Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1989

Thesis Director

Peter Hesterman

Abstract

Transcendent Journeys, Spiritual Frontiers is a musical composition for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, violoncello, and conductor. The thesis consists of a reduced conductor's score and a written analysis. The texts are "The Moon and the Yew Tree" by Sylvia Plath, "Heart of Autumn" by Robert Penn Warren, and "Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats. The composition consists of an instrumental prelude, followed by the three poems set as a song cycle.

The music features a different compositional technique for each song: the first song, "The Moon and the Yew Tree," uses mixed mode tertian sonorities; the third song, "Byzantium," is designed with quartal and secundal harmonies; while the second song, "Heart of Autumn," uses pitch-class sets borrowed from the other two songs. "Prelude" introduces formal aspects, motives, and harmonic styles from all three songs, and is designed to set the mood for the vocal pieces. The integration of the disparate musical styles becomes the creative challenge in obtaining a cohesive, unified work.

The poems were chosen for their thematic investigation of the inner life of the human being. As the title implies, this is likened to a symbolic journey, and the poems are arranged so that each song transcends the previous one in terms of that inward journey. The imagery becomes more complex as the cycle progresses and there is a related increase in levels of intensity. The music is designed to mirror these levels, both in terms of intensity and complexity.

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