Musical Process in Selected Works by Michael Torke Kathleen Biddick Smith
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2009 Musical Process in Selected Works by Michael Torke Kathleen Biddick Smith Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC MUSICAL PROCESS IN SELECTED WORKS BY MICHAEL TORKE By KATHLEEN BIDDICK SMITH A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009 The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Kathleen Biddick Smith defended on March 17, 2009. Michael Buchler Professor Directing Dissertation Patrick Meighan Outside Committee Member Jane Piper Clendinning Committee Member Evan Jones Committee Member James Mathes Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Michael Buchler, for his patience, support, and encouragement throughout this journey. His doctoral seminar sparked the initial inspiration for this work, and I cannot thank him enough for his guidance, his enthusiasm, and his careful critiques of my writing. I am also grateful for the contributions of the rest of my committee members: Jane Piper Clendinning, for her helpful feedback on both early and late drafts; Evan Jones, particularly for a successful brainstorming session early on in the project; James Mathes, for his doctoral seminar on form during which an initial chapter of this dissertation was drafted; and Patrick Meighan for lending an invaluable performer’s perspective to this work. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the entire music theory and composition community at Florida State for creating a challenging yet nurturing environment in which to learn. To my friends at FSU, thank you for cheering me on, for sharing ideas and most of all for your camaraderie – my years in Tallahassee were some of the best of my life because of you. My deepest admiration and appreciation belongs to my family: to my parents, Jean and Chris Biddick, for encouraging my love of music from such a young age and for supporting my endeavors throughout my education; to my brother, Jeff, for being the grammar police and for growing up musically with me; and above all to my husband, Chris, for sustaining me with eternal patience, love, and especially laughter – I could not have done this without you. Finally, I wish to extend special thanks to Michael Torke, for his buoyant, approachable music and for promptly and helpfully answering my questions throughout this process. I am also much obliged to Bill Holab at iii Adjustable Music, for sending me scores so quickly and for granting permission to use the following musical examples: Book of Proverbs Copyright © 1996 by Adjustable Music. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. Four Proverbs Copyright © 1993 by Adjustable Music. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. Rapture Copyright © 2003 by Adjustable Music. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. Blue Pages from Telephone Book Copyright © 1995 by Adjustable Music. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................ viii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: POSTMINIMALISM AND MICHAEL TORKE ...................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 State of Postminimal Music Analysis ..................................................... 4 Minimalist Heritage............................................................................. 7 International Influence ..................................................................... 11 Postminimalism ............................................................................... 12 Michael Torke .................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 2: PROCESS TYPES .......................................................... 18 Phase Shifting ................................................................................. 18 Additive or Subtractive Process .......................................................... 20 Diminution or Augmentation .............................................................. 20 Key Signature Transformations .......................................................... 22 Text-Pitch Relationships .................................................................... 23 Conclusions ..................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3: TELEPHONE BOOK, “THE BLUE PAGES” ....................... 27 Pitch ............................................................................................... 29 Phrase Length ................................................................................. 31 Interludes ....................................................................................... 33 Interactions ..................................................................................... 34 Conclusions ..................................................................................... 36 v CHAPTER 4: RAPTURE ..................................................................... 37 Introduction .................................................................................... 37 Movement 1: drums and woods ......................................................... 38 Movement 2: mallets ........................................................................ 50 Movement 3: metals ......................................................................... 63 Conclusions ..................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 5: FOUR PROVERBS AND BOOK OF PROVERBS ................ 77 Part I: Four Proverbs ........................................................................ 77 “Better a Dish” Analysis .................................................................. 78 Additional Processes....................................................................... 87 Part 2: Book of Proverbs ................................................................... 96 Conclusions ................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS .......................................................... 110 Analytical Summary ....................................................................... 110 Fundamental Questions .................................................................. 111 Avenues for Further Research .......................................................... 113 APPENDIX: COPYRIGHT PERMISSION LETTER .............................. 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................ 116 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................... 122 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Starting pitches by rehearsal letter in “The Blue Pages” .......... 31 Table 4.1: Organizational structure of Rapture, Movement 1 ................... 39 Table 4.2: Pitch classes correlated with tom-tom registers, Rapture, Movement 1 .................................................................................. 47 Table 4.3: Sectional divisions of Rapture, Movement 2 ........................... 51 Table 4.4: Structural outline of Rapture, Movement 2 ............................ 58 Table 4.5: Pattern ratios and lengths, Rapture, Movement 3 ................... 65 Table 4.6: Sequence of events across sections, Rapture, Movement 3 ..... 69 Table 4.7: Percussion/orchestral shadow pairings, Rapture, Movement 3 . 74 Table 5.1: Overall layout, Four Proverbs, “Better a Dish” ........................ 79 Table 5.2: Syllable pitches and durations, Four Proverbs, “Better a Dish” . 80 Table 5.3: Use of chorus in Book of Proverbs ........................................ 97 Table 5.4: Composite process durations compared with imitation process durations, Book of Proverbs, “Boast Not of Tomorrow” ..................... 107 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Terry Riley, In C, cells 1-16 ................................................. 9 Figure 1.2: Steve Reich, Piano Phase, patterns 1-3 ............................... 10 Figure 1.3: Philip Glass, Music in Fifths, excerpt .................................... 11 Figure 1.4: Steve Reich, The Desert Music, mm. 62-67 .......................... 13 Figure 1.5: Steve Reich, City Life, mm. 37-39 ...................................... 14 Figure 1.6: John Adams, Harmonium, mm. 128-135 ............................. 15 Figure 2.1: Steve Reich, Piano Phase, patterns 1-3 ............................... 19 Figure 2.2: Philip Glass, Music in Fifths, excerpt .................................... 20 Figure 2.3: William Duckworth, The Time Curve Preludes, No. 9, a) mm. 18-23, b) mm. 35-40a, c) mm. 49b-54a, d) mm. 62b-66a, left hand diminution ....................................................................... 22 Figure 2.4: Michael Torke, Telephone Book, “The Yellow Pages,” key signature transformations in cello .............................................. 23 Figure 2.5: Milton Babbitt, Play on Notes, mm. 1-8 ............................... 24 Figure 2.6: Michael