Sans etoiles is a musical composition in three movements written for clarinet, horn, violin, cello and piano. This essay deals with the principal characteristics of the musical material used in the piece, the modalities governing transitional processes and the influence of these factors on memory and the perception of musical time. The artistic project gave way to a reflection on the directional aspects of music in order to establish transitional links between independent musical entities defined as 'musical objects'. The main transitional agent between these entities consisted of an autonomous musical layer bearing an exclusive impact on the surrounding musical context. The harmonic network of the piece, a set of interchangeable chord progressions, was conceived from the self-replication of a three-note cell. Each movement of the final work proposes a unique approach to musical time.

This study is about Johann Christian Bach's Opus 11 Quintets for flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello and continuo. The main focus of the research concerns the use of sonata form in these pieces. All the first movements are in sonata form, which was a common practice of his time. The two slow second movements are in sonata form also. In addition, one of the slow movements is sonata form without a development section.This period of time was rich in experimentation. Within Bach's work the variety within these eight sonata-form movements is explored. Essential features of the sonata form as well as Bach's unique originality are evident.In order to be able to historically place these works, the sonata-form movements of Bach's contemporaries and Bach's other types of instrumental works are compared to Bach's Opus 11. Works included for the discussion in this dissertation are the quartets and quintets in mixed instrumentation including one or two woodwind instruments. The closest possible instrumentation to Opus 11 is that of flute and oboe.Bach's music is Italian in tone; however, the Germanic inheritance is evident in the use of polyphonic texture, harmonic depth, and richness of instrumentation. His concern for instrumental color is highly advanced for his time and he virtually pioneers this color effect in an ensemble works. His skillful use of sonata form and instrumentation is the pathway that Mozart promoted.

This dissertation examines the following works from the original repertoire of the American Brass Quintet (ABQ): Charles Whittenberg, Triptych for Brass Quintet; Ralph Shapey, Brass Quintet; Gilbert Amy, Relais; William Lovelock, Suite for Brass; Leonardo Balada, Mosaico; Virgil Thomson, Family Portrait; Elliott Carter, Brass Quintet; Jacob Druckman, Other Voices; Robert Starer, Evanescence; Dan Welcher, Brass Quintet; Vladimir Ussachevsky, Dialogues and Contrasts; David Sampson, Morning Music; Maurice Wright, Quintet; and Eric Ewazen, Colchester Fantasy. These works represent a small part of the ABQ's repertoire and attest tothe significance of the ensemble's contribution to brass quintet literature. The purpose of this study is to bring these works to the attention of performers and to provide a guide for those wishing to perform them. Composers will be interested in the discussion of compositional techniques. The fourteen works are studied in chronological order and in the following manner: composer biography, historical background of composition, descriptive analysis (form, harmony, melody, rhythm, texture), and performance considerations (range, special techniques, use of basstrombone or tuba, and equipment needs). Program notes from the ABQ's performances of the works, many written by the composers, are included.Through the study of these works the following conclusions are reached: (1) the ABQ has influenced the development of university brass programs and has helped to make brass quintet experience an integral part of brass education, (2) it has encouraged composers to write for brass quintet, and (3) the ABQ has played a significant role in developing an original brass quintet repertoire. Through its residencies at the Aspen Music Festival and the Juilliard School of Music and touring, the ABQ has reached a large number of students, performers, and composers throughout the world. The quintet's performances of new music has inspired composers to write for brass quintet; the group receives many unsolicited scores each year. Since its founding in 1960, the ABQ has been a leader in the commissioning of original works for brass quintet and has played a significant role in the development of the brass quintet repertoire. / School of Music

v.1. Text (246 leaves) -- v.2. Figures and musical examples (145 leaves) / William Byrd's motets with Latin text are a little-known contribution to the sacred vocal repertoire. Most important among these works are three books of Cantiones Sacrae, published 1575, 1589 and 1591, respectively. The 1589 Cantiones Sacrae was Byrd's first harvest from a backlog of motets that had been accumulating since 1575. This collection lies at a midpoint between Byrd's earliest published works and his full maturity, as seen in the Masses of 1592--95. / This study will describe the contrapuntal strategies that characterize Byrd's 1589 Cantiones. I will examine Byrd's deeper-level tonal organization and its derivation from cantus firmus technique. I will show how Byrd uses musical material in cantus firmus values (the breve and semibreve) to shape his subject material and his cadence points, and how this shaping plays out over the course of an imitative point. / I will then examine Byrd's introductory gestures in the 1589 Cantiones, identifying 24 presentation types that characterize different degrees of beginning. These types contain one or more melodic subjects in a recurring temporal relationship, and form a vertical interval pattern or harmonic motive. Next, I will discuss Byrd's variation techniques by which he develops these presentation types: textural change, transposition, melodic inversion and invertible counterpoint. Byrd's presentation and variation of subject material divides an imitative point into distinct phases of tonal and contrapuntal activity, providing insight into its overall form and tonal design. / Finally, I will apply these analytical tools to a complete analysis of Tristitia et anxietas, from the 1589 Cantiones, thereby showing how Byrd establishes central pitches in the middleground. Through this analysis, I will summarize Byrd's contrapuntal strategies, both long-range and local, that typify his middle-period sacred vocal style, as viewed through the lens of the 1589 Cantiones Sacrae.

Sets and the Senses is a work for symphony orchestra that bears the interaction between science and art as its overriding theme. Formalizations of compositional parameters that relate to this interaction are established, in particular those relating to the contrast between systematic and intuitively composed music, in order to provide a vehicle for musical communication on the theme. A summary of scientific and artistic elements of the compositional process reveals in the work an ingrained hierarchy of science/art interactions. Specific strategies for manipulating the science/art parameters are described. Genetic algorithms as applied to computer-assisted composition are discussed. The formal design of the work is described in terms of the relationship between science and art, accompanied by descriptions of systematic and intuitive musical procedures used.

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No description available.

Orientadora: Yara Borges Caznók / Banca: Lutero Rodrigues da Silva / Banca: César Henrique Rocha Franco / Resumo: Tendo como objeto de estudo os 50 Ponteios para piano de Camargo Guarnieri, este trabalho se concentra na análise de suas estruturações melódicas e harmônicas, almejando compreender aspectos estruturais da poética do compositor neste ciclo de peças. Apresenta-se, inicialmente, um diálogo entre as transformações sofridas pela escritura melódico-harmônica de Guarnieri durante o período de composição desta coleção e uma contextualização histórico-estilística, na qual são focalizadas, principalmente, suas buscas por um nacionalismo influenciado por Mário de Andrade e suas experiências com diferentes idiomas harmônicos. Propõe-se, ainda como texto preparatório para as análises, uma classificação textural dos 50 Ponteios e, ainda, a verificação de algumas constâncias formais dentro desta coleção.Nos capítulos seguintes, esta dissertação se direciona para a verificação das escolhas dos materiais presentes na construção das melodias e harmonias e se estende sobre observação dos procedimentos composicionais característicos de Guarnieri - sua poética. A partir desta investigação analítica, constatamos, nos Ponteios e em outras obras do compositor, a recorrência de um motivo melódico o qual denominamos Motivo Guarnieri. Na dimensão harmônica, chamou-nos a atenção a reincidência de uma determinada estrutura harmônica simétrica, utilizada com função Dominante nos momentos cadenciais, além do cuidado, por parte do compositor, em usar estruturas simétricas nos contextos escalares, harmôni... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The aim of this work is to study the 50 Piano Ponteios of Camargo Guarnieri, focusing on the analysis of their melodic and harmonic structures, seeking to understand the structural aspects of the composer's poetics in this cycle of pieces. We initially examine the transformations incurred by Guarnieri's melodic-harmonic writing in the period that this collection was composed, and a produce a historical-stylistic contextualization. This contextualization focuses on the Brazilan nationalism which was influenced by Brazilian philosopher and critic Mário de Andrade, and Guarnieri's experiences with different harmonic languages. In preparation for the analysis, a textural classification of the 50 Ponteios is performed, as well as a verification of some formal consistencies within this collection. The dissertation is also directed to the examination of the choices of the materials present in the construction of the melodies and harmonies, and extends to the observation of the compositional procedures characteristic of Guarnieri - in other words, his poetics. From this analytical investigation we can observe, in the Ponteios and in other works by this composer, the recurrence of a melodic motif which we call The Guarnieri Motive. In terms of harmony, we are struck by the recurrence of a specific symmetrical harmonic structure, used as dominant function in cadential moments. We may also verify the care the composer took to use symmetrical structures in scalar, harmonic and formal con... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Nahim Marun Filho / Banca: Eduardo Seincman / Banca: Luiz Brito Passos Amato / Abstract: This research aims at the presentation of a stylistic overview of the João Domingos Bomtempo's piano sonatas, aiming the musical interpretation. In the first chapter, is presented a brief biography of this composer, focusing on his musical trajectory, his works and the composers with whom he had contact. The following chapter is dedicated to formal analyzes of his sonatas, contemplating especially the first movements, in which works by CAPLIN (1998), HEPOKOSKI & DARCY (2006) and ROSEN (1988) were the main references. In the third chapter, the texture elements of his sonatas are investigated, from the association with the specialized literature in interpretive practices, especially those that deal with the musical style of the composers of the London Pianoforte School, with whom Bomtempo had contact. Finally, the last chapter associates the content of previous chapters in order to make an interpretative proposal for Bomtempo's Sonata opus 15 n.1. In this research, it is possible to see a way in which formal and textural aspects of a musical work can be emphasized in a musical performance in order to enrich the musicality, providing interpretive possibilities. / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo a apresentação de um panorama estilístico das sonatas para piano de João Domingos Bomtempo, com vistas à interpretação musical. No primeiro capítulo, apresenta-se uma breve biografia deste compositor, com foco em sua trajetória musical, em suas obras e nos compositores com os quais teve contato. O capítulo seguinte é dedicado a análises formais de suas sonatas, contemplando especialmente os primeiros movimentos, em que obras de CAPLIN (1998), HEPOKOSKI & DARCY (2006) e ROSEN (1988) foram as principais referências. No terceiro capítulo, investiga-se os elementos texturais de suas sonatas a partir da associação com a literatura especializada em práticas interpretativas, especialmente àquelas que abordam o estilo musical dos compositores da Escola de Londres, com os quais Bomtempo teve contato. Por fim, o último capítulo relaciona o conteúdo de capítulos anteriores a fim de realizar uma proposta interpretativa para a Sonata opus 15 n.1 de Bomtempo. Nesta pesquisa, é possível ver a maneira como aspectos formais e texturais de uma obra musical podem ser enfatizados em uma performance a fim de enriquecer a musicalidade, fornecendo possibilidades interpretativas. / Mestre

The videogame now occupies a unique territory in contemporary culture that offers a new perspective on conceptions of high and low art. While the fear that the majority of videogames 'pacify' their audience in an Adornian "culture industry" is not without justification, its reductionism can be countered by a recognition of the diversity and aesthetic potential of the medium. This has been proposed by sociologist, Graeme Kirkpatrick, although without close attention to the role of music. Videogame music often operates in similar ways to music in other mixed-media scenarios, such as film, or opera. In the same way that film music cannot be completely divorced from film, videogame music is contingent on and a crucial part of the videogame aesthetic. However, the interactive nature of the medium - its différance - has naturally led to the development of nonlinear musical systems that tailor music in real time to the game's dynamically changing dramatic action. Musical non-linearity points beyond both music and videogames (and their respective discourses) toward broader issues pertinent to contemporary musicology and critical thinking, not least to matters concerning high modernism (traditionally conceived of as resistant to mass culture). Such issues include Barthes's "death of the author", the significance of order/disorder as a formal spectrum, and postmodern conceptions and experiences of temporality. I argue that in this sense the videogame medium - and its music - warrants attention as a unique but not sui generis aesthetic experience. Precedent can be found for many of the formal ideas employed in such systems in certain aspects of avant-garde art, and especially in the aleatoric music prevalent in the 1950s and 60s. This thesis explores this paradox by considering videogames as both high and low, and, more significantly, I argue that the aesthetics of videogame music draw attention to the centrality of "play" in all cultural objects.