Browsing by Subject "Twelve-tone system"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Eclecticism and the American piano sonata: the assimilation of neoclassicim and the twelve-tone technique in the piano sonatas of Roger Sessions, Vincent Persichetti, and Ross Lee Finney(2003) Schumann, Michelle Vera; Crist, Elizabeth Bergman; Nel, AntonAs a genre, the piano sonata holds a vital place in the development of American music in the twentieth century. With well over four hundred American piano sonatas written within the past 100 years, the sheer number testifies to the genre’s popularity and demonstrates its importance within American music. In particular, the twentieth-century American piano sonata stands as a significant genre of choice for many composers. A selection of these piano sonatas illustrates a noteworthy stylistic shift from a neoclassical aesthetic to twelve-tone serial practice in the United States. Through a detailed study of the sonatas of Roger Sessions, Vincent Persichetti, and Ross Lee Finney, this treatise documents the shift from neoclassicism to twelve-tone serialism in the post-war era and the merging of these apparently different aesthetics. While these piano sonatas demonstrate the assimilation of two separate stylistic tendencies and contemporary languages, they also point to a broader, post-war tendency in American compositional style. The initial incorporation of the twelve-tone technique within a prevailingly neoclassical stylistic framework seems but a first step toward the further integration of disparate techniques and styles, yielding an eclecticism that propels American composition through the rest of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Roger Sessions, Vincent Persichetti, and Ross Lee Finney’s assimilation of separate styles and techniques shows a crucial stage in the development of a widespread American eclecticism. Their infusion of neoclassical stylistic elements into a twelve-tone language gives a glimpse of the broader prevalence of eclecticism within the American piano sonata genre and within American contemporary music as a whole.Item An examination of the integration of serial procedures and folkloric elements in the music of Roberto Gerhard (1896-1970)(2009-05) Mitchell, Rachel Elice, 1976-; Pearsall, Edward, 1954-Roberto Gerhard was a twentieth-century Spanish composer known for his unique treatment of the twelve-tone system. A student of the Spanish nationalist composer, Felipe Pedrell in Barcelona and also a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg in both Vienna and in Berlin, Gerhard's musical trajectory led to a synthesis of these disparate compositional traditions. In this dissertation I will explore the development of Gerhard's compositional procedures. Here, his first string quartet, composed between 1950 and 1955, becomes a useful tool to illustrate how he made the transition from one musical style to another. Gerhard's first string quartet, composed between 1950 and 1955 exhibits various experimental formal procedures but is governed by a single twelve-tone row. The work is composed in the twelve-tone idiom, but nationalist elements decorate the musical surface. The first movement follows the classical model of sonata-allegro form, while mathematical proportions govern durations and formal elements in later movements. I will first investigate Gerhard's musical language and pitch material and then consider the challenges raised by implementing sonata form outside of a tonal idiom. I will then examine his unique mathematical approach to formal design in the third movement. In addition to the string quartet, I will explore Gerhard's treatment of form in such works as his Wind Quintet (1928) and Metamorphoses--Symphony no. 2 (1957-59).Item Laments and praises, images and reflections: for string orchestra(Texas Tech University, 2001-12) Adams, Dianna CrowleyLaments and Praises, Images and Reflections for string orchestra (without string basses) was composed in 1997. The work (acttially in three large sections) is a musical exploration of three emotional processes: grief (Laments), yoy (Praises), and contemplation (Images and Reflections). The human need to find meaning in life's stages, events, and emotions was the inspiration for the work. Laments, the first large section, musically portrays the emotion of grief The poet Kahlil Gibran. In his work The Prophet, said of sorrow, "When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight" (Gibran, pp. 35-36;. Laments conveys this sadness and yearning for people and times past through the use of minor sonorities, the Expressionist 12-tone techniques, extreme dynamic contrasts, stretto, and descending accompanimental figures. Praises, the second large section, through the use of a folk-like melody, quartal structures providing rhythmic accompaniments, changing meters, and hand-slaps, represents the stage in life in which grief gives way to joy. "When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy" (Gibran, p. 35). Images and Reflections, the third and final section, portrays life's events as one strives for understanding and reconciliation. "Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights. But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge" (Gibran, p. 62). Musically pondering the heart's knowledge. Images and Reflections displays such compositional devices as horizontal and vertical mirroring of outer voices, whole-tone scales, and extreme dynamic contrasts. A review of scalar materials and the Babbitt square of the twelve-tone row found in Laments and Praises, Images and Reflections may be seen in Appendix A.Item Movements for strings and percussion(Texas Tech University, 2002-05) Montaño, Maria GladysMovements for Strings and Percussion is a three-movement work for string orchestra and percussion. There are nine separate string parts (four violins, two violas, two cellos and contrabass). The work can be performed by nine solo string players, or with multiple players on each part. Four percussionists are required, performing on the following instruments: xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, wind chimes, temple blocks, triangle, cow bells, cymbals, tambourine, piccolo snare drum, bass drums, and timpani. The piece explores the limitations caused by clear sectional musical form construction and the use of limited pitch resources (limited pitch classes in the first movement, and material derived from a twelve-tone row in the second and third movement) in three ways: (1) by combining the string family as quintet, quartet, or sections, (2) by utilizing various performance techniques in the strings (mute, ponticeilo, harmonics, and pizzicato) and percussion (bowed vibraphone), and (3) by using a wide variety of percussion instruments. In addition to the use of limited pitch resources. Movements achieves unity and coherence by using common elements throughout the work. The two common elements are: (1) instruments featured as soloists in each movement, and (2) the use of compound intervals, octave displacement, and disjunct melodic writing.