Abstract
The eight works in this portfolio of compositions are concerned with the expressive use of techniques that aim to conjure up notions of linear continuity and discontinuity. Several works explore background directed motion through the use of cantus firmus and step-wise motions, and others explore discontinuity through fragmentation and interlocking patterns, as a means of engendering musical shape.My ideas on continuity draw from contemporary conceptions of prolongation in post-tonal music, as expounded by Salzer and Schachter, Wilson, Travis and Kramer, among others, as well as the use of stepwise connection, as illustrated by Schoenberg in the Harmonielehre. The music of Ligeti and Xenakis provided models for linking sonic features with visual shape representations, and several works engage with Stockhausen’s and Kurtág’s practice of using moments and fragments that circumvent tradition linear relationships.
The first movement of the violin duo, Even if it is Only a Whisper explores continuity through the use of two-part contrapuntal backgrounds; the second focusses on interlocking patterns; and the third is a transitional piece, in which ideas on shape versus line were formulated and tested.
While the potential of stratified layers, as a means of articulating two-part contrapuntal backgrounds, is deployed in the first and fifth movements of A Walk to the Sun (for mixed quintet), its second, third and fourth movements are fragmented pieces, investigating the tension between composed continuities and fragment forms. Similar preoccupations are found in Three American Songs, for soprano and piano.
Where They Flocked, for mixed quintet, further explores the use of two-part background progressions, as well as pitch-centricity.
The second movement of the string quartet, Meandros, features the most explicit manifestation of Fuxian counterpoint backgrounds. Its other movements deploy interlocking patterns in order to generate musical shapes.
The Strange World of Stillness, for solo viola, consists of two movements in which notes acting as tonal centres support non-linear surfaces. Some of the major concerns of my final work for chamber orchestra, particularly with regards to the use of ‘pivot points’, can be found in Swarming, for flute and guitar.
Finally, Fluidity (for chamber orchestra) represents a consolidation of many of the techniques explored in this thesis, namely the use of cantus firmus, stepwise motion and interlocking patterns.
| Date of Award | 1 Jun 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | George Benjamin (Supervisor) & Silvina Milstein (Supervisor) |