Publication Date

1985

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Bach, Jan

Degree Name

M. Mus. (Master of Music)

Legacy Department

Department of Music

LCSH

Chamber-orchestra music--Scores

Abstract

SEASONS is an original composition for chamber orchestra. The work is in four contiguous movements which represent the four seasons of the year. The purpose for this particular composition is to explore the coloristic possibilities available to me through the instrumentation I have chosen. It is my first attempt at orchestral writing for a large ensemble. In preparing to score ray piece, I listened to examples of various instrumental combinations provided on tape, studied scores of other composers' works, and added an orchestration class to my curriculum. The chosen orchestral instrumentation is essentially that of a string quintet, woodwind quintet and its doubling possibilities, harp and percussion. This instrumentation was selected because of its versatility; the work can be played by a large ensemble, or by a smaller group in a limited performance space and/or when the use of a full orchestra is not feasible. The particular programmatic subject matter was selected because the four seasons lend themselves well to vivid imagery necessary to the success of the musical content. The four seasons appear in the order of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. The cyclical nature of the seasons is represented through a continuous musical form, and the appearances of various unifying motivic elements in more than one movement are used to depict the overlapping tendencies of seasonal change. It is hoped that this original work will prove to be an effective contribution to the orchestral ensemble literature,

Extent

1 score (48 pages)

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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