Five Short Pieces for Cello Quartet
2016-10-29
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
Five Short Pieces for Cello Quartet
Authors
Published Date
2016-10-29
Publisher
Type
Audio
Abstract
My aim for this project was to engage directly with questions of musical composition and theatrical production by creating several compositions to accompany moments in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". I created my own compositions, emphasizing post-tonal music theory techniques as way of exploring how the contemporary sounds might add a new dimension to Shakespearean classics. I limited myself to one instrument, the cello, to make use of the instrumental range of what is often seen as the musical instrument that is closest to the human voice. I used GarageBand music editing software to arrange the instrumentation as a cello quartet, in which I recorded myself playing each part separately, then layered the recordings together to create four-part sonorities. My five consecutive short pieces accompany the fairy song in Act 2 Scene 2 with an introduction, and four verse accompaniments. These explore the coordination and manipulation of pitch class, pitch intervals, and the mod-12 complement system. 20th century post-tonal musical influences include Milton Babbitt's "Philomel" (1964), Steve Reich's "Different Trains" (1988), and the fourth movement of Anton Webern's "5 Sätze Für Streichquartett" (1909).
Description
Related to
Replaces
License
Series/Report Number
Funding information
This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Wegley, Arianna, J. (2016). Five Short Pieces for Cello Quartet. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/182878.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.