The intense emotional response that Arvo Pärt's Cantus and the canon from Henryk Miko³aj Górecki's
Symphony No. 3, The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs generate in many listeners raises analytical
questions. A preliminary hypothesis is that the intense and durable emotional response evoked by the
works was a result of their complexity. A detailed analysis of these two canons demonstrates such
complexity. This complexity is clear, coherent, and hierarchical, and in each case is the result of a very
simple compositional procedure. In both pieces complexity is constituted by an intricate web of processes
that is described in this paper as structural depth. The kind of structural depth found in these pieces is
analogous yet significantly different from the kind of structural depth that Schenkerian analysis uncovers.
Intelligibility of processes, onset asynchrony of prominent events, and independence of processes are
proposed as important criteria for the identification of this type of structural depth. The systematic
establishment of criteria and methodology for the identification and analysis of structural depth in this
dissertation leaves the door open for its application in the analysis of other pieces. In addition, this paper
makes extensively use of metaphors such as that of a stepladder to facilitate the conceptual understanding
of the similarities, differences, and interaction among the different processes. This analysis also identifies
particular potentials of pandiatonicism that these canons takes advantage of such as the use of triadic
sonorities in a modal environment, the role played by ascending fifth root motion, and the subtle and
gradual transformation of harmonic patterns.
Fulfilling the composition requirements of the Ph.D degree in Composition and Theory, 'Burning the Deep Red Sea', an original composition for chamber ensemble follows the essay.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04262007-020508 |
| Date | 21 June 2007 |
| Creators | Jimenez, Ivan |
| Contributors | Amy Williams, Fil Hearn, Eric Moe, Mathew Rosenblum |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04262007-020508/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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