This PhD thesis comprises a portfolio of electroacoustic music and a written commentary. The portfolio consists of ten acousmatic compositions, two of which are collaborative works, and one video recording of a live electroacoustic improvisation. The commentary discusses the creative processes behind the works and their most pertinent aesthetic concerns. The usage of varying bottom-up and top-down methodologies in the different pieces is investigated, with a workflow termed ‘improvisatory composition’ being the most prevalent. Pursuing a mind-set of unselfconsciousness and mindfulness is fundamental to all of them, and this is illuminated with the concept of no-mind and Zen koans. Aesthetically, evocation of enigmatic, elusive, indefinite and nonconceptualisable moods and emotions is central to the works. This is termed ‘incorporeal evocation’; it is paired with the concept of ‘corporeal evocation’, which relates to the notion of ‘permeability’. The repercussions of different degrees of selfconsciousness in self-expression is also examined, as well as the concept of ‘betweenness’ and the idea of ‘enigmaticism’ in music. Finally, Iain McGilchrist’s recent theory on the hemispheric differences of the human brain is introduced to give another layer of meaning to these viewpoints, and the importance of the nonconceptual nature of music is argued for.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:723397 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Kuoppala, Visa Tapani |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7747/ |
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