Doctoral Dissertations--Composition (DM)

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/14079

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A Psalm of Spark and Seed
(Indiana University, 2025-04-22) Smith, Isaac
Program Notes Solarpunk is a philosophy that approaches the future with optimism, envisioning a sustainable way of humanity’s survival through responsible use of technology. It stresses the importance of community and togetherness in spite of our differences, and sees the often intractable problems of climate change, poverty, food insecurity, and war as solvable. I knew that I wanted my dissertation to address the issue of climate change, but my initial sketches were understandably grim. More and more, I felt that optimism was a far more radical – and important – approach to the problem, and that if I had anything to say artistically about such a huge danger to humanity, it would be to channel my anger and fear into a message of hope. From that hope comes A Psalm for Spark and Seed. The title is in part inspired by a book in the solarpunk genre, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers, whose work is uplifting and beautiful. A psalm is a sacred song of praise, and in my piece, that praise is directed towards the literal and metaphorical “spark” and “seed”. Ursula K. LeGuin's The Dispossessed and Ernest Callenbach's Ecotopia also inspired and informed the piece, but neither of them hit the center of how I felt (and how I hoped to feel) as purely as Chambers' work. Both the spark and the seed are robust metaphors in English. They are symbols of ideas and potential, as well as a catalyst for change (e.g. “the spark of revolution” or “seeds of discontent”). The spark is also a symbol for humanity’s sentience, and the seed often represents the origins of life itself. In their more literal sense, they are often seen as antithetical to one another. I am a native Californian, and the wildfires that regularly ravage my home state are a perfect example of the danger the “spark” poses to the “seed.” However, while studying the life cycle of the California sequoia trees, I discovered something miraculous: they need fire to survive. The natural fire cycles caused by lightning strikes – and later, by Native American ecological stewardship – cleared overgrown underbrush, providing fertile soil for the trees to grow. These trees adapted to those conditions so much that their cones wait until they feel the heat of a wildfire to open up and spread their seeds onto the newly revitalized forest floor. A Psalm of Spark and Seed imagines that deeply opposed, yet symbiotic relationship through music. It is set in two movements, nearly equal in length. At its core, it uses unequal parts to create a balanced whole: asymmetrical rhythms, chords and scales made up of uneven steps, as well as sharply juxtaposed textures. More broadly, the entire movements themselves are diametrically opposed in many ways. The first movement is a fiery, high energy dynamo, occasionally jubilant, often brutal. Its music is inspired by punk rock, both in its driving rhythm and its massive, noisy “power chords.” An asymmetrical groove is established and resisted by regular pulses, giving the whole movement a tense backdrop for the slowly moving harmony underneath. It culminates in a “chorus” where these two rhythmic ideas fight to coexist. The second movement is delicate, intimate, introspective, and serene – though it has its moments of joy and grandeur, as well. Its melodic material is a re-imagining of the horn call from Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, which itself is derived from an alphorn call. The alphorn and the overtone series it uses to make music are old symbols of the natural world in western music. This familiar melody is stretched and elaborated into new shapes, some broad and powerful, some tender and playful. At its heart, however, this movement celebrates the beauty of the natural world. These two movements come together to form a complete whole, just as their constituent unequal parts do to form each melodic phrase, harmonic progression, and formal section. They are the musical embodiment of industry and nature, and though they contain both the anger and pain I feel when confronting the existential threat of climate change, A Psalm of Spark and Seed is a song of hope for a brighter future, and a call to make it a reality.
Deluge
(Indiana University, 2024-05-07) Oh, Jeongung, 1992-
THE HU(MA)N-TING GROUND
(Indiana University, 2024-04-01) Cheng, Ching Nam Hippocrates
American symphonic journeys
(Indiana University, 2023-12-14) Yee-Paulson, Ben, 1994-
Rusty railway
(Indiana University, 2023-05-05) Seol, Yuseok, 1990-
Ya (Cliff of Moher)
(Indiana University, 2023-05-05) Lin, Shuyu, 1994-
Concerto for wind ensemble
(Indiana University, 2023-04-18) Rankin, Robert
L'enfant terrible : (with flashes of bright green)
(Indiana University, 2022-05-04) Landrum, Nicholas, 1987-
Spirituality
(Indiana University, 2022-05-04) Chen, Yi-De
The puppy episode
(Indiana University, 2022-05-03) Recio, Matthew, 1991-
Dance dance circumvolution
(Indiana University, 2021-11-07) Kunselman, Jamie
Work in progress
(Indiana University, 2021-05-12) Davis, Craig Michael, 1990-
Perichoresis ~a dance~
(Indiana University, 2021-05-06) Kuriyama, Kenji, 1987-
Imperiled sea
(Indiana University, 2021-05-04) Trachsel, Will, 1988-
Nocturne
(Indiana University, 2021-05-02) Frizzo, Carlo Vincetti
“…here they come, the birds of my youth!” : in memoriam Sven-David Sandström
(Indiana University, 2021-04-22) Hurst, Jay, 1989-
Concerto for chorus
(Indiana University, 2020-07-21) Rubin, Corey, 1983-
Danzas encefálicas: Dream cycles for sinfonietta and electronics
(Indiana University, 2020-07-14) Tovar-Henao, Felipe, 1991-
Permissions
(Indiana University, 2020-05-03) Taylor, Tyler, 1992-
Where the dark green willows weep
(Indiana University, 2020-04-24) Ransom, Erik Q., 1970-

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