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PART 1: SYMPHONY NO. 1: THE SLEEP SYMPHONY PART 2: SYMMETRY AND FORM IN CHRISTOPHER ROUSE'S FLUTE CONCERTO

Miller, Kevin
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3036-8482
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1556401120609963

Abstract Details

2019, PHD, Kent State University, College of the Arts / School of Music, Hugh A. Glauser.
The Sleep Symphony is a four-movement orchestral work approximately twenty- seven minutes in length. The musical composition is modeled upon scientific data from an electroencephalogram showing the sleep cycle of a normal, healthy toddler, aged 12- 24 months old. In conjunction with the sonification of scientific data, the composition incorporates thematic, melodic, and rhythmic material from childrens nursery rhymes and songs. The work is organized into four movements; the movements are named Stage One, Two, Three and REM. Each movement highlights unique features of each sleep stage by using the musical elements of tempo, rhythm, instrumentation, and orchestration to sonify the EEG data. The musical content is inspired by a graph from an electroencephalogram (EEG) published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine showing heart rate, brain waves, and breathing. The graph data is used to generate rhythmic patterns and motives, dictate changes in tempo, generate melodic/rhythmic contour, and establish instrumental ranges and combinations. Christopher Rouse’s Flute Concerto is a highly expressive piece of music that conveys many intense emotions focusing around the loss of a child to whom the composer pays tribute. To reproduce these emotions musically, this work runs the gamut of many of the stylistic musical developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Some of these techniques include varying degrees of functional tonality and total chromaticism, textural density as orchestration ranges from monophony to complex polyphony, and repetitive ostinati against virtuosic elasticity in the solo flute. The use of post-tonal theoretical techniques such as set theory and quasi-schenkerian reductions serve not only to uncover the compositional process but also to show how the composer incorporates varying musical styles to contrast tonality with dense chromaticism. Lastly, the concerto is highly organized and exhibits symmetry on multiple hierarchical levels. Through the use of post-tonal analytical techniques, these symmetrical structures are found in the foreground, middleground, and background levels of the composition. The incorporation of repetitive pitch collections, symmetrical textures, and varying degrees of polyphony all serve to inform the musical processes and make connections within and across the movements.
Richard Devore (Committee Co-Chair)
Frank Wiley (Committee Co-Chair)
299 p.
Composition; Fine Arts; Music; Music Education; Performing Arts
Music Theory Composition analysis notation reductions Flute Concerto Sleep Symphony EEG sonification

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Miller, K. (2019). PART 1: SYMPHONY NO. 1: THE SLEEP SYMPHONY PART 2: SYMMETRY AND FORM IN CHRISTOPHER ROUSE'S FLUTE CONCERTO [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1556401120609963

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Miller, Kevin. PART 1: SYMPHONY NO. 1: THE SLEEP SYMPHONY PART 2: SYMMETRY AND FORM IN CHRISTOPHER ROUSE'S FLUTE CONCERTO . 2019. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1556401120609963.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Miller, Kevin. "PART 1: SYMPHONY NO. 1: THE SLEEP SYMPHONY PART 2: SYMMETRY AND FORM IN CHRISTOPHER ROUSE'S FLUTE CONCERTO ." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1556401120609963

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1556401120609963
228
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.