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The thesis sets Rousseau's philosophy of music and aesthetic of opera against the wider philosophical backcloth of eighteenth-centuryF rance and in contraposition to the more scopic music-theoredcabl ackdrop,o f which Rameau'sw ritings are takena s a paradigm. The first half of the thesis contends that the philosophy of music is fashioned upon a trinary model which mirrors the philosophy of nature and history. The first sector is an ideal, hypothetical state; the second (the 'fall) is the moment when the ideal state is ruptured, when societal and cultural institutions - and history - commence; the third, is the 'actual state', the culmination of the process of history. It is argued that relativism is at work between the second and third sectorsa nd Rousseaua ssignsa rigorous systemo f value to the processo f history and all points alongi t, the processi tself, taken as a whole, is seena s a degeneratives lide awayf rom nearperfection to imperfection. 7111sce condh alf of the thesis explores the ramifications of the trinary model and the effect the degenerativep rocessh as upon the voice, music and opera. The voice is consideredt he unique phenomenon that connects all sectors of the trinary structure: though objectified and endowed with an ontology, it is not immune to the degenerativep rocess. At the fall-state,t he voice begins to rupture and two entities - melody and language - gradually emerge. Over time, melody and speech are forced further apart until neither bears much resemblance to the other. With the invention of harmony, melody degeneratesh: armony begins to overshadowm elody, until in the eighteenthc entury- consummatedin the music and theoreticalp ostulationso f Rameau- melody is subjugated and subsumed entirely within the harmonic domain of musical production. The impact upon opera is more complex and the concluding chapters explore the radical and largely reform-driven aesthetico f opera. Roussea&sf inal dramaticw ork Py gmalion(1 762)i s considered not simply as an outcome of this aesthetic, but as an embodiment of the philosophy of music itself; the animateds tatuee nunciatesR ousseau'sv ision of the origin of human expression.

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Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Discourses of identity in East Asian new music are often limited to tracing ethnographic materials or conceptual influences from the composers' cultures of origin. Existing analytical approaches tend to look for the musical features that are emblematic of the cultures in question, and to map relationships between the contemporary and traditional musical aspects. Composers who resist employing their native traditions as musical tropes, however, problematise discussions of their identity and are consequently overlooked in studies of identity politics. This thesis therefore examines questions of identity through a focus on three contemporary composers who, in diverse ways, challenge and complicate essentialising expressions of East Asian identity: Chinese composer Chen Yi (1953-), Korean composer Unsuk Chin (1961-) and Japanese composer Karen Tanaka (1961-). All of them came to Europe or the United States to hone their skills in the mid-1980s and have since developed their musical careers in the Western world. They have been selected for examination due to their radically different reactions to the East-meets-West question; namely, Chen Yi's embracing of cultural fusion; Unsuk Chin's reaction against cultural fusion; and Karen Tanaka's lack of interest in cultural fusion. To demonstrate this variation, this thesis analyses the works of these composers, their personal viewpoints and the critical reception of their works. Beyond discussing conventional notions of identity and difference, this dissertation explores the ways in which these composers complicate their perceived dissimilarity by embracing a 'universal music' ideal. Chapter One explores Chen Yi's musical identity as defined by her idea of 'cultural translation' and her musical goal of enhancing intercultural communication; where Chen Yi affirms cultural fusion, her work contributes to the traditional idea of 'East-meets-West'. Chapter Two examines an alternative approach in the case of Unsuk Chin, who consciously avoids the practice of cultural hybridity by locating her work squarely within the Western tradition. Chapters Three examines the works of two Japanese composers - Toru Takemitsu and Karen Tanaka - who focus their attention not on cultural fusion but on natural themes. The first section of Chapter Three presents Toru Takemitsu's Japanese-based philosophy of the co-creative bond between nature and humanity, which serves as a foil for Karen Tanaka's evolving, observational relationship with the natural world. To conclude, I compare the identity choices and the musical representations in the three case studies of Chen Yi, Unsuk Chin and Karen Tanaka. By gaining a better understanding of each composer's music, this thesis aims to provide a more expansive discourse of identity formation in contemporary East Asian art music, and to offer a critical rethinking of what counts as an 'Asian perspective' in this field.

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