published_or_final_version / abstract / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

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Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex was based on Sophocles’ classic tragedy Oedipus Tyrannus. Jean Cocteau wrote the libretto for Stravinsky in French, the text was then translated into Latin. Le speaker speaking in the audience’s native language with a detached voice is added to the opera-oratorio to narrate the events of the story throughout. With its mixed genres, the juxtaposition of the dead language and the vernacular, the contrast of the spoken word and the music performance, and the intertexual references in the music, a strong dialectical tension is created. This study is a critical review of the narrative mode of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. For a very long time, literature on Oedipus Rex has mainly focused on the presentation of its music. However, as an opera-oratorio, Oedipus Rex is composed to stage. This study aims at investigating the theatrical significance of the work, for its theatrical presentation is influential and profound in 20th century music theatre. Of particular note is the use of le speaker. The narration inserted in between each musical episode creates a sense of ambivalence in the storytelling. The work is therefore a bold challenge to the way stories have been told in theatre over the past centuries. The discussion concludes with the analysis of Julie Taymor and Seiji Ozawa’s film version of Oedipus Rex in 1992. With Japanese elements infused in the work, the dramatic tension between the spoken word and the music performance is further polarised. This production is an example of how a combination of the spoken word and the music performance pushes the Oedipus story further away from Sophocles’ original. / published_or_final_version / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

Since 1950, wind band repertoire has experienced accelerated change and growth. There has been a shift from orchestral transcriptions, in which wind instruments frequently have been used formulaically, to original compositions for wind band that explore new timbre possibilities. This study analyzes selected band pieces composed since 1950, paying particular attention to the use of timbre. Specific developments that are discussed, in addition to the change in band instrumentation, are the new emphasis on percussion, and the exploration of new instrument combinations and their resulting timbres. This study primarily focuses on Symphony in B-flat for Band (1951) by Paul Hindemith, Music for Prague 1968 by Karel Husa, and " ... and the mountains rising nowhere" (1977) by Joseph Schwantner. These pieces represent the efforts of renowned composers whose music is considered significant in band repertoire. Hindemith's Symphony in B-flat conforms to the standard instrumentation of the period, as dictated by the American Bandmasters Association in 1945. Husa's Music for Prague 1968 reflects considerable expansion of instrumentation, and expands the role of the percussion section. Schwantner's " ... and the mountains rising nowhere" marks a deliberate nullification of the standard instrumentation for which Hindemith and Husa composed. Even though these composers have continued to make traditional use of form and harmony, their experiments have made the band's instrumentation more flexible than that of the pre-1950 era. These composers have exploited expanded percussion writing and new combinations of instruments. The transition from a pre-determined instrumentation dictated by external influences (Hindemith), through an expansion of that standard (Husa), to a music that is freed from any instrumentation limitations (Schwantner) reflects increasing composer interest in timbre as a primary compositional element. Composers continue to experiment with the instrumentation of the band, excluding traditional instruments and adding others. They have created great flexibility in the size and make-up of wind band instrumentation and generated music that places timbre in a position of high priority.

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Poetic Afterthought is an original music composition for orchestra (2-2-2-2 / 4-2-2-1 / timp-perc / piano-harp / strings). The work comprises a cycle of seven orchestral pieces inspired by seven Chinese Classical poems. The seven orchestral pieces attempt to capture the moods and impressions of the poems while carrying hints of the original structures of the poetry as if the music speaks poetry itself.