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Abstract:
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The Dragon King’s Daughter: Sinfonietta for Jazz Nonet, String Orchestra and Soprano is an original musical
composition in four movements combining the textural, harmonic, melodic and rhythmic vocabulary of both jazz and
contemporary classical music. The blending of genres creates several problems in terms of notation and performance that
the score and this accompanying document attempt to explore and address. These include the concept of “swing” and
issues of improvisation versus interpretation. As a score written for a specific group of performers, certain inconsistencies
are present based on the knowledge base of the given musicians. This concept is also explained in more detail within the
body of the paper.
The piece was created in conjunction with artist Christian Conrad, writer Kathleen Blackburn, and choreographer
Rachel Spaugh and collaboration deeply informs the work. This document investigates how the collaborative process
influenced the composition of the musical score but also seeks to demonstrate how it stands on its own, to be evaluated and
analyzed based on the elements of orchestration, form, harmony, melody and rhythm.
The form of the piece is drawn loosely from the structure of a classical symphony with an opening fast movement
and a slower second. It departs from the typical format because of the programmatic nature of the piece. The third
movement in particular, rather than being a stylized dance, like the traditional symphonic minuet and trio, is an actual piece
of music for dance written to accompany choreography by Rachel Spaugh. As a result, it is much more complex and indepth
than a standard third movement. The final movement also does not follow the typical symphonic model of an allegro
or rondo to conclude the piece. Instead, it is slow, broad, and introspective, providing resolution to the conflict presented in
the third movement and embodying the internal nature of wisdom and enlightenment.
The text for The Dragon King’s Daughter is based on the story of the Dragon Girl from the Lotus Sutra, a seminal
work in the Mahayana Buddhist cannon. It comes from the “Devadatta” chapter of this sutra and tells the tale of the
daughter of the Dragon King, Sagara, who attained enlightenment at the tender age of eight. The Dragon Girl’s
manifestation of her innate Buddhahood represents the great internal potential that all living beings possess, as is taught by
Buddhism.
The music of The Dragon King’s Daughter is intentionally programmatic in nature and focuses on telling her story
through sound. The first movement helps us to imagine her fantastic undersea world; the second reveals her seeking mind
that leads her to pursue the wisdom of the Buddha. In the third movement, we experience aurally (as well as visually and
physically when performed with the accompanying choreography) her confrontation of those internal and external obstacles
which would deter her efforts. The final movement concludes with the Dragon Girl’s own dramatic demonstration of her
enlightenment before the assembly of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and magical beings that make up the crowd assembled to hear
Shakyamuni Buddha preach the Lotus Sutra at Eagle Peak. |