Composition Commons^™

La Fiesta Del Espiritu Santo: An Original Work For Choir, Soloists, And Small Ensemble Influenced By The Santeria Music Of The African-Dominican Community In The Dominican Republic, Rafael Scarfullery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of Santería music as practiced by African Dominicans in Villa Mella, a neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This musical tradition comes from the culture and religion of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa, and features complex drum rhythms and call-and-response chants. This paper deals with the historical and social context of Santería music within the Dominican Republic, but its principal objective is to adopt the musical language of this tradition and use it to create a new contemporary work for mixed choir and small ensemble.

One of the most …

Making Malice Musical: Verdi’S Compositional Journey Through The Eyes Of Six Villains, Michael Chadwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Giuseppe Verdi is a pillar of the operatic world and had a profound impact on the evolution of the art form. From a rudimentary beginning, he developed over time from a popular creator of operas in the solita forma style of 19^th century Italy into a master craftsman of combining music, text, and theatrical drama. Verdi utilized the popular compositional formal convention of solita forma to begin his career. Over time he evolved beyond its boundaries and shifted his focus to the holistic theatrical presentation of the drama. Much has been written about this evolution through analysis of Verdi’s …

A Score Of Voices: Creating And Scoring An Original Film With A Cappella Choir, Zachary James Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Film scores typically feature large instrumental ensembles, sometimes with choir added at pivotal moments. Rarely, however, is the choir entrusted with a greater percentage of the score, and far too scores explore the sonic potential that vocal music has to offer. In fact, in a recent study of 800 films, none contained a score that was completely c. Thus, the body of unaccompanied choral film scores is practically non-existent. This curious gap in repertoire inspired me to create the documentary Downstream (2023) and score it entirely with an unaccompanied choir. The full score to this new work is contained within …

Early Instruments In 21st Century Composition And An Original Composition For Saxophones And Viols, Jacob Bitinas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers continually seek new timbres and sonorities to bend to their will. The early music revival of the twentieth century has resurrected dozens of instruments that have gone unutilized in contemporary composition for centuries. The historically-informed-performance movement has now evolved to a point where early instruments and period performance techniques can add extraordinary new characters to twenty-first century compositions. This thesis explores how composers effectively utilize early instruments like the viola da gamba, harpsichord, lute, and recorder in their compositions.

The document also contains interview transcripts from eight composers and performers, including Nico Muhly, Liam Byrne, Martha Bishop, David Loeb, …

Bloom: A 21st Century Mandolin Concerto, Ashley Hoyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have created a career performing various types of music on the mandolin. Very little of the concert repertoire, however, includes music originally written for the mandolin with most of it consisting of rearrangements of violin, cello, or piano music. This observation has led me down a path to learn why there is a lack of mandolin concert repertoire as well as to create new music specifically written for the instrument. In this thesis, an original mandolin concerto, Bloom, aims not only to add to the instrument’s repertoire, but bring it into the twenty-first century using contemporary compositional techniques. I …

"Now, Then, Then:" An Original Composition And Examination Of The Influence Of Blues, Bluegrass, And Rock In Western Concert Music, David Klock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines four pieces by three composers and one creative team, focusing on connections to bluegrass, blues, and rock music in each. The pieces are Raphael by Bryce Dessner, Cognitive Consonance II: Westering by Christopher Trapani, Bog Bodies and other Macabre Miniatures by Nicolas Lell Benavides, and “Three Dots and a Dash” by Punch Brothers. Each of these works uses distinct instrumentations, but every ensemble includes guitar in some fashion. This examination informs the original composition entitled Now, Then, Then, scored for violin, cello, electric guitar, and marimba. In this original composition, Klock uses devices found within these …

Escape Beneath: An Original Game Score Inspired By An Analysis Of Garry Schyman's Music, Daniel Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video-game music has grown into a vast array of different styles, sounds, and applications. As a newer field of music, game scoring has begun to receive high acclaim. Garry Schyman has become one of the most successful composers within the video-game industry. His music has received many awards and nominations throughout the years. Despite this, research and analysis into his compositions and techniques are almost non-existent. This thesis studies his techniques within the video-game scores for BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Middle Earth Shadow of War, and Torn; and then applies them into an original …

Listen To The River: Dolores, Ophelia, And Female Resistance In Opera, Daniel Aaron Barnidge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The music of female characters in the great masterpieces of opera often demonstrates resistance to and undermines the abuse they have historically received in opera plots. The Mexican folktale that my opera, The Tragedy of La Llorona, draws inspiration from plays on many of the same tropes historically found in female characters in opera including madness, sexuality, and lack of agency. This led to research into the portrayal of women in opera as part of my pre-compositional process and my desire to access this tale free from the traditional 'marianismo' and 'machismo' narratives it is associated with and which …

Telling Stories: An Analysis Of Speech-Melody Compositions And An Original Speech-Melody Composition For Wind Ensemble, Kevin Cheek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the compositional technique of speech melody and provides a brief historical overview of speech in music. This thesis also examines recent works (2005-2014) that have sourced their melodies from the spoken word and in turn creates an original composition for wind ensemble consisting of melodies sourced from recordings of members of United States military forces speaking about their lived experiences. In conjunction with the analytical and compositional aspects of this thesis, I also conducted an interview with Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis (Jacob TV). i

Grey Areas: Songs Of Memory, Imagination, Intellect, And Death For Baritone Voice And Mixed Instrumental Octet, Scott Stephen Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central element of this thesis is Grey Areas, a newly-composed dramatic piece in four movements for baritone and chamber ensemble. The work is highly personal in both its subject matter and its musical execution; it also contains a unique movement order that changes depending on the age of the baritone. Along with the written portion of this document and full score, I completed a studio recording of the entire composition as part of the project. Composers (by necessity) are more frequently functioning as their own recording and mixing engineers for their own works. I have been able to …

The Arranging Techniques Of Leon “Smooth” Edwards And Their Application To Calypso-Styled Classical Music Arrangements For Steel Orchestra, Michelle A. Rudder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The steelpan was invented in the 1930s in Trinidad and Tobago. It has evolved over the past eighty years. Although steelbands are now found across the globe and at all levels of music education, academic research regarding the music of the steelpan and its composers and arrangers is scarce. This paper examines six works for steelband by Leon “Smooth” Edwards, a prominent arranger of indigenous steelband music for the Panorama competition in Trinidad and Tobago. Music scores for four of the works have been notated for the first time. The paper documents Edwards’ variation development techniques, voicing, and orchestration. The …

A Rhythmic Analysis Of Michael Torke: Three Colors And Primary, Secondary, Tertiary: An Original Work For Symphonic Band, Aaron Fast

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes three early Michael Torke “color” pieces, Ecstatic Orange, Bright Blue Music, and The Yellow Pages. This analysis provides insight into the compositional process of his early works, which continues to define his style today. Torke’s techniques include rhythmic motives and their variations, rhythmic canon, sectioning as the basis of form, and stratification. This thesis also provides an analytical notational device when defining a Rhythmic Canon Sequence or a Rhythmic Entrance Series. Through this analysis I demonstrate that all three pieces share these compositional techniques but are displayed in three very different pieces. I also explore …

Creativity And The Evolution Of Musical Ideas: Putting The Creative Principles Of Austin Kleon To Work, Dustin Schulze

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

All composers internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into their own original work. But the fear of being labeled “derivative” causes most composers to shy away from talking about these influences openly and directly. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, he faces the issues of influence and imitation in a deliberately self-aware fashion. The principal objective of this thesis will be to internalize the musical ideas of other composers and infuse them into an original musical work of my own, entitled Kyros. By articulating the exact way in which I am using the work …

Folk Music Of Atlantis: An Exploration Of Water As A Sound Source In Music, Lucy Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Folk Music of Atlantis is a programmatic composition for water instruments and orchestra depicting the mythical city of Atlantis. I have researched water’s musical properties: its pitch bending, its ability to create sound through motion, and its percussive effects on various materials. Drawing upon my research, I have invented a collection of water-based instruments that take advantage of these properties. Folk Music of Atlantis demonstrates their potential, combining them with both the traditional orchestra and the innovations in water music of past composers.

The written portion of the thesis includes a historical overview of water as a musical sound source, …

Rope: An Original Piece For String Orchestra Played Concurrently With Alfred Hitchcock's Film, Douglas William-Solomon Espie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an original piece of music designed to be performed concurrently with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948). The film provides a canvas upon which a musically dominant multimedia experience is built. An accompanying analysis explains the variety of compositional techniques used, explaining their significance and how each deviates from a traditional film score. The objective of this work is to challenge the existing relationship between music and film, and add to the growing body of repertoire of live works featuring synchronized video, modeling example methods of live multimedia performance. In this exploration, the goal was not to be anti-cinematic, …

Working With Metal: The Stylistic Characteristics Of The Swedish Band Meshuggah And An Original Composition Inspired By Their Work, Adam J. Benefield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have long been fascinated by music that is created through the amalgamation of more than one style of music. As a composer, this has led to me exploring paths that combine elements of contemporary, classical, jazz, world, film, and video game music. In this thesis I explore elements of progressive metal band Meshuggah. More specifically I examine their use of polymeter, polyrhythm, and other rhythmic devices used in six of their songs. I then demonstrate how I applied those same components to an original composition, Armageddon, scored for flute, Bb clarinet, C trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, …

The Sound Of Adventure: Two Original Compositions That Combine Music, Sound Design, And Post-Production, Inspired By Outdoor Experiences, Jason K. Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers have been inspired by nature for centuries, but writing music about nature is becoming more popular in our day. Now, under titles like “Landscape Music” and “Environmental Music,” many composers seek to embody the feeling of nature in music. What has yet to be fully developed is how electronic music and landscape music can overlap in the chamber music world. This project culminates in two original compositions, Natural Opposition (ca. six min), and Giants at Night (ca. 15 min), that seek to satisfy the requirements of both realms by combining naturally inspired music with electronic influences. The compositions themselves …

“Native American Folk Song Suite”: A Study Of Traditional Native American Melodies, The Role Of Music In Native American Society, And Its Translation To The Modern Wind Ensemble, Preston Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music holds a sacred place for the many Native American tribes of the United States. Over the past 150 years, ethnomusicologists Dr. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), Dr. Frances Densmore (1867-1957), and John Donald Robb (1892-1989) have preserved these songs by sitting down with indigenous Native Americans and recording their music straight from the source. Through these recordings, these ethnomusicologists created a springboard for composers, including myself, to study the past and create new music that honors the traditions and culture of Native Americans. I have applied my new knowledge of these musical techniques and traditions to create a work for wind …

From Choir To Band: Analysis And Application Of Adaptation Techniques As Demonstrated In Works By Whitacre, Ticheli, And Johnson, Deshmond D. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the adaptation techniques of composers Frank Ticheli and Eric Whitacre. As a means for that exploration, it includes an original choral work by the author as well as a band transcription that was done using adaptation techniques found in the Ticheli and Whitacre pieces. The application of those techniques sheds new light on the subject of band transcriptions by showing a variety of possible approaches. Musicians, conductors, and composers will be able to use these materials to enhance the composition and performance of a choral work and its band transcription.

Pedagogy Of Video-Game Scoring For Collegiate Application And An Original Score For The Nintendo Switch Title, Renaine, Mason Lieberman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video-game scoring as an academic subject is quite new. There are limited opportunities for college-level students to study this field, and even fewer that are offered remotely via online sources. My goal for this thesis was to craft educational modules, courses, or other academically-based resources, that would develop a student’s musical skills, professional instincts, and educational groundings in the game audio world. These courses could then serve as an academic model for the development of other classes. After conducting research informed by my professional background as a composer in the video game industry (with a particular focus on my experiences …

Eclectic: A Recording Project Of Original Crossover Compositions, Chance Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music makers have always borrowed one another’s influences, across philosophies, across culture, and thus, across genres. Since the 1950’s, a time when classical music was at its farthest reach from popular music, the rift between these two “worlds” has shrunk, and music crafters from each category are free to take from the other as they please. As a figure who stands between the cultivated and vernacular traditions, my aim for this thesis is to give an introduction to some of the ways genre hybridization has been achieved since 1950, present a collection of my own compositions (along with recordings) that …

An Analysis Of Musicals By Lynn Ahrens And Stephen Flaherty, And An Original Musical, Fly Like An Eagle, Donna Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have written musicals together for several decades. This thesis contains an in-depth discussion and stylistic analysis of several songs each from Once on This Island, Ragtime, and Seussical – three Ahrens & Flaherty shows chosen specifically because of their variety in style and subject matter. This analysis includes, among other things, the lyrics and lyric setting, textures, harmonic settings, accompaniment styles, rhythms, and harmonic progressions. The central portion of this document contains the music for nine songs of an original musical titled Fly Like an Eagle. This script is written by Daris Howard and is …

Biedermann And The Firebugs: Composing Contemporary Music For Live Theater, Jesse Edwards

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Complex Personalities: An Original Composition For Virtual Wind Ensemble And An Accompanying Exploration Of The Effects Of The Internet On Music Collaboration And Composition, Chris Kamerling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the impact that the internet has had on the esprit de corps of the musical community. As a mechanism for that exploration, it also includes an original composition comprised of three character pieces. The exegesis of the piece will describe the basis of these musical representations and explore the application of the piece as a vehicle for a shared musical experience across the internet. A virtual ensemble was created by crowd-sourcing from social media. Participants played different parts that were combined by computer manipulation into a final product.

Palestrina’S Polyphony, Dawson Tillman Dowdy

Undergraduate Research Conference

The intention behind my composition (Kyrie) was to emulate Palestrina’s style by following a set of specific guidelines derived from the common characteristics of his compositions. Ultimately, my goal was to craft a piece that served as a 21st century interpretation of Palestrinian polyphony. Although I took some liberties in terms of harmonic language, I ensured that the essential elements of textual clarity, imitation, stepwise motion, and fluid melodic structure were strictly executed.

Airiños: For Orchestra And Two-Part Women's Choir, And A Biography Of The Poet Rosalía De Castro, Scott T. Stobbe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Spanish poet Rosalía de Castro was a central figure in the Galician

cultural and literary revival of the mid nineteenth-century. One of her most

significant books is Cantares Gallegos, a book of poems written in Galician that

serves as an homage to the language, culture, customs and countryside of

Galicia. The text for the musical portion of this document, a work for orchestra

with extended percussion and two-part women’s choir entitled Airiños, comes

from Castro’s poem Airiños, airiños, aires which was featured in Cantares

Gallegos. To gain a deeper understanding of the author’s importance and

influence in Galicia and …

Mystery Of The Wax Museum: An Original Film Score For Orchestra And An Analysis Outlining The Evolution Of Film Music Through American Horror Films Of The Early 1930s, Ian Deterling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis illustrates the transitional period between silent films and fully-scored sound films. Connecting the history between producers, directors, and composers reveals how and why film scoring became an accepted practice by the mid-1930s while shedding light on the commonly-overlooked composers whose innovations in these early films paved the way for future film composers. The principle objective of this project is to score selected sequences of Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) by synthesizing contemporary film scoring practices with techniques commonly used in horror films of the 1930s. An accompanying analysis of the score will explain the purpose of each …

Classical Forms In Modern Popular Music, Emily Williams

Undergraduate Research Conference

Popular music can be used as background knowledge by music educators in order to educate students on elements of classical music, such as form and compositional devices.

The Impact Of Edgard Varèse’S "Ionisation” On The Percussion Ensemble, Roger Ramirez

Undergraduate Research Conference

When I was selected to participate in a performance of Ionisation with the SFA Percussion Ensemble, the conductor, Dr. Meyer, explained the compositional process Edgard Varèse went through in order to write the piece. Hearing this inspired me to dig deeper into the composition to discover how much Ionisation impacted the world of percussion. After finding out it was the first true percussion ensemble piece ever written, I was inspired to see how it shaped the world of percussion after its debut.

Analysis Of Compositional Techniques From Composing Daily, Monthly Or With A Variable Time Frame Over The Last Twenty-Five Years, Herbert Midgley

Bright Ideas Conference

No abstract provided.