Academic Studies

Composition involves a continuing process of engagement and dialogue with influences from the past and the present: it is impossible for a composer to work in isolation from a legacy of any received canon. This paper outlines the compositional elements of the recent piece for lever harp, Chromatétude by Anne-Marie O’Farrell, which acknowledges and develops received musical materials from previous sources. Outlining contextualisation and drawing comparisons with similar approaches by Alfred Schnittke, Peter Maxwell Davies, and Judith Weir, the article demonstrates the paraphrase of harper-composer Denis Hempson’s ricercar Faigh an Gléas, collected by Edward Bunting at the Belfast Harp Festival in 1792, along with use and transformation of all twelve transpositions of Scriabin’s quartal hexachord, and Slonimsky’s twelve-tone quartal chord from his Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns of 1947. These compositional resources show the capacity of the lever harp as a vehicle for a twelve-tone pitch set without the use of levers or scordatura. The combination of these elements creates a harmonic language not normally heard on this instrument, since much of the development of Western classical musical language and thought through the centuries has, for a variety of reasons, been reflected in the repertoire of other instruments and of other types of harp.

iv List of Works in the Portfolio v List of Accompanying Recordings vi Chapter 1. My Main Compositional Concerns 1 Chapter 2. Writing for Voice 7 Chapter 3. Use of Received Materials 27 Individual Commentaries: Chapter 4. Pomes Penyeach 40 Chapter 5. Orb of Earth to Arch of Sky 61

Today’s ever-changing contexts of music and music education demand that composers are increasingly required to be an artistic voice for the communities in which they live and work. Yet much teaching of composing in third-level institutions in Ireland, while developing a high level of musical craftsmanship, often fails to promote the vital connection between those skills and the social and civic contexts in which many composers work. The aim of this project was to enhance the learning experience of students in the Conservatory of Music and Drama by giving them the opportunity to apply, adapt and transfer their musical knowledge and skills through leading composition workshops in a primary school, and composing works appropriate for junior performance groups. Working within a qualitative research paradigm and with a focus on reflective practice, data collection included questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. The projected outcomes included the development ...