Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Music

Major

Music

Major Professor

Kenneth A. Jacobs

Committee Members

Barbara Murphy, Walter W. Hawthorne

Abstract

There Arises Light is a work for orchestra in one movement. It was written in part to fulfill the requirements for the Master s degree in music composition, and is the primary subject of this thesis. Inspiration for the work was drawn from the composer's own experiences as well as from Psalm 112. The composition was completed in February, 2001 by Michael S. Taylor, using a KORG N264 Music Workstation, an iMac™ G3 computer, and Mark of the Unicorn s Digital Performer™ version 2.7. The orchestration and notation of the score were completed in March 2002, using Coda®'s Finale®, version 2002. It is approximately twelve minutes in duration and is scored for a conventional orchestra.

The purpose of this study is to place the composition in historical perspective, examine its structural elements within the context of similar genres, and explain the compositional procedures used. Specifically, the study of There Arises Light will involve a discussion of elements such as form, melody, harmony, rhythm, and texture in the work and the similar use of these elements in works by prominent composers of the twentieth century. The compositions to be examined are: Third Symphony in One Movement by Roy Harris, Symphony No. 2 by Howard Hanson, Symphony No. 3 by Paul Creston, Symphony No. 5 in D Major by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Dance Suite by Béla Bartók, Symphony in Three Movements by Igor Stravinsky, and Gloria by Francis Poulenc.

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