Dissertation Index
Author: Ballard, Jack D., Jr. Title: Part One: The Castle (Ballet for Large Orchestra) and Part Two: Hyperextended Chord Tones: Chromatic Consonance in a Tertian Context Institution: Kent State University Begun: January 2008 Completed: December 2008 Abstract: Part One is a ballet based on a short story by George MacDonald, best known as a nineteenth-century Christian apologist and writer of children’s tales and other stories. One of these is typical of his adult writings, which tend toward the macabre, allegorical, supernatural, and Christian symbolism. The Castle is a fairy tale underscoring the waywardness of the universal Church in relation to the Lord. As a fantasy, the short story lends itself to the versatile medium of dance. The Castle ballet is scored for large orchestra with percussion, set in eight movements: Overture, Contemplation, Family, Rebellion, Evening, The Party, Lament, and Redemption. It portrays the rebellion of a family against the authority of an eldest brother and sister when insisting on having an extravagant party in the confines of a vast castle. A storm breaks up the party at its height, freeing the brother and driving off the guests. Family members are terrified and repentant as they wait for the brother’s judgment. The sister intervenes and the brother shows mercy. The music is programmatic and integrates representative elements such as themes, motivic development, polymeter and polyrhythm, and harmonic variation. Part Two applies traditional tertian approaches to chromatic harmony as a basis for analysis and composition by extending the principle into the third and fourth octaves above the root. It is felt provable that resonant overtones may be reinforced by what are normally considered dissonant chromatic tones with the intention and/or result of an extended consonance. Called “hyperextended tones,” these include the raised fifteenth, raised nineteenth, and raised twenty-third, which are justified in the harmonic resonance of a single fundamental tone, and in the individual tones that make up any given chord. Historical support is found in popular, classical, and jazz styles. Studies in physics have also shown that the mechanics by which timbre, harmony, beat waves, and roughness interact are not well understood and may have an impact on the compositional and listening processes. Keywords: Ballet, acoustics, harmonic series, harmonics, tertian, chord, structure, TOC: CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Notation and Methodology II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIRDS AS A BASIS FOR ANALYSIS The Minor Triad III. A PERSPECTIVE ON FUNCTIONALITY IV. ACOUSTIC JUSTIFICATION Implications of the Tuning Systems Paul Hindemith’s Perspective The Resonance of Progressive Fifths The Harmonics of the Triad V. PITCH PLACEMENT OPERATIONS Relationship as a Fundamental Perspective on Consonance VI. HYPEREXTENDED TONES—DEFINITIONS VII. SUBSTITUTING EXTENDED CHORDS Inversions and Rewriting Substitutions The Valt to bII Substitution VIII. JAZZ ANALYSIS AND CONTEXT WITH HYPEREXTENDED TONES V-I Resolutions The Approach Chord in a Jazz Context Application in Improvisation The Blue Tonality and the Augmented Twenty-third Harmonic Considerations Consonant Tones: Melodic Application IX. CONCERT MUSIC ANALYSIS Blue Tonality in Classical Music Atonal and Non-tertian Approaches Quartal and Quintal Systems Polychordal Approaches Written and Intended Consonant Chords X. CONCLUSION APPENDICES A. Progressive Development of Intervals B. Graphs C. Additional Musical Examples Contact: Malone University 2600 Cleveland Ave NW Canton, OH 44601 330.471.8332 jballard@malone.edu |