Sazegari, Ramteen
(2017)
STRUCTURAL TENSION IN JONATHAN HARVEY'S STRING TRIO AND SLATE REPRESENTATIVE, AN ORIGINAL COMPOSITION FOR AMPLIFIED QUINTET.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
With this study, I uncover specific techniques and structural components that are used to clarify the musical discourse in Jonathan Harvey’s String Trio (2004). The String Trio is an important work, as it distills his diverse interests (including electronic music and philosophy gleaned from Buddhism) and concentrates them into an entirely acoustic medium. Among the most integral components of the piece are the two styles of temporal unfolding that influence and contextualize time and structural elements differently. In addition to this, there are two musical characters, which Harvey describes as rustic and sacred, that inform the musical discourse. Lastly, coordinated vertical harmonies contextualize the formal partitions in the work.
The conceptual and philosophical aspects of Harvey’s music were often closely linked to his religious beliefs. As a devout Tibetan Buddhist, the concept of “emptiness” was influential to him creatively. Harvey believed that a piece of music was “empty” if its structural parameters and components were planned, but also mysterious and changeable. Given Harvey’s fluency in classical and experimental concert music, the String Trio yields a uniquely variegated formal plan. With this dissertation, I show how the aforementioned integral structural components of the String Trio define the structure of the work, and how they promote tension within it.
In my original composition Slate Representative for amplified quintet (flute, clarinet and string trio), I aimed to create a work that balanced a fluency in the utilization of classical and experimental approaches, not unlike Jonathan Harvey’s approach in the String Trio. The piece is scored for five instruments, yet the instruments do not have an equal role in terms of sonic distribution. All voices are equally vital to the fabric of the music, but since the goal of this work was to create a specific tapestry of sound, an uneven compartmentalization of instrumental forces proved to be necessary.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
28 September 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
18 April 2017 |
| Approval Date: |
28 September 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
3 August 2017 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
97 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Jonathan Harvey |
| Date Deposited: |
29 Sep 2017 00:33 |
| Last Modified: |
29 Sep 2017 00:33 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/32977 |
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