An analysis of Mauricio Kagel's Match, for three players
Ho, Pinda D.
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109070
Description
Title
An analysis of Mauricio Kagel's Match, for three players
Author(s)
Ho, Pinda D.
Issue Date
2020
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Tipei, Sever
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Tipei, Sever
Committee Member(s)
Lund, Erik
Scholwin, Richard M.
Silvers, Michael
Department of Study
School of Music
Discipline
Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
A.Mus.D. (doctoral)
Keyword(s)
Kagel
Instrumental theater
music theater
Match
Language
en
Abstract
This thesis explores Match for three players (1964), composed by Mauricio Kagel (1931-
2008), a piece that, at first glance, appears to be through-composed. But if one reads the score as
if a theatrical play script, the ‘form’ of the piece proves not to be what one expects on initial
examination. This research serves to illustrate that the form of the piece is jointly-composed of
both theatrical and musical elements. By analyzing both elements equally, it will be revealed
that the piece is in fact in (musical) binary form. Discovering a form other than simply ‘through-composed’ in Match is significant for several reasons. First, Kagel was greatly influenced by the
likes of Herbert Eimert, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and John Cage, figures perhaps most famous for
their emphasis on structure, form, and rules in music composition. Second, when looking at a
music score from a conventional way, one seeks to find form within the music score itself.
Recognizing that theater plays a crucial part for a formal analysis of Match, shows how crucial it
is to think in a multi-disciplinary way in order to understand Kagel’s compositional aesthetic.
Third, analyses of Kagel’s work are still scarce in modern music literatures, and most research on
Kagel is philosophical or historical. This research hence aims to provide a concrete analysis of
one of Kagel’s most important works, and hopefully inspire more to come.
Chapter 1 analyzes the materials and the framework of Match, examining three
parameters of its composition: 1) dynamic range and rhythmic speed; 2) quality of
communication; and 3) music/theater corporeality. The three parameters are then labeled
according to their status in the performance, using a labeling system which incorporates my own
graphic system for analysis. Furthermore, the framework follows Kagel’s own visual, ‘comic-drawing’ compositional techniques that focus on the dramatic aspects such as plot, character
relationships, and tensions.
Chapter 2 analyzes Match as a work in binary form, jointly constructed by music and
theater materials, revealing that Kagel’s artistic aesthetic derives from his equal treatments of
different disciplines as compositional materials, utilizing their mutual interactions to create a
multi-dimensional phenomenon, engaging the senses in a way that is visual, aural, societal, and
emotive.
Chapter 3, Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research, rounds out the discussion,
offering possibilities for additional research into the unique genre known as instrumental theatre.
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