My harmonic approach is founded on two premises, pertaining especially to chordal spacing. First, that for each of the 4,096 possible sets of pitch-classes within equal temperament, without exception, certain spacing principles and techniques, if consistently applied, will generate clear, or relatively clear chordal roots. Typically, the resulting sonorities will possess more than one root – that is, be heard as polychords. Second, that one may control the level of inherent sensory dissonance of any given set of pitch-classes, presented as a chord, through register. These two factors combine to induce both harmonic coherence and euphony. For most listeners, rightly or wrongly, these are not qualities normally associated with music written using the 4,096 – that is, ostensibly ‘atonal', ‘non-tonal' or ‘post-tonal' music. Through my harmonic method, since chordal roots are consistently clarified, one may compose progressions of chordal roots – an asset on which the coherence of diatonic tonality also fundamentally depends. Within a non-diatonic context, the expressive and technical consequences are far-reaching. The following textual commentary demonstrates all of the above, supported by analyses of numerous musical extracts. These are drawn primarily from four of the compositions included in the portfolio – Madame de Meuron, The Art of Thinking Clearly, Velvet Revolution and Nevermore.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:742145 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Hollington, Barnaby Paul |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/75394/ |
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