A STUDY OF AARON COPLAND'S SKETCHES FOR 'INSCAPE'

This thesis attempts to reconstruct Aaron Copland's compositional process in his latest orchestral work, Inscape, through a detailed cataloguing and analysis of his sketches.;During a visit with Mr. Copland in April I learned that there was a considerable amount of sketch material at his home in Peekskill. I arranged to spend several days a week there during the summer of 1982 to study these sketches.;Copland has divided his sketch material for Inscape into four parts: (1) Rough sketches; (2) First completed sketch; (3) Piano reduction; (4) Final sketch with orchestral notations. There is also an orchestrated score from which the engraver worked.;I have devoted one chapter to each of the four parts. There are summaries at the end of the description of the rough sketches and again at the end of the final sketch.;In February of 1982 I sent Mr. Copland my analysis of his Piano Quartet (M.F.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 1982). He responded with a letter: "I must tell you how very impressed I was with your analysis of my 30-year old work. I confess however that, at the time of composing, I was not aware of several of the points you made...with which, incidentally, I agree...I would be glad to arrange a meeting whenever you are to be in this area....".;In many cases the description of each page is accompanied by a reproduction of the sketches in the composer's hand. Each description is meant to be compared with the corresponding measures in the published score.;An introductory chapter discusses various aspects of style in Copland's works after 1950. There is a brief chapter which discusses Inscape's two tone rows and includes a formal analysis of the work.