This project is a complete rescoring of the last reel of the 2013 film All Is Lost (starting at time code 05:08:25:14). The composer has created all new music and sound design (no original sonic elements of the original film release have been used), and created and mixed a recording combining live musicians' performances and programmed sampler instruments that reflects and subtly enriches the audience's experience of and emotional connection to the main character's ordeal stranded on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.

This monograph examines how minimalist techniques and the influence of rock music shape the film scores of the British film composer Clint Mansell (b. 1963) and how these scores differ from the usual Hollywood model. The primary focus of this study is Mansell's work for two films by the American director Darren Aronofsky (b. 1969), which earned both Mansell and Aronofsky the greatest recognition: Requiem for a Dream (2000) and The Fountain (2006). This analysis devotes particular attention to the relationship between music and filmic structure in the earlier of the two films. It also outlines a brief evolution of musical minimalism and explains how a composer like Clint Mansell, who has a seemingly unusual background for a minimalist, manages to meld some of minimalism's characteristic techniques into his own work, blending them with aspects of rock music, a genre closer to his musical origins. This study also characterizes the film scoring practices that dominated Hollywood scores throughout the twentieth century while emphasizing the changes that occurred during this period of history to enable someone with Mansell's background to become a Hollywood film composer.

My research paper will address the possibility that Stravinsky’s used the Morse code as part of his rhythmic-musical language in the ballet Agon and in other orchestral works. I will also review the use of Morse code in the compositions of additional composers, as well as my own, in order to provide a compelling new research angle for future musicologists, ethnomusicologists, musicians and historians.

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ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

TERROR IN A THREE PIECE SUIT

and

ORCHIS

MUSIC SCORES

by

Sofya Belousova

Master of Arts in Music University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor Ian Krouse, Chair

My Master's Thesis revolves around "Terror In A Three Piece Suit", a short animated film, and an excerpt from "Orchis", a contemporary ballet.

TERROR IN A THREE PIECE SUIT is a wonderful short animated film directed by Ariel Goldberg. The film develops the story of a clerk with an overactive mind who imagines monstrous happenings behind the door to the boss's office. First premiered in June, 2012 "Terror In A Three Piece Suit" has already became an official selection of several major film festivals including the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival, San Diego International Children's Film Festival, New Orleans International Children's Film Festival, to name but a few. Additionally, the music for "Terror In A Three Piece Suit" was highly recognized by such acclaimed industry professionals as Jorge Calandrelli, Grammy Award winning and Oscar nominated composer; Peter Golub, an Award winning composer and director of the Sundance Film Music Program; and Colette Delerue, the wife of the late Oscar winning legendary Hollywood composer Georges Delerue, and the Head of the Georges Delerue Memorial Foundation.

The score for "Terror In A Three Piece Suit" is a combination of four live instruments (flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, oboe, violin) and a mockup. I composed, orchestrated, programmed and conducted the score.

ORCHIS is a contemporary ballet. For my thesis I am submitting an excerpt from it. The score for "Orchis" is a combination of a live solo cello and a mockup. The overall composition is full of ambience created by electronic instruments with high piano ringing tones and long low cello notes. The music was inspired by the beautiful photographs of Cemal Ekin who was able to capture the frozen beauty of dead flowers. I composed, orchestrated, programmed and conducted the score.

Although a significant amount of research has been conducted on the emotional and psychological effects music has on children, very little research exists on the relationship between children and the music that underscores their movies. No formal studies exist on compositional approaches to the scoring of children’s films. Most significantly, the rapidly growing interest in media effects on children is lacking in a crucial way: focusing entirely on the visual and thematic content of motion picture, it underestimates the role underscore (aka 'background music') plays in how visual and thematic content is perceived and processed. My research, which explores these relationships from musical, cinematic, developmental, and educational perspectives, will serve as a gateway to new approaches for scholars in each of these fields, bringing new insight to the table. This exploratory study will merge existing theories across several disciplines, and prime readers in lesser-known concepts, defining new and often misused terms. Understanding the ways in which underscore impacts child audiences will not only serve as a tool for improving motion picture to better fit their needs and preferences, but it will also unveil lesser known compositional principles for producing underscore that specifically engages with and speaks to children, improving the overall quality and impact of the visual and thematic content.

Keywords: Children, Film, Underscore, Composition, Media Effects, Music, Soundtrack, Communications, Development, Family Movies, Motion Picture, Visual Media, Film Theory, Mickey-Mousing, Media Violence, animation

What are the mental and emotional effects of receiving a prophetic vision? The prophet Daniel may be a PTSD survivor as well as a prophet, or perhaps because he is a prophet. The basic conceit of each prophetic vision in the book of Daniel is that the angel Gabriel flies to Daniel to act as the voice of God answering Daniel’s prayers. The narrative typically describes symptoms of trauma following these angelic visits. For example, Daniel says, “I fainted and was sick for days,” following a vision (Dan. 8:27 NKJV). In subsequent chapters, Daniel describes several ingredients of trauma: being alone in his experience, loss of control over his own body and total voice loss (Dan. 10:8-17 NKJV). Within this circa 30-minute work, I explore how the text treats the receipt of a prophetic vision as a traumatic experience through investigating the relationship of Daniel’s voice loss upon hearing Gabriel’s voice.The instrumentation for the monodrama is solo soprano, flute, string quartet, piano and harp. Alluding to the Biblical simile of a heavenly voice sounding like “the voice of a multitude,” ii (Ez. 1:24, Dan. 10:6, Rev. 19:6 NKJV) I envision the composite effect of the instruments plus the solo soprano to become a musical representation of Gabriel’s voice, delivering the prophetic vision to the listener, who will be sharing the role of receiver with the prophet Daniel in the story. The libretto focuses primarily on Daniel 9:24-27, which describes the long-awaited building and catastrophic destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem. However, the entire narrative of the book of Daniel serves to further my probing into Daniel’s prophetic vision as traumatic experience.

Orchestration: piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns in F, 5 trumpets (1-2 in D, 3-5 in C), 2 tenor trombones, 2 bass trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, percussion (xylophone, snare drum, bass drum, 2 taiko drums, tam-tam, large temple gong, medium temple gong, 3 Rin Gongs (24", 20" and 16"), hyoshigi), koto, piano, soprano solo, and strings

The genesis of the symphony dates back to the fall of 2015, at the conclusion of a vacation in Japan. Having toured the ancient Imperial capital of Kyoto, the bustling metropolis of Tokyo, and the serene beauty of Hakone, I felt the desire to compose a work set in Japan, with music that accurately depicts the history and picturesque landscapes. However, it was not until a year later that I began work on the initial material. Before I knew the music would become a symphony, the idea was to compose a dramatic opera in 5 acts, titled Masayo To Masashi. The work follows the stories of two characters, a husband and a wife, who are separated when the former is drafted into military service. Masashi, the husband, is sent to fight on Iwo Jima, where he is instructed to fight until death. Meanwhile, Masayo endures numerous tragedies, including the bombing of Tokyo. Both, however, survive their various conflicts and are given false news of each other's demise. After the war, a heartbroken Masashi returns to Japan, only to discover Masayo is indeed alive. The opera concludes brightly, with both characters looking to the future with optimism and hope.

Despite the creation of a promising plot to an Opera, I decided to set the music to a symphony first, focusing specifically on Masayo's perspective. The result are five highly-connected movements that are a narrative of their own though familiar and reoccurring themes, motifs, and instrumental solos. Several instruments — such as the piano, solo flute, taiko drums, and koto — assume the role of various characters in the Opera, while a soprano solo assumes the role of Masayo. I think of this symphony as an operetta without words, that is, until the fifth and final movement when the soprano joins the orchestra.

The first movement imitates an overture of an opera, designed to thrust the audience back to Japan in the year 1945. At roughly three minutes in length, it is the shortest movement of the symphony. Even eighth-note patterns in asymmetrical intervals clash against heavy dotted-eight-note patterns, paying homage to ancient court music of Kyoto. Tension is built harmonically as each eighth-note pattern passes, ultimately landing on a soft violin harmonic. The mood changes significantly, with the music growing more haunting and sparse. The movement ends leading in to its successor, with a final statement of the eighth-note pattern melting away as lower strings grow in volume, imitating an air-raid siren and the ominous sound of B-29 squadrons.

Beginning where the first movement left off, the second, titled 3-9-45, sets to music the infamous firebombing of Tokyo. All of the orchestral forces engage together in violent passages and flurries of notes over the course of several minutes, until the orchestra is interrupted by the trumpets, imitating the air-raid siren. This "eye of the storm" moment does not last long, with the orchestra stirring itself up again to conclude the movement in the manner in which it began.

The third movement is a flashback in time, returning to the years before the war began. Titled Kaisō, or Reminiscence, the overall mood is serene and calm. The koto and piano make their first appearance in this movement, while the solo flute and strings accompany both. The "sakura" theme (a prominent and reoccurring melody throughout the symphony representing harmony and peace) reveals itself several times throughout the movement. However, the promise of peace is hindered by harmonies that contain subtle tension, a reminder the plot is looking to the past and is not of the present. Overall, the third movement is a "flower between two chasms", serving as a buffer between the turbulent second movement, and the horrors that lie ahead in the fourth.

Similar in nature to the second movement, the mood of the fourth is consumed with agony and despair. Although not as frantic as the second, the fourth makes up with dense orchestration and unpredictable tempo changes. Titled Nenshō, or Burning, the music reflects the hellish conditions that resulted from the bombing campaign. The movement continues from the third without pause, as the dreamlike state of the third melts away slowly, ushering in darker and more menacing sounds. Finally, with a sudden, sharp chord consisting of brass and woodwinds, the turbulence resumes. The horrors unleashed in this movement are not constant, however, with a sudden interruption of material related to the third appearing without warning. Like the transition of the third movement to the fourth, this interruption melts away like fire to wax, picking up speed at a rapid pace, finishing the movement with tremendous volume and intensity.

Similar to the final movement of Shostakovich's controversial Symphony no. 4, the fifth movement is by far the longest and weightiest. A threnody, the beginning nature of the music is dark and heavy. Japanese tradition is demonstrated from the start, with the sound of a traditional Shinto Rin Gong, struck 3 times: a symbolic call to the spirits. After approximately 28 minutes of music from the beginning of the symphony, the soprano finally joins the orchestra, assuming the role of Masayo from my opera-in-development, Masayo To Masashi. She sings to her dead loved ones and ancestors, with her vocal lines noticeably static and bleak. Having survived the bombing of Tokyo, she is war-torn and shellshocked. Some of the saddest moments of the entire symphony occur in this movement, for example, when a lonely piano passage accompanied by a single note held by the 1st violins appears out of nowhere, representing the spirit of Masayo's dead child calling out to his mother. Despite many melancholy moments, the movement progressively becomes more optimistic and positive. By the end of the threnody, Masayo sings of hope and a future, while nevertheless still aware of her dark past. With the ominous and reoccurring "E" pitch — representing pain and suffering — long gone, the mood and style of the third movement returns, insuring the audience that the darkness and turmoil of the previous music is forever gone, and only replaced by peace and tranquility.

…Into the Silence is about experimenting with therapeutic aspect of music. My ultimate goal is to stretch time and have my audience get lost in time. I am also experimenting with resonance and volume. I believe there is an extreme sense of healing and soothing power in the resonance of singing bowls, whether they are being strike or rubbed. On the other hand having more that four singing bowl resonating at the same time can stretch the sense of timing due to the resonating nature of singing bowls.

There are two volumes in this dissertation: the first is a monograph, and the second a musical composition, both of which are described below.

Volume I

These days, labels such as classical, rock and pop mean less and less since young musicians frequently blur boundaries between genres. These young musicians have built an alternative musical universe. I construct five different categories to explore this universe. They are 1) circuits of alternate concert venues, 2) cross-genre collaborations, 3) alternative modes of musical groups, 4) new compositional trends in classical chamber music, and 5) new ensembles and record labels.

In this dissertation, I aim to explore these five categories, connecting them to recent cultural trends in New York. In addition to considering social, cultural, and institutional aspects, I also analyze two contemporary classical works, Steven Mackey's "Physical Property" and Julia Wolfe's "Believing," which exemplify alternative classical composers' attempts at exploring and crossing the divide between contemporary classical music and vernacular music styles, like rock and popular music. Through this set of examinations, I aim to show what it is like to be a classical composer in today's society, where popular culture has enormous prestige.

Volume II

The Arctic is inspired by the images of North Polar with its vast, giant and beautiful nature. It is for large orchestra: 3 flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English Horn), 2 Clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, 3 percussionists, harp, piano, celesta and strings in about 15 minutes in duration. The first part is an exploration of a spinning melody of strings and often splashes of color from other instruments. The second part is more serenely scored, culminating in a kind of cosmic dance for the entire orchestra. The third part takes serious effort to build up momentum- as if desperately seeking final destination. The musical ideas reflect on the beauty of tonality.