| This dissertation analyzes the harmonic syntax of Philip Glass' music for the scene "The Grid," from the 1982 Godfrey Reggio film Koyaanisqatsi. Chapter 1 focuses on the five harmonic cycles, which are presented in twenty-one harmonic sections. Due to the effects of repetition, Glass' harmonic cycles are satiated from the relationships of consonance and dissonance that characterize tonal harmony. The five harmonic cycles, which appear in twenty-one sections, are analyzed in terms of the type of harmonic centricity they assert: tonally harmonic centricity, contextually asserted harmonic centricity, and no harmonic centricity. The intervallic motion of triads in these harmonic cycles is described by their organization in a symmetrically organized pitch space.;The second part of this dissertation is an original composition, Cowboy Rock'n'Roll USA, an experimental music theatre production composed through an extensive collaborative process between composer and performers. This piece is scored for soprano, flute, clarinet, country singer, and audio/visual technician and was premiered in Stuttgart, Germany in June 2014.;Chapter 2 shows how "The Grid" is organized under a three-part structure due to the constant fluctuation of rhythmic, metric, and orchestrational textures. The fluctuating context of these textures supply the dramatic charge and discharge of textural intensification, which allows for a sense of directional volition in the music that builds and releases between the work's three parts. Special attention is paid to the modulations between harmonic sections, which feature momentary effects of cyclic conjunction and instances of atonal prolongation. The analysis ends by introducing a possible reading of a quotidian narrative of the everyday activities of the late 1970's working class American, based on the interaction of the musical structures described in the analysis and the themes of the imagery used in the film. |
