Form, Temporality, And Embodied Metaphors In Jennifer Higdon’s Sonata For Viola And Piano (1990): A Narrative Analysis

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dc.contributor.advisorDurrani, Aaminah O.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBrooks, Wayne
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMurphy, Nancy
dc.contributor.committeeMemberSmith, Rob
dc.creatorKnight, Nina Bledsoe
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-17T04:11:20Z
dc.date.available2019-12-17T04:11:20Z
dc.date.createdDecember 2019
dc.date.issued2019-12
dc.date.submittedDecember 2019
dc.date.updated2019-12-17T04:11:20Z
dc.description.abstractDream-like motives, stuttering rhythms, disjointed gestures, surprising tonal areas, and anisochronies all add to the contrasting atmospheres created by Jennifer Higdon in her Sonata for Viola and Piano (1990). These features encourage the listener, performer, and analyst to ask questions and seek out a story. In this essay I look at the first movement of the Sonata for Viola and Piano through multiple lenses: form, temporality, embodiment, and narrative. The first three stands provide the theoretical backbone of the narrative analysis. Byron Almén's seminal treatise, A Theory of Musical Narrative, serves as the foundation of the narrative theory. My approach to form theory relies primarily on the recent contributions by James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy. Their findings offer an extensive taxonomy of compositional choices as a means of understanding and interpreting the architecture of sonata forms. Concepts of temporality are drawn from the contributions of music theorists Jonathan Kramer (d. 2004) and Andrew Davis. Human element appears prevalently in Higdon’s sonata, IMAGE SCHEMAS are identified based on the research of Johnson and Lakoff. The three analytical strands—form, temporality, and embodiment—all carry the potential to recount human activity. In listening to and performing Higdon's sonata, I sense a drama told through the structures she creates. Narrative analysis is an effective approach to such a reading because it is well suited to weave together a variety of musical threads.
dc.description.departmentMusic, Moores School of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/5573
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectViola sonata
dc.titleForm, Temporality, And Embodied Metaphors In Jennifer Higdon’s Sonata For Viola And Piano (1990): A Narrative Analysis
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeKathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
thesis.degree.departmentMusic, Moores School of
thesis.degree.disciplineViola Performance
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Musical Arts

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