Composition, technology and acoustics

Abstract

This research studies elemental patterns and processes in compositions of the last few decades that either combine conventional forms, theory and instrumentation with technology, acoustics and electronic instruments, or else are entirely based on electronics and/or electroacoustic principles of musique concrète, elektronische musik and even more recent movements developed by leading theorists and composers of the twentieth and the twenty-first century. The studied theories and aggregated analyses serve as the main source of ideas, material and structure for the completion of a set of compositions. The use of technology and acoustics in several different ways is the principal element that unifies all the contrasting pieces in the portfolio. The research and the portfolio are done in the light, or possibly in the remnant shadows, of decades of experimentation and research in the digital fields of composition and modern technology. On a personal level, the aim of the portfolio is to allow me to get a closer look at the existent relationship between electronics and art music. Locally, the dissertation aspires to further the focus on the significance of electronics and acoustics in the process of composition, particularly in relation to conventional media, while joining the standard studies of electronic music and discussions of post-modern styles in foreign conservatories and universities. The dissertation is divided into three parts. The first part includes four subsections: the literature review, a descriptive list of the compositional tools, an analysis of the compositional process, and a conclusive chapter. The second part incorporates a portfolio of four pieces: a piece for choir, another for chamber instrumentation, a piece for a solo instrument and finally a piece for orchestra. The final section includes the fifth original piece of the portfolio (the electroacoustic work), any digitally recorded material used in all the other pieces, digitally-realised renditions of the works, and any relevant raw material used in the compositional process. The research is carried out and the portfolio is completed in the context of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) dissertation.