Note: Pages have been removed from this digital copy due to copyright restrictions. A print copy is available in the McGill Library. / This dissertation presents the history of space in the musical thought of the 2Othcentury (from Kurth to Clifton, from Varèse to Xenakis) and outlines the development of spatialization in the theory and practice of contenlporary music (after 1950). The text emphasizes perceptual and temporal aspects of musical spatiality, thus reflecting the close connection of space and time in human experience. A new definition of spatialization draws from Ingarden’s notion of the musical work; a new typology of spatial designs embraces music for different acoustic environments, movements of performers and audiences, various positions of musicians in space, etc. The study of spatialization includes a survey of the writings of many composers (e.g. Ives, Boulez, Stockhausen, Cage) and an examination of their compositions. The final part of the dissertation presents three approaches to spatialization: Brant’ s simultaneity of sound layers, Xenakis’s movement of sound, and Schafer’s music of ritual and soundscape. / Cette thèse présente l’histoire de l’espace dans la pensée musicale du vingtième siècle (de Kurth à Clifton, de Varèse à Xenakis) et retrace le développement de la spatialisation dans la théorie et la pratique de la musique contemporaine (après 1950). Le texte souligne les aspects perceptuels et temporels de la spatialisation musicale, reflétant ainsi le lien étroit entre temps et espace t!ans l’expérience humaine. Une nouvelle définition de la spatialisation tire son origine de la notion de l’oeuvre musicale d’Ingarden; une nouvelle typologie des plans spatiaux prend en considération des musiques pour différents environnements acoustiques, diverses positions des musiciens dans l’espace de même que le mouvement de ceux-ci et des auditeurs, etc. L’étude de la spatialisation inclut un survol des écrits de plusieurs compositeurs (Ives, Stockhausen, Boulez et Cage, par exemple) de même qu’un examen de leurs oeuvres. La dernière partie de la thèse présente trois approches compositionnelles de la spatialisation: la simultanéité de strates sonores ,:hez Brant, le mouvement du son chez Xenakis et la musique du rituel et l’écologie sonore chez Schafer.

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Note: Pages have been removed from this digital copy due to copyright restrictions. A print copy is available in the McGill Library.

The musical developments of the 20th century have expanded the role of the accompanist. As the compositional output of our time increases, and the opportunity to perform as soloist with an orchestra diminishes, piano reductions of an orchestral score are becoming the most frequent vehicle for concerto performances of twentieth and twenty-first century instrumental literature. While the current state of research provides solid support to many accompanists, it is in the area of instrumental accompanying, especially with regard to the challenges of playing a reduction of an orchestral score with an instrumental soloist, that the lack of discourse becomes strikingly evident. It is the goal of this study to provide the instrumental accompanist with concrete, practical approaches and considerations in order to perform an orchestral reduction in a manner consistent with the integrity of the score. Problems such as identifying the represented orchestral instruments, delineating importance of musical lines, and basic uses and misuses of pedal, articulation, and rubato are discussed. The pianist is led through ways of deciphering and negotiating specific passages, in order to guide the accompanist through the possible pitfalls and challenges unique to many orchestral reductions. By focusing on twentieth century reductions, providing examples of problems and discussing ways to solve them, the pianist will able to apply these to any reduction encountered, not just those specifically illustrated here. These basic principles of discerning common problems and appropriately reconciling them are then applied in a more advanced form to Robert Nelson's Concertino for Baritone Saxophone (1996). Through commentary from the composer, and a comparison of the orchestral score to the reduced piano score, the accompanist will explore detailed techniques of performing this work in a manner that upholds the original “orchestral” intent of the music.

This dissertation is concerned with the relationship between the trumpet and organ in twentieth-century music for this ensemble and how that relationship effects performance with regard to organ registration and synchronization. The compositions discussed include "The Other Voices of the Trumpet," by Daniel Pinkham (1971); "Jericho: Battle Music," by William Albright (1976); "Three Pictures of Satan," by Jere Hutcheson (1975); and "Okna," by Petr Eben (1980). The theoretical writings of Pierre Boulez, Robert Erickson, and Donald Cogan deal with developing a contemporary concept of texture. This dissertation applies their theory that texture exists in two dimensions: vertical and horizontal. Stratification and blending of timbres comprise the vertical dimension. The succession of textures, governed by tempo, creates the second dimension. Chapter I provides an historical setting for the genre, introduces the theory of Boulez, Erickson, and Cogan, and supplies the programmatic content of the four works chosen for analysis. In Chapter II , the vertical elements of texture in these four works are isolated and examined. Chapter III deals with Pierre Boulez's theory that the succession of textures, governed by tempo, shapes the work. Each work is examined with regard to tempo, either mobile (fluctuating) or fixed. In Chapter IV the analysis is related to performance. Stratified textures, fused ensemble timbres, and their horizontal progression present problems for the ensemble in organ registration and synchronization. There are general guidelines given for registration as well as specific registration problems encountered in stratified textures and fused ensemble timbres. Synchronization, or coordination of events is the second challenge presented by the horizontal progression of textures.

Toru Takemitsu's piano works reveal a new scope to the concept of sound in modern piano literature. He achieves originality through his imagination and his Japanese cultural and musical heritage. Subtle Japanese elements, which have been embedded for centuries in Japan's culture and music, lend a unique, but not outwardly Japanese, feeling to this work.

This study discusses how cultural and social aspects of contemporary Swedish society impact the musical arts. It contains biographical information on representative Swedish composers, and analyzes technical and structural elements of their compositional styles. Finally, it recommends performance practice considerations regarding technical and interpretive details in Tommy Zwedberg's Face the Music for trumpet and prepared audio tape, Folke Habe's Shazam for unaccompanied trumpet, and Bo Nilsson's Infrastruktur for brass quintet.