Persistence, Resistance, Resonance

Maayan Tsadka

Abstract

Sound cannot travel in a vacuum, physically or socially. The ways in which sound operates are a result of acoustic properties, and the ways by which it is considered to be music are a result of social constructions. Therefore, music is always political, regardless of its content: the way it is performed and composed; the choice of instrumentation, notation, tuning; the medium of its distribution; its inherent hierarchy and power dynamics, and more. My compositional praxis makes me less interested in defining a relationship between music and politics than I am in erasing--or at least blurring--the borders between them.

In this paper I discuss the aesthetics of resonance and echo in their metaphorical, physical, social, and musical manifestations. Also discussed is a political aesthetic of resonance, manifested through protest chants. I transcribe and analyze common protest chants from around the world, categorizing and unifying them as universal crowd-mobilizing rhythms.

These ideas are explored musically in three pieces. Sumud: Rhetoric of Resistance in Three Movements, for two pianos and two percussion players, is a musical interpretation of the political/social concept of sumud, an Arabic word that literally means "steadfastness" and represents Palestinian non-violent resistance. The piece is based on common protest rhythms and uses the acoustic properties inherent to the instruments. The second piece, Three Piano Studies, extends some of the musical ideas and techniques used in Sumud, and explores the acoustic properties and resonance of the piano. The final set of pieces is part of my Critical Mess Music Project. These are site-specific musical works that attempt to blur the boundaries between audience, performers and composer, in part by including people without traditional musical training in the process of music making. These pieces use the natural structure and resonance of an environment, in this case, locations on the UCSC campus, and offer an active form of musical consumption and experience. The three pieces draw lines connecting different aspects of persistence, resistance, and resonance.

The following discussion addresses Refraction Frequency, an orchestral work that draws material from distinct disciplines and utilizes extremely contrasting compositional approaches. The textural complexity contains elements akin to some found in Korean traditional music, where vibrato is an integral expressive device, and spectral noise naturally present within sound is brought out. The emphasis on slower progression of events, particularly evident in rich, gradually-shifting formations is an essential structural characteristic of the work. The produced effect offsets the later usage of quasi-melodies, rooted in a Balkan aesthetic. The notion of vibration unites the piece, originating in Nikola Tesla's polyphase motor and continuing through related ideas in M-theory. The general result is a duality of rest and motion, imbued with vibrancy, on an organic kinetic course.

The musical composition Ebb's Embrace, Fulfilling Flow is a three-movement piece that explores the concept of ebb and flow through rhythmic, harmonic, and performance technique variation. Each movement is developed from solo sketches composed by the author and were further inspired by works from Ligeti, Lutosławski, and Xenakis, and from traditional Sundanese presentational dance concepts and related drumming notation styles. The first movement, "Rippling Riffles," focuses on managing various rhythmic subdivisions and note density, while the second movement, "Pulling on Heartstrings," explores different levels of rhythmic and textural consonance and dissonance through the use of string techniques and bow placements. The final movement, "Bounds on the Crest," imitates the structure of ocean waves, using arpeggiation, glissandi, and long note decay to create intricate melodies. The composition demonstrates the author’s ability to develop thematic material and integrate diverse musical elements into a cohesive whole. In the following essay, the author reflects on their inspirations for each movement and discusses their usage of various musical concepts and techniques.

The following scores and the accompanying essay stand in representation of my creative work during the completion of my Master’s degree at The University of California, Santa Cruz. The compositions included herein are Entwined to Fray (2018) for string quartet, Fractured Pond (2019) for ten players, Contrasts (2019) for solo piano, and We, too, can divide ourselves…(2020) for solo flute.

The essay component of this thesis has been separated into two main sections. The first portion focuses on a discussion of certain overarching concerns which have become central influences on my compositional thinking during the past two years, namely the derivation of musical forms through the exploration of abstracted dichotomous relationships found within extra-musical concepts/metaphors. Additionally, the first section also includes brief descriptions of various approaches to the conception and handling of musical materials employed within the two solo works included within this thesis. The second portion focuses on elucidating my creative process through in-depth analyses of the works Entwined to Fray and Fractured Pond.

ABSTRACT

Joshua Philip Spitsbergen

The Requiem: The Dies Irae as a Motif and Compositional Resource in Farewell For Now (2017), For Chorus and Chamber Orchestra

Requiems are enthralling types of choral works, for they engage an emotional subject which puzzles and perplexes: death. Robert Chase posits at least 2,500 requiems have been recorded over the centuries, and current and contemporary settings of the Requiem Mass exist today. Farewell For Now (2017), exhibits three essential components of the Requiem Mass, evinced in three movements. The first two movements set pivotal portions of the traditional text, and the final movement includes my own narrative as commentary to the presented collection. The work is a representation of one of my deepest convictions as a composer: writing music which has meaning communicated through sounded text. The piece was motivated by tragedy, and textually emphasizes the inevitability of death, while underscoring the importance of hope.

In the accompanying essay, I briefly discuss the historical background of the Requiem Mass and the Dies irae, present salient structural features of Farewell For Now, connect selected themes present in the piece to excerpts from a few exemplary requiems, and examine an influential harmonic technique of Lutoslawski and its correlation to the dissertation composition.