Date Available
4-18-2019
Year of Publication
2019
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Fine Arts
Department/School/Program
Music
First Advisor
Dr. Jefferson Johnson
Abstract
After the strict processes of mid-twentieth-century minimalism, a new musical style has emerged which retains extensive use of repetition, but is generally more aurally accessible, based in non-functional triadic harmony, and flexible in its compositional structure. Frequent use of non-minimalist resources, musical resources from multiple styles in a single composition, and quotation from previous historical periods define this flexibility.
American choral music has many popular compositions that exhibit characteristics of this new musical style, in part because of its accessibility relative to earlier minimalist styles, and in part because it adapts easily to the choral setting. At the same time, teaching this music to choirs requires resources that are not in standard-practice choral pedagogy textbooks or peer-reviewed choral journals.
This monograph utilizes newer research in musical analysis and several recent writings attempting to generalize the postminimalist style to develop a definition of choral postminimalism. Then, this monograph also suggests analytical approaches and resources for choral warm-ups, score preparation, and other pedagogical tools for three pieces: Arvo Pärt’s The Beatitudes, Nico Muhly’s Bright Mass with Canons, and Tarik O’Regan’s The Ecstasies Above.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2019.101
Recommended Citation
Chai, Joshua John, "POSTMINIMALIST CHORAL MUSIC: A PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVE" (2019). Theses and Dissertations--Music. 135.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/music_etds/135