting it to music.Accepted manuscrip

A Model of the Tonal-Chromatic System and Its Application to Selected Works of Gustav Mahler

During the latter half of the twentieth century there was a marked shift in the way that many scholars approached analysis of late-nineteenth-century tonality. This shift in approach was motivated by the behavior and interaction of harmonic and melodic entities encountered in the music of the great composers of the nineteenth century, such as Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Wagner, and Strauss. The question arose: did the diatonic system remain at the heart of tonality during the late nineteenth century, or—as some propose—did a new chromatic-based tonality emerge? The acceptance of this new chromatic-based tonality is at the heart of this project. In order to address the acceptance of this premise, this dissertation brings together two disparate strands of research and posits a system termed the tonal-chromatic scale. First, the writings of Mitchell, Marra, and Proctor help define the need for and structure of a chromatic scale that implies tonal function; second, the mechanics of transformational theory, stemming from the work of Lewin underpins the methodology of the system. The recent work of Rings is an influential aspect of the methodology. Throughout past century, different analysts have used a myriad of methodologies to explore the complex musical language of Gustav Mahler. Mahler’s work represents an important turning point in the evolution of tonal music. Specifically, his work contributed to the onset of and evolution toward the complete breakdown of tonality. The chromatic tendencies in Mahler’s music make it an especially relevant candidate for analysis using this type of system. Even though his music exhibits an inordinate amount of chromaticism, the pillars of functional tonality are still operative. Three selected works of Gustav Mahler serve as the examples of the analytical usefulness of the proposed system: 1) the first movement of the Piano Quartet in A minor, which was composed as a student at the Vienna conservatory; 2) the fourth movement of Symphony no. 5, Adagietto; and 3) Kindertotenlieder, no. 2, “Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen.

Verdi’s six-fours and la parola scenica

Verdi’s operas display many non-normative six-four chords. The question for the opera analyst, however, is not only what occurs musically, but why it does. Is there a dramatic function being served by this mix of harmonic-intervallic instability? We discuss four types of non-normative six-fours in Verdi: the arrival, wonder, evasion, and dissolving. But, even as we individuate these types, we note that they are all similar in one regard: they are all linked to a crucial dramatic statement that Verdi termed la parola scenica, a textual-musical signal that makes a dramatic situation suddenly evident

Topography of Generically Folded Spacecapes: Towards a Cognitive Metatheory in Architectural Design

If we visualize philosophy as a science of the sciences (in the tradition of Hans Heinz Holz), then theories within the philosophical framework are always meta-theories of the respective field of interest in question with which philosophy is actually dealing. Hence, a philosophy of architecture in particular, shows up as a meta-theory of theories of architecture with respect to all the possible conditions that are necessary to actually constitute its characteristic field of interest (including the social modes of communication). As we can easily see, it is also a cognitive meta-theory in the first place (i.e. one of the human condition). If then, traditionally, philosophy can also be visualized as being primarily constituted by four components that turn to its topic, namely by means of historical analysis, scientific approach, aesthetical and ethical conceptualizations, respectively, we can recognize that the second and the third overlap somehow with the architectural activities. This is certainly true since the establishment of architecture as a field of activity of its own, separated from building and engineering, as was achieved in the epoch of the Italian Renaissance by Brunelleschi, Alberti, and others.Peer Reviewe