Portfolio of compositions

Abstract

A portfolio of eight compositions for varied forces is presented with a commentary on both the context in which the works were written and the musical materials.  The contextual commentary aims to locate the portfolio - and my work as a composer more generally - within various networks.  Taking post-colonial studies as my theoretical base, I explore my personal and musical identity and discuss themes of interaction and hybridity.

Issues surrounding the use of ‘traditional’ South African musics to create a musical voice within the essentially European context of ‘Art music’ are discussed in some detail, and resolved on a personal level.  This leads to a consideration of how I have developed a compositional voice using techniques derived from Xhosa bow music.

The analytical commentary considers the eight scores in the portfolio in terms of three important concerns which are prevalent in the music.  The first of these is the question of how I have gradually developed bow music-derived techniques to enable me to create extended musical forms.  The second deals with musical processes that enact or dramatize relationships musically.  Finally, the ubiquity of cyclic structures in the works in the portfolio, and the techniques used within these structures to achieve development, are examined.

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