Stephen Downing

Supko, John

Downing, Stephen

2023-10-03T13:35:31Z

2023-10-03T13:35:31Z

2023

Music

This dissertation is made up of two parts. The first is an original composition for chamber ensemble, and the second is an analytical article about memory in Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Unremembered.The original composition is entitled Abstract music for an imaginary film: nos. 1-9 and is scored for two pianists and two percussionists. The piece is an attempt to translate imagined visual imagery into an auditory experience. The individual movements could each be interpreted as musical representations of imaginary minimalist paintings in a gallery or as a series of imaginary short films consisting of gradually shifting swathes of color. While the formal aspect of the piece is entirely organic and intuitive, the rhythmic devices and layering are derived from calculated mathematical sequences and patterns. Overall the piece should conjure the image of slowly evolving abstract shapes that morph with the gradually shifting patterns in the music. The article, entitled “Composing Memory: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Unremembered”, examines the thirteen-movement song cycle and how it relates to various aspects of memory. Text painting is a central focus of the analysis, specifically in regard to recurring melodies used to represent memory and the use of large-scale formal devices across movements. Snider’s use of vocal canons and heterophony are also examined, specifically how certain vocal textures connect to the idea of memory. These compositional elements deeply connect the music to Nathaniel Bellows’ poems which serve as the text of the piece. By emphasizing the value of closely studying a relatively new work by a prominent composer within the NYC indie-classical scene, I hope to shed light on some of the noteworthy compositional techniques used to enhance the piece.

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/29117

Musical composition

Stephen Downing

Dissertation