Abstract:
In this exegesis I will focus on my processes of composition and the influences that led to the creation of the music under consideration. The works presented will be analysed for sources of influence and inspiration, which include works by Bruckner, Lutosławski, Adès, Ruders and others, and discussed in the context of their associated extramusical inspirations and intramusical processes. The pieces in this portfolio include the Flower Symphony, for orchestra in two movements; the Requiem Fragments, for voices and ensemble; and Liederkreis, an open-ended series of works, of which there are currently three for various chamber ensembles. Over the past several years and I have begun to focus more intensely on musical textures, layering of sounds and polyphony, and the physical nature of musical performance. My approach is to try to break new ground with each piece,building a new vocabulary for my musical expressions. That said, in addition to these new grounds of exploration, my music also contains a strong traditionalist or “classicising” impulse—a desire to create a sense of line, narrative and harmonic tension—which derives from two sources: a perceptual preference for tonality drawing on my experiences of synaesthesia, and an aesthetic position of creating musical spaces separate from the world. My work synthesises a large number of influences, due to my broad and continually expanding musical taste and interest in new music. Throughout this exegesis, I will analyse in detail the most salient of these influences and explain their relation to my work, providing musical examples and references where necessary.These composers and works are not representative of my current listening preferences, but are iconic in their own right, and operate within similar classicising frameworks.