The world in color for chamber orchestra

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Robin E. McLaughlin (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Alejandro Rutty

Abstract: My chamber orchestra piece The World in Color uses orchestrational devices that produce shifts in timbre that musically structure the piece around moments of “bloom.” The impetus for the work came from a video in which colorblind people were enabled to see color for the first time. Fascinated by this newly-developed technology, I was inspired to write this piece as a way to express musically what I imagined their experience might be like. I therefore employed techniques based on three processes that categorized instruments in terms of orchestrational color. In the first process, instruments were added and subtracted from the overall texture to create more or less “colorful” passages. In the second process, instruments were divided into two “light” and “dark” groupings whose musical materials interacted with one another. In the third, instruments of different families with distinct timbres were scored so that they were closely voiced. These three processes all support the “blooming” moments of the piece. This document contains a detailed analysis of how these processes were used in the piece, as well as an appendix containing the score for the composition.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2018
Keywords
Music, Music Composition
Subjects
Chamber orchestra music $v Scores
Color blindness $v Songs and music
Color $v Songs and music

Email this document to