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Seeing a Tree for the Forest

Thomas, Zachariah
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1554911121221355

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Composition.
"Seeing a Tree for the Forest" is a composition for flute/piccolo, oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, percussion, and strings (2 2 2 2 1). It is approximately eight minutes in duration and is cast in a single movement. The title, a reversal of the well-known adage, signifies this composition’s focus on the shifting relationship between a complex whole and its parts. In "Seeing a Tree for the Forest," I create shifting colors and textures by interweaving melodies in narrow registral spaces. I draw upon the image of a mass of thickly grown branches with fluttering leaves, shifting perspective gradually toward and then away from the individual branches. The dramatic arc features rapid transitions from clear, stark verticalities to chaotic, kaleidoscopic melody-clusters and gradual interpolation between melody-clusters and solo melody. The pitches in this work are controlled by fixing select notes in specific registers across the range of the ensemble (sometimes called pitch-fields). I utilize pitch-fields with different material in each octave in order to create modal scales with individual coloristic capabilities in each registral area. These registrally fixed modal scales combine to create unique harmonic and contrapuntal interactions. Five main sections comprise "Seeing a Tree for the Forest," making an arch-shaped formal structure. The third and central section presents a complete loss of the individual line in a mass of shifting string timbres, contrasted on either side by the more transparent second and fourth sections which feature solos and duos. The second section has a lyrical, yearning quality while the fourth section is energetic and jovial with moments of intense orchestral interjections. The first and last sections rely most heavily on dense melody-clusters. While both sections feature related intervallic content, the beginning avoids clear tonal structures whereas the ending section clearly articulates competing tonalities in different registers.
Mikel Kuehn, Dr. (Advisor)
Elainie Lillios, Dr. (Committee Member)
42 p.
Composition; Music
twisted branches; chamber symphony; chamber orchestra; orchestra; sonfonietta; sound mass; mode; seive

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Thomas, Z. (2019). Seeing a Tree for the Forest [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1554911121221355

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Thomas, Zachariah. Seeing a Tree for the Forest. 2019. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1554911121221355.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Thomas, Zachariah. "Seeing a Tree for the Forest." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1554911121221355

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1554911121221355
133
© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Seeing a Tree for the Forest by Zachariah Thomas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.