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Self-Actualization: Transcendentalist Discourse in the Work of Stuart Saunders Smith

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Self-Actualization: Transcendentalist Discourse in the Work of Stuart Saunders Smith SELF-ACTUALIZATION: TRANSCENDENTALIST DISCOURSE IN THE WORK OF STUART SAUNDERS SMITH José Augusto Duarte Lacerda A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS December 2015 Committee: Roger Schupp, Advisor Timothy Messer-Kruse Graduate Faculty Representative Marilyn Shrude Robert Wallace Thomas Rosenkranz © 2015 José Augusto Duarte Lacerda All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Roger Schupp, Advisor Born and raised in Maine, composer Stuart Saunders Smith (1948) grew up immersed in a milieu that still echoed the influence of the nineteenth-century literary movement known as Transcendentalism. The work of key Transcendentalist figures, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, show the movement’s emphasis on autonomy, intuition, pacifism, and social justice. But Transcendentalism also maintains a spiritual focus: a claim that each person is part of a single universal spirit—“Oneness.” However, this “Oneness” does not equate to homogeneity of ideas and individual voices. Rather, each person’s divine worth grants them autonomy of thought and agency. Both the social and spiritual ideas of Transcendentalism have informed Smith’s music, his writings on music compositional process, and his personal life. Amongst the Transcendentalist notions displayed in Smith’s music, pacifism and anti- technologism appear in his use of intricate rhythms. A Thoreauvian anti-materialism can be found in Smith’s limited use of instrumentation and in his concept of “percussion ecology.” Moreover, the Transcendentalist non-teleological stance is reflected in Smith’s tendency to write evening-length pieces that disregard form, his recurring references to New England imagery, and his use of non-sequiturs. Finally, the idea of Oneness is demonstrated through Smith’s endeavor to level the roles of composer, performer, and audience, shown particularly in works that Smith categorizes as “trans-media systems,” “mobile compositions,” and “co-existence pieces.” Other important Transcendentalist notions recurrent in Smith’s work and compositional process include: intuition, experience, thought autonomy, isolation, self-reliance, and self- actualization. Smith’s focus on these ideas has rendered his overall discourse and much of his iv compositions antithetical to musical formalism, which implies focus on technique and systematic development. Instead, Smith understands that a composition should arise from a collaboration between intuition and experience. In other words, in Smith’s compositional process, experience “filtered” through intuition is always paramount to pre-compositional systems (such as serialism). This stance suggests that Smith’s music is part of a lineage of thought and aesthetic expression that traces back to the Transcendentalists: the idea of facing tradition critically and developing critical thought and free agency (understanding that intuition generates these stances) as the primary sources of artistic creation. v This document is dedicated to the memory of my father, José Eduardo Rebello Lacerda. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Above all, I would like to thank my mother, Leila Lacerda, for being the most loving and kind person in the world. My entire musical journey since 1998 was only possible because of her. I am equally grateful to my siblings, Eduardo and Victória, for all their love and partnership, Grandmas Neide and Lourdes for their boundless love and support. I must also acknowledge all my cousins, aunts, and uncles from Florianópolis and Rio de Janeiro their love, support, and friendship. I am profoundly indebted to Stuart and Sylvia Smith. I believe Stuart’s music makes the world a better place to live, so I am privileged to collaborate and to be friends with my favorite composer. Sylvia’s limitless kindness and work as a publisher of new music are unmatched. I am grateful for being her friend. This work would not be possible without Rob Wallace’s friendship and immeasurable kindness. This document is as much his as it is mine. I would like to thank Dr. Roger Schupp for all his knowledge and support throughout the years. He is an inspiration for all of his students and colleagues. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Marilyn Shrude for always being so supportive to all the doctoral students at BGSU. I am equally indebted to the other members of my committee, Drs. Timothy Messer-Kruse and Thomas Rosenkranz. Special thanks go to my new friends and colleagues from Cuiabá. Thank you for all your kindness and support in my adaptation to the city. I must also acknowledge the Sawada family for being so receptive, kind, and supportive. I am really happy and honored to have joined your family. Finally, I would like to thank my beloved wife, Hanako. I have no words to describe how blessed I am to have you in my existence. I love you more than life. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: KEY PRINCIPLES OF TRANSCENDENTALISM ................................... 8 1.1 Experience and the idea of innate knowledge ..................................................... 8 1.2 Self-reliance, autonomy of thought, and self-actualization ................................ 12 1.3 Isolation ............................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Quakerism as religious transcendentalism .......................................................... 15 1.5 Inner divinity and Oneness: the universal soul ................................................... 16 1.6 Pacifism ............................................................................................................... 19 1.7 Non-teleology ..................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 2: TRANSCENDENTALISM IN MUSIC ....................................................... 23 2.1 Transcendentalism versus formalism .................................................................. 23 2.2 Emerson/Ives versus Thoreau/Cage .................................................................... 26 2.3 John Cage: converging transcendentalism and formalism .................................. 34 2.4 Richard Taruskin: transcendentalism in musical maximalism ........................... 37 CHAPTER 3: LIVING A THOREAUVIAN LIFE ............................................................. 42 3.1 Self-reliance, thought autonomy, and self-actualization: living a composed life 42 3.2 Isolation ............................................................................................................... 45 3.3 Disregard for success: aspiring rather than affirming ......................................... 47 3.4 Inspiring non-teleology ....................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 4: TRANSCENDENTALISM IN SMITH’S MUSIC ...................................... 53 4.1 Confronting Transcendentalism and formalism: intuitive art and academic art . 53 viii 4.2 “Smith, the man” and “Smith, the artist:” bridging Thoreau and Emerson ........ 59 4.3 Symbolizing unity ............................................................................................... 63 4.3.1 Unifying art and life ............................................................................. 64 4.3.1.1 Filtering and framing memory ............................................... 64 4.3.1.2 Pacifism ................................................................................. 68 4.3.1.3 Anti-technologism ................................................................. 72 4.3.1.4 Anti-materialism .................................................................... 76 4.3.1.5 Non-teleology ........................................................................ 84 4.3.2 Symbolizing Oneness ........................................................................... 88 4.3.2.1 Trans-media systems ............................................................. 88 4.3.2.2 Mobile compositions ............................................................. 92 4.3.2.3 Co-existence music ................................................................ 94 4.3.2.4 Here and There ...................................................................... 98 CHAPTER 5: TRANSCENDENTALISM ATTITUDE IN TWO WORKS ....................... 102 5.1 “The wise silence:” silence and co-existence in To Freshen The Moment! ....... 103 5.2 “Yet I feel eternal:” non-teleology in The Starving Month ................................. 108 5.3 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 120 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 124 APPENDIX A: CORRESPONDENCE INTERVIEWS ...................................................... 127 APPENDIX B: LIVE INTERVIEW ..................................................................................... 137 APPENDIX C: HSRB INFORMED CONSENT LETTER ................................................. 145 APPENDIX D: SMITH PUBLICATIONS AUTHORIZATION LETTER ......................... 147 ix LIST OF EXAMPLES Example Page 4.1 As If Time Would Heal by its Passing, sixth page, lines 1 and 2 .............................. 69 4.2 . And Points North, second page ..........................................................................
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