The vast majority of theses in this collection are open access and freely available. There are a small number of theses that have access restricted to the WWU campus. For off-campus access to a thesis labeled "Campus Only Access," please log in here with your WWU universal ID, or talk to your librarian about requesting the restricted thesis through interlibrary loan.
Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Department or Program Affiliation
Music Composition
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Music
First Advisor
Halka, Charles, 1982-
Second Advisor
Youngblood, Felicia
Third Advisor
Hamilton, Bruce, 1966-
Abstract
For my master's thesis piece, I provide my adjudicators with a case study of minimalism with mechanics such as phasing, micro-polyphony, diminution, augmentation, or combination of any and all of these. Written for an unconventional ensemble of strings, saxes, and piano, the 22-minute piece undergoes many changes and processes within its A B A C A D form. The A sections function as a home theme we keep going back to, but each time evolved. The other sections appear only once each with B featuring the saxophone quartet as the foreground, C the string quartet at the foreground, and D the full ensemble in unison. In terms of harmony, the material of these four sections are based around the concept of bitonality or polytonality in section A (Example 1), a short-short-long rhythmic motif for section B (Example 2), arpeggios emphasizing two clashing, polytonal, triads for section C (Example 3), and the “1 and a 2 and 3” motif that gets subtracted and retrograded in section D (Example 4). While these general techniques are used as the driving-focal point for material, there are several mixed and matched techniques and creative edits defying the systems at play. This is where I, as the artist take creative liberties to rise above the machine and reveal it was just used as a starting point. While leaning more towards post-minimalism than classic minimalism, many sections have direct influences of the compositional style of the movement’s forefathers. Even though it’s not as foregrounded as the minimalist techniques, the harmonic language of the piece also carries a significant amount of weight. Almost every measure and section contains a poly-chord or implies bitonality. Such examples include the high D minor triad and low G minor triad from the first few measures, or the finale’s simultaneous Ab major and Bb major triads. Even in the B section with its sax-led lines, the F# pedal tone juxtaposed to a melody implying a Bb major tonality in measure 191 creates quite a collage of harmony. While an argument can be made that the harmony is not as at the forefront as the metamorphic rhythmic and melodic figures, the collage-like harmony provides the ideal backdrop to lock the listener in an ambiguous stasis voiced through three distinct timbre groups. Melodies of this piece were generated through instinct rather than methodical processes. For instance, at measure 219, the embellishments were made to contrast the original A with jovial and lively tone. This upbeat variation on the original progression, arguably, added a level of depth because said modifications gradually accumulate in the third and final installment of the A section. So retroactively, one could say there is a beginning, middle, and end when it comes to motivic development. A hero’s journey of sorts. The D section’s melody (first appearing in m.405), despite all its tribulations through rhythmic and tonal shifts, is always glued together by its catchy mixolydian melody till the very end. Even as the tonal landscape warps, the anti-climax is satisfying through hyper-repetition. The biggest non-sequitur of the piece has to be measures 301-303. The two dueling violins that happens before the dried out decay of C is based on contrapuntal lines utilizing half- and whole-tone scales, it stands out due to being the only part of the piece that sounds more like Bela Bartok than Julius Eastman. Contrasting the previous oddity, measure 56 gives us a feeling of consonance. After a series of nested tuplets playing lines formed from notes in the harmony underneath, then off-setting their start times by beats, this stinger of triplets breaks the cacophony and restores order by signaling the top of the sequence! It’s a great example of creativity defying the system.
The accumulation of harmony, rhythm, and melody all stand as pivotal elements, but these elements and their parent sections do not sit in isolation. Their structure and orchestration are knitted carefully together to form a quilt of juxtaposed hues. By virtue of the saxes’ and strings’ dynamics not mixing well together, amplification of the string quartet was needed for balance. My determination to combine saxes and strings was just another obstacle for me to conquer. Chroma for Nine is the accumulation of creativity, wit, and struggle against the self-made system in a never-ending battle of artistic agency and the machine. The repetitive minimalism was therefore the ideal vehicle to bend my own self-made systems.
Type
Text
Keywords
Music, Minimalism, Polytonality, Composition
DOI
May 28th, 2025
Publisher
Western Washington University
OCLC Number
1523172613
Subject – LCSH
Minimal music; Polytonality; Composition (Music)
Format
application/pdf
Genre/Form
masters theses
Language
English
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Rights Statement
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/
Recommended Citation
Koscho, Isaiah G., "Chroma for Nine" (2025). WWU Graduate School Collection. 1389.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1389