Portfolio of compositions

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to present three musical pieces that are representative of my developing compositional voice. This is done through a variety of musical material, however a common idea throughout the portfolio is the concept of pluralism, i.e., the usage of numerous techniques and systems of composition within one piece of music. Various elements from different compositional methods are brought together to construct new musical ideas.

The first composition is the ‘Suite for piano four hands in two parts’. The work features one recurring theme that is transformed to represent the two concepts of comedy and tragedy. Although the transformation occurs melodically, harmonically, rhythmically as well as structurally, the theme remains clearly discernible. To this extent, the music is an expression of pluralism since it portrays the two seemingly opposite concepts using one theme.

The second piece is the ‘Suite Concertante for Classical Guitar and Orchestra’ where the guitar flourishes in the combination of standard and nonEstandard technical demands. The largest driving force behind this music is in the harmonic language: while the composition begins with a definite pull towards the Phrygian mode in D, it undoubtedly ends in the minor scale of E. The modulation from the former to the latter is the catalyst for much of the musical events in the three movements.

The final composition is ‘Clocks and Mirrors E themes and variations for percussion ensemble’. The themes are based on the first few numbers of the Fibonacci sequence while the variations come from an addition to those original numbers. All of the musical activity is derived from this progression through the Fibonacci numbers and their systematic manipulation. In this way this piece alludes to the two historically opposed styles of Serialism and Minimalism. It is serial in the strict use of the predetermined numbers that generate several musical objects while it is minimalistic in the fact that few numbers are used. Consequently, the texture is made up of continuous, repetitive layers and patterns.