This piece is an exploration of tango music. Having played, arranged, composed, and performed this music since 2011, I consider myself steeped and well-versed in the culture and musical language of tango, and this piece is an attempt to synthesize this rich body of music with my own personal style. This work is firmly grounded in the aesthetic of tango dance music from the “Golden Age” of tango in Argentina (1935-1955) and post-Golden Age music. The intent is to create music that is immediately accessible to a layperson, recognizable as tango to someone conversant in the genre, yet distinctively new and part of the evolution of this music. The instrumentation is a cross between a chamber orchestra and a tango ensemble. Strings, flutes, clarinets, F horns, and percussion are joined by a rhythm section of piano, classical guitar, and two bandoneons (tango concertina). The lone upright bass is considered part of the rhythm section as well, rather than as part of the strings. It comprises five movements and runs approximately 25 minutes.

abstract: Despite a quickly growing repertoire list for the brass quintet, the music of the early Argentine tango has remained relatively neglected by brass quintet arrangers and performers. With the goal of bringing a neglected art form to the brass quintet repertoire, three arrangements based on early twentieth century Argentine tango songs are presented here: "Elegante Papirusa" by Tito Roccatagliata, "A La Gran Muñeca" by Jesús Ventura, and "La Cotorrita" by Samuel Castriota. The arrangements follow the style of three early recordings produced by The Victor Talking Machine in 1920 and 1922, as performed by two authentic Argentine orquesta típicas: Orquesta Típica Select and Orquesta Típica Fresedo. A brief history of the style and instrumental evolution of tango music from its influences and origins up until 1920 is discussed, followed by a detailed account of the musicians and circumstances involved in the three early recordings. An explanation of the issues encountered by the author in adapting the early tango style to the brass quintet setting is discussed, along with the solutions realized in order to make the project successful and practical for a moderately advanced brass quintet. The full brass quintet scores are provided as part of the Appendix. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2011

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) captivated Argentine and international audiences with his innovative works in a nuevo tango style and his bandoneón performances. Piazzolla?s success culminated during the 1980s with his second Quinteto, which performed remarkable concerts in venues such as the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Central Park Bandshell in New York, in addition to the performances at the Montreal and Montreux Jazz Festivals. His music also grew popular with a plethora of internationally acclaimed classical and jazz artists as well as with Argentine musicians themselves. However, Piazzolla?s music poses a challenge today, because nuevo tango represents a synthesis of the composer?s musical and cultural backgrounds, conjoining the tango legacy of Buenos Aires, the jazz idioms that he absorbed in New York, and the international traditions of classical music. Many musicians, specifically those from the United States, perform and study nuevo tango without having sufficient prerequisite knowledge of these practices, causing the genre to lose its cultural substance. By considering the fusion of tango, jazz, and classical genres and incorporating a cross-cultural analysis, this thesis aims to illuminate the basis of Piazzolla?s performance practices. It seeks to identify the yeites (tango instrumental techniques) that define nuevo tango and to suggest ways that the modern performer can incorporate these stylistic features to produce culturally informed interpretations of Piazzolla?s works. This study focuses on the practices of Piazzolla?s second Quinteto, at the pinnacle of his career, and emphasizes a gestural analysis of the yeites to produce a well-grounded concept of nuevo tango sound. This study concludes that, even though Piazzolla?s compositions represented a fusion of genres, the performance practices (and specifically the gestures) of the second Quinteto are primarily associated with the tango traditions of previous eras. Such gestures embody Piazzolla?s music and thus allow contemporary performers to recreate the evocative and persuasive characteristics of nuevo tango practices today.

Ce mémoire traite de l'influence des modèles extra-musicaux sur mes compositions et de la manière dont ils définissent mes gestes sonores. L'utilisation de ces modèles et la manière dont ils déterminent la forme, le caractère et la texture sont expliquées à travers l'analyse d'œuvres que j'ai composées pendant mes études de maîtrise. Une présentation de mon parcours artistique illustre comment j'ai évolué à partir de mes influences musicales passées pour me lancer dans mon approche compositionnelle actuelle. En conclusion, j'expliquerai comment les connaissances et l'expérience acquises au cours de mes études ont contribué à forger mon identité en tant que compositeur. / This dissertation discusses the influence of extra-musical models on my compositions and how they define my sound gestures. The use of these models and how they determine form, character, texture, are explained through the analysis of works that I composed during my master's studies. A presentation of my artistic background illustrates how I evolved from past musical influences to embark on my current compositional approach. In the conclusion, I will explain how the knowledge and experience gained during my studies have contributed to shaping my identity as a composer.