Date of Award
6-2003
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
Music
First Advisor
C. Curtis-Smith
Second Advisor
Dr. Richard Adams
Third Advisor
Dr. Robert Ricci
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
As the Ruin Falls is a two-movement work scored for full orchestra, augmented with bass clarinet, piano, and three percussionists. Though the title comes from a poem written by C.S. Lewis, it is in no way is a programmatic representation of the poem's content. Furthermore, the programmatic "scenes" in the second movement do not relate to the poem. The title was selected only to signify the work's rather ominous character.
The primary musical building block for the entire work is a four-note chord whose construction is symmetrical - two minor thirds separated by a perfect fourth: C-Eb-Ab-Cb (or B). The outer two notes span the interval of a major seventh. As a result, the two most important intervals are the minor third and the major seventh.
Recommended Citation
Dahn, Luke, "As the Ruin Falls" (2003). Masters Theses. 5250.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/5250