This dissertation investigates the ways in which contemporary composers engage with nature through music. Through three case studies of compositions by Hildegard Westerkamp, John Luther Adams, and myself, I highlight a toolbox of biocentric composition techniques: techniques for meaningfully incorporating the natural world into music without exploiting it. In the process, I help to define the varied and ever-growing field of biocentric music—a new phrase I have coined to refer to the longstanding tradition of music based in mutual relationships between humans and nature.
The three case studies represent a variety of different approaches to biocentric composition in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, many of which involve the use of new technology. I argue that biocentric music is distinguished from other music that deals with nature by its relationality: composers must prioritize building a relationship with their environments as part of the creative process. Without this connection, composers run the risk of harvesting their sonic materials in a way that is analogous to the extraction of other natural resources: for their own benefit and that of their listeners, without consideration for the environment in all its complexities and varied life-forms. / Music Composition / Accompanied by one .pdf file : 1) Selin_temple_0225E_171/HSelin_compiled_graphicanalysis_becomeocean.pdf
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/10617 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Selin, Hannah Claire |
| Contributors | Manabe, Noriko, 1960-, Goldin-Perschbacher, Shana, Greenbaum, Matthew, 1950-, Wright, Maurice, Swendsen, Peter V. |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 152 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/10579, Theses and Dissertations |
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