Compositional techniques in Michael Torke's "Ecstatic Orange" [and] "in shadows, in silence" for chamber ensemble.
Item
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Title
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Compositional techniques in Michael Torke's "Ecstatic Orange" [and] "in shadows, in silence" for chamber ensemble.
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Identifier
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AAI3231975
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identifier
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3231975
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Creator
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Wramage, Gregg.
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Contributor
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Advisers: Shaugn O'Donnell | David Del Tredici
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music
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Abstract
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Ecstatic Orange is the first orchestral work by the American composer Michael Torke (b.1961), and is one of a series of color-inspired pieces Torke wrote in the 1980s. An analysis of the work's formal structure is followed by a discussion of compositional techniques used in the work related to rhythm, texture, pitch, and motivic transformation. The structure of the composition combines elements of minimalist continuous form with Stravinskian block form, and uses a variety of techniques to move between the individual sections including elision, continuation, splicing, and transition, each of which are identified and discussed. The rhythmic language of the piece features an almost continuous sixteenth-note subdivision of the pulse, manipulated by techniques including canon, phase-shifting, additive processes, and attack point techniques based on a recurring 1-2-4-8 rhythmic proportion. These techniques are analyzed and discussed both individually, and in the various combinations present throughout the piece. Textures are created with a variety of standard 20th-century techniques including heterophony, pointillism, and the contrapuntal layering of different musical gestures. Examples of each technique are examined, followed by analyses of passages that feature combined textural techniques. Three related pitch class series and one principal level of transposition are used to mate the intentional monochromatic melodic and harmonic effect of the piece. These series are manipulated with a number of basic techniques including rotation, grid technique, and additive processes, and also feature the consistent use of a [0157] subset of pitches drawn from the original series. These series are discussed in relation to the construction of themes and chords, passages that feature both the original and transposed series are examined, and the relationship of pitch to the structure of various sections of the work is also considered. In Ecstatic Orange, Torke combines rhythms derived from popular music and jazz, an intentionally limited pitch-class series and harmonic language, and an array of standard 20th-century compositional techniques to create a unique compositional style.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.M.A.
