Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University

Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University

My composition May-SHEE-Ka from Atzlan for orchestra and choir creates a sound world that imagines what some of the sounds might have been like when the Mexica people first arrived on the banks of Lake Texcoco in the early development of the Mesoamerican region. This along with my research of the Mexicas musical and cultural practices provides the context for this work for full orchestra and SATB choir. The title of my work May-SHEE-Ka from Aztlan is derived from the pronunciation of the word Mexica in the Nahuatl language of Mesoamerica. Mexica is the name of the nomadic tribe more commonly referred to as the Aztecs. It is believed that the Mexica came from Atzlan, which is said to be the ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, a key cultural group of Mesoamerica. The word Azteca comes from the Nahuatl word for people from Atzlan. The title of this work is my own extraction of this historical understanding.

Thesis (M.M.)--Boston University, 1963. A composition presented to the faculty of the School of Fine and Applied Arts, Boston University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Music, August 1963

This study engages the collaboration of dance and music, focusing primarily on experiences in the production of a large scale collaborative concert entitled Never Odd or Even. Famous historical collaborations offer archetypal collaborative models, the more unconventional of which are applied to the pieces of the concert. Issues and observations regarding cross-influence, project evolution, and application of the collaborative models are engaged to determine effective means of collaboration given different circumstances. The key focus of the study, the temporal relationship between music and dance, is explored in great detail to determine three models for relating time between music and dance. These temporal relationship models are applied to the pieces and evaluated on effectiveness and potential strengths when applied to dance.

No description available.

This folio and accompanying commentary draw together my compositional work over the period of the PhD and plot the development and exploration of a number techniques which are to be found in varying degrees in each of the works but with different emphases. These techniques include the use of: parallel structures and metres to provide a sense of independence of compositional ideas; parallel tonal centres within overarching schema to control and draw thematic material together; the use of rhetorical musical gestures that seek to break free of their context; fragmentation and the accumulation of material in terms of quantity and density in order to facilitate a sense of change; the limitation of pitch material in order to create a sense of stasis; and the use of slow sustained melodies that lack a clear pulse in order to create a sense of musical events that are not bound by time.

No description available.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University