Status
I’m in the process of writing a thesis to complete my Masters of Music degree in Music Theory at UMKC. I’ve selected a topic, researched the sources, and had many discussions with my advisor. Really, “all that’s left” is the writing.
Topic
The topic of the thesis is an analysis of an organ piece by Vincent Persichetti called Shimah b’koli (Psalm 130). While a previous “analysis” found that the piece was largely serial but used potentialities of the serial row to imply “tonality”, I maintain that the piece is primarily thematic and serialization is just a technique in Persichetti’s arsenal. The piece has a theme-and-variations aspect to it, but more in the sense of “continuous variation”—the theme is frequently referenced, but rarely stated explicitly. In between references to the theme are widely varying musical ideas that relate to but don’t necessarily imply the theme. Unifying aspects of these and all sections include a proclivity for symmetry, wide gestures crossing multiple registers and timbres, and seemingly spontaneous rhythmic patterns.
Pictured: Vincent Persichetti, 1915-1987
