Some of the material in is restricted to members of the community. By logging in, you may be able to gain additional access to certain collections or items. If you have questions about access or logging in, please use the form on the Contact Page.
Sanchez-Behar, A. (2008). Counterpoint and Polyphony in Recent Instrumental Works of John Adams. Retrieved from http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-2091
This dissertation examines counterpoint and polyphony in John Adams's recent instrumental works, ranging from El Dorado (1990) to My Father Knew Charles Ives (2003). Since the early 1990s, Adams's music has been largely contrapuntal, as opposed to his earlier works, culminating with Nixon in China (1985–87), which are characterized by gradually unfolding harmonies in a minimalist and post-minimalist style. In the first chapter of the dissertation, I will define the terms counterpoint and polyphony, and discuss recent research on Adams, minimalism, and counterpoint. The second chapter sheds light on the characteristics of individual melodic lines, including a discussion of melodic intervals, common modifications of single lines, and Adams's incorporation of Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. The third chapter examines different types of two-voice melodic lines common to Adams's recent instrumental works, consisting of ostinati, reiterating fragments, and canonic procedures. The interaction between concurrent musical lines is approached through the linear similarity measure CDSIM (Consonance/Dissonance Similarity Index), which yields a numerical value of consonance or dissonance. The fourth chapter extends the discussion of canonic procedures to three or more voices. The fifth chapter investigates polyphonic textures that appear throughout the recent instrumental works. Last, I explore the notion of dovetailing, defined as the minimalist process of overlapping formal sections, which is enabled through a merging of polyphony and gradual additive and subtractive processes.
A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Music in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references.
Advisory Committee
Michael Buchler, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles E. Brewer, Outside Committee Member; Jane Piper Clendinning, Committee Member; Nancy Rogers, Committee Member; Matthew R. Shaftel, Committee Member.
Publisher
Florida State University
Identifier
FSU_migr_etd-2091
Use and Reproduction
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them.
Sanchez-Behar, A. (2008). Counterpoint and Polyphony in Recent Instrumental Works of John Adams. Retrieved from http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-2091