Waking Up Into the Moment: Temporal Awareness as a Primary Composable Parameter of Music and be created or, for sextet and electronics John Rot Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2021 © 2021 John Rot All Rights Reserved Abstract Waking Up Into the Moment: Temporal Awareness as a Primary Composable Parameter of Music John Rot In this paper I hope to define, quantify, and analyze the way in which a listener perceives and understands the passage of time during a musical experience—in other words, their temporal awareness. I explore this concept in three capacities. First, I examine the relevant theory, both philosophical and psychological, surrounding temporal awareness and define its two primary manifestations through demonstrative musical examples. Next, I apply this theory to the analysis of six different pieces of music composed between 1895 and 2016, focusing on what I believe are the two strongest catalysts of change of temporal awareness. Finally, I discuss how I incorporate this theory into my practice both as an instructor and as a composer. A thorough musical analysis of my 2018 work be created or is presented through the analytical and compositional lens of temporal awareness, including its descriptive and prescriptive implications. Table of Contents List of Figures...................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework for Conceptualizing Temporal Awareness ................................................. 3 1.1 Metaphoric Conceptualization of Time ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2 The Present as Threshold of Immediate Past and Immediate Future .............................................................. 5 1.3 The Present as “Now(s)” ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Short-Term Memory, Cognitive Capacity, and the “Choice” of Awareness ................................................... 9 1.5 Types of Long-Term Memory...................................................................................................................... 11 1.6 Implicit vs. Explicit Memory as Determined by Mode of Engagement with the Musical Experience.............. 13 1.7 Episodic vs. Semantic Memory as Determined by Novelty of the Musical Experience .................................. 15 1.8 Further Defining Temporal Awareness ....................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: The Spectrum of Temporal Awareness ........................................................................................... 20 2.1 Transitionary Awareness and Momentary Awareness from the Perspective of Embodied Cognition ............. 21 2.2 Examining Transitionary Awareness: Ligeti’s Atmosphères ........................................................................ 23 2.3 Examining Momentary Awareness: Lachenmann’s Wolken im eisigen Mondlicht ........................................ 26 2.4 Significance of Change of Awareness (“Waking Up” From One Awareness Into Another) .......................... 29 Chapter 3: Analyzing Catalysts of Change of Temporal Awareness – Rhythm .............................................. 33 3.1 Zimmermann: Die Soldaten – Preludio ....................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Tenney: Beast ............................................................................................................................................ 36 3.3 Grisey: Vortex Temporum .......................................................................................................................... 39 i Chapter 4: Analyzing Catalysts of Change of Temporal Awareness – Social-Performative Context .............. 42 4.1 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ............................................................................................................................ 43 4.2 Eastman: Gay Guerrilla ............................................................................................................................. 48 4.3 Saunders: Skin ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 5: Temporal Awareness and Creative Techniques .............................................................................. 57 5.1 Addressing Temporal Awareness Pedagogically ......................................................................................... 57 5.2 The Composer’s Job................................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 6: Temporal Awareness and Other Primary Composed Parameters in be created or ........................ 61 6.1 Material and Temporal Exposition (mm. 1-45, 0:00-5:00) .......................................................................... 61 6.2 Melting Connections (mm. 46-98, 5:00-8:17) ............................................................................................. 62 6.3 Paradigm Shift (mm. 99-126, 8:17-10:19) .................................................................................................. 64 6.4 Family Piano Time (mm. 127-158, 10:19-12:56) ........................................................................................ 65 6.5 Rupture (mm. 158-164, 12:56-13:12) ......................................................................................................... 65 6.6 Everything in All Directions (mm. 165-240, 13:12-15:41) ........................................................................... 66 6.7 Individual Settling, Collective Dispersion (mm. 241-284, 15:41-18:00) ....................................................... 67 6.8 Chimes and Distillation (mm. 285-end, 18:00-21:37) .................................................................................. 67 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 70 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................................... 71 be created or ........................................................................................................................................................ 74 ii List of Figures Figure 1: Husserl/Merleau-Ponty’s diagram of the structure of time consciousness ..................... 6 Figure 2: Types of long-term memory ....................................................................................... 12 Figure 3: György Ligeti, Atmosphères, mm. 23-27 (2:18-2:44) ................................................. 24 Figure 4: Helmut Lachenmann, Wolken im eisigen Mondlicht, mm. 5-8 (0:34-1:09) .................. 27 Figure 5: James Tenney, Beast .................................................................................................. 37 Figure 6: Table of sections in Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Movement 5 ...................................... 45 Figure 7: Rebecca Saunders, Skin, mm. 35-46 (2:41-3:30), partial score only ............................ 54 iii Acknowledgments I owe a debt of gratitude to many wonderful people who have been essential to my musical and personal growth, culminating only in small part in this thesis. Thank you to the excellent mentors whose guidance prior to my arrival at Columbia profoundly shaped my path as a composer. To Reiko Füting for his incredible insight (not to mention his infamous kindness and generosity), which changed my conception of what being a musician and composer ought to mean. To Lewis Nielson, who was a champion of my work in all conceivable senses of the word, beginning well before I understood or fully appreciated the ramifications of such support. To Arnie Cox, whose inspiring research gave me the language to explore my gut feeling that how music works is the question we should all be asking. Thank you to the brilliant faculty at Columbia University for their guidance and support. To Fred Lerdahl, who believed in me enough to bring me to Columbia, and who has shown me that stylistic divergence is no barrier to incredible pedagogy. To my defense committee chair George Lewis for his endlessly motivating rigor of thought. To my dissertation sponsor Georg Friedrich Haas, whose music and teaching have inspired my own at every step. Thank you to the rest of my defense committee for the roles they’ve played, both current and past. To Ash Fure, whose advice led in no small part to me ending up at Columbia, and by whom I am continuously inspired to write better music. To Zosha Di Castri, for her dual roles as encouraging peer and energizing mentor during our shared time at Columbia. To Jeff Means, for his insightful artistry and care as a performer and conductor