R-3 Repository :: Browsing by Author "Gottschalk, Arthur W."

Browsing by Author "Gottschalk, Arthur W."

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Allusions, Illusions & Delusions
(2013-09-16) Bachicha, Stephen; Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Aazhang, Behnaam; Bailey, Walter B.; Lavenda, Richard
Allusions, Illusions and Delusions (2013) is an eight minute work for full orchestra that blends elements of lyricism with fast kinetic music, orchestral tutti with smaller groupings and solos, and familiar harmonic language with more exotic combinations. The piece begins with a bang, employing a figure that blurs the distinction between major and minor triads. After the ensuing short introduction, the flugelhorn’s lyrical theme becomes the main focus; indeed, elements of this solo line help to shape the entire piece. Following an expansive orchestral tutti built on this theme, the line and the ensemble are broken down and small groups of instruments begin a climb to the fast section of the piece. The longest portion of the score, this fast section takes the listener on a roller coaster ride with sharp turns and many ups and downs. The ride continues building more and more intensity and energy until the climax, marked in the score “huge and bombastic.” As this cacophonous “wall of sound” dies down, four solo strings and a clarinet emerge, recalling moments of the flugelhorn solo. A solo bucket muted trumpet presents a final paraphrase of the theme, bringing the piece to a calm and soothing resolution. Allusions, Illusions and Delusions takes its title from elements of the piece itself and from a number of external influences. The lyrical flugelhorn solo beginning at measure 27, the rapidly changing harmonies of the fast section, polychordal segments (such as the Eb major/d minor simultaneous sonority found in measures 87 through 89), and the climax at J, allude to the sounds of triadic harmonies from common practice tonal music. Aspects of these harmonies also create a sense of illusion: The main melodic and harmonic sounds used in the piece are intervals of seconds and thirds, and their inversions. By using minor seconds simultaneously as melodic and harmonic intervals, the quality of a triad or chord is often blurred, fooling the listener into thinking that they are hearing a triad, when five or more notes might actually be present. Delusion refers to the way a listener might react to the music. Often listeners invent a story to go along with a piece of music as a way for them to organize and understand the musical journey that they are experiencing. When there is no extra-musical idea tied to the piece at all, as in this instance, listeners might well be deluding themselves.
Breath: Two scenes for soprano, tenor and baritone voices; flute, cello and piano
(1999) Tucker, Aubrey Stephen; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Breath is based on a story written by R. Lawrence Reed II, M.D., when he chaired the Trauma Surgery Department at the University of Texas Medical School in 1989. Breath is a setting of two hospital scenes. "Emergency Room" is the tragic aftermath of a young man's alcohol related motorcycle accident when his parents (soprano and baritone) are given hopeless news by the Doctor (tenor or contralto). In "Intensive Care Unit," the parents are next confronted with the unthinkable procedure of having their son's ventilator disconnected. Musically, Breath is generally organized with three pitch series which are associated with paired voices and instruments.
Diptychon
(2013-12-05) Gillespie, Kenya; Al-Zand, Karim; Brandt, Anthony K.; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
"Diptychon" is a visual and musical exploration of the effects of the commodification of identity on one’s soul. The video begins with symbolic images of the psychological world. This leads into the heart of the piece, which depicts images of storefronts and merchandise to represent the process of the commodification of identity. These images repeat themselves and break apart into increasingly smaller split screens, resulting in an image of a man covered in plastic and money. The underlying basis, the soul, of the music is the harmony from Bach’s “Chaconne” from his "Violin Partita No. 2." The string orchestra and electronics gradually disrupt the harmony and the solo melodic violin line, adding various layers—a four-part canon, pitch and rhythmic layers, layers of voice recordings—that escalate into a climactic twelve tone chord. This recedes into a coda that captures the essential musical identity of the piece.
Distorted Visions for Wind Ensemble
(2011) Blench, Karl Eric; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Distorted Visions is a two-movement piece that marks my return to writing for large wind ensemble. Much of my recent work has been stimulated by issues concerning the human mind. Topics ranging from mental disorders to the ability of the mind to project imagery provided impulse for my work. Distorted Visions continues along that vein, focusing on recollection and how the mind may remember something differently than actually occurred. It may be compared to looking at an image, and then looking at that same image through the bottom ofa drinking glass. The image is recognizably there, but it is greatly distorted. Each movement ofthis work thus focuses on the distortion of a different musical idea. The first movement, Broken Memory, features a solo bassoon that attempts to recall a distant melodic memory. It first emerges from a haze of material in the marimbas and low brass, and begins to materialize, only to be interrupted by another memory. The movement then begins to solidify as these two ideas overlap. The principal melody of the bassoon desperately tries to develop and sing, but is constantly interrupted by a stronger, more violent idea. The music continues until the interruptions overtake the melody completely, forcing the memory to fade back into another haze at the end. The second movement, Malfunctioning Process, is concerned with the process of building an ostinato, one that disintegrates and takes off in different directions. I think of this movement as an "ostinato machine" that keeps breaking down. The movement begins with an initial process that builds the musical material into a recognizable form, a melody. The music is then overwhelmed by the first malfunction, heard in the low brass. The process begins anew, distortedly attempting the creation of another melody but leading only to another breakdown. The final process takes place in the woodwinds, leading to a return of the opening material, this time slowed down. As the ''machine'' continues to slow, the entire ensemble comes together on a unison B-flat, leading to the final moment at which the machine, violently yet inexorably, shuts off.
Grand Variations for large orchestra
(2012-09-05) Zajicek, Daniel; Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Jalbert, Pierre; Loewen, Peter; Sperandio, Christopher
Grand Variations is a work for large orchestra built on an original theme and six variations. My primary concerns when composing were communication, continuity, and distortion. To musically communicate an idea repetition is essential, and the type of repetition presented in theme and variations provided what I was looking for. In addition, the fact that the theme will be repeated over and over leads to a built in continuity. The final concern, distortion, may be achieved by pulling away from a more straightforward presentation of the thematic material. Two additional elements played a large role in the work—cyclic forms, and quantum physics. The composition Déserts by Edgard Varese, and the jazz work Nefertiti by Wayne Shorter, both contain strong cyclic features. Nefertiti uses the same melody repeated over and over, while Déserts, on the other hand, repeatedly presents the same musical gestures, and sound objects, but with slight changes to achieve its own cyclic sound world. These two works framed the way that I approached variations, yet are at odds with each other. Through my reading of quantum physics, I found a way to join the two into a working structure, and the book, The Grand Design, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, helped me to do it. Because of this, I decided early on to honor that influence, and the title Grand Variations reflect that.
Halcyon Nights
(1998) Gross, Robert Dale; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Halcyon Nights is a one-movement piece for orchestra, ca. 9$\sp\prime$, in five-part arch-form with two inserted sections: A B C B$\rm\sp\prime\ \langle fugue\rangle\ A\sp\prime\ \langle coda\rangle$. The piece opens with an English horn solo, from which a great deal of cellular musical ideas, with broad-scale formal ramifications, are derived. This set of gestures and two other fundamental musical ideas form the basis of most of the material comprising the piece. The tonal centers of the different sections reflect a prolongation of one of these basic cells. Therefore, the piece is highly constructivist in its design. The surface, however, is interchangeably tranquil and bouncy, with some small hints of jazz and large doses of hemiola: an aural reflection on the halcyon late nights of Houston (during many of which, fittingly enough, the piece was written).
Impact
(2013-09-16) Halka, Charles; Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Bailey, Walter B.; Heffes, Gisela
Impact (2013) is an eight-minute work for full orchestra that explores an aural gesture best described as a heavy thud. This gesture, which opens the work in its clearest form, is a steep drop from the upper register of the orchestra, such as the flutes and triangle, to its depths in instruments such as the basses, contrabassoon, and tuba. Each time the gesture plummets to the bottom, the impact of this arrival generates various “resonances” – shards of harmonic or melodic material that proceed to develop on their own, contributing to subsequent thuds and eventually blooming into more lyrical sections of music. Along the way, the thudding gesture is dissected, reversed, and fragmented before finally regaining its original form and prominence near the end. One giant, swirling thud brings the work to a rumbling close. The work was greatly influenced by my exposure to electronic music techniques, many of which focus on non-traditional aspects such as register, timbre, and abstract shapes and gestures rather than rhythm, melody, and harmony. Also central to the work’s creation was my desire to treat the orchestra as a single, metamorphosing instrument rather than a layering of its distinct parts.
Infinite Rain (Original composition, Li Yu, Zhang Zhi-he, Liu Yong, China)
(2000) Yip, Stephen Shukin; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Infinite Rain is based on three different T'ang and Sung lyric poems. Lyric poetry refers to poems composed to certain tunes. These three lyric poems come from different Chinese dynasties, but they all depict rain in varying moods. Musically, there are three sections, but without breaks between the sections; hence the title, Infinite Rain. The formal structure of the entire work is in arch form: there are two divisions in the first movement, the second movement is in ABA form, and there two divisions in the last. The basic materials of the in three sections are related, and are used throughout the work. (1) Ripples Shifting Sand was written by Li Yu (937--978), in the Southern T'ang of Five Dynasty, and expresses the sadness of the poet through a description of springtime's everlasting rain. (2) A Fisherman's Song, was written by Zhang Zhi-he (730--782), in the T'ang Dynasty. The fisherman of this poem is symbolic of man in harmony with nature. The fisherman was enjoying life, as he fished in a light rain. The solo cello is used to imitate the most characteristic Chinese of instrument, the Ch'in, a long fretted zither. (3) Bells Ringing in the Rain, was written by Liu Yong (987--1053) during the Sung Dynasty, and describes a sudden heavy shower on an autumn day. This is the most emotional and expressive poem of the three. The lyric depicts the sorrow of a pair of lovers bidding farewell before the pavilion at the city gate of the capitol.
Joan Tower's compositional profile, use of the clarinet, and collaboration in "Turning Points" for clarinet and string quartet
(2004) Oddo, Rochelle Lynn; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Joan Tower is one of the most highly regarded and awarded composers practicing today. Her compositional "profile" has been characterized as a balance of serial and organic elements, and has been best expressed in the works in which there were collaborative efforts between her and the performers of her music. These elements of Tower's compositional profile, coupled with her great regard and affinity for the clarinet are apparent in Turning Points for Clarinet and String Quartet. This document contains a synopsis of Tower's compositional career, a discussion of her collaborative methodology, and an analysis of the aforementioned work. These were facilitated through interviews with Tower and two of her foremost interpreters on the clarinet, Laura Flax and David Shifrin; these interviews are included in their entirety as a part of the Appendix to this document.
Kidnapped
(1999) Rector, Malcolm Wayne; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
This piece is built around the interval of a tritone followed by a major third and is mostly a through-composed work. Through most of this piece, the percussion plays a polyrhythm that operates as a foreground and sometimes background ostinato. An upward rhythmic motif, constructed of a tritone followed by a major third, begins in measure 3. This motif develops throughout the work, becoming a primary figure in the woodwinds. The static harmony and melody, not spanning beyond a tritone in the strings, are found in various stages. Murmuring flutes and air being blown in the trumpets and trombones in measure 18 temporarily replace the percussion choir. This is accompanied by a canon in the upper strings, glockenspiel and harp that emphasizes the tritone. The climax of the piece is seen in measure 73 with the entire orchestra's explosion of rhythmic variety and harmony.
Musical Momennts
(2012-09-05) Savitski, Aleks; Jalbert, Pierre; Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Stallmann, Kurt
Musical Moments abstract The inspiration for this piece came largely from my encounters with Miles Davis’s composition “Flamenco Sketches” from his album “Kind of Blue”. Initially, I wanted to write a piece that would have a highly dramatic emotional content with some influences drawn from flamenco music. The only thing that I drew from flamenco is a progression of chords that loosely hint at Phrygian mode (often used in flamenco). Other elements of the music and the development of musical material are not related to flamenco or to Davis’s “Flamenco Sketches”. “Musical Moments” presents four different moods: calm but anxious, joyous and assertive, indecisive and contemplative, restless and explosive. Each of these moods creates a separate section of the piece which when combined shape a single movement work.
On Open Sky
(2002) Williams, Ross Adrian; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
On Open Sky is the first movement of a large orchestral work. The piece seeks to evoke the memory of a landscape, specially central Australia. The orchestration is the most important structural element, as sound color and texture propel the piece. There are two main sections separated by a short contrasting episode. The climax of the piece occurs at measure 100 and uses material derived from introduction.
S.q 2 for string quartet
(2002) Rector, Malcolm Wayne; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Throughout this string quartet, one tone cluster, the "primary cluster", is developed and varied in each of the four movements, as the unifying factor. Movement One is a through-composed section organized by texture, orchestration, and pitch material, derived from the primary cluster. Divided into eleven sections, the movement includes an introduction, five complete divisions, four transitional segments and a coda. The primary cluster gradually grows from measure one through measure eleven, beginning with the unison pitch D. Upon reaching measure eleven, the cluster realizes its principal form: C#-D-Eb-E. Movement Two is also through-composed, although slightly rounded by the relationship between the beginning and the ending. This movement consists of eight sections, including an introduction, four divisions, two transitions, and a coda. The pitches in measures two through four are repeated in retrograde in measures eighty-three through eighty-five; those played by the upper three instruments in measure one are repeated verbatim in the last measure, as well as the cello melody that concludes the movement. Divided into eight sections, Movement Three is a loose rondo, concentrating equally on its various motives and on the primary cluster. Unlike the first two movements, it does not have an introduction. Instead, there are four sections, with the first section repeating before the coda, and three transitions to separate each of the four structral divisions. Movement Four is an expanded rondo, contrasting a total chromatic idiom with a diatonic character. It is by far the largest of the four movements. The movement has eighteen sections consisting of ten variants, with the initial variant occurring four times, and the second and third variants occurring twice. There are also six transitional sections and a coda, which is an expanded version of the introduction to this movement.
Samuel Zyman's Concerto for Flute and Small Orchestra and Sonata for Flute and Piano
(2000) Siegel, Merrie R.; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
The compositional style of Samuel Zyman's two flute works, Concerto for Flute and Small Orchestra and Sonata for Flute and Piano , is examined through formal and stylistic analyses, as well as interviews with the composer and with the flutist who commissioned both works, Marisa Canales. The two Neo-Romantic works make use of clear formal structures, such as sonata allegro and rondo forms. These traditional structures are greatly expanded, mainly through the use of highly active and extended development sections. Rhythmic drive is an essential element of both of these works. These aspects, along with highly contrapuntal writing, cyclical elements, and the expansive use of melody allow for two very cohesive but complex works. Modal inflection also adds a very original and interesting musical flavor to the works.
Shards
(2002) Osborne, Thomas Abercrombie; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
The title refers to short, jagged gestures that permeate the piece. These fragments interrupt the ongoing music then gradually take over the texture, until they are in turn dethroned by another "shard." The title also points to the image the music creates. The piece begins slow and unassuming. As it goes, a more erratic character infiltrates the music until it is like some giant unstoppable spinning wheel, aggressively spraying out white-hot sparks. In the end this machine doesn't wind down, but instead suddenly runs of steam allowing the original, subdued music to return.
"Sigil" for chamber orchestra
(2000) Partain, Randolph L.; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
A sigil is a small symbol or rune believed to hold magical energy. In this instance, the "sigil" is a five-note motive, which emerges from repeating notes in the brass and oboe in the first few moments of the piece. This grouping of pitches not only becomes the building block for all of the melodic figures in the work, the harmonic components are derived almost exclusively from this motive as well. Utilizing this same basic material on many different levels throughout, the work also expresses a character of energetic and perpetually unfolding development of a musical idea. Throughout the piece, the motive occurs at varying speeds and intensities, until the climactic section in which all of the previous speeds occur simultaneously, with the brass interjecting chordal presentations of the motive.
Skitter
(2010) Jacobsen, Nicolai Lee; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
Skitter is a modern take on the classic concert overture exemplified by Rossini's La scala di sieta or Berlioz's Le carnival romain. This short piece is in four parts: an energetic fanfare, a melodic pastoral, a frenetic development of the previous materials, and an exuberant coda. The fanfare introduces much of the melodic material used throughout the work, primarily focusing on an energetic theme with a subtly shifting background. The pastoral section offers a complete contrast: the English horn, and then violas, develop an aria-like melody in an Impressionistic setting. The third section, marked "skittering," develops various motives from the first two sections while pushing toward a climactic set of fanfares. The final section is a light coda in the style of Rossini. Here the music bubbles with energy, driving toward a sudden stop.
"Strange Attractors" for orchestra
(2010) Bryant, Alexandra Tyler; Gottschalk, Arthur W.
In mathematics, a strange attractor is a self-referencing, dynamical system which evolves over time into a subtle, complex pattern. It walks a fine line between complete regularity and utter chaos, never repeating itself exactly but always cyclically haunting the same paths. Like these transient mathematical forms, the instrumental lines in Strange Attractors possess contours, shapes, and melodies which recur in recognizable patterns throughout the piece, yet never twice repeat themselves in the same way---they are ever changing, evolving, and expanding. The individual musical elements---such as the opening motif of the piccolo and celesta, the asymmetrical rhythmic pattern of the winds and strings immediately following, as well as the descending figure found in the violas and cellos at the conclusion of the first climax---together provide a dynamic and organic whole which is esthetically greater than a simple linear addition of their parts.
The Evening Shadow
(2013-09-16) Walczak, Christopher; Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Chen, Shih-Hui; Bailey, Walter B.; Sanders, Paula
The Evening Shadow, a six-minute work for symphony orchestra, is a short symphonic poem composed with the intent of evoking a sensation of lament and eventual deliverance. Drawing from the “Neapolitan Complex” found in Beethoven’s string quartet in C-sharp minor, op. 131 (exploitation of the semitone between C#-D), I attempted to create a dramatic “storyline” utilizing the semitone relation between E and F. From a programmatic standpoint, upward motion from E to F is meant to represent yearning (mm. 5-6, violins, mm. 14-15, violin/vibraphone, m. 18, cello, embedded in m. 20, flute 2) while downward motion from F to E (mm. 110-113, brass) symbolizes rescue and redemption. Motivic transformation was paramount to the construction of The Evening Shadow. Five primary motives are stated and developed. The first appears in the solo violin from mm. 3-4 and is transformed at m. 44 in the oboe and 2nd violins. The second motive is stated in mm. 9-12 in the 1st violins, and returns in canon from mm. 96-106. The third motive appears in the oboe in mm. 29-30 and is developed extensively (mm. 41-42, 47-48, 110-113). The fourth motive is stated in the 1st violins at m. 33 and returns in m. 52 in the 2nd violins. The final motive is first heard in the horns in mm. 39-40 and ends the piece from mm. 127-129. The motivic transformations make use of transposition, modal “adjustment,” and built in rubato effects, as well a large degree of fragmentation and recombination. Traditional contrapuntal technique was utilized throughout the work. Global harmonic motion of the piece, which makes use of skeletal tonic/dominant relations, can be heard as a progression through the following “tonicizations” and respective modalities: E/F (pitch-centric, no modality, mm. 1-33), D (Dorian, mm. 34-55), A (Dorian, mm. 52-54), E (pseudo-Phrygian, mm. 65-87), C (Mixolydian, mm. 108-121), G (Mixolydian, mm. 127-132), and E/F (pitch-centric, no modality, mm. 133-137). Atonal pitch-class set sonorities were used as structural rhetoric throughout. The aggregate collection, drawing from dodecaphonic theory, is used sparingly both melodically (mm. 16-17, violins and violas), and harmonically (mm. 2-3, 64, 66, 69, 137). Conceptual difficulties arise from orchestrational considerations in a contemporary work due to the broad array of possibilities demonstrated in the scores that span the history of orchestral music. I sought to create a hybrid of advanced traditional orchestration (Mahler, Strauss) and texturalist practices (Lutoslawski, Ligeti).
The organ masses of Claudio Merulo: a performing edition
(1981) Judd, Robert (Robert Floyd); Gottschalk, Arthur W.; Hanson, Alice; Holloway, Clyde
Claudio Merulo was born in Correggio, Italy in 1533, and died in Parma in 1604. In 1568 he published one of his first works, the Messe d'intavolatura . . . libro quarto. This volume contains three Masses and three Credos for organ, in alternatim style. Th

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