Media and compositional action: Folio of compositions and critical commentary
Christopher Perren · The University of Queensland · 2014
This thesis comprises a folio of musical compositions and a critical commentary. Using a “practice as research” methodology, the musical works explore the question of how different compositional media influence the compositional process. The outcomes of this creative exploration are presented in the form of Practical Mechanics, a major work for chamber ensemble; Your Heart is a Stupid Thing to Trust, an acousmatic audiovisual work; Sunrise Industry, an album produced by digitally cutting and recombining recorded improvisations; and a number of other new works. These works are diverse in genre, but share a post-modern stylistic pluralism, combining art music aesthetics with popular styles. They also exhibit a tendency toward rhythmic complexity and polyrhythm. The critical commentary contextualises the creative work through a discussion of the effect of composition media (including tools, technology, and representational systems) on compositional style and choices. It is argued that the effect of any particular medium cannot be understood in simple terms, due to the complex and integrated relationship between the composer and their environment and the intuitive and unconscious nature of compositional action. All works within the folio are discussed with a particular focus on the question of media use, with more detailed analyses reserved for selected significant works.