ABSTRACT Sunshower a Symphonic Poem for Wind Ensemble Jordan R

ABSTRACT Sunshower A Symphonic Poem for Wind Ensemble Jordan R. Tucker, M.M. Mentor: Scott McAllister, D.M.A. Composed in the programmatic spirit of standard wind ensemble works such as H. Owen Reed’s La Fiesta Mexicana, Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass, and Alfred Reed’s Armenian Dances, Sunshower is an exploration in sonoristic composition and a tribute to the classic wind ensemble. Utilizing a large ensemble, this four-movement symphonic poem was begun in June of 2016 and was completed in February of 2017. With the intention of creating the aural and sensational atmosphere of a sun-shower, my ultimate goal was to share a work that is both programmatic in its connection to the listeners, and depicts a unique, modern, and human experience. By establishing an aural connection between the wind ensemble and this fascinating weather pattern, the music is able to unify audience members in an acoustic environment, allow them to embrace new sensations of expression, and demonstrate the textural possibilities within the world of wind ensemble composition. Sunshower by Jordan R. Tucker, B.M. A Thesis Approved by the School of Music Gary C. Mortenson, D.M.A., Dean Laurel E. Zeiss, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music Approved by the Thesis Committee Scott McAllister, D.M.A., Chairperson Jeffrey Powers, M.M. Horace J. Maxile, Jr., Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School May 2017 J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright @ 2017 by Jordan R. Tucker All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………..v CHAPTER ONE – Introduction…………………………………………………………..1 CHAPTER TWO – Formal Structure……….…………………………………………….3 CHAPTER THREE – Motivic Material……………....…………………………………..9 CHAPTER FOUR – Sonorism…………………………………….…………………….14 CHAPTER SIX – Conclusion………………………………………………………...….18 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………….19 ATTACHED DOCUMENTS - Sunshower iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Use of (a) motif in measure 26………….…………………………..…………10 Figure 2. Use of (a) motif in measure 110.………………………………………………10 Figure 3. Use of (a) motif in measure 250……………………………………………….11 Figure 4. Use of (b) motif in measure 70…………………………….…………………..12 Figure 5. Use of (b) motif in measure 118……………………………………………….12 Figure 6. Use of (b) motif in measure 152……………………………………………….13 v CHAPTER ONE Introduction A sun-shower, known by hundreds of different folk-based names worldwide (such as “The devil’s beating his wife” in the Southern United States, “The wolf’s wedding” in France, and “Liquid Sunshine” in Hawaii), is a meteorological phenomenon during which the sun is shining but rainfall still occurs. This is a unique type of storm for many reasons, but most obviously because its circumstances are typically mutually exclusive – when the sun is visible, rainfall is essentially absent, and when rain is falling, the sun is typically blocked by dark clouds. Because of the emotional ties between weather patterns (thunderstorms triggering fear, rainfall causing sadness, and sunshine bringing joy), I chose to explore the emotional sensation experienced during this unique situation, in which the typical emotional status is quite unclear. With Sunshower, I chose to convey not only a complex emotional experience, but also the atmospherically unique aural sensations, such as rainfall, wind, and thunder, that one experiences during a sun-shower. This concept of recreating environmental sounds had interested me early on in my musical life. The wind band music of W. Francis McBeth utilizes this type of philosophical goal and by performing his music at an early age, I began to see the compositional possibilities that exist in the wind ensemble setting. These aural possibilities were expanded through my examinations of the music of Michael Colgrass, whose textural and programmatic influence led me to the view storms and other environmental occurrences in a more artistic outlook. After experiencing a gorgeous sun- 1 shower during an important time in my undergrad studies, I knew recreating that aura would be a fascinating and challenging experiment. In terms of scope, I chose a multi-movement symphonic poem as the foundation for this recreation due to its historically programmatic designation. Though not as lengthy as the symphonic poems of Liszt and Strauss, Sunshower is designed to tell a story of how a sun-shower is formed and executed, and depict the formation and execution themselves. With this in mind, my goal was a substantial work for wind ensemble that demonstrated the interesting aura of the sun-shower as well as the compositional capabilities one can utilize when writing for wind ensemble. 2 CHAPTER TWO Formal Structure Sunshower consists of four distinct movements that are divided by style and musical atmosphere rather than by breaks in musical sound. The order of the movements is based on the background of the sun-shower, following by the formation and execution of the storm. The first movement is entitled Storms – in media res. Similarly to many examples in literature and film (such as Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Martin Scorsese’s’ Raging Bull), the beginning of this “story” takes place in media res; more specifically, it begins during the sun-shower itself. In media res is a story-telling technique that is used to engage the audience in the action from the very beginning. Though a sun-shower isn’t action-packed, I chose to utilize this technique primarily to demonstrate my compositional outlook of sonorism to the audience early on, and use that demonstration as a basis for the compositional voice throughout the work. The opening movement is rather slow (adagio), and displays an arch in terms of textural density and intensity. The second movement, Origins, provides the listener with a glimpse of the sun- shower’s origin. Essentially, a sun-shower is created when the rain of a nearby storm is influenced by wind to land at a different location. For this to happen, the rainfall needs to be relatively light, and the wind needs to be relatively strong. The second movement of Sunshower demonstrates this by presenting the lightness of the rain (tonality), which is interrupted and somewhat agitated by the wind (polytonality). The wind causes the rain, 3 and the melody, to travel - leading into the third movement. The second movement is somewhat faster than the first and is designed to build into a “falling of the rain” type of atmosphere. Movement III, Traveling Rain, depicts the rain as it is transported to its new location where it will cause the sun-shower. This movement features many solos to represent the individual raindrops as they are scattered. Though the third movement isn’t as texturally driven, it does present a culmination of the many different motives used in the piece. At an Allegro tempo, the third movement builds upon the established themes to demonstrate the different sections of the ensemble, and creatively present how the wind’s fast-paced and energetic environment affects the themes and ideas presented at the beginning. Essentially, this movement serves as an animated interlude to the textural environment of the other movements. The fourth movement is entitled Arrival and is meant to revisit and reimagine the sun-shower’s aural atmosphere. Using the same tempo, melody, and similar compositional techniques as the first movement, this final movement takes the ideas of the beginning, but fulfills them and clarifies them in an effort to produce a climactic and exciting conclusion. Within these movements are different formal structures that are not necessarily related to the event of the sun-shower, but are intended to influence the listener’s understanding of that particular movement’s setting. For example, in the first movement, only one 14-measure melody is used without development in the entire movement (not including its two-measure codetta figure). This melody will be referred to as “A”. The choice to suppress any melodic development from this theme in the first movement 4 allows the listeners to accept the melody, chord structure, and environment as one established entity, much like the occurrence of a sun-shower. This subconsciously enables the listener to associate the opening melody and acoustical environment as a clear aural foundation for what lies ahead. “A” is heard in different instruments quasi- simultaneously (in measure 11, solo clarinet on beat 1, solo oboe on li of beat 1, solo bassoon on la of beat 2, and solo soprano saxophone on beat 3). This allows the aural effect to be disorganized in the listener’s ear, and enables the rhythmic pacing to be misinterpreted. These effects are utilized to draw the listeners away from what is being heard and force them into an environment that is to be observed rather than recognized. The second movement employs melodic as well as tonal development in order to capture the rain’s growing encounter with wind. The melody utilized in this movement is much shorter in scope and is presented three times in different harmonic and textural contexts during the movement. This melody can be referred to as “B”, and is developed to indicate the environmental changes that interact with the rain. “B” is actually begun with the same three pitches as A: Do-Sol-Re. This motif plays an important role in the piece and will be referred to as (a). This motif is employed here as a foreshadowing of what is to be heard and experienced during the coming sun-shower in the fourth movement. Following the development of the “B” theme, (a) is restated in measure 56 as a way to signify the rain’s official fall. This short rainfall can be observed in the descending woodwind lines, and gives way to a third melody known as “C” in measure 63.

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