This portfolio of original compositions investigates how a concentrated perspective on one particular sound source has the potential to develop a perceptual link between the listener, the work and the world in which we live. To this end a contradictory approach to organising sound is employed; sounds are chosen for their intrinsic properties but are never fully removed from their referential identity. This approach is framed within a broad awareness of cultural listening, which recognises the value of the sound sources in society, but within the confines of the work these sounds operate with neutral symbolic function in order to emphasise their morphological identity. The commentary discusses the main issues arising relating to the composition of the six works in the portfolio, namely the recording, transformation and organising of recorded sound.

This thesis investigates the role of cross-modal correspondence within audiovisual composition, presenting both a conceptual model and a methodological framework for the creation of abstract audiovisual art. While this research is specifically aimed at the field of abstract digital animation it is also intended to act as a platform for the future development of concurrent audiovisual synthesis techniques within the general field of audiovisual art. Referencing literature regarding the psychophysiological bases for audiovisual integration, it is argued that temporal congruence offers a mechanism for the manipulation of cross-modal correspondence within audiovisual media. Further to this, electroacoustic and formalist theory is discussed with specific reference to the interrelationship of medium structures to enable the identification of a conceptual model for audiovisual composition. Referencing theory from the fields of musical instrument design and algorithmic composition, parameter mapping is identified as a mechanism for the modulation of temporal congruence. Its implementation within audiovisual composition is then discussed. Derived from both this and a conceptual parallel between the organisational structures of audio grains and visual particles, the audiovisual particles framework is presented as a methodological basis for the creation of abstract audiovisual art. The presented theory is supported by a series of demonstrative studies exploring both the practical application of the audiovisual particles framework and the role of parameter mapping within the process of audiovisual media generation. Experiential observations are discussed for each to inform future praxis. In addition, two audiovisual compositions are presented as both implementations of developed theory and as artworks in their own right.

This thesis considers Steve Reich's speech-based compositions between 1963 and 1988 in the light of their source materials. The collection comprises seven pieces: The Plastic Haircut(1964); Livelihood (1964); It's Gonna Rain (1965); Come Out (1966); Buy Art, Buy Art (1967); My Name Is (1967), and Different Trains (1988). The sources for these pieces constitute a plethora of hitherto unexamined audio recordings, transcriptions of which are included in a separate volume of appendices. The study presents a detailed transcription and consideration of these archival sources, culminating in a new narrative reading of each of Steve Reich's speech-based pieces from the first three decades of his compositional output. Although some recordings now exist on-line, Reich's decision in 2008 to transfer his private archive to the Paul Sacher Stiftung in Basel, Switzerland, has opened up a much larger collection. This considerable body of source material allows a new understanding of the stories told by each of these seven pieces. Whilst firmly rejecting the notion that his music tells stories, Reich has accepted that the documentary nature of the recorded materials for his speech-based works marks them out as a special case. This invites scrutiny of the relationship between these recordings and the pieces themselves, shedding new light on the narrative trails that connect them.

This research project investigated techniques for composing visual music and achieving balance in the relationship between sound and image. It comprises this thesis and a portfolio of compositions. The investigation began with an interest in the relationships between colour and sound and later expanded to include form and motion, the remaining factors of Thomas Wilfred’s lumia (1947). Working with a cohesive theme, such as lumia, proved to be an effective way of creating a coherent aesthetic in portfolio pieces. Other themes were therefore investigated including composing with visual and audio materials recorded from the single source of Thailand, the wave phenomena of refraction and diffraction and a filmed natural sunset interpreted in electroacoustic music. Two distinct compositional techniques were used, material transference, where qualities were transferred between sound and image, and compositional thinking, which assisted in creating audio-visual compositions that possessed musical qualities. Material transference proved to be the most productive technique during composing and it was discovered that effectuating it algorithmically created a strong bond between sound and image. Compositional thinking assisted in creating the form of the portfolio pieces and was found to apply to both video and music. Compositional thinking was found to be useful at the macro level, where structural form was designed, and material transference worked at a finer micro level, transferring individual qualities between sound and video objects.

This thesis explores the following questions: What is the influence of algorithmic software on the composition process? How can spectromorphologies be manipulated in search of coherent and lucid coupling in electro-instrumental (EI) music? What are the practical implications of the performance of EI music? This thesis will unfold practicalities, creative approaches, and new directions for the practice of EI music, drawing together spectromorphological theory and instrumental techniques. Framed around a body of work for solo instrument/ensemble with computer, I will assess each aspect of my musical process. Musical vocabularies, grammatical organisation and collaborative performance practices will be discussed. Specifically, my research breaks down components of composition into context, materials and an attempt towards categorisation and grammatical organisation including spectral and algorithmic techniques. With the knowledge that the computer has influence on the music making process, I identify and discuss some of its key contributions. Additionally, knowing that the tools and spaces that facilitate performance also impact the music, I seek to understand how these tools and environments contribute in order to get the best musical responses from them. Collaboration is a key theme, and throughout the thesis I pay attention to performer presence in the music making process. This thesis should be read in conjunction with my submitted portfolio for relevant case studies and musical examples.

This is the written commentary on a practice-based period of research. This research has focussed on the development of a substantial series of new musical compositions considering the development of unique and personal identity in composition. As well as broader technical consideration the commentary emphasises the incorporation of new technology and electronic media into composition, collaborations with other creative artists and performers and in developing vocal music with Matthew Welton, a literary collaborator. The commentary prioritises three main compositions; the terminus wreck for cello and electronics; My name is Peter Stillman. That is not my real name. for piano and electric piano and; Things that are blue, things that are white and things that are black. for piano, electric piano, prepared piano with clarinet/bass clarinet, cor anglais, horn, viola, cello and at least 16 violins. These are all substantial pieces between 15 and 30 minutes in duration for a variety of forces and, particularly between the two piano works, demonstrate a clear trajectory of development. Chapters are also dedicated to smaller-scale chamber works, vocal music, collaboration and the house of bedlam, a new ensemble formed as an element of the research.

The commentary focuses on the predominantly applied extraneous media in my music, that is, the inclusion of literary sources. The discourse begins with a biographical sketch (Chapter 1), followed by a succinct description of the concept of polymediality, which involves two dimensions: the work-immanent compositional and polymediality on the process of staging (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 considers literary sources as a constituent component of music's polymediality. The first part is preoccupied with the implementation of textual elements and vocality in instrumental works, with special reference to the orchestral piece AKANTHAI. Simultaneously, this section elucidates a series of fundamental architectural tools and aspects of the music, encompassing (a) the methodological advancement concerning analogous relationships, (b) the processing of linear transitions and polyphonic settings depending on the model of imitative interaction, (c) the polydimensional articulation of homogeneity, (d) the aspect of permanent fleetingness, (e) the different facets of hybridization and their implications, (f) the question of the musico-literary intermediality form, and (g) the concept of polyaesthetics. To this extent, the commentary reports on a research aiming at elaborating the hypothesis that musical and non-musical elements, like the literary sources, are mustered from a diversified spectrum of coherent principles. Turning to the example of the opera entitled DIE JAGD, the second part of Chapter 3 is concerned with the situative conditions resulting from the abrupt omission of the relationship to the libretto, whereby the focus is displaced 'outside' the textual frame of reference. Chapter 4 briefly highlights the scope of three further text-related parameters of the music in conjunction with their aesthetic issues: the specified titles of the works, the delineated expressive nuances, as well as the descriptive commentaries and textual depictions found on the score. Furthermore, the chapter outlines the consequences of two-dimensional theatricality and meta-theatricality. In conclusion, the commentary argues that the compositional procedure adopts literary references for the benefit of creating self-generated concepts. In other words, constituted within a plethora of musical and extra-musical elements, texts function as energetic catalytic stimuli; they become the key mechanism to enhance interactive system performance amidst the music's structural-strategic and conceptual framework.

Interpreting a scored musical composition entails the composer’s relinquishing some control over the piece to the performer. In ‘open’ scores the composer relinquishes most control and in effect allows the performer to collaborate in the compositional process; in traditional scores the composer specifies as much as possible in order to leave little to no room for the performer to use personal judgment regarding interpretation. The principal focus of this portfolio will be to examine, through different scores and compositional techniques, a possible available spectrum between these two types of scores and to define more clearly different options presenting varying degrees of control over a score. The initial stimulus for this research stems from a fascination with alternative compositional scenarios that consequentially aid the creation of incidental musical materials that are not specified or scored. These moments resemble an improvisation in their immediacy of execution and erratic sound characteristics. Hence, it is this quality that many of the ‘open’ elements in these portfolio pieces try to extract, but not exclusively so. The thesis will also dwell on elements of performance psychology in attempts to better define the mechanisms at work in different interpretation/improvisation scenarios, as well as refer to non-classical musical traditions as an example of alternative didactic systems leading towards a non-score based, quasiimprovisational practice. Finally, each portfolio composition will be described in detail with a particular emphasis on its erratic sound-qualities, its ‘open’ element, or both.

The doctoral composition concerned by this document is a contemporary oratorio of 95 minutes: it involves seven solo singers (two sopranos, a mezzo, two altos, a tenor and a bass), a polyphonic chamber choir (divided in three to sixteen parts) and an electroacoustic quartet of guitars and synthesisers. The title refers to the otherworldly guardians of the Jewish canon (Tanakh) and speculates on the energetic appearance of the Elohim, reflected by the timbral qualities of the electronic instruments. The narrative, built around four angelic characters (Seraphim) and a female earthling counterpart, outlines in seven movements a fictional cosmogony, and the evolution of human society overseen by astral mentors. The libretto has been written on purpose by the composer himself, mostly in Italian: some multi-linguistic fabrics blend poetry with Christian fragments in Greek and Latin.

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