A Rough Journey is a single movement for orchestra with an approximate length of 14 minutes. The orchestra consists of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players), piano and strings. The piece is inspired by Alfred Schnittke's musical language and features a variety of elements representing different styles. The harmonic language for instance, consists of pure triads (mostly augmented triads) in both tonal and atonal textures, triads with added dissonances as well as clusters. Although for the most part the piece does not follow a traditional harmonic language, I introduce unstable tonal centers occasionally to strengthen the tonal aspect of the music in contrast with its contemporary textures.
The composition includes a few monograms as the main thematic materials which include B-A-C-H and D-S-C-H. However, I add extra notes to these motives to make them slightly longer and more unique. For example, I almost always end the B-A-C-H with the starting note, making it B-A-C-H-B. The Shostakovich motive is also extended to DS-C-H-(B flat-A flat-G). These motives are developed and transformed as the piece progresses, and appear with various rhythms.
Dodecaphony is another compositional technique which is used in my work. I use "quasi dodecaphonic" rows against other materials as one of the musical layers. Piano is one
of the instruments that features this particular technique by playing all twelve notes in a variety of forms. In addition to tone rows with consecutive notes, I also use dodecaphonic approach in a macro level which is a more unique way of using the technique. For example, the first section of the piece features the two discussed main monograms starting from each and every note of all twelve pitch classes, exploring a vast spectrum of notes at the very beginning. At the same time, I make allusions to traditional harmonic progressions by creating triadic structures in this imitative texture. The pivot note F# is introduced against the discussed texture and maintains its prominence throughout the composition. This pivot note serves as the ending point of some sections, including the string introduction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/32736 |
| Date | 21 August 2012 |
| Creators | Honarmand, Amin |
| Contributors | Chan, Ka Nin |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Musical Score |
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