The objective of this project is to provide a structural analysis of the aural, visual, and
literary aspects of American composer Martin Bresnick’s (b. 1946) For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (2001) for piano solo and DVD projection. Based on English poet and visual artist William Blake’s (1757-1827) emblem book of the same title from the version of 1818, Blake’s text is spoken and sung by the pianist as a revival of the ancient “Bard” tradition, and Blake’s emblematic drawings are animated in the DVD and accompanied by piano solo.
Despite Bresnick’s successful career as a prominent composer and an influential teacher, Bresnick’s piano music is not widely known. Bresnick’s piano music is highly structured and immensely expressive. The purpose of this study is to cultivate scholastic attention and to generate interest for Bresnick’s For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise.U of I OnlyUIUC School of Music polic
