Timbral Transformations in Kaija Saariaho\u27s From the Grammar of Dreams

This dissertation is a study of Kaija Saariaho\u27s 1988 vocal work From the Grammar of Dreams, with a focus on timbre. It begins with background on Saariaho, and research on timbre in music theory and psychoacoustics (Chapters 1 and 2). Chapter 3 shows how Saariaho manipulates timbre to expressive and formal ends in From the Grammar of Dreams, including creating timbral tension and release, applying Robert Morris\u27 Contour Theory in its analyses. Chapter 4 then explores how the timbral transformations interact with non-timbral musical elements. The conclusion (Chapter 5) puts the compositional techniques of this work in the context of Saariaho\u27s evolving style, and explores possibilities for future research

X Marks Nothing: Chiasmus and Kenosis in Kaija Saariaho\u27s La Passion de Simone

Composer Kaija Saariaho’s 2006 work La Passion de Simone often leaves audiences and critics at a loss to understand what they have witnessed. The title, subject, and sparse libretto only complicate this confusion. The genre of the work is ambiguous to many; some critics call it an opera, some an oratorio. Because the subject of the work, French philosopher Simone Weil, is widely unknown to the public, her placement within the framework of a Passion is often met with confusion if not criticism. By fusing Weil’s life and philosophical ideas in this work, Saariaho explores how the awareness of the mind and the life of the body are experienced simultaneously, but in multiple dimensions. Weil was determined to merge these dimensions in her own life, and La Passion honors her philosophy in its unique structure, that of a cross or chiasm. Saariaho presents the story linearly, yet that linear path is only one dimension of the essence of Weil’s life captured within La Passion. The profundity of her thought and the conclusions she drew about the necessity of self-emptying, of kenosis, are the supportive axis upon which the work rests. Amin Maalouf’s libretto is obscure, constructed of allusions and aphorisms; the music is impassioned, alternately transcendent and violent, and sometimes seemingly unrelated to the libretto. This dissertation examines the relationship of the libretto to the structure and materials of the music. It pursues answers to questions most often asked about this work, “Can this legitimately be defined as a Passion?” and more specifically “How does this work communicate Weil’s life and ideas?” My conclusion is that Saariaho has created a work of musical ekphrasis, transforming the essence of Weil’s life and philosophy into a musical structure presented as an object for contemplation. La Passion de Simone can, indeed, be defined as a passion oratorio not despite Weil’s placement within the work, but because of it