This commentary investigates role of the body in the composition, performance, and audition of the author's musical works included in the portfolio. Starting from Jean-Jacques Nattiez's model of the three-part 'total musical fact', this text describes how the compositional research both adheres to this model and attempts to transcend it through the body. It examines notational strategies that target performing or perceiving bodies, the use of physical and perceptual thresholds, the somatic experience of the composer at various stages throughout the compositional process, and the structuring of the listening environment. Human error and expressive failure are cited as means through which performing bodies forge collectivities with the audience, thereby exemplifying the queer utopian aesthetics described by José Esteban Muñoz and Judith/Jack Halberstam, especially as relates to the notion of hopeful exertion. The staging of absence is examined through various types of embodied engagements with musical material, highlighting the tendency of imminent physicality to draw perceptual focus away from material—an 'avalanche' that can all-too-easily elide the composer's 'fingerprint', in the language of Max Murray. Extended instrumental techniques, the use of electronics, and the genre of performance-installation are also discussed in terms of their relationship to the bodies of the composer, the musician, and the listener. Phenomena such as composed and field-recorded forms of metastasis and masking are addressed for their prioritization of perceptual responses in the listener above material or formal development. Given that all perceived sound is necessarily mediated through bodies (at the latest, through listeners' ears), this commentary and these compositions seek to concentrate awareness—vigilantly and in a number of specific ways—on the beauty and inherent transformative potential of this ever-present reality.

A collection of techniques, featured in my portfolio of compositions, which aim to support or bring about the re-emergence of musical ideas or objects in varied form. Chapter 1 observes the opposing approaches of Elliott Carter and Philip Glass towards musical repetition, and asserts my intention to use variation, or “varied repetition”, in order to place my own music at the centre of these two approaches. Compositional technique is then put forward as the means by which I intend to create varied repetition. I use Stravinsky’s rotational method as an example of such a technique. The introduction ends with some vital definitions. Chapter 2 offers two techniques, which both use rhythmic rotation in order to create varied repetition. Chapter 3 looks at a work by Harrison Birtwistle, which explores textural enrichment, and then develops the idea to apply two techniques that support variation. Chapter 4 offers examples from the music of Michael Tippett as a starting point for my “broken sequence” technique. Chapter 5 discusses one use of isorhythm by Olivier Messiaen and offers a further, personal approach towards the technique. Chapter 6 gives two methods by which harmonic transformation is achieved through incremental intervallic alterations. Chapter 7 takes a general glance at the musical language specific to the portfolio and suggests possible musical forebears. Chapter& 8 reiterates the importance of compositional techniques as observable mechanisms through which varied repetition can be achieved, and then details some of the developments my music has undergone during my doctorate. I conclude by asserting that the key to finding the middle ground between Elliott Carter and Philip Glass’s respective approaches towards repetition lies in the creation of a satisfying balance between repetition and variation.

The primary objective of my compositional research is to create perceptible, large-scale musical transformations. To this end, my research project was to compose a series of works employing algorithmic techniques of my own devising, specifically designed to map stochastic processes of movement between epicentres of discrete musical behaviour. The processes are codified in and realised by bespoke computer programs that generate the resultant musical material. This material is then interpreted, modified as needed and finally notated as a score. The implications and validity of these processes are thereby tested in the compositions. The specific focus of my research is music for acoustic instruments. The portfolio includes a principal work, Cloud Triptych, and five preliminary pieces for smaller numbers of players, exploring processes that generate portions of material to be incorporated into larger structures as well as complete compositions. An important part of this exploration was the integration of both computational and intuitive materials, and the extent to which computational models can effect an embodiment of my compositional practice, thereby simulating musical creativity. In each of the compositions the different aspects that make up any musical behaviour – such as rhythm, pitch, articulation and dynamic – are treated as independent parameters that together comprise the whole. As such, they are scrutinised and developed both on their own terms and in their role interacting with each other within larger musical entities. The central role of behaviour, and the way it can serve as a discrete epicentre of stable musical focus, is explored in several ways, abruptly alternating between contrasting behavioural states as well as various kinds of transition and transformation. The goal and outcome of this research was the composition of the extended large orchestral work Cloud Triptych, which lasts approximately 28 minutes. This was created using an extensive piece of software of my own design, CloudCube,that both encapsulates and greatly expands the computational outlook of the preliminary works, in so doing approximating closer than ever to an embodiment of the diverse aspects of my compositional practice. As well as the scores of the six compositions, the portfolio contains this 25,000-word commentary explaining the creative and technical processes I have developed, and discussing their implementation in the compositions, along with two accompanying CDs.

This thesis consists of three main bodies of work: 1) a portfolio of seven musical compositions, six of which are presented in notated score format, and one of which is an electroacoustic work; 2) the same portfolio of seven musical compositions presented as audio recordings; 3) a written critical commentary focussed on the development and deployment of processes of creative patterning within the seven portfolio compositions. The critical commentary provides the following: an insight into the musical context underpinning the development of the portfolio of works; the research questions posed, and how I have proceeded to answer them; detailed information about the compositional processes employed in each of the seven pieces. I include a survey of some of the ideas and practices of eight composers that have provided a musical context for my work: Olivier Messiaen, Jonathan Harvey, Iannis Xenakis, Denis Smalley, Trevor Wishart, Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, and Brian Ferneyhough. I situate my music within a Post-Tonal setting by utilising various elements, ideas, speculations and practices associated with compositional qualities that are not tonal in a traditional sense (Whittall, 2008, p.276), including for example: serial techniques, electroacoustic techniques, spectralism and microtonalism. The main objectives of this doctorate may be summarised by asking two questions: 1) is it possible to develop a novel style of music composition through the exploration and deployment of processes of creative patterning? 2) Is it possible to discover any general principles of composing with processes of creative patterning? In answering these two questions, the starting point was to define the nature of pattern, which occurs in three types: 1) numerical object patterns; 2) geometric patterns (which can be reduced to numbers); and 3) statistical self-similarity, or the pattern of formlessness (Stewart, I., 1998, p.11). Following from this study, it becomes possible to create an analogy between musical parameters and patterns by, for example, linking time with number. The patterns that are used creatively to form the musical material are as follows: the Golden ratio; a template of proportions; a short sequence of prime numbers; a Quadratic Recurrence Equation; an equation of the Poisson Distribution; a random data sample; and a Squaring Formula. A variety of forces have been employed in the seven compositions presented in this study including solo instrument, ensemble, electroacoustic composition, solo instrument and live electronics, and solo voice with tape. The seven compositions presented in the portfolio are: From the Book Of Songs for solo soprano and tape (c. 20 minutes); Pallimorphony for string quartet (c. 10 minutes); Trainofthoughts, electroacoustic composition (c. 30 minutes); On Sensations Of Cactus for solo piano and tape (c. 15 minutes); Trak-Ea for saxophone quartet (c. 8 minutes); Multiquadphonic for solo oboe and live-electronics (c. 8 minutes); Oryana Seven for ensemble (7 players, c. 6 minutes). The total duration of the seven compositions in the portfolio is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Each of the seven chapters within this commentary focuses on one composition. Every chapter explores either a new creative patterning technique, or a new combination of creative patterning techniques, that has been used during the compositional process. Chapter 1 applies a prime number sequence to create a microtonal harmonic field in my song cycle From The Book Of Songs. Chapter 2 shows the development of three processes of creative patterning in my second string quartet Pallimorphony. Chapter 3 details how combining three different patterning processes creates the thirty-minute piece Trainofthoughts. Chapter 4 reveals how a random data sample and a five-note cell are applied as patterning processes in On Sensations Of Cactus, for solo piano and tape. Chapter 5 shows how the development of a comprehensive set of pre-compositional materials forms an important part in the process and application of creative patterning in Trak-Ea, for saxophone quartet. Chapter 6 explores how multiphonics, Pitch-Class sets, and a disruptive technique have been linked in Multiquadphonic, for solo oboe and live electronics. Chapter 7 details how a prime number sequence and the Fibonacci sequence are juxtaposed to determine the instrumentation, texture and harmonic movement within the ensemble piece Oryana Seven. The chapters are presented in such a way as to elucidate the development of my techniques and working methods. The order in which the compositions are shown in this commentary corresponds to the order in which each piece was begun, except for Multiquadphonic, which was started before Oryana Seven and completed afterwards. The chamber ensemble piece has been placed last as it uses larger instrumental forces than Multiquadphonic, and the pre-planning stage occurred after that of the oboe and live electronics work. In Oryana Seven my creative patterning techniques are applied to more instruments and therefore across a larger range of parameters than any other work. In the concluding chapter it is argued that a novel style of music composition has been achieved, through the exploration, development and use of processes of creative patterning. In addition, two general principles of creative patterning have emerged: 1) establishing a pattern in template form; 2) changing the template through replication, transformation and merger. Finally, the critical commentary speculates on possible future work, including a proposed utilisation of creative patterning techniques applied to Pitch-Class sets in such as way as to transform them into microtonal patterns.

This portfolio of compositions and its software appendix consists of acousmatic, instrumental, and electroacoustic pieces in the form of live electronics. What lies underneath and interconnects these eight compositions is the concept of having ideas in the core of each composition that everyone can engage with; regardless of whether they are performed by specialists or non musicians. The opening acousmatic pieces Peri-Phonis and Morir use one of the most familiar sound to everyone; the human voice and present it at various audiences such as university concerts and theatrical plays respectively. The instrumental piece Ice for small ensemble, undertakes the well known dramatic voyage of the Titanic and through complex compositional processes which are based on familiar sounds such as sea waves, a ship’s horn, and ice breaking into smaller pieces combines spectralism with tonality. The shift to live electronics comes with a trio of compositions: Alilepidrasi, Pandora, and Awakening which are based on a gestural approach to composition by using modern technology such as mobile phones, and motion sensors, along with custom software developed in Max-MSP, and performed by both specialists and non-musicians. By developing and reusing my ideas and sounds; a process I always undertake with great enthusiasm, these three pieces merge into the Strings On The Rocks; an acousmatic composition that embodies everlasting fluctuation. The “coda” of the portfolio comes with the acousmatic piece 7 Doors that combines the human voice of the opening works, and the gestural mobility of the later works. This portfolio presents my basic perception towards sound and music, my fascination about its interconnections with everything that surrounds us, and every inspiration I have had over the years by composers such as Tristan Murail, Iannis Xenakis, Andrew Lewis, and Denis Smalley.

Throughout history, art has continued to defy the attempts of scholars and analysts to understand it and reduce it to a set of logical principles. As one of many art forms, music has probably attracted the most attention from formal methods of study and analysis. Analysis leads to models and theories of aspects of musical behaviour, and algorithmic composition is the practice of composing according to a set of rules, processes or principles. The goal of this thesis is to elucidate some fundamental aspects of simple intra-musical meanings. If they can be formulated, then it might be possible to construct an algorithm which can compose music that can be described as 'meaningful' according to certain criteria. This thesis proposes that such intra-musical meanings are closely related to the role of repetition and variation in music, as well as Gestalt grouping principles, and are often what makes music interesting to listen to. The main contribution of this thesis is the development and evaluation of three algorithmic composition systems that attempt to impart a degree of 'meaning' in their output.

This thesis investigates the role of objects in creative practice as alluring and evocative materials that disrupt compositional intentions and trajectories. This research does not begin from music as a cultural text but rather from the deeper experiences of sound as resistant materials that animate experiential space with their own styles of atmosphere, ambience and inaudible-audible signatures. Working across and often at the peripheries of the theoretical disciplines of object orientated ontology and process philosophy I address the philosophical issue of how sounds and objects possess the potential to unsettle, agitate and reconfigure networks of relation. Practice has informed a hybridisation of concepts derived from various disciplines, which are held together by threads of fictionalised prose that contribute alternative insights into the field of studio-based composition. This research employs a phenomenological method of reduction and at times an object orientated approach in theorising the autonomous life of sounds and objects. Dense descriptions of experiences, observations, thoughts and poetics form the basis for developing an informed creative treatise. Deviating descriptions of sensuous experiences are deployed throughout this research in order to find personal and meaningful ways of articulating sonic encounter. What are the multiple contours of Sonic Stuff? Is there an identity of sonic potential? What tensions/relations occur between the composer, studio and sonic object? In what form does Sonic Stuff reveal and characterise experiential time and space? What do the concepts of the withdrawn and revealed afford an understanding of sonic objects and sound in-itself?

This project documents the development of my recent compositional practice, a selection of which is presented in the accompanying portfolio. Through this commentary, the work is discussed in relation to a central theme: the figure of musical fragility, and its significance to my recent practice and surrounding musical thinking. Fragility is presented as a nebulous aesthetic concept, and a lens through which to examine elements of instability, vulnerability and tension between limits as they occur in various forms throughout my music. The compositions included in this portfolio therefore each exhibit some form of fragility as a moment of tension between that which is held delicately in cohesion, and the point at which it collapses into noise or silence. The compositions broadly operate within the context of instrumental contemporary classical music and the music of John Cage, Iannis Xenakis and late-period Luigi Nono, with a specific focus on stasis and quietness as found in minimal and drone-based musics. The music of Jakob Ullmann is also examined both as a proponent of features I deem to be fragile, and as an influence upon my compositional development. The research methodology for this project follows a reflexive framework: the composition of a work raises questions or problems which are then used to shape the next work, assessing its subsequent outcomes and so on. Particular attention is given to discussion of the development of my various notational practices, both in its technical relation to fragility, but also as a compositional process. This commentary does not attempt to say emphatically what fragility is, but rather, follow what fragility is doing and how it manifests throughout my recent compositions. The three most prominent themes I have identified are used as a means to navigate the discussion in each chapter: fragility in performance, fragility of form, and fragility as quietness.

No description available.

What is it to write 'new' music? Music is not written in a vacuum, and Op. 48 investigates how one small Bach piece's (re)sourcefulness can result in a variety of musics. The collection (of 48 pieces) explores not only scientific areas of musicology and analysis, but subjective and intuitive areas of performance, resonances with other art forms and more fantastical elements such as virtual history and humour. More challengingly, the amount of music (some 2 hours) presents an issue over the language used in discourse, for the linearity of words is partial and even misleading. Op. 48 is a criticism of what Bach notated and an economic way of talking about how music talks. Drawing on poetic and philosophic insights, 'Bach' is played with re-creatively: the precedents and parallel developments of the procedures I employ form a further stage of possible development. Rather than repeating empty encomia in this Bach Festschrift, Op. 48 honours Bach's invention by creating further music. Op. 48 is arguably not subservient to the Bach, and asks when (if ever) pieces grow up and become independent organisms. For while Op. 48 exhibits a wide-ranging diversity, it does not (and perhaps cannot) claim to be exhaustive, since the music seeds further pieces, which questions if it is viable to talk of an art work as discrete at all.