Thesis (D.M.A.)--Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Nigel (Henry) Butterley (b. 1935) is recognised as one of Australia??s foremost contemporary composers. His works span most compositional genres. By making a case for the value of sketch study in the process of musical analysis, the principal purpose of this thesis is to augment understanding of Butterley??s music and in particular, his compositional processes and procedures through the various stages of the genesis of a composition, from the sketch to final score. Butterley??s string quartets, composed between the years 1965 to 2001 provide the basis for this study; these works are contextualised and examined to illustrate his approach to composition in microcosm and also his individual style within the genre of string quartet writing. This study focuses on the examination of preliminary sketches, drafts and holographs, as well as the scores of the completed works. Initially, analysis is based on preliminary sketches; this will be augmented by a formal analysis of the completed works. Traditionally, formal analysis deals with the final product, something that has been created, and in a sense, views a work retrospectively. Sketch study, in contrast, examines the work as it is being created and is concerned with the attendant compositional issues and choices available to the composer and the processes followed as he or she creates the composition. The current work will identify significant common features in all the string quartets, and will trace Butterley??s compositional trajectory through these works demonstrating that individual characteristics of Butterley??s style, emergent as early as 1965, continued to be utilised in 1995 and remain present in the Bagatelle of 2001. That these characteristics remain present in a minut?? is significant, in that the Bagatelle may be seen as a microcosm of the writing style evident in his larger works. This thesis will demonstrate that sketch study and formal analysis may interact in order to provide a more comprehensive interpretation of a composer??s work and enrich the understanding and appreciation of the compositional process and the final product, ultimately impacting on the realisation of a composer??s work through performance.