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ETD Abstract Container

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Life Above the Permafrost

Pitman, Dennis
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1272739943

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Composition.
Life Above the Permafrost is a composition for soprano vocalist, flute, B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion. This single-movement work is based on the poem “Life Above the Permafrost” by Alice Fulton and is approximately eleven minutes in length. “Life Above the Permafrost” is a romantic poem in which the presumably female speaker juxtaposes visions of nature and changing seasons with that of herself and her lover in bed. The poem’s vivid imagery evokes a variety of moods through a number of textual themes. These themes, including the recurring elements of seasons, birds, trees, beds and color, provided ample material for text painting and motivic development throughout the work. The poem also established the framework for the structure of Life Above the Permafrost, which is comprised of five main sections matching the stanzas of the poem as well as an introduction and short interludes between sections. Melodic and harmonic pitch material was derived from a primary pitch-class set (6-Z19 [013478]) and its complement (6-Z44 [012569]), which furnish the basic intervallic content for the majority of the work. 6-Z19 can most strongly be heard as the result of one of a variety of transpositional combinations of subsets, many of which are rather consonant in nature. In contrast, its complement, 6-Z44, contains more dense intervallic content. Five of the six pitch-classes in this set are contained within a range of interval-class 6, providing more dissonant possibilities. The vocal melody was composed first, employing pitches drawn from these primary sets. The ensemble’s music was then constructed around the vocal framework using derivative material from the vocal line and new material from manipulations of the aforementioned sets. Inspired by the vibrant imagery of the text, the wide timbral palette of the ensemble is utilized in colorful ways, drawing inspiration from works by the likes of Joseph Schwantner and Steven Stucky, among others.
Dr. Elainie Lillios (Committee Chair)
Dr. Mikel Kuehn (Committee Member)
22 p.
Composition; Music
composition; Life Above the Permafrost; Alice Fulton; soprano; flute; clarinet; violin; cello; piano; percussion; pierrot ensemble

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pitman, D. (2010). Life Above the Permafrost [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1272739943

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pitman, Dennis. Life Above the Permafrost. 2010. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1272739943.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pitman, Dennis. "Life Above the Permafrost." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1272739943

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1272739943
513
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.