A critique of "Four Songs from John Donne". (with Original composition);

Abstract

Four Songs from John Donne, the musical portion of my dissertation, is an orchestral song cycle for soprano and tenor soloists and full orchestra. The songs' lyrics are drawn from poems of Donne, all set completely in the following order: "Breake of Daye," "Song: Sweetest Love," "The Triple Foole," and "The Baite." The performance requirements are: 2 Flutes (Second Flute doubles Piccolo); 2 Oboes (Second Oboe doubles English Horn); 2 Clarinets (Second Clarinet doubles Bass Clarinet); 2 Bassoons; 4 French Horns; 2 Trumpets; 2 Trombones; 2 Percussion; 1 Timpani; 1 Harp; 1 Piano; Strings; and Soprano and Tenor Soloists. The entire work's duration is roughly one half-hour. "A critique of Four Songs from John Donne" (which includes an introduction, and two subsequent sections) accompanies the musical work. Part one discusses the allure of the poems, their historical background, and various issues of prosody. Part two discusses theoretical issues the musical work raises, focusing in particular on comparisons of pitch class invariance between specific musical structures in each of the four movements. The four movements each in turn are primarily concerned with (I) tetrachords, (II) modes, (III) symmetrical pitch structures, and (IV) twelve-tone sets.