Reimagining My Music Creation: A Polymodular Synthesis A portfolio of three compositions and exegesis
Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Emmerson, Stephen B
Other Supervisors
Brophy, Gerard N
Year published
2021-04-30
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Synthesizers changed the way I hear and understand sound, revealing surprising synergies between the electronic oscillator, the world of music I had known up until that time, and the natural world which has always inspired my musical thinking and creation. In embracing the synthesizer, my music was altered in ways that go beyond the adjustments made in re-conceiving a work for different forces. By virtue of their intrinsic and unique nature, synthesizers challenged and then modulated my thinking about every aspect of my music creation from idea, thematic development, form and orchestration through to realisation.
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View more >Synthesizers changed the way I hear and understand sound, revealing surprising synergies between the electronic oscillator, the world of music I had known up until that time, and the natural world which has always inspired my musical thinking and creation. In embracing the synthesizer, my music was altered in ways that go beyond the adjustments made in re-conceiving a work for different forces. By virtue of their intrinsic and unique nature, synthesizers challenged and then modulated my thinking about every aspect of my music creation from idea, thematic development, form and orchestration through to realisation. This submission presents an opera recorded and explored during the research period and two multi-movement works composed and recorded during the research period. The exegesis outlines the journey undertaken from my work as a score-oriented composer of music for acoustic orchestral instrumentalists and vocalists, to my work as a synthesizer-oriented composer-performer of my music for electronic instruments. The evolving story contained in the musical works composed as the primary dimension of my research is strongly autobiographical. Accordingly, an autoethnographical methodology complements the foundational methodology of research led by artistic practice. The challenges involved in this journey were conceptual, technical, aesthetic, and methodological. This exegesis examines these various lines of development via the three works in the portfolio and, with reference to the scores, videos and recordings, the artistic responses and solutions resulting from my research. Excerpts of other works are offered as points of reference where relevant. Ultimately the work is examined for evidence of a polymodular synthesis between art, science and technology, forged in the creation of the music. Future creative potential for the candidate is considered, and to music composition more broadly in the electronic, digital age.
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View more >Synthesizers changed the way I hear and understand sound, revealing surprising synergies between the electronic oscillator, the world of music I had known up until that time, and the natural world which has always inspired my musical thinking and creation. In embracing the synthesizer, my music was altered in ways that go beyond the adjustments made in re-conceiving a work for different forces. By virtue of their intrinsic and unique nature, synthesizers challenged and then modulated my thinking about every aspect of my music creation from idea, thematic development, form and orchestration through to realisation. This submission presents an opera recorded and explored during the research period and two multi-movement works composed and recorded during the research period. The exegesis outlines the journey undertaken from my work as a score-oriented composer of music for acoustic orchestral instrumentalists and vocalists, to my work as a synthesizer-oriented composer-performer of my music for electronic instruments. The evolving story contained in the musical works composed as the primary dimension of my research is strongly autobiographical. Accordingly, an autoethnographical methodology complements the foundational methodology of research led by artistic practice. The challenges involved in this journey were conceptual, technical, aesthetic, and methodological. This exegesis examines these various lines of development via the three works in the portfolio and, with reference to the scores, videos and recordings, the artistic responses and solutions resulting from my research. Excerpts of other works are offered as points of reference where relevant. Ultimately the work is examined for evidence of a polymodular synthesis between art, science and technology, forged in the creation of the music. Future creative potential for the candidate is considered, and to music composition more broadly in the electronic, digital age.
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Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Queensland Conservatorium
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Subject
Synthesizers
opera
score-oriented composer
synthesizer-oriented composer-performer