Symmetry and proportion: how these issues guide, inform and add coherence to musical composition

The central subject of this thesis is the application of the concepts of symmetry and proportion in music and how these can be used to generate original compositions. Information about the musical application regarding concepts of symmetry and proportion both in the twentieth-century and earlier is provided. The first section also offers additional information about the construction of symmetrical harmony and its common usage; here too, principles of intervallic proportion are explained based on the compositional thinking of English composer Christopher Bochmann. The second section presents seven original compositions, each supported by their own commentary. Each work features a variety of instrumental forces ranging from solo to orchestral. Lending a separate emphasis (in analysis) to each composition helps to provide a broad picture of the potential that the ideas of symmetry and proportion bring to contemporary composition

Science: a model and a metaphor in the work of four British composers

Many composers of the 20th century have drawn upon science in their endeavours to create music. The development of technologies has been an additional impetus for composers to interface with scientific and technological paradigms. This thesis explores the extent and scope of the application of scientific metaphors and models in the compositional œuvres of four British-born composers of the later half of the 20th century: Richard Barrett, Chris Dench, James Dillon and Brian Ferneyhough. These composers have been commonly regarded as part of a group called the ‘New Complexity’. Much of the discourse about this group has centred on the dense polyphonic textures and formidable rhythms that feature in their work. This study extends the understanding of the composers from the surface characteristics of their projects to the ideas and conceptualisation that lies behind them, with the aim of clarifying essential differences and similarities among the individual composers. The thesis finds that, although all four composers share an interest in science and a belief in its relevance to their compositional projects, specific differences can be identified in the application of scientific metaphors and models. Moreover, the findings indicate that the composers often couple these scientific references with notions of cognition. The linking of these scientific tropes to cognition not only reveals the significance of science in the composers’ respective projects, but also points us to a deeper understanding of what these composers consider music to mean

Expansion of the Cello Repertoire in the 21st Century: A Collaboration with Composers Paul Eddison Lewis, Thomas L. Wilson, Austin Franklin, and Alex Shanafelt and the Resulting New Compositions for Cello and Electronics - Examined and Recorded by the Performer

Electroacoustic music has been one of the fastest growing genres in classical art music since the middle the twentieth century. Thanks to the pioneers of the genre such as American composer John Cage, Halim El-Dabh, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick, Iannis Xenakis, as well many others composers and enthusiasts of the twentieth and the twenty-first century the repertoire of electronic and electroacoustic music has grown tremendously withing the last hundred years. Even today it is still a growing art form as contemporary composers are working with yet to be developed and explored electroacoustic programming and equipment. The purpose of this project was to commission original electroacoustic works for cello and electronics and to include interpretative discussions from the performer’s point of view. Additionally, this paper presents biographical and stylistic references surrounding the lives and careers of the four composers. The commissioned pieces include original works for cello and electronics: Xenon by Paul Eddison Lewis, Duality by Thomas L. Wilson, Bloom by Austin Franklin, and waveForm by Alex Shanafelt. The implementation of this project was multifaceted. The author was proudly responsible for the commissions and the selection of the composers represented here (all of whom he respects enormously); for the interpretation, performance, and video documentation of these four new works, and most gratifyingly for the ability and opportunity to have the dialog and shared experience of experimenting with various options and compositional techniques during the collaborative process. The paper is divided into four chapters. Each chapter presents one of four works along with information about the composer, analysis of the piece, and examination and discussion of the electronic components of these compositions. The author hopes that this project will stimulate increased interest and enjoyment of such works among cellists, and hopes to present these works in a ”performer-friendly” manner

Science: a model and a metaphor in the work of four British composers

Many composers of the 20th century have drawn upon science in their endeavours to create music. The development of technologies has been an additional impetus for composers to interface with scientific and technological paradigms. This thesis explores the extent and scope of the application of scientific metaphors and models in the compositional œuvres of four British-born composers of the later half of the 20th century: Richard Barrett, Chris Dench, James Dillon and Brian Ferneyhough. These composers have been commonly regarded as part of a group called the ‘New Complexity’. Much of the discourse about this group has centred on the dense polyphonic textures and formidable rhythms that feature in their work. This study extends the understanding of the composers from the surface characteristics of their projects to the ideas and conceptualisation that lies behind them, with the aim of clarifying essential differences and similarities among the individual composers. The thesis finds that, although all four composers share an interest in science and a belief in its relevance to their compositional projects, specific differences can be identified in the application of scientific metaphors and models. Moreover, the findings indicate that the composers often couple these scientific references with notions of cognition. The linking of these scientific tropes to cognition not only reveals the significance of science in the composers’ respective projects, but also points us to a deeper understanding of what these composers consider music to mean

Microtunings, complexity, variability: A new sound map for the guitar

How do microtunings help broaden the guitar\u27s sound map and bring new musical possibilities? In this contribution, we present a set of works in which the guitar is tuned in the 72 or 96 equal temperament. They are representative of Pascale Critonʼs writing and were composed between 1996 and 2019. Each type of tuning favors its own map of harmonic relations and the generation of specific acoustic behaviors. We examine their structural, technical and expressive peculiarities and highlight how the writing and the instrumental gesture are renewed by these tunings

Theatrical Elements in Toru Takemitsu\u27s Voice and Karlheinz Stockhausen\u27s Zungenspitzentanz

The flute has long been recognized for maintaining avian or mythological roles within music. The repertoire of the avant-garde era, however, has vastly changed the aural expectations to include more aggressive sounds through the use of extended techniques. Even though so-called extended techniques are often viewed as a new development, several have been in practice since the fourth and fifth centuries. A historical overview of such techniques demonstrates their significance in contemporary music. More recently, the solo flute repertoire has included interdisciplinary art forms such as theatrical elements, a much newer concept that was integrated during the mid-twentieth century. Though rarely found within the solo flute and piccolo repertoire, dramatics such as spoken text and physical movement were first incorporated in Voice in 1971 by Tōru Takemitsu and in Zungenspitzentanz in 1983 by Karlheinz Stockhausen. The use of theatrics helps to define the formal structure of the pieces as well as enhances the mood of the works and creates visual interest for the audience. This combination of concert music with performance art creates a niche for musicians hoping to develop ensembles that can venture beyond traditional performance categories

Application of Optimization and Simulation to Musical Composition that Emerges Dynamically during Ensemble Singing Performance

31 pages, 11 FiguresThis paper presents and tests a new approach to composing for ensemble singing performance: reality opera. In the performance of such a composition, emotions of the singers are real and emerge as a consequence of their interactions and reaction and to a dynamic narrative. This paper gives background and motivation for the form, based on three key concepts, incorporating the use of technology. Then proposed techniques for creating reality opera are instantiated in an example, which is performed and a behavioral analysis done of performer reactions, leading to support for the feasibility of the reality opera concept

Mollifying the Muses: An Exploration of Conflict in the Life and Works of Iannis Xenakis

The early life of Iannis Xenakis, a modern day Renaissance scholar who would come to redefine the limits of musical composition and sound-driven spatial design in the 21st century, was overshadowed by adversity, conflict and alienation. Fleeing from his home country in 1947 after a nearly fatal wound to the face during the Greek Revolution, Xenakis\u27 newfound life and career in the atelier of French architect Le Corbusier allowed for the budding engineer to explore a collective passion for music and mathematics within his work. Nevertheless, just as a giant facial scar would stand as a permanent physical symbol for the brutality Xenakis experienced, one can easily detect similar memories of a chaotic past embedded in the compositional framework of the avant-garde designer/composer, tormented by tension and estranged symbols of war. By analyzing these immersive elements of conflict and duality which characterized Xenakis\u27 creative methodologies, one may begin to formulate an innovative discourse in the development towards new experiential musically influenced performance spaces