The contents of my portfolio reflect my overall interest in the works of Berg, Berio, Lutoslowski, Ives and Carter. The subsequent analysis of works by these composers has developed my overall techniques in counterpoint. canon and in the spatial use of instruments within the orchestra. The last two pieces in my portfolio reflect an interest in temporality and the structures found in nature. In this dissertation, the terms: Rotation and Spiral are used frequently. We can listen to a piece of music and hear it as a forward moving succession of events heard within a certain period, which could be described as the "linear" Newtonian Model ( 1. pp.23). An alternative model however, is to experience a piece of music as entering a three dimensional sound world; subsequent reoccurring motives and/or themes within this world could now be seen as rotations or spirals. A Rotation would begin and end a section with the same theme or motive- a Spiral would end the section using the theme Imotive at a higher or lower level and perhaps moving on to different material altogether. These rotational and spiral constructs can also be seen in nature; for instance in the cyclic reoccurrence of the four seasons and in the structure of shells. These models of thematic and melodic reference and their subsequent orbits could also now be translated as walking and returning to the same point of departure - as seen in the illusionary movements in the staircases of Escher. The listener can move within this aural construct as if walking on a spiral staircase - upwards or downwards - and by doing so, hear the music as a three dimensional concept, rather than the alternative "linear" (two dimensional) one.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:574563 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Rodenhurst, Douglas |
| Publisher | University of Sheffield |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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