Date of Award

Spring 2017

Degree Name

Master of Music

Department

Music

First Advisor

Dr. Chris Biggs

Second Advisor

Dr. Lisa Coons

Third Advisor

Dr. Matt Steel

Keywords

Liturgical, composition, cantata, organ, choir

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The Bended Tree is a multi-movement, 40-minute cantata for chorus, organ, piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, violin, and percussion. It explores timbral, textural, and harmonic development within loosely a symmetrical form divided in the center by 30 seconds of silence. The text for the cantata stems from a series of Lutheran hymns and Biblical passages, set to original music.

In the interest of facilitating flexibility for performances, the movements are written so that they can be performed individually, in any subset, or in the piece’s entirety. The instrumentation is also variable: the core ensemble is comprised of chorus, piano, and organ while the other instruments are treated as supplementary, utilized to intensify the preexisting events articulated by the core ensemble.

Included in

Composition Commons

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