Dissertation Index
Author: Bradford, Wesley J Title: Developing a Mathematically Informed Approach to Musical Narrative through the Analysis of Three Twentieth-Century Monophonic Woodwind Works Institution: Louisiana State University Begun: October 2015 Completed: June 2016 Abstract: This project applies mathematically informed narrative to monophonic music in the twentieth century, with a focus on three works for solo woodwinds: Debussy’s Syrinx (flute), Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Clarinet, and Britten’s “Bacchus†from Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op. 49 (oboe). This music poses difficulties for traditional analytical methods due to a lack of explicit harmonies and unusual pitch language that is neither functionally tonal nor serially atonal. Additionally, these pieces present a variety of challenges due to differences in length, number of movements, and presence or absence of programmatic elements. Therefore, nontraditional methods could be beneficial for understanding these idiosyncratic pieces. Mathematical and transformational approaches have shown that such descriptions can elegantly illustrate pitch language in a wide variety of tonal and atonal styles. Visual transformational and geometric approaches, such as oriented networks and graphic representations, can assist in illustrating important changes that take place during a piece. Narrative theory approaches analysis from another viewpoint. While not all music can be considered narrative, a narrative paradigm is applicable to a wide range of musical styles. Because narrative theories focus on large-scale topical and gestural changes for building interpretations, it complements the locally focused nature of transformational theory. Together, a mathematically informed narrative method can reveal connections that are not immediately obvious in these works, and help a listener or performer create an informed interpretation Keywords: narrative theory, transformational theory, woodwind, analysis, 20th century, geometry, monophonic TOC: TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii ABSTRACT x CHAPTER 1. METHODOLOGY AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1 I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS 3 III. SYNTHESIZING NARRATIVE AND TRANSFORMATIONAL THEORY 21 IV. CONCLUSION 27 CHAPTER 2. DEBUSSY’S SYRINX 28 I. INTRODUCTION 28 II. ANALYSIS 33 III. CONCLUSION 42 CHAPTER 3. STRAVINSKY’S THREE PIECES FOR CLARINET SOLO 44 I. INTRODUCTION 44 II. ANALYSIS 47 III. CONCLUSION 67 CHAPTER 4. BRITTEN’S “BACCHUS†FROM SIX METAMORPHOSES AFTER OVID 68 I. INTRODUCTION 68 II. ANALYSIS 73 III. CONCLUSION 93 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUDING REMARKS 95 I. DISCUSSION 95 II. NEW DIRECTIONS 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102 VITA 108 Contact: Wesley Bradford 931-264-1007 wbradf8@lsu.edu |