Reflection of Debussy: A Comparative Analysis of Solo Marimba Works by Jacob Druckman and Richard Rodney Bennett

Brunk, Jeremy Matthew

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Description

Title

Reflection of Debussy: A Comparative Analysis of Solo Marimba Works by Jacob Druckman and Richard Rodney Bennett

Author(s)

Brunk, Jeremy Matthew

Issue Date

2007

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Moersch, William

Department of Study

Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Music

Language

eng

Abstract

Jacob Druckman's Reflections' on the Nature of Water (1986) and Richard Rodney Bennett's After Syrinx II (1984) are two works for solo marimba that involve direct quotation and indirect stylistic appropriation from the music of Claude Debussy. Bennett composes a theme and variations using the flute melody Syrinx (1913) to explore the boundaries between tonality and serial techniques. Druckman's six movements each represent a different physical state of water and constitute an homage to Debussy's Preludes (1910-13) through their musical language and imagery. The detailed analysis of these two scores reveals the compositional connections to Debussy, paying special attention to pitch organization and the development of each work's central motives. The analytical techniques utilized are dependent on the language of the composition itself, employing serial analysis in the case of After Syrinx II and a loose application of set theory for Reflections on the Nature of Water. Ultimately both works exhibit compositional similarities to Debussy in the treatment of specific pitch collections as referential sonorities, a correlation between smaller structural components and larger formal or tonal design, and an Impressionistic manner of representing their subjects.

Graduation Semester

2007

Type of Resource

text

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