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Unite

Richardson, Benjamin J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1459116702

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Composition.
Unité, an eleven minute piece for soprano and chamber ensemble (flute/alto flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, alto saxophone, percussion, viola, cello, and piano), is a setting of selections from Pensées by Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). Left unfinished at the time of Pascal’s death, Pensées is a complex work of prose, with large sections in the manuscripts consisting only of unordered fragments and incomplete thoughts on a variety of philosophical and religious topics. From this source, I have arranged a selection from two fragments into a free verse setting, consisting of five sections. The first, third, and fifth sections are taken and adapted from one fragment, while the second and fourth sections are taken from another. Arranged in this arch form, the latter fragment is positioned so as to intrude upon the original fragment. The original is a consideration of infinity, while the second describes the finite nature of humankind and the futility of longing for the past or future — temporal horizons we cannot reach. In the fifth and final section, the original fragment considers humankind’s position in the infinite, and the paradoxical concept of an infinite soul residing in a finite body. In this structure, the human, finite perspective of existence interrupts the contemplation of the infinite “universal being,” until both the finite and the infinite are unified in a mysterious harmony in the fifth section, which Pascal can only describe as “incredible.” Reflecting this structure, the piece is divided into five continuous movements. The “infinite” topic of movements one, three, and five is characterized by smooth melodies in the voice and a recurring static chord, each note fading in and out of the texture, out of phase with the rest: “this is a point moving everywhere at infinite speed; for it is one in all places and is wholly in each place.” Contrastingly, the second and fourth movements consist of more disjunct motion, rapid trills and accelerating notes, as if grasping for what is yet to come: “We scarcely ever think of the present; and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future.” Just as the separate streams of the text join into a unified conclusion in the fifth section, so too does the previous musical material coalesce, bringing together the disparate texts and sounds into a final accord.
Mikel Kuehn (Advisor)
Christopher Dietz (Committee Member)
29 p.
Music
chamber; pierrot; vocal

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Richardson, B. J. (2016). Unite [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1459116702

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Richardson, Benjamin. Unite. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1459116702.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Richardson, Benjamin. "Unite." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1459116702

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1459116702
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.