Portfolio of original compositions and exegesis : an investigation of metrical contradiction, irregularity and ambiguity in music for senior secondary students and community purposes.

Abstract

This composition portfolio submission for the degree of Master of Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide, comprises a collection of original compositions supported by an explanatory exegesis. The folio consists of: a choral-orchestral Cantata in seven movements for baritone soloist, choir and string orchestra based on poems by Yr Ham, The Lost Coin; a Woodwind Quartet in four movements; a String Quartet in three movements; and a Woodwind Trio in three movements. The overall performing duration of the works is approximately 70 minutes. The original compositions which are the product of this research study have rhythmic ambiguity and irregularity as their main focus, and are intended to be at a standard that is playable by advanced secondary or amateur musicians who enjoy community music making. There has been an exploration of a variety of rhythmic ideas within individual works and across the whole folio, with deliberate, though not exclusive, use of prime number time signatures, irregular groupings, and changing times at the ends of phrases forming rhythmic cadential figures. Technical and emotional maturity demands made by these musical works have been considered and kept well within the reach of the intended performers.