Folio of Compositions and Critical Commentary

In July 2013 I commenced a PhD program at the University of Queensland as a part-time distance student. I was conferred the Doctor of Philosophy degree in January 2019. Follows are links to some of the output from my research.

ABSTRACT

This Doctor of Philosophy submission consists of a folio of original compositions with an accompanying critical commentary. Through practice-based research, the theoretical, creative and intercultural nature of the author’s contemporary compositional practice is revealed and examined. The critical commentary commences with an in-depth study of the author’s salient techniques used for creation of material and post-compositional analysis. Diagrams—many drawing from geometry—are utilised in order to demonstrate the nature and potential of these techniques. This work demonstrates the potential of a range of contemporary compositional techniques that seek to fuse intercultural approaches with jazz and Western art music, resulting in an hybridized contemporary style.

CRITICAL COMMENTARY

PDF (18.4 MB)

UPLOADED FEBRUARY 1, 2019 More

"LOCKED-IN"

For voice, accordion, electric bass, trumpet, bass trombone.

Duration 7:11

Locked-in syndrome, or LIS for short, is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes.

I wrote a song that aimed to capture the feelings and one-directional conversation between a couple, one of whom was locked in. The composition also drew on harmony of Thelonious Monk's "Crepuscule with Nellie” for inspiration.

"BIRDER"

For violin, viola, saxophone, double bass, piano, electric bass, electric guitar, drums.

Duration 22:29

Dedicated to the American guitarist, composer and educator Jon Damian, this composition gains its title from Damian’s hobby of bird-watching. (In the U.S.A. the term “birder” is used to designate a “twitcher” which is the British simile for a type of bird watcher who is dedicated to the observation of birds and who might travel extensively to seek out exotic varieties.) This composition offers my respect to Damian, his teaching and music, in that it grants the guitarist a featured position in the ensemble, with musical inspiration in the composition derived from the calls of a selection of Australian birds. My goal was to develop material from a small number of themes, through various styles, tempi and forms that would be familiar to an accomplished jazz guitarist like Damian, supported by a hybrid "Third Stream" ensemble that combines classical and jazz instruments and approaches. I sought to achieve the following features in the composition:

Thematic unity;
A sense of growth/development that would take the listener on a journey;
A juxtaposition of genres such as Brazilian (e.g. bossa nova), Jazz (e.g. swing), Afro-Cuban, North African and Indian;
Pan-tonality;
Guitar feature (with passages to feature all of the other instruments also).

"Birder" is a 24-minute composition that frames improvisation within a journey that reflects Damian's playfulness & spontaneity.

"PERFECT STORM"

For bass trombone, mridangam, fretless electric bass, tabla, drum set, kendang.

Duration 39:30

The goal of this work is to assimilate aspects of South Indian raga and tala, and Balinese solo drumming (kendang tunggal) into a North Indian khyal style. The mode is
raga Megh, a monsoonal raga (hence the title). The composition incorporates the rhythmic techniques and practices of each genre, including the following:
• North Indian classical: Dadra tala, tihai, tabla solo upon lehara, interweaving of mukhra catch-phrases.
• Balinese kendang tunggal: Interlocking phrases of kotekan that tile the line, ombak
tempo variations, angsel structural cues that dictate where cadences and contrasting
sections occur.
• South Indian classical: Tani avartanam percussion solo that features logical development of rhythmic motives in a set rhythmic cycle, yati and korvai.

"MOD TIMES"

For bass trombone, electric bass, drums.

Duration 13:28

This composition evolved out of experiments with self-similarity and geometric proportion in pitch, rhythm and structure. The word “mod” in the title relates to the modulation and modulo - two terms that relate to processes featured in the essential rhythmic development of this composition. One of the experiments that preceded (and inspired) the composition of Mod Times involved the application of modulo to the common process of rhythmic diminution and augmentation. The video below features a series of geometric diagrams that illustrate such experiments, with rhythm plotted on the outer wheel, and pitch on the inner wheel. These diagrams are sycronized to a studio recording of the work.

"PACO"

For bass trombone, electric bass, drums, foot pedals.

Duration 8:44

Paco is dedicated to the great guitarist Paco de Lucia, who died in 2014 at the age of 66. The tempo not only identifies the age of de Lucia’s death, but was a fitting speed for this elegy. It also enabled the metric modulation desired (but that was discovered retrospectively after the tempo was initially decided.) The piece is not meant to be literally flamenco in style, but rather a piece that was conceived as a personal (solo) performance for 6-string electric bass and foot pedals. Paco de Lucia would often perform solo, complete with taps to the instrument’s body, or claps (palmas) when accompanied as traditionally occur in that style.
This version of the composition retains the foot pedals to some extent but arranges the composition for three players. Reflection rhythms are a unifying feature of the work.

"A KAYAK"

For bass trombone, electric bass, drums, foot pedal.

Duration 9:45

This composition has an African "bell" pattern as its rhythmic spine. It explores the following elements:

6/8 Afro Cuban clave
South Indian korvai
Metric modulation from the 3-2 clave in 6/8 to a "straight" 3-2 rhumba clave in 4/4
Use of common quaver and common overall phrase length as modulation methods.

"BINARY TIMES"

For bass trombone, electric bass, drums, vibraphone.

Duration 14:30

This composition is intended as the sequel to "Mod Times", to be performed as its second movement. It features the following elements:

Self-similarity, featuring the binary Thue-morse sequence to 32 bits and self-similar harmonic structures
North Indian rela composition applied in a modulatory fashion with Indonesian kendang tuggal orchestrations and grouping structures
Indonesian kotekan interlocking phrases.