Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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Item"Speaking in tongues": an investigation into a compositional practice informed by intercultural exploration( 2019)There is an existing context for contemporary composers engaging in intercultural exploration through creative work, both in Australia and internationally. Taking a practice-led research approach, this study by composer Tim Dargaville investigates the ways that ceremonial forms and ritual practices can inform the creation of new music and the development of a personal compositional language. A folio of five compositions for solo instrument, string quartet, chamber ensembles and orchestra, with scores and recordings will be accompanied by a dissertation that aims to contextualise the process of creation, locating the development of the works within a broader understanding of approaches to intercultural exploration undertaken by Australian and international contemporary composers.
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ItemThe pursuit of originality: aspects of unity and individuality through compositional synthesis( 2018)This thesis forms case studies using compositions by its author Lorenzo Alvaro as a catalyst for understanding how originality is manifested in the consistent re-enactment of borrowing and self-borrowing. Understanding how compositions ‘come together’ through ‘Synthesis’ oppose long-debated theories of originality being an innate power giving rise to the notion of ‘genius’. More recent scholarship acknowledge borrowing and collaboration as a means for originality, and based on this, the thesis argues that true originality is nothing more than an ideal.
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ItemThe remains of decay: composing auditory afterimages( 2018)This autoethnographic critical exploration reflects on an accompanying folio of music compositions created between early 2013 and late 2016: Suite from The Bloody Chamber for three harps, Rung for electric guitar, contrabass recorder, violin, double bass and sensor-triggered bells, extracts from The Experiment: a musical monodrama; bound south for string quartet and Harp Guitar Double Concerto for two soloists and chamber orchestra. A post-structuralist reading reveals an emergent philosophical and practice preoccupation with the sonic phenomenon of the auditory afterimage.
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ItemRepurposing material and idiom in new music( 2018)A folio of nine works is presented, which explore three significant aspects of the composer’s art. Firstly, “musical language” itself is used as an expressive device, and resulting expectations and associations are intended to stimulate the listener. Secondly, recognition of the significant cultural lineage of western music has encouraged the reuse and repurposing of established and even traditional elements beyond their usual contexts. Finally, the works explore the effectiveness of “musification” where non-musical cues, such as dramatic narrative and visual metaphors, are represented in musical terms. The works are mostly for larger ensembles, such as orchestra or wind ensemble, but the central work of the folio is a song cycle setting poems by the Melbourne-born poet and writer Walter J Turner.
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ItemFootprints: the assimilation of extra-Classical elements in a compositional language( 2015)Footprints: The Assimilation Of Extra-Classical Elements In A Compositional Language consists of a folio of compositions in two volumes, and a dissertation. Both the folio and the dissertation explore a range of extra-Classical elements that are assimilated into my artistic output. The dissertation also investigates the musical genesis of each element, and how their assimilation creates my own compositional language. A preliminary discussion defines applicable terms, and the differences between borrowing and stylistic allusion, before moving into a broad literature review. An array of extra-Classical influences are investigated, along with their role in my compositional process. The focus then moves to a progressive analysis of my orchestral work Ithaka. The integration of extra-Classical elements within the work is examined, followed by a similar investigation into my chamber works Organica and Concertino. An analysis of the presence of extra-Classical influences in my other folio works concludes the investigation. An overall conclusion revises the diverse elements present in my creative output, how they interact to form my unique compositional language, and what directions the assimilation of these elements might take in the future.
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ItemComposition Portfolio( 2014)The research focus of this PhD thesis is the composition of two large-scale musical works. Central to this research is the exploration of how eclecticism, in terms of shifting methods of pitch-organisation, might be used as an expressive, aesthetic and philosophical response to the composition of an opera, and more broadly as the principal means of musical expression in the twenty-first century. To achieve concinnity within an eclectic framework, a limited number of styles or methods of pitch organisation have been used in both works. These are modes, pitch clusters, pitch sets and tonality. The major component of this PhD submission is a folio of two large-scale original works (with attached CD recordings). These are an opera in three acts, The Juniper Passion, and a triple concerto, Convergence for violin, cello, piano and orchestra. The purpose of the dissertation is to provide a background to eclecticism within the context of stylistic pluralism and postmodernism, to address the musical responses to the libretto in terms of character, time and place, and to show how philosophical and aesthetic perspectives have been interpreted and presented musically. The dissertation also provides technical analysis of key extracts from both works. Although there is no philosophical underpinning in the concerto per se, the analysis highlights a consistency in composition methods, especially in the use of the use of pitch clusters and modality
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ItemConstructing the musical work: an examination of structural organisation and extra-musical interaction in an individual composition practice( 2014)A folio of five compositions including acoustic and electroacoustic works with scores and recordings. The folio works are accompanied by a dissertation that elucidates the composition process. Recurrent patterns of creative practice are investigated from the following perspectives; the ways in which extra-musical influences impact on the compositional process; how the approaches to structural organisation are conceived and contribute to unity and identity across the composition output; how electronic studio processes affect the practice.
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ItemFolio of original compositions 2009 - 2012( 2013)This thesis consists of a folio of original music scores composed during the period 2009–2012 and a dissertation of exegesis. Volume 1 comprises the scores – nine works for forces ranging from voice and piano to full orchestra, and including two extended song cycles. Performances of most of these works can be heard on the accompanying CD.The dissertation in Volume 2 addresses aesthetic and technical intentions and contextualizes the work in terms of both current compositional trends and formative influences. An examination of the approach towards harmony reveals the use of a wide range of idioms from functional harmony to basic serialism. This leads naturally into a discussion of form, rhythm and text, which describes the use of formulae such as golden section proportion and tendencies towards three-part structure. The effect and use of text is also explored.The compositional techniques posited are then explained in relation to the two works inspired by and based on songs by Blind Willie Johnson. Differences in approach are highlighted in the comparative analysis which follows. Lastly, analysis of the cycle Visionary Songs offers insights into the workings of the compositional process itself. The dissertation in Volume 2 addresses aesthetic and technical intentions and contextualizes the work in terms of both current compositional trends and formative influences. An examination of the approach towards harmony reveals the use of a wide range of idioms from functional harmony to basic serialism. This leads naturally into a discussion of form, rhythm and text, which describes the use of formulae such as golden section proportion and tendencies towards three-part structure. The effect and use of text is also explored. The compositional techniques posited are then explained in relation to the two works inspired by and based on songs by Blind Willie Johnson. Differences in approach are highlighted in the comparative analysis which follows. Lastly, analysis of the cycle Visionary Songs offers insights into the workings of the compositional process itself.