This thesis in composition started with a reflection about the nature and meaning of space in music and how it has been used in composition, especially in electroacoustic music. My reflection resulted in two research questions - 'What is space in music?' and 'How can space be used as an essential aspect of composition?' I followed a phenomenological approach, in its French ramification, represented by Mikel Dufrenne (1973) and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1996, 2004). As phenomenology recognises the centrality of perception as the foundation of all knowledge and the arts, I focussed on the concept of perceived space, as conceptualised by J. J. Gibson (1966, 1986), examining the role of the different perceptual systems in the perception of space, with special emphasis on the auditory system. I defined three senses of space which I believe tQ be fundamental in electroacoustic music: musical space as reverberation, sound spatialisation and reference. I develop each concept and give examples of different composers who have worked with each of them. I composed four pieces - Journey I and 11, and Night Song I and 11 - in which I exemplify and develop in practice the concepts discussed in theory, using a number of spatial compositional techniques which I learned from my theoretical research, while also developing my own techniques. In Chapter 7 I describe the most relevant aspects of my compositional process which are more directly related to the spatial aspects of the works composed, introducing the concepts of spatial narrative and spatial design, providing a bridge between the theory discussed in the previous chapters and my compositional practice. I finish the thesis with a reflection about possible connections which can be made between the development of spatial music and a broader cultural context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:654555 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Macedo, Frederico Alberto Barbosa |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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