Earthless - A Sonic Exploration of the Space Between Death and Life, Composed in Five Movements for Chamber Ensemble.

Authors

Samuel P. Tygiel, Macalester CollegeFollow

Document Type

Honors Project - Open Access

Comments

Thank you to my Advisor, Victoria Malawey and composition tutors past and present: Randy Bauer, Abbie Betinis, Chris Gable, Rob Keeley, Nicola Moro and Gareth Wilson.

Abstract

“Earthless” is a composition in 5 movements for a mixed chamber ensemble. The piece is loosely programatic and draws its “narrative” from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a Tibetan Buddhist Text that gives instructions on how to traverse the space between death and rebirth. Rather than telling a direct narrative, each movement is designed to give a broad impression of the different aspects of the experience between death and life through the combination of text and music. The text is taken from poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Sir Walter Scott and Sara Teasdale and compiled in an original “libretto” with the intention of reflecting the internal experience of the deceased person.

Recommended Citation

Tygiel, Samuel P., "Earthless - A Sonic Exploration of the Space Between Death and Life, Composed in Five Movements for Chamber Ensemble." (2013). Music Honors Projects. 12.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/musi_honors/12