Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2012)The selection of works presented here represents an attempt to refine and give direction to my artistic aesthetic through the exploration and synthesis of some ideas and approaches that have interested me for some years. The works consist of a set of three sonatas and two orchestral movements. (From introduction)
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ItemSilent Spring: eight original music compositions by Mark Clement Pollard( 2012)This folio contains the following eight original music compositions: The Flames, The Tears, The Stones, for percussion duo; Under Simple Stars, for alto flute and electronics; Dusting off Roses for guitar duo; All Fired Up for brass and percussion; Colouring in the Sky, for bass clarinet and orchestra; Beating the Rusty Nail for violin and piano; The Forty-seventh Theorem for piano solo and Silent Spring for full orchestra. These works are a sample of the author’s creative output between 1987 and 2012 and are indicative of the author’s stylistic changes and artistic influences. They are evidence of an eclectic compositional style and representative of works for solo, duo, large ensemble and orchestra. Notably, The Flames, The Tears, The stones (1987) explores the timbre of metal and is based on long serially derived note patterns that move in large cycles. Under Simple Stars (1989) is a free atonal work exploring electronic audio enhancement, the ritual of performance and the nature of melody as pitch and timbre. Dusting off Roses (1995) is based on the cyclic and interlocking processes of Javanese Gamelan and realised within a diatonic environment. All Fired Up (2000) incorporates aspects of the big band sound and the process of firing up a groove. Colouring in the Sky (2003) is influenced by the transforming dot painting process of the indigenous people of the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. The Forty-seventh Theorem (2005) deconstructs aspects of Chopin’s piano Sonata Op 35 (no.2) and rebuilds them through a series, textural, timbral, rhythmic, harmonic and melodic development processes. Beating the Rusty Nail (2006) blends Taiko drumming rhythms and basic funk patterns. Silent Spring (2012) is written to fulfil the Doctor of Music requirement for a new major work. It is inspired by the Rachel Carson book of the same name and is a collection of environmental sound images using five approaches to diatonicism. The folio works have a total duration of approximately 152 minutes and are submitted in three volumes both as notated scores and audio recordings.
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ItemFolio of compositions 2010 – 2011( 2011)A folio of several works and their recordings, full duration of the folio is 50 - 60 minutes, submitted in accordance with the requirements of the Degree of Master of Music, Composition. As per these requirements, one piece is of extended length, being over fifteen minutes long, and one is of extended instrumentation, being of over fifteen independent lines.
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ItemThe first and third piano sonatas of Carl Vine: a dialogue of musical contrast and complementation( 2011)The Australian composer Carl Vine has brought his own unique mode of expression to the genre of the sonata, and with each of his own piano sonatas from 1990, 1997 and 2007, this expression has manifested itself in different ways. There is a small amount of existing literature on these sonatas, including several doctoral theses from the last decade, which tended to focus on performance interpretation and on Vine’s original influences, rather than examining the questions that underlie these sonatas’ relationships to each other. While the First Sonata, written for the Sydney Dance Company, became an international success under the hands of Michael Kieran Harvey, the Third Sonata is in a very different idiom and appears superficially to be more traditional in its musical language and its treatment of the sonata genre. Yet an examination of both works, and of and the similarities and differences in their expression and their treatment of the musical elements, will reveal a comparison that is more multi-faceted and far-reaching than this, and will moreover show that many of the superficial stylistic differences between the two sonatas can in fact be identified as polarised, inverted applications of a unifying underlying principle. The purpose of this thesis is to undertake such an examination, which will start off with an introduction to the context of the two sonatas, a comparison of their openings, and an investigation into the various ways in which the composer treats specific elements. The study will then move beyond the elements to compare remarkably similar musical passages in both works, before synthesising the findings to make illuminating conclusions about the compositional frameworks of the two sonatas. Through investigation of the network of dialogues set up by the two sonatas across the various fault-lines between them, this thesis aims to shed light on the sonata as a form, on the underlying principles that unify seemingly diverse modes of musical expression, on the expressive language of Carl Vine, on the constancy and change of a musical language over time, and on the important role that polarities can play in music.
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ItemGrounding sound, distilling time: models of stasis in recent compositional frameworks( 2011)This paper aims to unravel the concept of stasis, by focusing on some unique manifestations in Western experimental music, particularly that composed since the 1970s, and seeks answers to certain key questions. Can stasis be seen as an alternative mode of structuring and listening to a musical work, a mode drawing upon organic and essential sonic qualities and not just conventionally imposed systems of compositional craft and technique? Can stasis dislodge a chiefly temporal perception of music and re-order the hierarchies of entrenched musical parameters? Is stasis a valid and generative element of music? The paper's examination of stasis looks at its centrality and changing role over diverse musical/cultural times and contexts, with particular focus on four recent composers. While the work of other composers naturally arise in the discussion, special and detailed attention is given to Eliane Radigue, Phill Niblock, Robert Ashley and Peter Ablinger.
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ItemAs the spirit moves: a study of personal spirituality as a source for musical inspiration( 2010)This research aims to clarify links existing between the performing activities of musicians and their spiritual and religious backgrounds. Specifically, it investigates my spiritual background and the impact it has had on my creative musical activities from 1990-2010. It explores my involvement with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), demonstrates links between Quaker religious practice and improvised musical performance, charts the musical and spiritual influence of Indigenous Australians on my performances, and examines the influence of contemporary Australian Quaker thought on my recorded and notated musical activities. Chapter 1 outlines my personal spiritual background. It examines the history of Quakerism, clarifying its conceptual origins and outlining the ongoing commitment of Quakers to social justice issues. The conflicted history of art-making within the Society of Friends is investigated, and experiential links between “improvisational” Quaker worship and the practices of improvising musicians are identified. In Chapter 2 I scrutinise my experiences performing with Australian Indigenous musicians, clarifying links in my own performances with Indigenous ideas and concepts of music-making, and exploring how my musical performance and social and spiritual understanding have grown due to Indigenous influences. I explore issues of meaning, language, politics and social structure in relation to Indigenous music, establishing their possible impact on musical structure and performance in Indigenous rock and reggae music. Chapter 3 comprises an analysis of selections from my recorded and notated output as a composer and improvisor from 1990-2008. Having demonstrated that spiritual belief can manifest as a concern for social justice, I uncover specific techniques that I have used in my work to express social and political ideas that encompass environmentalism, multiculturalism, non-violent resistance, opposition to war, and the rights of animals. In sum, my aim is to clarify the artistically generative aspects of my spiritual practice and to come to understand how my beliefs inform my creation of new music.
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ItemFolio of Compositions 2008-2010( 2010)Folio of compositions submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music (Composition).