Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Music

Advisor

Johanna Devaney

Committee Members

Joseph Straus

Yayoi Uno Everett

Robert Hasegawa

Subject Categories

Music Theory

Keywords

timbre, texture, orchestration, brightness, acoustics, music perception

Abstract

This dissertation develops a method for the analysis and visualization of timbral brightness in post-tonal music. Brightness, a salient timbral attribute correlated with the prominence of high frequencies in the sound spectrum, is crucial for distinguishing sounds and discerning how they fit together in music. The dissertation employs a multilevel analytical approach, measuring differences in brightness at multiple “textural levels” and temporal scales. The analytical utility of the approach is demonstrated through four case studies, each one closely examining the score and audio of a piece of instrumental music written in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

Chapter 1 defines three textural levels—the level of the element, layer, and texture—and outlines the methodology using a short excerpt from Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The next three chapters (2–4) each focus on a single textural level: Chapter 2 foregrounds element-level brightness relationships in Arnold Schoenberg’s “Farben,” Chapter 3 examines the relative brightness of polyphonic layers in Ruth Crawford’s Music for Small Orchestra, and Chapter 4 analyzes the overall brightness of complete textures in three recordings of Anton Webern’s Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6/II.

The dissertation culminates in Chapter 5 with an analysis of the first movement of Edgard Varèse’s Octandre that integrates all three textural levels. Together, these five chapters demonstrate a comprehensive yet flexible approach, bridging the gap between score and audio and pointing a way forward for the analysis of a salient but neglected feature of music.

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