UC Berkeley

Abstract

Paesaggi Corporei

by

Antonio Juan Marcos Cavazos

Doctor of Philosophy in Music

University of California, Berkeley

Professor Franck Bedrossian, Chair

In Paesaggi Corporei, I set to music four sonnets attributed to composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). These are the same sonnets which Vivaldi used as the basis for his series of violin concertos entitled The Four Seasons (1725). This song cycle was written for the French ensemble Les Folies Françoises, with the intention of performing each song as a prelude to each of The Four Seasons. The result is a concert program which mixes baroque and contemporary music, and is thematically unified by the sonnets. I composed the song cycle Paesaggi Corporei (Body Landscapes), with the same instrumentation used by Les Folies Françoises to play The Four Seasons: three first violins, three second violins, two violas, two cellos, one double bass, and continuo (Italian harpsichord and archlute). Additionally, all of these instruments are period instruments. In the pieces, the soprano sings and sometimes recites the sonnets.

The string orchestra often has the function of articulating polyphonic textures that serve as a sonic metaphor to the notions of foliage and nature. The two violas often create the impression of movement in the middle register of the orchestra. Inspired by Vivaldi's masterpieces, I sometimes explored the possibilities of several violins playing as soloists. I highlight the archlute in a section of music for plucked strings which contributes to the timbral richness of the composition. The use of metal and wood mutes on the strings, as well as the use of prepared harpsichord also create timbral richness.

As to the relationship between text and music, the intention of Paesaggi Corporei was to differentiate each season by setting each sonnet in a different way: sections that explore the phonemes of key words, sections where the text is read, or sections with an intimate and lyrical singing of text. Using the technique of “word painting,” I created sound images of certain words by manipulating their phonetic and rhythmic characteristics.