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La polytonalité relève d’une démarche compositionnelle dont la définition d’ensemble s’avère extrêmement simple : il y a polytonalité quand deux ou plusieurs tonalités sont entendues simultanément. Mais cette apparente simplicité soulève paradoxalement une masse considérable de problèmes théoriques et analytiques, car cette forme d’écriture musicale, l’une des plus fluctuantes de l’harmonie contemporaine, ne permet précisément pas « d’entendre » deux tonalités simultanément de manière systématique. Cette thèse tente de dissiper un certain nombre de brouillards qui flottent depuis toujours autour de la polytonalité, d’un point de vue théorique et analytique tout d’abord, en proposant de refonder la théorie polytonale et en mettant en place une méthode analytique spécifique à cette forme d’écriture. D’un point de vue historique, cette thèse tente de dresser la filiation authentique de la polytonalité et de comprendre quelles sont les facteurs ayant entraînés son expansion et son déclin. Le sujet étant très vaste, de nombreuses études existent, offrant des perspectives très diverses sur ce phénomène complexe, mais peut-être qu’aucune n’avait jamais réellement tenté d’embrasser le sujet dans son intégralité. / Polytonality depends of a compositional approach which the definition of turns out extremely simple: there is polytonality when two or several keys are simultaneously heard. This visible simplicity creates paradoxically a considerable mass of theoretical and analytical problems, because this musical writing, one of the most fluctuating of the contemporary harmony, does not exactly allow "to hear" two keys simultaneously in a systematic way. This thesis tries to dissipate fogs which float for a long time around polytonality: from a theoretical and analytical point of view first of all, by suggesting re-establishing polytonal theory and by setting up a specific analytical method. From a historic point of view, this thesis tries to find the authentic origins of polytonality and to understand what are factors having pulled its expansion and its decline. Numerous studies about polytonality exist, offering very different perspectives on this complex phenomenon, but maybe no one had tried to embrace the subject in its entirety.

Francis POULENC (1899-1963) a été particulièrement influencé par la musique populaire de son époque. Pour étudier cet aspect de son œuvre, notre recherche s’appuiera sur la production musicale du compositeur, sur ses nombreux témoignages (correspondances, émissions radiophoniques et divers écrits) et sur tous les documents liés à la création et à la réception de ses œuvres. Le compositeur du Bal masqué n’imitait pas la musique populaire mais en empruntait quelques éléments : tel un peintre, il réalisait des « portraits de music-hall ». Afin d’apprécier cette imprégnation, nos analyses portent sur différents paramètres musicaux : la mélodie, le rythme, l’harmonie, les structures, l’orchestration et la vocalité. La finalité de notre travail s’inscrivant dans des perspectives socioculturelles, l’analyse de ces aspects techniques ne se dissocie pas du contexte historique lié au compositeur et plus largement au Groupe des Six. / The composer Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was particularly influenced by the popular music of his time. In order to study this very specific aspect of his works, our research will take into account the musical production of the composer, his personal testimonies (such as correspondence, radio programs and various pieces of writing) and all documents related to the creation and reception of his works.When composing Bal Masqué (The Masked Ball) the composer’s aim was not to copy popular music but just to make use of some of its characteristics. Just like a painter he created what he would call ‘portraits de music-hall’ (‘Music-hall portraits’). For this impregnation to be fully appreciated, our analyses will tackle different musical parameters such as melody, rhythm, harmony, structures, orchestration and vocal effects. The purpose of our research involving socio-cultural perspectives, the analysis of those technical aspects cannot be dissociated from the historical context relative to the composer and, to a wider extent, to the ‘Groupe des Six’.

This essay is an attempt to analyze, understand and reconstruct the Swedish Ballet's last work Relâche (1924) based on Richard Wagner's term Gesamtkunstwerk. Gesamtkunstverk in this case above allmeans the cross-border collaboration of artists and art forms in between, which leads according to Wagnerto a whole which is presented here as The Gesamtkunstwerk. The purpose of this essay is to take part in a work that literally no longer exist, and to try to understand itscultural-historical value. All that remains from the Swedish Ballet, is everything but the dance itself. Still we can take part of the Ballet through the artistic synthesis through innumerable collaborations shown in the sets, costumes, posters and musical compositions. I will in the analysis based on four points, try to find the tones indicating that the work is, on the basis of Wagner's definition, a Gesamtkunstwerk. The essay is also an attempt to show the innovation of this Company and to provide redress to which, according to me, is too forgotten in Swedish historiography. The thesis shows both the Swedish Ballet's historical background which includes previous works built by the same principles of collaboration presented. In this section I will also address something, according to me, important; The Swedish homophobia, mainly in the tabloids during the period in which the essay deals with, and the consequences for the company in question. Then I will analyze Relâche on the basis of the four theses, which, according to my investigation shows that the work is a Gesamtkunstwerk.

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The pieces discussed throughout this dissertation provide evidence of the evolution of the fanfare and the ability of the fanfare, as a form, to accept modern compositional techniques. While Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury maintains the harmonic series, it does so by choice rather than by the necessity in earlier music played by the baroque trumpet. Stravinsky’s Fanfare from Agon applies set theory, modal harmonies, and open chords to blend modern techniques with medieval sounds. Satie’s Sonnerie makes use of counterpoint and a rather unusual, new characteristic for fanfares, soft dynamics. Ginastera’s Fanfare for Four Trumpets in C utilizes atonality and jazz harmonies while Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre strictly coheres to twelve-tone serialism. McTee’s Fanfare for Trumpets applies half-step dissonance and ostinato patterns while Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman demonstrates a multi-section work with chromaticism and tritones. By applying modern compositional techniques to an older, abstract form, composers have maintained the original aesthetic while allowing for fanfares to be used as concert music. This document adds to the limited body of scholarly writing on modern fanfares.

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The issue of anti-Semitism in John Adams’s 1991 opera, The Death of Klinghoffer, has been widely discussed by scholars such as Richard Taruskin, Robert Fink, and others. For instance, Taruskin asserts that Adams favors the Palestinians through musical grandiosity and by describing them as “men of ideals.” However, this fails to consider the possibility that Adams intended to portray an evenhanded view of diverse religious groups. Through close readings of the libretto and select numbers from Klinghoffer, such as the “Chorus of Exiled Palestinians,” the “Chorus of Exiled Jews,” and the “Aria of the Falling Body,” my thesis maintains that Adams treats both sides equally. Although he depicts each group differently through a contrasting approach to text, orchestration, and texture, he nevertheless does not favor one group over the other. Additionally, a close reading of the “Aria of the Falling Body” provides Adams’s possible solution to this conflict – reconciliation between religious communities. Adams does so through portraying Leon Klinghoffer as a scapegoat. This aria is sung by Leon Klinghoffer’s body after he is sacrificed by the Palestinian hijackers – his sacrifice ensured the safety of the remaining passengers on board. Adams thus presents Klinghoffer as religious commentary – not only by vividly depicting the warring religious communities – but also by offering a solution to a centuries-old conflict.

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