UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Searchings Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1wv0j95z Author Duan, Ran Publication Date 2015 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1wv0j95z#supplemental Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California i UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Searchings A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Music by Ran Duan Committee in charge: Professor Chinary Ung, Chair Professor Anthony Davis Professor Lei Liang 2015 i ii Copyright Ran Duan, 2015 All rights reserved. ii iii The Thesis of Ran Duan is approved and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ___________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2015 iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………………… iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………….……….. iv List of Figures ……………………………………………………...……………..... v List of Supplemental Files ……………………………………………………....... viii Abstract of the Thesis………………………………………………………….…… ix Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation…………………………….. 1 Hearing Chinese: a survey of dialects and their musical applications…………….. 17 Style and Genre in Lear on the 2nd Floor……………………………….…………. 38 Twist II for Flute and Musical Saw……………………………………………….. 60 A Wheelchair Man’s Speech for Bass Clarinet, Double Bass and Percussion...…… 67 Asphyxia for Septet…………………………………………………………………. 73 Audio Tapes on file in the Mandeville Library iv v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Opening Section………………………………………………………… 1 Figure 1.2: Rehearsal 1……………………………………………………………... 2 Figure 1.3: Rehearsal 2……………………………………………………………... 4 Figure 1.4: Rehearsal 3……………………………………………………………... 4 Figure 1.5: Rehearsal 4……………………………………………………………... 5 Figure 1.6: Rehearsal 5……………………………………………………………... 6 Figure 1.7: Rehearsal 6……………………………………………………………... 7 Figure 1.8: Rehearsal 7……………………………………………………………... 8 Figure 1.9: Rehearsal 8……………………………………………………………... 9 Figure 1.10: Rehearsal 9-10……………………………………………………….. 11 Figure 1.11: Rehearsal 11…………………………………………………………. 12 Figure 1.12: Rehearsal 12…………………………………………………………. 13 Figure 1.13: Rehearsal 13…………………………………………………………. 14 Figure 1.14: The Entire Work……………………………………………...………. 15 Figure 2.1: Yuen Ren Chao’s Approach for Transcribing Tonal Pitch Variation in Spoken Languages……………………………………………..…………………...21 Figure 2.2: Phrase No.1………………..………………………………………. 24 Figure 2.3: Phrase No.2………………...………………………………………. 25 Figure 2.4: Phrase No.3…….…………...…………..…………………………. 26 Figure 2.5: Phrase No.4……………..…………….……………………………. 26 Figure 2.6: Phrase No.5……………...…………………………………………. 27 Figure 2.7: Phrase No.6……………...…...……………………………………. 28 v vi Figure 2.8: Phrase No.7……………….........……………………………………. 28 Figure 2.9: Phrase No.8………………..…………………………………………. 29 Figure 2.10: Phrase No.9………………..………………………..…………………. 30 Figure 2.11: Phrase No.10..……………..………………………..…………………. 30 Figure 2.12: Phrase No.11..…...………...………………………..…………………. 31 Figure 2.13: Phrase No.12..………...…...………………………..…………………. 31 Figure 2.14: Phrase No.13..………………..……………………..…………………. 32 Figure 2.15: Phrase No.14..……………...……...………………..…………………. 33 Figure 2.16: Phrase No.15..……………..........…………………..…………………. 33 Figure 2.17: Phrase No.16..………...…...………………………..…………………. 34 Figure 2.18: Phrase No.17..…………...…...……………………..…………………. 35 Figure 3.1: Bar 36, Scene 1, Piano..…………..………………………..…………. 39 Figure 3.2: Bar 55, Scene 1, Piano..……………...…………………..…………. 39 Figure 3.3: Bar 55-59, Scene 1, Piano..………...……...…………………..…….... 40 Figure 3.4: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Drum Set……………………..…………….……. 41 Figure 3.5: Bar 87-89, Scene 1, Piano….…………………………………………..41 Figure 3.6: Bar 109, Scene 1, Nora……………………………………………..… 42 Figure 3.7: Bar 109, Scene 1, Piano Reduction…………………………………..…42 Figure 3.8, Bar 127-128, Scene 1, Bassoon……………………………………….. 42 Figure 3.9: Bar 161-164, Scene 1, Double Bass……………………………………..43 Figure 3.10: Bar 1-3, Scene 2, Piano………………………………………………..44 Figure 3.11: Bar 10-11, Scene 2, Piano……………………………………………..44 Figure 3.12: Bar 90-93, Scene 2, Piano……………………………………………..44 vi vii Figure 3.13: Bar 5-9, Scene 3, Clarinet (in C)………………………………………45 Figure 3.14: Bar 112-115, Scene 3, Voices and Piano Reduction…………………..45 Figure 3.15: Bar 10-14, Scene 4, Full Score……………………………...…………46 Figure 3.16: Bar 1-4, Scene 5, Piano Reduction……………………………………..47 Figure 3.17: Bar 24-30, Scene 5, Tara………………………………………………47 Figure 3.18: Bar 53-57, Scene 5, Tara and Piano Reduction………………………...48 Figure 3.19: Bar 35-38, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction……………..………...48 Figure 3.20: Bar 60-63, Scene 6, Jenna and Piano Reduction…………………..…...49 Figure 3.21: Bar 33-38, Scene 7, Nora and Piano Reduction………………………...50 Figure 3.22: Bar 62, Scene 7, Nora and Bassoon…………………………………...50 Figure 3.23: Bar 124-129, Scene 7, Mortimer and Piano Reduction…………….......51 Figure 3.24: Bar 1-2, Scene 8, Piano Reduction……………………………………..51 Figure 3.25: Bar 14-15, Scene 8, Piano Reduction…………………………………..52 Figure 3.26: Bar 28-29, Scene 8, Lawyer and Piano Reduction……………………..52 Figure 3.27: Bar 91-94, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction………………52 Figure 3.28: Bar 115-119, Scene 8, Nora, Lawyer and Piano Reduction……………53 Figure 3.29: Bar 132-140, Scene 8, Voices and Piano Reduction…………………...54 Figure 3.30: Bar 155-158, Scene 8, Doctor and Piano Reduction…………………...55 Figure 3.31: Bar 208-210, Scene 9, Jenna and Piano Reduction…………………….56 Figure 3.32: Bar 295-297, Scene 9, Tara and Piano Reduction……………………...56 Figure 3.33: Bar 388-389, Scene 9, Lyla and Piano Reduction……………………...57 Figure 3.34: Bar 114-117, Scene 9, Judge and Piano Reduction……………………..57 vii viii LIST OF SUPPLEMENTAL FILES Asphyxia.wav - A live recording of my composition asphyxia for septet. TwistII.wav - A live recording of my composition Twist II for flute and musical. viii ix ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Searchings by Ran Duan Master of Arts in Music University of California, San Diego, 2015 Professor Chinary Ung, Chair My Master's thesis is consisted by three papers and three compositions. They represent most of my work over two years at UCSD. The study Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation utilizes spectral analysis technology to examine Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation section by section. It unveils Varèse’s sophisticated craft of orchestration and reveals structural development in a unique way. In Style and Genre ix x in Lear on the 2nd Floor, I investigate genre and style throughout Anthony Davis’ opera Lear on the 2nd Floor, and to study the composer’s approach to integration. In Hearing Chinese: a survey of dialects and their musical applications, I explore an integrative approach to composition drawing from the Chinese language’s sonic qualities. This study demonstrates the great potential for the musical application of Chinese dialects, and how they might drive novel compositional ideas. The three compositions search for new possibilities of creating, developing, merging and organizing sonic materials. x 1 Spectral Illuminations on Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation Introduction The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the orchestrational technique for percussion instruments that Edgard Varèse creates and applies in his extraordinary percussion ensemble work Ionisation. I will use spectral analysis technology to analyze a recording section by section that was performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Pierre Boulez. From this analysis, I want to look closely at how Varèse constructs and organizes this unique soundscape and find the relationship between different textures and their sonority. Opening Section - Bar 1 to Bar 8 Figure 1.1: Opening Section In the opening section (figure 1.1), Varèse starts with gongs, tam-tams, bass drums, rolling snare drum, and cymbals. All instruments are played by soft articulations. 1 2 It creates a sustaining-texture, like a drone, which is mixed by metal, skin, and air- friction sound. The spectrum figure shows that in the beginning, the energy mainly remains below 500Hz. While this drone texture decays, the energy gradually shifts to the wind machines and brings out harmonics between 800Hz and 2,000Hz. The unique buzzing-sound of wind machines leads to another attack of the drone, then a crescendo to Forte on the suspended cymbal suddenly opens the spectrum up to 10,000Hz with its complex harmonic content. On bar 4, Varèse introduces maracas and tambourine. The tambourine brings an even higher frequency range, from 6,000Hz to 13,000Hz. Besides high frequency, the bass drum and the resonance of gongs also make a good support from the ground. In these six bars only, Varèse successfully expands the spectrum from the bottom to near the top. It creates a suitable preparation for the next two bars, which is a short “explosion” in both the spectral and dynamic aspects. The usage of triangle in the last bar dramatically articulates the brightness between 6,000Hz to 16,000Hz. Rehearsal 1 Figure 1.2: Rehearsal 1 3 In this passage, the musical character highly contrasts with the previous one in three main aspects - timbre, rhythmic density, and dynamic. Just by looking at the spectrum figure (figure 1.2), we can tell that the rhythm is steadier, the energy mainly distributes in the middle to low frequency, and everything is dynamically