Tag: Robert Kyr

A New Perspective on New Complexity

Presenter: Alexander Bean

Mentor: Robert Kyr

Oral Presentation

Major: Music Composition/Organ Performance

The New Complexity, like other avant-garde antecedents, has been rightly criticized for its inaccessibility. In my flute duet, “Ein Paar Variationen,” I aim to construct a new musical language borrowing from New Complexity and Neoclassicism that is more accessible than either movement. The work is a set of variations on the Lutheran chorale “Ein Feste Burg” (which dates from the Protestant Reformation), crafted into a large dramatic arc in order to give
the audience a means of access to the work. Within this variation form are subsumed several musical styles: the theme borrows on the harmonic language of Hindemith; the first variation, as well as the last, recalls the tonal and contrapuntal works of Bartok; finally, the second and third variations draw upon the New Complexity tradition, using complicated rhythms and extended techniques. The entire piece, therefore, unites multiple disparate traditions into a single work covering a broad historical span, and creates a music that is both avant-garde and accessible. I chose these particular musical styles reflects both the major influences on my own compositional language (as a church organist I have a close acquaintance with sacred music, and as a composer I have tried to emulate the composers and movements named above), as well as a conscious aesthetic decision to include stylistic elements of composers whose work is often considered inaccessible, it not specifically avant-garde. “Ein Feste Burg” was chosen to ground the work in music that is highly accessible. While the inaccessibility of the avant-garde has its role as artistic critique, the difficulty in approaching the work encountered by the audience limits the power of this critique. Thus, works such as mine are necessary to unite the critical power of the avant-garde and present it in a manner that can be approached and understood.

On the Nature of Space and Breath

Presenter: Alexander Bean

Mentor: Robert Kyr, School of Music

Creative Work Presentation: C3 (Oak Room)

Major: Music Composition and Organ Performance 

Traditional Western vocal music, especially in the art song music of the 19th century, text is of primary importance to the meaning of the work. This approach to vocal music obscures the physical generation of speech sounds, as well as their interaction with the acoustics of the space in which they are being produced. In my song for solo voice, space and breath, I take the opposite approach, composing physical speech sounds that have no semantic meaning. I accomplish this objective by composing pure sound without text, and instead, I transcribe exact phonemes using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The performer is given a particular set of resonant frequencies (those pitches which sound the clearest in a particular room) in order to control the interactions between the phonemes and the performance space. In my presentation, I will discuss the International Phonetic Alphabet as a means of notating the range of speech sounds that humans can produce. Moreover, I will explain how I organize these sounds, which I use to shape the dramatic arc of the piece. Finally, I will perform my work, and make some final comments about the structure of the piece.

Follow Your Fears: An Original Film Score

Presenter: Nathan Engelmann

Faculty Mentor: Robert Kyr

Presentation Type: Creative Work 4 (GSH 114)

Primary Research Area: Fine/Performance Arts

Major: Music Composition

To risk one’s life for the sake of thrill seeking takes an extraordinary type of person. The short film Follow Your Fears features one such person, BMX rider Brad O’ Neal, as he tries to execute a motorbike stunt that has never been attempted before. The film follows O’Neal in his preparations for the stunt, the complexities of which mirror the idiosyncrasies of his own personality and past. As I composed a re-score for this film, it was my goal not only to encapsulate the literal action and images on the screen, but to delve into the psychology of O’Neal as well. In my score, I explore O’ Neal’s fear, sense of humor, and spirituality, focusing on how these personality traits correspond with the structure of the film. To do this, I use various musical elements. Through orchestration and instrumentation, I encapsulate the colors and images of the film. Harmony, along with orchestration, are used to emphasize the emotional weight of the narration, As the narrative of the film develops, so do the musical motives. These motives (small, musical segments) relate to the themes of the film, and metamorphose as O’Neal works toward his goal.

Spatia: A New Work for Digital Organ

Presenter: Alexander Bean

Faculty Mentor: Robert Kyr, Barbara Baird

Presentation Type: Creative Work 1 (GSH Great Room Stage) Primary

Research Area: Fine/Performance Arts

Major: Music Composition, Performance

The digital organ is a singularly unique instrument. The acoustic pipe organ is fixed in one location with a limited number of stops available to the organist. In contrast, the digital organ is mobile and when used in combination with a computer, offers the organist an infinite array of different stops. Unfortunately, composers and performers have hitherto ignored the unique capabilities of the digital organ. In my composition for digital organ, Spatia, I explore
the possibilities of composing specifically for digital organ. I designed a unique set of nine organ stops for each specific performance venue and date. Six of these stops feature sounds recorded from the performance. The three other stops feature the sound of the full organ altered by the resonant frequencies of the performance space (i.e. those pitches which sound the clearest in a particular room). One stop features the unaltered full organ sound, one stop features the full organ sound distorted by the resonant frequencies, and the final stop features the resonant frequencies without the full organ sound. In this presentation I will describe the methods used to create the digital organ stops and the compositional technique, followed by a performance of the composition with commentary about the structure of the piece. This composition explores the limitless potential of the digital organ, having implications for other composers and performers to embrace this instrument.