Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 107

University of Iowa

Iowa Research Online


Theses and Dissertations

2012

The percussion ensemble music of Robert Moran


Lucas James Bernier
University of Iowa

Copyright 2012 Lucas J. Bernier

This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3430

Recommended Citation
Bernier, Lucas James. "The percussion ensemble music of Robert Moran." PhD diss., University of Iowa, 2012.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3430.

Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd

Part of the Music Commons


THE PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE MUSIC OF ROBERT MORAN

by
Lucas James Bernier

An essay submitted in partial fulfillment


of the requirements for the
Doctor of Musical Arts degree
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa

December 2012

Essay Supervisor: Professor Daniel Moore


Copyright by

LUCAS JAMES BERNIER

2012

All Rights Reserved


Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

_______________________

D.M.A. ESSAY

_______________

This is to certify that the D.M.A. essay of

Lucas James Bernier

has been approved by the Examining Committee


for the essay requirement for the Doctor of Musical Arts
degree at the December 2012 graduation.

Essay Committee: ___________________________________


Daniel Moore, Essay Supervisor

___________________________________
David Gier

___________________________________
David Gompper

___________________________________
William LaRue Jones

___________________________________
Kristin Thelander
To Robert Moran

ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost I must thank Dan Moore. I have the privilege of calling him

my teacher, mentor, and friend. The wisdom, guidance, and support he continues to

provide are more than I ever could have imagined. For this, I am forever grateful. I would

also like to give a special thank you to Liesa Moore. Thank you for your friendship and

for keeping me on task.

I would to thank my committee members Dr. Kristin Thelander, Dr. David

Gompper, Dr. William Larue Jones, and Dr. David Gier. These individuals have

supported me through two degrees, served on numerous recital and exam committees,

and have always looked out for my future.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Robert Moran for his music, humor, and for

allowing me to write about him. He has been more than supportive throughout the writing

process and I feel honored to call him my friend.

My family also deserves a big thank you. I want to thank my Mom for putting up

with my drumming in the house, my Dad for encouraging me to read, my brothers Ben

for always having my back, and Chris for being my inspiration to pursue music.

Thank you to my teachers at both The University of Iowa and Minnesota State

University Moorhead who have also been encouraging throughout my education and

professional career.

Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank my wife Niki. There is no one

person who has been more supportive and encouraging. Without her unending love and

patience, this document and degree would not be possible. As my editor and critic on

many projects, she has helped me organize my thoughts and write clearly. There are no

words that can describe the amount gratitude I have for her. Her emotional support has

helped me through the most challenging times of three degrees and her ideas about life

and education have helped me become a better person and teacher.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi

LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1

Statement of Problem and Need for Study .......................................................1


Purpose .............................................................................................................2
Procedures.........................................................................................................3
Limitations........................................................................................................3
Review of Related Literature............................................................................4

II. BIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................7

Education ..........................................................................................................7
The San Francisco Years ................................................................................10
Northwest, Northeast, and Northwestern........................................................11
New York........................................................................................................12
Philadelphia ....................................................................................................13
1990s...............................................................................................................14
2000 and Beyond ............................................................................................15

III. OVERVIEW OF COMPOSITIONAL STYLE..............................................16

City Pieces ......................................................................................................17


Theatrical, Interactive, and Media Works ......................................................20
Drone Pieces ...................................................................................................21
Dance Pieces ..................................................................................................22
Opera and Choral Works ...............................................................................23
Graphic Scores................................................................................................24
Percussion Ensemble Compositions ...............................................................28

IV. OBRIGADO ...................................................................................................31

Form and Harmony ........................................................................................32


Rhythm ...........................................................................................................35
Texture and Thematic Material .....................................................................36

V. BOMBARDMENTS NO.2.............................................................................39

Graphic Notation and Its Relation to Improvisation ......................................41


Instrumentation ...............................................................................................42
Navigation of the Score ..................................................................................44
Symbols ..........................................................................................................45
Analysis of Dan Moore’s Solo Version of Bombarments No. 2 ....................46

iv
VI. BY ANY OTHER NAME ..............................................................................49

Movement 1: Munich Miniatures- Var. I .......................................................50


Movement 2: Satyagraha Variation ...............................................................54
Movement 3: Libations...................................................................................58

VII. STIRLING: IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS ..........................................63

Analysis .........................................................................................................66

VIII. CONCLUSION...............................................................................................72

APPENDIX A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROBERT MORAN’S PERCUSSION


COMPOSITIONS ..............................................................................................................74

Percussion Ensemble Works...........................................................................74


Variable Ensemble Works ..............................................................................78

APPENDIX B CONCERT PROGRAMS .........................................................................79

Percussion Music of Robert Moran: Iowa Percussion....................................79


New Literature Session PASIC 2011: Iowa Percussion.................................84

BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................92

v
LIST OF TABLES

Table

4.1 Obrigado, Instrumentation .......................................................................................32

4.2 Obrigado, Ternary Form...........................................................................................32

4.3 Obrigado, Modified Rondo Form.............................................................................33

5.1 Bombardments No. 2, Instrumentation .....................................................................44

5.2 Bombardments No. 2, Instrumentation for Dan Moore’s Solo Realization..............47

6.1 By Any Other Name, Modified Rondo Form ............................................................59

7.1 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Instrumentation .............................................63

7.2 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Themes, Groups, and Tonal Centers.............66

vi
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

3.1 Salagrama, Excerpt from Score, pg. 1......................................................................22

3.2 The Hapsburg Kunstkammer from Cabinet of Curiosities .......................................29

3.3 Circles in Wood from Cabinet of Curiosities ...........................................................29

4.1 Obrigado, Section 1 .................................................................................................33

4.2 Obrigado, Section 9..................................................................................................34

4.3 Obrigado, Section 13................................................................................................35

4.4 Obrigado, Section 6, mm. 1-2 ..................................................................................36

4.5 Obrigado, Section 3..................................................................................................37

4.6 Obrigado, Section 4..................................................................................................38

4.7 Obrigado, Section 11................................................................................................38

5.1 Bombardments No. 2, Example of symbol ...............................................................45

5.2 Bombardments No. 2, Example of event from upper left corner of score ................45

5.3 Bombardments No. 2, Example of event from upper left corner of score ................46

6.1 By Any Other Name, Mvt. I, mm. 1-6.......................................................................51

6.2 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 7-12 ....................................................................52

6.3 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 21-26 ..................................................................52

6.4 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 27-34 .................................................................53

6.5 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 1-6 ......................................................................54

6.6 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 16-19 ..................................................................55

6.7 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 20-23 ..................................................................55

6.8 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 12-15 ..................................................................56

6.9 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 7-11 ....................................................................56

6.10 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 37-38 ..................................................................57

6.11 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 1-5 ......................................................................58

vii
6.12 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 15-19 ..................................................................59

6.13 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 85-96 ..................................................................61

6.14 By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 45-49 ..................................................................61

7.1 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Score Pages 1-2 ............................................65

7.2 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group A-Section 1........................................67

7.3 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group E-Section 1 ........................................67

7.4 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group B-Section 1 ........................................67

7.5 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group C-Section 3 ........................................68

7.6 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group B-Section 4 ........................................69

7.7 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group E-Section 7 ........................................69

7.8 Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group D-Section 6........................................70

viii
1!

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

“Make up something fancy, something for the academics.”1

Statement of Problem and Need for Study

Robert Moran is a critically acclaimed American composer who has written for

percussion since the 1960s. He studied composition with some of the most notable names

in twentieth-century music, including Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud. He has

collaborated extensively with Philip Glass, John Cage, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, and

others. His career has spanned five decades and nearly every genre of contemporary

music including many works for percussion ensemble. He has received major

commissions from performers, ensembles, and dance companies throughout the world

including the Scottish Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, American

Repertory Theatre, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

Moran’s relevance in percussion dates back to the early 1960s — a period that

yielded relatively little in the way of innovative or significant literature for the serious

percussion ensemble. Early percussion works by Moran were well regarded in their day,

but since have been forgotten. His Divertissement Number One for electric frying pan and

any variable ensemble, popularly known as The Popcorn Piece, has been frequently

performed, but often not attributed to him. His innovative graphic composition

Bombardments No. 2 for five percussionists, written in 1964, was widely performed at

the time, but though still found in university percussion libraries across the country, is

rarely performed today. Moran’s dozen or so works for percussion ensemble, the majority

written before 1971 and after 2006, are relatively unknown and infrequently

performed. This period of inactivity in composing for percussion could account for him

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1
Robert Moran, email correspondence with Lucas Bernier, February 23, 2012.
2!

being overlooked by the percussion community.

Recent revived interest in the performance of graphic notation and improvised

classical music should help to bring the name Robert Moran back into the collective

consciousness of percussionists. Commissions and recording projects by Professor Dan

Moore and the University of Iowa Percussion Ensemble, known as Iowa Percussion, have

brought old and more recent music by Robert Moran to the attention of audiences. One of

Moran’s latest compositions for percussion ensemble, By Any Other Name, was

performed by Iowa Percussion on the New Literature Session at the Percussive Arts

Society International Convention in 2011. It is uncommon to find a composer that writes

for chamber ensembles, orchestras, operas, and dance companies who also writes

regularly for the percussion ensemble. Robert Moran and his compositions for percussion

are certainly deserving of receiving wider recognition by the percussion community.

The need for this study originates from a void in research and general knowledge

concerning Robert Moran and his music. Little scholarly literature has been written about

him, although a simple Internet search frequently returns his name in association with

graphic notation, opera, and contemporary music. This document will focus on his

percussion writing, and an overview of his other compositions will be presented in order

to characterize his compositional style and musical output.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to present an overview of Moran’s background and

compositional style while providing a detailed view of his music for percussion

ensemble. This document will provide historical and biographical information and

analyses of selected percussion ensemble compositions. Descriptive analysis will provide

insight into Moran’s compositional process that might aid in performance of these works.

Moran has utilized multiple approaches to composition throughout his career and

his percussion works reflect these stylistic variances. Roughly half of his percussion
3!

works are written using graphic or proportional notation; the others are traditionally

notated. Analysis of both types will be applied to performance practices of his percussion

ensemble compositions.

While at the University of Iowa, this author participated in premiere performances

of several of Moran’s percussion ensemble compositions and performed on two

recordings of his works. This research topic stemmed from this formative first-hand

experience and from a desire to learn more about Robert Moran and his music.

Procedures

Biographical and historical information will be taken from reviews of existing

literature and interviews with Robert Moran and others. This primary source information

will be invaluable in providing firsthand insight into his life and background.

Four compositions were chosen for analysis. Each is significantly different from

the others, and each exhibits Moran’s style in different ways. The compositions are

Bombardments No. 2 (1964), Obrigado (1995), Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

(2007), and By Any Other Name (2008). Three of the four selections have also been

recorded on two releases by Innova Records.

Analyses of traditionally notated scores will include basic formal analysis with

particular attention to harmonic, rhythmic, and thematic content. Graphic scores will be

analyzed in such a way that will provide possible realizations of the score as well as

interpretive suggestions.

Limitations

Many of Moran’s percussion ensemble pieces utilize graphic notation, which

intrinsically warrants individual interpretation. Personal views are necessary in

interpreting and providing performance suggestions for graphic pieces, therefore the
4!

analysis of these works will be more subjective. Works that use traditional notation will

receive a more objective analysis.

Robert Moran has enjoyed a storied career of over 50 years as a composer and he

has written hundreds of compositions. Although it is beyond the scope of this project to

delve into his other works, an overview of compositions and compositional style will be

presented to illustrate the depth and breadth of his work throughout his half-century of

composing.

Review of Related Literature

There are surprisingly few resources directly focused on Robert Moran. Other

than basic biographical information, his name is only mentioned in various articles

regarding avant-garde music and graphic notation. However, two dissertations include

detailed analyses of Moran’s compositions.

Patrick Coyle, in his doctoral dissertation Significant Male Voice Repertory

Commissioned by American Gay Men’s Choruses, analyzed selected choral

compositions.2 His analysis of Moran’s Night Passage, composed for the Seattle Men’s
Chorus, provides thorough detail focusing on harmonic content and how those harmonic

devices shape the text.

Structural Functions of ‘Musical Gesture’ as Heard in Selected Instrumental

Compositions of the Twentieth Century: A Graphic Analytic Method by Richard Brooks

covers multiple compositions, including Moran’s graphic score Four Visions.3 Brooks

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2
Patrick O. Coyle, “Significant Male Voice Repertory Commissioned by American Gay Men’s
Choruses” D.M.A. diss., University of Cincinnati, 2006.
!
"!Richard
James G. Brooks, “Structural Functions of ‘Musical Gesture’ as Heard in Selected
Instrumental Compositions of the Twentieth Century: A Graphic Analytic Method,” Ph.D. diss., New York
University, 1981.
!
5!

describes his approach to interpreting graphic notation, but leaves room for further

research, especially with regard to compositions for percussion.

Multiple dissertations and articles have been written about graphic notation and

modern notational systems; however, few provide any recommendations as to how to

perform a graphic score. Dissertations from Rachel Julian-Jones4 and Scott Shepherd5

detail various notational practices specifically utilized in percussion. As their focus is on

alternative notational systems, both documents fail to adequately provide suggestions for

performances of graphic scores. Articles such as “Visual Music”6 by Stuart and Sylvia

Smith describe the phenomenon of graphic notation. Though no analysis is included, the

description of graphic notation contends that it is a necessary and legitimate convention.

John Cage’s book Notations (1969) is a collection of scores from hundreds of

composers, including notable names such as Stravinsky, Berio, Bernstein, and many

others. This now-famous collection gathered a single page of a composition that each

composer was working on at the time. While there is little information regarding the

compositions, it is noteworthy that a high number of graphically notated pieces, including

Moran’s Sketch for a Tragic One Act Opera,7 are included.


The book New Voices: American Composers Talk About Their Music by Geoff

Smith and Nicola Walker Smith presents interviews with several composers. Their

interview with Moran provides excellent detail into his background, education, and

compositional process. Though limited in length and scope, the first-hand account is

notable from a biographical standpoint.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4
Rachel Carissa Julian-Jones, “A survey of multiple percussion notation with an emphasis on
timbre staff notation and setup,” D.M.A. diss., University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1999.
!
#!Scott Lawrence Shepherd, “Notational Practices of Percussion Since 1950: An Analysis of

Selected Chamber Works,” M.A. Thesis, University of California Los Angeles, 1977.
!
6
Stuart Smith and Sylvia Smith, “Visual Music,” Perspectives of New Music 20:1/2 (1981) 75-93.
!
7
This work inspired Dan Moore to ask Moran to compose the percussion opera Bats in the Belfry,
an Opera in Five Acts and Four Murders for Four Solo Voices and Large Percussion in 2010.
6!

Numerous articles and dissertations have been written about other important

composers for percussion along with analyses of their works. No such research has been

conducted about Robert Moran. This document is intended to fill that gap in research.
7!

CHAPTER II

BIOGRAPHY

“By the way, WHO is this Robert Moran anyway?”8

The career of composer Robert Moran is nothing short of extraordinary. He has

studied with master composers. He has held teaching positions at multiple universities.

He has written hundreds of pieces, some allowing up to 100,000 performers. He has

received commissions from all over the world. He has composed in nearly every genre of

contemporary music over the past five decades, yet his original style defies labels and

categorization. This chapter will provide a detailed overview of the life and

compositional career of this truly unique contemporary American composer.

Education

Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1937, Robert Moran developed a keen interest in

music at a young age. His parents frequently took him to the opera, where young Robert

became fascinated with the genre, and enrolled him in a drama course for children at

Denver University at age seven.9 Though his formal education in music did not begin
until much later, this early exposure to opera and drama was clearly influential in his

career.

Moran’s first years as an undergraduate student took place at an educational

college in Colorado, an experience he deemed “totally unsatisfactory.”10 According to

Moran, the institution offered nothing in the realm of music composition, so he decided

to pursue it on his own. During a family vacation to Europe in 1957, an opportunity arose

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8
Robert Moran, email correspondence with Lucas Bernier, November 23, 2011.
9
Geoff Smith and Nicole Walker Smith, New Voices: American Composers Talk About Their
Music (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995), 200.
10
Robert Moran, interview with Lucas Bernier, St. Paul, MN, September 10, 2011.
8!

for him to study music in Vienna.11 Moran took a break from his university education to

study twelve-tone composition with Hans Erich Apostel, who was a student of both

Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg.12 Apostel only accepted a small number of students,

so this was a fortunate opportunity for Moran. It marked the beginning of his formal

education in composition as well as his studies with world-renowned composers. During

one of his first lessons, Apostel was editing the individual parts of Berg’s opera Wozzeck

and handed the original manuscript to Moran. The fact that he was actually holding

Berg’s manuscript left him nearly in shock, as he describes the score as being “like the

Bible to composers.”13 In another lesson, Moran remembers having this exchange, which
he described as typical of his study with Apostel:

I would say, “Mr. Apostel, I just bought the score of the Webern Symphony and I
can’t find the twelve-tone row. It’s not laid out like I would think.” He [Apostel]
said, “Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Then he would go over to the desk and pull
out a packet of letters from Webern. He’d pull out a letter and say, “Here it is,
Webern wrote me about this new symphony he was writing and here is the row.
So write it down, put it down in the score.” So I would get a pencil and I would
mark 1, 2, etc. on the notes directly from Mr. Webern’s letter. That was Apostel.14

Moran mastered twelve-tone composition and the art of variation under Apostel,

whom he credits as an excellent teacher.15 In Vienna, Moran was not only studying
composition, but was also attending a seemingly endless banquet of superb live music,

ranging from Wagner at the Vienna State Opera to the Modern Jazz Quartet. During this

time, Moran absorbed an astonishing amount of musical knowledge and experience.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11
Moran, interview, 2011.
12
George W. Gruber, “Apostel, Hans Erich,” In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/01097 (accessed
December 10, 2011).
13
Moran, interview, 2011.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
9!

After studying in Vienna, Moran briefly returned to Denver, then moved to San

Francisco where he completed his undergraduate degree at San Francisco State College.16

There, according to Moran, the composition teacher even had him write the syllabus and

outline for a course in twelve-tone music.17

Directly after completing his undergraduate degree, Moran enrolled at Mills

College in Oakland, California. The early 1960s proved to be an opportune time to study

at Mills College because both Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud were faculty members.

He completed his Master’s degree in composition under the tutelage of both men.

Berio drew an interesting assortment of students to his courses. Moran’s

classmates included Phil Lesh and Tom Constanten, who later formed the Grateful Dead,

and the now-renowned minimalist composer Steve Reich. The community at Mills

College offered direct contact and interaction with world famous composers and

musicians. During his studies with Berio, Moran was encouraged to write for ensembles

of varying instrumentation, which, in a way, led to Moran’s affinity for graphic notation

and non-standardized ensembles.

Studying under Milhaud brought Moran into contact with virtuosic artists who

were Milhaud’s close associates and friends: the other five of “Les Six,” Pablo Picasso,

Jean Cocteau, Gertrude Stein, and others.18 Moran had a cordial relationship with

Milhaud, about whom he recalls:

Every time he would say “You’re going back to Vienna after you leave here?
Would you like me to write a letter of introduction to Universal Edition?” That
was Milhaud. Same thing with John Cage. They would bend over backwards.
“Can I write you a letter here? You must contact this person there.”19
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16
San Francisco State University, “SF State Facts 2011-2012,” San Francisco State University,
http://www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/sfsufact/ (accessed August 29, 2012).
17
Moran, interview, 2011.
18
Milhaud was one of Les Six, a group of French composers that also included Georges Auric,
Louis Durey, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, and Germaine Tailleferre.
19
Moran, interview, 2011.
10!

As he was finishing his Master’s degree in 1963, Ravi Shankar invited Moran to

study with him in Bombay, India. He was also invited to assist Berio on a new

composition in Europe. In order to aid his decision, he consulted the I Ching.20 Moran

chose to assist Berio in Milan, but only remained there for a brief stay before returning to

Vienna. During his second stay in Vienna, Moran took one of his graphic scores to

Universal Edition, a music publishing company that he jokingly refers to as the “Mafia of

Stockhausen, Nono, Berio, and Ligeti.”21 Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, a Polish

composer, worked at Universal Edition at the time and happened to be quite interested in

graphic notation. According to Moran, he presented his piece Four Visions to Ramati,

saying, “I have written it and I dedicate it to you.” Ramati replied, “That’s very lovely.

Where can I send you the contract?”22

The San Francisco Years

Moran returned to the United States later that year and began teaching at the San

Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to teaching courses in composition, opera

literature, Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and piano, he also co-directed the New Music Ensemble

with founder Howard Hersh.23

During his years in San Francisco, Moran was in close company with influential

individuals in the creative arts. He lived around the corner from Janis Joplin at the top of

Casper Hill, and the two became close friends — even walking their dogs together.24
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
20
The I Ching is an ancient text in which images are randomly selected by tossing coins or sticks.
This is a popular device used for composing aleatoric music.
!
21
Moran, interview, 2011.
!
22
!Ibid.
!
23
Ibid.
24
Moran, interview, 2011.
!
11!

Moran developed close relationships with people like contemporary American artist

Jasper Johns, and composers David Tudor and Christian Wolff. He also taught the now-

famous pianist George Duke. Moran describes the artistic and social atmosphere of those

years: “There was John Coltrane playing Ascension in jazz clubs, Nina Simone, and

parties with John Cage.”25 Moran was living a life surrounded by the arts and surrounded

by figures that occupied the pinnacle of the arts. He states, “It was just an amazing time,

an amazing time.”26

Northwest, Northeast, and Northwestern

In addition to his time at the San Francisco Conservatory, Moran held various

positions in academia. None were full time positions, which he preferred because it

allowed him to keep composing regularly. In 1972, he accepted a position at Portland

State University in Oregon and taught courses about Wagner’s Ring Cycle and opera

literature.27 He stayed there for two years before venturing to Germany to serve as a
composer-in-residence for the city of West Berlin.28

Next came a residency at the State University of New York in Buffalo from 1975

to 1977. The contemporary music program there was started by Lukas Foss, and Moran’s

responsibilities were to work with the New Music Ensemble and compose. He recalls: “It

was basically two years of being in insufferable Buffalo. But, it didn’t make a difference

because I could fly anywhere.”29

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25
Ibid.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Robert Moran, “Biography,” Robert Moran,
http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/biography.htm (accessed December 10, 2011).
29
Moran, interview, 2011.
12!

Following his time in Buffalo, he taught at Northwestern University in Evanston,

Illinois, for one year. There he started the New Music Ensemble and completed one of his

most important collaborations, The Waltz Project, a collection of 25 contemporary piano

waltzes written by some of the best-known modern composers including John Cage, Lou

Harrison, Philip Glass, Milton Babbitt, and Charles Wuorinen.30 He and Robert Helps

compiled the project, which, according to Moran, began with a humorous phone

conversation:

I called up my friend Bob Helps, who’s a concert pianist and composer, and I
said, “I’m really slipping. I’ve just written a waltz. I think I’ve lost my mind.” He
said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ve lost mine too. I’m just working on a waltz here.”
His was Waltz Mirage and it’s quite wonderful. We invited his Bernstein and
Copland friends to contribute a waltz. We also invited Frank Zappa, and I even
wrote a letter to Boulez saying, “We’re doing this waltz project and we’d love to
have you write a waltz. My friend has a $5 bet that you can’t write a waltz.” I had
a very charming letter back saying, “Thank you for the invitation, but
unfortunately I can’t write the waltz because I am very busy.” We received
twenty-five new waltzes and not one was a commission. The rules were: it’s a
waltz if you call it a waltz! It could be easy or extremely difficult, five minutes in
length or open, like Cage. That’s how it happened.31

New York

In 1978, following the one-year appointment at Northwestern, Moran moved to

New York City and was able to compose full time, living solely on commissions.32 In

1984, Moran and renowned minimalist composer Philip Glass shared a residency at the

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30
Ibid.
31
Smith, New Voices, 202-203.
32
Moran, interview, 2011.
!!
13!

Third Street Music School Settlement,33 which led to an important collaboration, The

Juniper Tree — one of his most famous works. 34

Philadelphia

Later in 1984, Robert Moran settled in Philadelphia where he still lives.35 The

premiere of The Juniper Tree came just a year after his move,36 but this important

collaboration began in New York.37 According to Moran, one of the board members

approached him about writing an opera for the children at the school. Moran replied,

“Well, that sounds like fun, but why don’t I write a one-act opera and find another

composer to write another one-act opera?”38 The only other composer he could think of
was Philip Glass. According to Moran, Glass responded, “That sounds like fun, but I

think it would be more fun if we wrote an opera together. That means you can do all of

the work and I’ll just pick up the checks [laughs].”39 So the creative process began and

the two debated about topics for the plot. Moran turned to fairy tales “because they’re

primal, everyone gets it, all the elements are there, and it’s supposed to be for kids.”40 A

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
33
!The Third Street Music School Settlement is the oldest community music school in the U.S.
(started in 1894) located in New York City.!!!
!
34
The Juniper Tree is an opera that was commissioned by the American Repertory Theatre in
Cambridge Massachusetts. The opera was co-composed by Robert Moran and Philip Glass with the libretto
by Arthur Yorinks. The plot is based on a tale by the Brothers Grimm.
!
35
Moran, interview, 2011.
36
Robert Moran, “Biography.”
http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/biography.htm. (accessed December 10, 2011).

37
Nathan Rubin, John Cage and the Twenty-Six Pianos of Mills College: Forces in American
Music from 1940 to 1990, a History (Moraga, CA: Sarah's Books, 1994), 111.
38
Moran, interview, 2011.
39
Ibid.
40
Ibid.
14!

friend directed him to Maurice Sendak, who was unable to collaborate, but directed them

to a collection of stories.41 Upon reading The Juniper Tree, Moran proclaimed, “This is

pure opera. I mean it was cannibalism and ruthless brutality to children and redemption

and all this stuff.”42 Philip Glass was less excited by the story. Moran responded, “Are

you kidding? You’ve got two kids; you know they’ll love it. It’s the parents that’ll turn

green and freak out.”43 Moran and Glass divided the writing of the opera; Arthur Yorinks

wrote the libretto. Directly after the premiere, the Houston Grand Opera approached them

about performing The Juniper Tree the following summer.

1990s

The 1990s marked a successful period for Moran, especially for his operas and

choral works. The success of The Juniper Tree led to more commissions. David Gockley

commissioned Moran to write the opera Desert of Roses. The Minnesota Opera also

programmed Desert of Roses and commissioned Moran to write another opera, From the

Towers of the Moon. He had world premieres of two operas in consecutive months.44
Also during this time various recording projects were taking place, including releases on

notable record labels such as Columbia (BMG), Decca, and Argo.

In 1995, Night Passage was commissioned and premiered by the Seattle Men’s

Chorus. In just the first half of the 1990s, Moran had four new operas performed by

major ensembles in the United States. According to Moran’s website, in the 1990s, he

wrote 35 works that were premiered around the world by notable ensembles and

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
41
Maurice Sendak is the well-known author and illustrator who wrote the popular children’s story
Where the Wild Things Are.
42
Moran, interview, 2011.
43
Ibid.
44
Ibid.
15!

soloists.45 Although he composed numerous other chamber works during this time,

Moran refers to this decade as “lots of choral and lots of opera.”46

2000 and Beyond

Robert Moran has shown no decline in activity since the turn of the twenty-first

century. He continues to compose and receive large-scale commissions. In 2004, he

began collaborations with Innova Records, which produced and released four albums

solely of Moran’s compositions: Open Veins (2004), Mantra (2008), Cabinet of

Curiosities (2011), and Trinity Requiem (2011).47


For Moran, the 2000s also marked a return to the genre of percussion ensemble.

Numerous percussion works were written for and premiered by Iowa Percussion

including Kboco, Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, By Any Other Name, Meister

Ekhard and the Point of No Return, Bats in the Belfry, and Cabinet of Curiosities.

In 2011, Trinity Wall Street and organist Robert Ridgell commissioned Moran to

write Trinity Requiem (scored for children’s chorus, organ, harp, and four cellos) to

commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New

York City. In October 2011, Moran had another large premiere titled Buddha Goes to

Bayreuth, for two choruses and two string orchestras. Two more premieres came in

November 2012, Game of the Antichrist conducted by Alexander Hermann in Munich

and The Lottery performed by Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. Robert Moran’s career

as a composer shows no signs of slowing down.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
45
Moran, interview, 2011.
46
Ibid.
47
“Robert Moran,” http://www.innova.mu/composers/robert-moran, (accessed January 26, 2012).
16!

CHAPTER III

OVERVIEW OF COMPOSITIONAL STYLE

“And we’ll have plenty of time for going blah, blah until you run for the exit.”48

Moran’s style as a composer is nearly impossible to conclusively pinpoint. Over

the five decades he has been composing, Moran has written for nearly every genre of

contemporary music. When questioned about his style, he answered with another

question: “Wouldn’t it be different for each piece?”49 With his breadth and depth of

compositions and determination not to be pinned down to any one category, he has been

able to successfully escape any sort of stylistic captivity. He notes that many composers

and artists have failed due to the confining descriptions of critics, who:

…always want to pigeonhole. And I just don’t want to get bored, and so you’ve
got to keep going on and that confuses them.…And I think the pieces, whatever
you’re doing, should determine the costume that you’re putting on. You don’t
want to wear the same costume all the time. I don’t.50

As mentioned previously, Moran’s formal education began with intense study in

twelve-tone composition, but none of those works are published.51 He explained,

“Nobody wanted to perform them and in all honesty, not too many wanted to hear

them.”52 His early studies of twelve-tone music with Apostel benefited his entire career,

because Apostel would not let him touch the piano, requiring Moran to hear the sounds

first.53 This helped him to truly understand what was being written on the page. He

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
48
Moran, interview, 2011
!
49
Ibid.
50
Ibid.
51
Moran, phone interview with Lucas Bernier, September 15, 2012.
!
52
Smith, New Voices, 199.
53
Ibid,198.
17!

moved away from twelve-tone music shortly after his studies, and toward graphic music

and large-scale “city-pieces.” These early works focused heavily on sound, texture, and

color. Later in his career, Moran made a progression back to tonality. He categorized his

stylistic output as “whole-city events, meditative pieces using drones, and minimalist

works with repeated rhythmic patterns.”54 However, his musical output has produced

more than three categories can contain, including opera and choral works, theatrical

pieces, graphic scores, chamber works, and percussion ensemble compositions in a

variety of compositional styles.

Moran’s harmonic language tends to be functional. While he does use standard

chord progressions, much of his writing is based around the concept of tonal centers and

gradually shifting harmonies. For this, some critics have labeled Moran a minimalist,

although he disagrees with any sort of label.55 As his style has changed over the course of
his career, Moran has moved to a more direct musical language described as being for the

“pure listener.”56

The remainder of this chapter divides his works into various genres and briefly

discusses selected compositions representative of each genre. This is not a conclusive list,

but will provide the reader with an overview of Moran’s compositional style.

City Pieces

Moran may be best known for his four “city pieces,” immensely large

compositions written for entire cities. The first, written for the city of San Francisco,

happened almost by accident. According to Moran, by 1969 the music and artistic scene

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
54
Rubin, John Cage and the Twenty-Six Pianos of Mills College, 111.
55
Smith, New Voices, 203.
!
56
Cornall, Liner Notes to Mantra.
18!

in San Francisco was fading.57 A large music festival was proposed and Moran was

invited to a planning meeting, much to his dislike, as “it was all terribly hippie

nonsense.”58 When asked if he had any ideas, Moran replied, “Well, I’ll do a whole city

piece and use all the skyscrapers.”59 The planners thought it was a great idea, and 39

Minutes for 39 Autos was premiered on August 20, 1969, at 9 p.m.60

This massive work involved performers, artists, dancers, lighting technicians,

radio broadcasters, at-home participants, and many others. The title and length of the

work resulted from the chance operations of the I Ching. Moran called for 39

automobiles with their horns amplified and placed on San Francisco’s Twin Peaks. Three

performers on a moog synthesizer were also utilized and those 40 sounds were mixed and

sent to three radio stations and one television station. In addition to the audio from Twin

Peaks, video from cameras placed around the city and six airplanes circling overhead

provided “a visual fantasy montage” that was broadcast on television.61 Around the
perimeter of the video was a simple lighting score that directed at-home participants to

turn their house lights on and off. 62 Paul Crowley, a talented lighting technician,

programmed and coordinated the lighting of the skyscrapers. Even the audience and cast

of the musical Hair paused their show to participate.63 According to figures from the

electric company, over 100,000 people participated in this monumental premiere.64


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
57
Moran, interview, 2011.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid.
60
Robert Moran, “City Works,” Robert Moran,
http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/city_works.htm, (accessed December 9, 2011).
61
Robert Moran, “Robert Moran: Lunchbag Opera –BBC TV 1971,” YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXkv5IZVhw (accessed September 3, 2012)
62
Moran, interview, 2011.
63
Ibid.
!
64
Moran Website, “City Works.”
19!

His next three city works follow a similar formula: multiple musical ensembles,

light shows, dancers, actors, etc., resulting in citywide mixed media events. Hallelujah,

commissioned by the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, came after the success of 39

Minutes for 39 Autos and premiered on April 23, 1971.65 The work called for 20

marching bands, 40 church choirs, multiple rock bands, organs, and carillons, and light

shows projected on synagogues.66 The music was based on old Moravian hymns and

songs, reflecting the heritage of Bethlehem’s founders.

The third city piece, Pachelbel Promenade, was written for Graz, Austria and

commissioned by the Styrian Autumn Festival.67 Moran wrote hundreds of variations on


Pachelbel’s Canon for nearly every ensemble in Graz.

Moran’s last city piece, From the Market to Asylum, was written for Hartford,

Connecticut. Premiered in June 1982, it featured music, actors, puppeteers, acrobats, and

dancers.68 After From the Market to Asylum, Moran moved in a new direction. He

explains, “It was at that point when you realize that the phenomenon of doing that type of

thing is over. It’s a different period. Things change, besides I have done that and it was

time to move on.”69

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
65
Moran Website, “City Works.”
66
Moran, interview, 2011.
67
Ibid.
68
“Public Art,” from News and Notes, in Umbrella Magazine 5:3 (1982): 74,
http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/umbrella/article/viewFile/1034/983 (Accessed October 1, 2012).
!
69
Moran, interview, 2011.
20!

Theatrical, Interactive, and Media Works

Moran often pushes the envelope and tests boundaries of contemporary music.

While some of his ideas for pieces may initially seem rather unconventional, his sense of

humor is evident. Moran’s pieces may be outlandish, completely engaging, musically

enthralling, and hilarious — all at the same time.

One such piece is Divertissement Number Three, also known as The Lunch Bag

Opera. It premiered in October 1971 in the London Banking Centre, sponsored by BBC

Television. This work calls for ensemble members to walk around any financial center at

lunchtime wearing upside down body-sized paper lunch bags playing small plastic toys at

random underneath the bags. The contrast of the absurdity of the bags and the seriousness

of high finance combined with bewildered executives creates a unique viewing

experience.

Perhaps Moran’s most well-known theatrical piece is Divertissement Number

One, also called The Popcorn Piece. This work was inspired when Moran lifted the cover

off his electric popcorn popper too soon, and popcorn pieces went flying in every

direction. His dog, Charlotte, began leaping in the air to catch the popcorn. Despite the

mess in his kitchen, Moran thought the grace of Charlotte twirling through the air was

beautiful and wanted to turn the “dog popcorn ballet”70 into a staged performance. In true

Moran comical fashion, he instructs the ensemble to wear over-sized circus sunglasses

with five lines representing the musical staff taped on the lenses. A lidless popcorn

popper is placed in the center of the stage. As the popcorn flies, the musicians play what

they see as the popcorn appears on the musical staves on their glasses. The piece begins

with the musicians waiting to play their instruments. Tension builds waiting for the first

kernel to pop. Then as the popcorn starts popping faster, a climax arises with the popcorn

flying everywhere. Then the piece dies down, and no one knows when the last kernel will

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
70
Moran, interview, 2011.
21!

pop. The musicians are instructed to maintain a straight face and serious demeanor

throughout. The absurdity of the popcorn contrasts with the seriousness of the musicians,

resulting in a visual and musical exhibition.

Moran described the musical effect of the work as an ultra-complex “Darmstadt

piece”71 in that it would be nearly impossible to notate and impossible to duplicate in

performance. In a way, this could be viewed as a comical answer to serial or other highly

complex music that could take years to learn yet essentially sounds like an improvisation.

Moran claims that the piece is no such reaction, saying with a wry smile, “no backlash,

just popcorn.”72

Drone Pieces

Moran’s style shifted in the 1970s toward drone compositions, chamber, and

orchestral works. Moran continues to this day to write for ensembles of varying

instruments. It is not unusual to find pieces written for “variable ensemble”73 or

children’s chorus, string orchestra, brass ensemble, six percussionists, and a harp.

His drone pieces move and develop slowly over a long period of time. While the

drones are not necessarily based on a harmonic pedal point, often long sustained tones

serve a bass line for the work. At times, proportional notation will be placed above the

drone allowing for a freer interpretation and a slow expansive result. Glenn Watkins’

term “non-pulsed minimalism” could be applied here in that an “ebb and flow of sound

masses” is positioned on top of a slow moving non-pulsed series of drone pitches.74 For

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
71
A designation associated primarily with the serial music written in the 1950s by Nono,
Maderna, Stockhausen, and Boulez, and promoted by them in the 1950s at the Darmstadt summer courses.
Moran often uses this phrase when referring to extremely difficult and complex music.
72
Moran, interview, 2011.
73
Moran Website, “Chronological Index.”
74
Glenn Watkins, Soundings: Music in the Twentieth Century, (New York: Schirmer Books,
1988), 576. !
22!

instance, the composition Salagrama can easily last over thirty minutes (Figure 3.1) and

the drone pitches are based on Kepler’s idea of the Music of the Spheres.75 Moran’s

Buddha goes to Bayreuth (2011), a recent drone composition, is a stunning 40 minutes in

length.

Figure 3.1. Salagrama, Excerpt from Score, pg. 1


Copyright © 1979 by Charlotte Benson Music Publishers. Used by Permission.76

Dance Pieces

Many of Moran’s pieces were written specifically for dance while choreography

has been added to others. His compositions have been paired with dance since early in his

career when the Bavarian State Opera choreographed his Silver and the Circle of

Messages in 1972. The Waltz Project — a collection of solo piano pieces, was later

choreographed by Peter Martins and the New York City Ballet,77 and the Phyllis Lamhut

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
75
Dan Moore, Liner Notes to Cabinet of Curiosities.
76
All figures, unless specified otherwise, are Copyright © by Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
and Used by Permission.
!
77
NYC Ballet, “The Waltz Project,” NYC Ballet http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/w/the-waltz-
project.aspx (accessed November 28, 2012).
!
23!

Dance Company among others.78 Numerous other dance companies and ballets have

commissioned or choreographed his works including the Scottish Ballet, Netherlands

Dance Theater, Toronto Dance Theater, and the Royal Ballet.79

Moran has developed a style that works easily for choreographers. Dance works

or ballets will often require a set amount of time for each piece. Moran will then compose

individual repeatable sections. Using this technique he found it was easy to tailor a

performance to the needs of the dancers by allowing them to collaborate with the

musicians to determine for themselves the number of times each section should be

repeated. Choreographers can then select which sections they like best, those that fit with

appropriate choreography, and time considerations. Rather than having portions of a

composition cut from a performance due to the previously mentioned reasons, Moran’s

entire composition will be performed, though perhaps some sections heard more than

others.

Opera and Choral Works

Moran has written multiple operas, including commissions from the Houston

Grand Opera and the Minnesota Opera. He has had an in interest in opera since he was

young. He feels that opera is an all-encompassing artistic experience and states: “Opera

includes drama, music, humor, sex, and violence, all of the elements that make up movies

and television in modern entertainment.”80 When asked if opera represents the real

Moran, he replies:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
78
“Robert Moran,” WQXR, http://www.wqxr.org/#!/people/robert-moran/ (accessed November
28, 2012).
!
79
Moran Website, “Chronological Index.”
80
Moran, interview, 2011.
24!

Oh yes, when I was a little kid I was taken to the opera, and I didn’t need to know
or want to know what the words meant. Operas were my fairy tales. It [opera] was
always popular. It’s goofy and fun and passionate. Now, in the USA, we see a
decent amount of opera on TV.81

Moran often dismisses the question when asked about his compositional process.

He states that he does not think of it as a process, rather he just creates. When composing

choral or operatic works Moran notes that “when the libretto is already in place, the

structure is in place.”82 Moran remarked that once he gets a libretto, he is often

immediately hearing musical ideas and visualizing characters.83 Frequently for Moran,

plots and musical direction will just occur naturally. On occasion he will map out some

sketches, but it depends on the piece.84 The topics of Moran’s operas range from serious
to humorous: fairy tales as in The Juniper Tree and Desert of Roses (based upon the Story

of Beauty and the Beast), horror stories like The Dracula Diary, social issues in Night

Passage, and even a plot-less opera titled Remember Him to Me.85

One of Moran’s newest operas was written in 2010 for Dan Moore and Iowa

Percussion. Bats in the Belfry is subtitled “an opera in five acts and four murders for four

solo voices and large percussion.” This is another piece with unusual instrumentation,

which calls for percussion ensemble accompaniment rather than a typical pit orchestra.

Graphic Scores

Moran turned primarily toward graphic notation beginning in the mid-1960s and

moved away from it near the end of the decade, but still employs it today when needed.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
81
Smith, New Voices, 201.
82
Moran, interview, 2011.
83
Smith, New Voices, 200.
84
Ibid.
85
Robert Moran, “Remember Him to Me,” Robert Moran,
http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/Remember%20Him.htm, (accessed December 9, 2011).!
!
25!

Moran composed a multitude of graphic scores during that time and some of these works

helped him gain international notoriety by acquiring publishing contracts with Universal

Edition and Schott and Sons.

This style of notation began as a way to free both composers and musicians of the

bounds of conventional notation. Early graphic score pioneer Earle Brown began with

ideas of combining visual art and musical interpretation.86

However, the concept of graphic notation inherently leaves the composer with far

less control over the composition. While serial compositions adhere to exact details over

every musical element, graphic notation is nearly the complete opposite granting control

to the performer. The performers are now in some sense becoming co-composers. While

traditional notation gives, in a sense, only one correct option in performance (i.e., playing

the right notes versus the wrong notes), graphic notation allows for more multiple correct

solutions. Haubenstock-Ramati states, “Notation necessitates composition as opposed to

improvisation.”87 But, at the same time since there is no standardized way of interpreting
graphic scores, improvisation and interpretation are naturally at the forefront of any

performance.

This concept of improvisation or spontaneous performance can be misconceived

as a haphazard or undisciplined art form — just as some may assume that modern artists

such as Jackson Pollock are merely splattering paint. However, this concept does not

necessarily free the performer from preparation or artistic considerations. A quite

opposite approach is needed in order to create a compelling and inspiring performance.

Moran recalls John Cage’s point on the subject:

“It’s what Cage always talked about, when he talked about being responsible for
your own actions…because you can hear if it’s just someone diddling around on a

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
86
Julian-Jones, D.M.A. diss., 23.
87
John C. O’Neill, “Recent Trends in Percussion Notation,” Percussive Notes 18:1 (1980): 20.
!
26!

clarinet. That’s not the piece, it sticks out, it’s very clear you’re not listening to
other people.88

Different types, or rather different methods, of graphic notation have also

developed including Earle Brown’s concepts of mobility taken from artist Alexander

Calder’s mobiles.89 Brown’s compositions can be thought of as navigating through a

three dimensional mobile where the piece may realign itself and change during the

performance.90 Herbert Brün utilized what is called graphic analog, which is actually just

a “slice” of the process of a pictorial representation.91 In actuality, each graphic score will

most likely be different than the next depending on the composer’s intentions and goals.

A common idea often emerges regarding all notation is that the score is not music, rather

it only represents the music. The true music is what the performer performs and the

listener hears, and not what is printed on the page. That can also be true of graphic scores,

Brün notes:

The graphic displays turn into scores as soon as an interpreter translates their
structural characteristics into the instructional code of another medium (music,
movement, etc.) and following his translation recreates the simulated process by
analogy."92

When interpreting notation Sylvia Smith writes, “Notation is defined by its

function and not by its appearance. The fact that a note-head may be replaced by a bird or

a rose does not changes its essential function.”93

With any performance art there are elements and practices that must be adhered to

in order to present effective and engaging performances. These include preparation and
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
88
Moran, interview, 2011.
89
Stuart Smith and Sylvia Smith, “Visual Music,” 84.
90
Ibid, 87.
91
Ibid.
92
Ibid.
93
Sylvia Smith, “Scribing Sound,” Percussive Notes Research Edition 23:3 (1985): 35.
!
27!

practice. Graphic works and complex serial pieces, they are often just as complicated

musically, only in different ways. The term realization is used to describe an individual

interpretation of a graphic score. In order for actual music to be made, the performer must

interpret the symbols, graphics, pictographs, circles, dots, squiggles, and everything in

between and then transform or realize them into audible musical content.

Graphic notation became a medium that Moran needed at the time and he began

first with proportional notation. While studying at Mills College with Berio, he was asked

to write a piece for a non-standard ensemble comprised of chamber orchestra with

speaking and singing choruses. With this type of diverse tonal palette, Moran was able to

hear intricate colors and textures in his head, but was unable to achieve the desired results

through traditional notation. Likewise, members of the ensemble and chorus could not

read the challenging manuscript with limited rehearsal time. Berio then introduced Moran

to proportional notation and “it just went click, I got it.”94 Percussionist and composer
Michael Udow states that notational systems can “extend the sonic possibilities rather

than set acoustical limitations” and that “a good composer will find the best way to notate

desired sounds.”95 This type of notation allowed Moran to draw out sound from the

musicians without intricate and complex notation. Musicians were now able to

competently interpret the music.96

Though the majority of his compositions since that era moved away from

graphic notation, he will still occasionally write in that style. His most recent graphic

composition is Cabinet of Curiosities (2010). Some of his early and more noteworthy

graphic pieces include Four Visions for flute, harp, and string quartet, Interiors for

variable ensemble, Elegant Journey with Stopping Points of Interest for variable chamber
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
94
Moran, interview, 2011.
95
Michael Udow, “Visual Correspondence Between Notation Systems and Instrument
Configurations.” Percussive Notes Research Edition 18:2 (1981): 16.
96
Moran, interview, 2011.
28!

ensemble, and Bombardments No. 2 for percussion ensemble. When asked why he moved

away from purely graphic notation, Moran recalls:

It just happened and then you move on to the next… I did enough of the graphics
and that moved into tonal sort of drone pieces, slow things that kept shifting and
didn’t need that notation any more. It was moving into something that needed to
be clearer in its repetition of sound than this. Equally valid, but it was time to put
on a different costume.97

Moran collaborated with early graphic composers like Christian Wolff, Morton

Feldman, and John Cage employing multiple approaches when composing graphic

scores. One such technique is purely artistic without reference to musical symbols or

notation (Figure 3.2). Scores that do not employ musical symbols often look more like a

work of art than a musical composition. This allows for freedom of interpretation and

performance. Another method is musical symbol distortion. Here musical symbols,

staves, clefs, notes, rhythms, etc. are utilized, but in very non-traditional ways (Figure

3.3). His graphic scores may or may not contain performance notes. Dan Moore writes:

Some [graphic compositions] are designed to evoke a particular attitude, feeling,


idea, or location, and offer no specific instructions, instrumentation, or form.
Others have quite specific directions as to how to proceed through the work,
including instrument choices or groupings, a key giving precise instructions as to
what each graphic notation represents, and a plan for developing the form.98

Percussion Ensemble Compositions

The majority of Moran’s percussion pieces were written either at the beginning or

later in his career, with a large gap from roughly 1970 to 1994, then another hiatus from

1996 to 2006 simply because “nobody asked for them.”99 Moran had composed five

percussion works before 1971: Eclectic Boogies (1962), Variations for Six (1963),

Bombardments No. 2 (1964), Bank of America Chandelier (1968), and Borrby Boogies

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
97
Moran, interview, 2011.
98
Moore, Liner Notes to Cabinet of Curiosities.
99
Moran, phone interview, 2012.
29!

(1970). While these works were specifically written for percussion ensemble, many of his

other graphic scores were written for a “variable ensemble” of unspecified instruments

and lend themselves perfectly to percussion.

Figure 3.2. The Hapsburg Kunstkammer from Cabinet of Curiosities

Figure 3.3. Circles in Wood from Cabinet of Curiosities


30!

Moran wrote only two works for percussion ensemble between 1971 and 2006.

However, these two pieces came from notable commissioning parties. His first

percussion composition after 24 years was Rocky Road to Kansas (1994). This 34-minute

composition was commissioned by the ARGO record label and has been used by dance

companies in Toronto and Philadelphia.100 The second, Obrigado, occurred shortly after

in 1996.

The 2000s marked a period of great productivity for Moran in the genre of

percussion ensemble, mainly due to the collaborations between Dan Moore and Iowa

Percussion. Kboco (2006) was commissioned by University of Iowa dance professor

Armando Duarte. The premiere took place at the University of Iowa and performed by

Iowa Percussion. This piece is intended for choreography, but can also be performed as a

stand-alone work for percussion ensemble.

To date, the collaboration between Iowa Percussion and Moran has resulted in six

new works: Kboco (2006), Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs (2008), By Any Other

Name (2008), Meister Ekhard and the Point of No Return (2008), Cabinet of Curiosities

(2008), and Bats in the Belfry (2010), and two CD releases for Innova Records.

From serious operas and orchestral pieces, huge city pieces, and avant-garde

theatre works to intimate chamber works and solo compositions, he has composed in

nearly every genre for seemingly every instrumental combination. Walter Simmons, a

music critic for Fanfare magazine, put it best when he wrote, “Moran has passed through

most of the ‘isms’ that have comprised the contemporary music landscape of the past 50

years.”101 Moran has arrived at a style described by Dan Moore as “beautiful and

rhythmic with an undertone of dry humor. It is pure Moran.”102

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
100
Moran Website, “Chronological Index.”
101
Dan Moore, Liner Notes to Cabinet of Curiosities: The Graphic Percussion Scores of Robert
Moran, Dan Moore and Iowa Percussion, Innova 792, CD, 2011.
102
Ibid.
31!

CHAPTER IV

OBRIGADO

“How would I know? I just composed the thing.”103

Chapters IV-VII contain analyses of four of Moran’s compositions for percussion

ensemble. Each of these works contains a different style of composition. Obrigado and

By Any Other Name utilize traditional notation, Bombardments No. 2 is a fully graphic

score, and Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs utilizes a combination of both traditional

and proportional notation. These works also reflect various time periods of Moran’s

compositions from the mid-1960s, 1990s, and more recently from the 2000s. Three of the

selections have been recorded and commercially released. Obrigado and Stirling: It’s

Raining Cats and Dogs appear on Mantra104 and Bombardments No. 2 on Cabinet of

Curiosities.105

Obrigado was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in 1995 for

the 25th anniversary of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Leonard Slatkin conducted the premiere performance given by the percussion section of

the NSO in March of 1996.

This work is inspired by two trips to Rio de Janeiro that Moran took in 1990 and

1992. While in Brazil, he presented lectures and met with multiple folk-music ensembles.

Obrigado, Portuguese for thank you, is inspired by the complex rhythmic patterns found

in Brazilian folk music.

Obrigado is scored for a stand-alone percussion quartet. An optional piano part,

though not essential to the integrity of the overall composition, augments the harmonic

and rhythmic texture. Moran notes that Obrigado “works well without the piano, but is so

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
103
Robert Moran, email correspondence with Lucas Bernier, Feb. 23, 2012.
!
104
Robert Moran, Mantra, Innova 714, CD, 2008.
!
105
Robert Moran, Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792, CD, 2011. !
32!

much more fun with it.”106 The instrumentation for each of the four percussionists utilizes

small multi-percussion setups (Table 4.1). The 1996 premiere did not include the piano

part. Iowa Percussion is credited with the first performance of the full work with piano.107

Player Instruments
Percussion I vibraphone, 3 wood blocks, 3 timbales
Percussion II vibraphone, tam-tam, chimes
Percussion III marimba (4.3 octave), 3 temple blocks
Percussion IV timpani (B, E, F#), bass drum
Piano (optional) piano
Table 4.1. Obrigado, Instrumentation

Form and Harmony

Obrigado has thirteen repeated sections. The overall number of repeats for each

section is undetermined and left to the musicians to decide, although Moran does instruct

the performers to begin at Section 1 and traverse through the work in a sequential fashion

without jumping back to a previous section. The number of repeats should also fluctuate

from section to section. This work is written in the style of his dance pieces incorporating

the idea of open-ended repeats.

Despite the number of repeats for each section, the overall thematic form can be

considered in two ways. The first is a simple ternary form (ABA), which classifies

broader thematic sections (rather than individual sections) as formal landmarks (Table

4.2).

Section # Section Letter


1, 2, 3 A
4, 5, 6, 7, 8 B
9, 10, 11, 12, 13 A
Table 4.2. Obrigado, Ternary Form

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
106
Moran, email correspondence, Feb. 23, 2012.
107
The premiere of the full version of Obrigado took place on October 28, 2007 in Iowa City, IA,
by the University of Iowa Percussion Ensemble directed by Dan Moore.!!!
33!

Table 4.3 shows a segmented breakdown of each individual section. With this

methodology, a modified rondo form can be applied.

Section # Section Letter Rondo Form


1 A A
2 A1
3 B B
4 B2
5 B3
6 C C
7 C1
8 D D
9 A4 A
10 A5
11 A6
12 E E
13 A7 A
Table 4.3 Obrigado, Modified Rondo Form

While each A section is slightly varied in some fashion, the overall character and

harmonic content remains the same, making the A sections remarkably recognizable and

providing thematic stability. For example, A and A4 are nearly identical, but A4 is varied

rhythmically (Figures 4.1 and 4.2). Likewise, sections with the same classification letter

contain similar identifiable content, but may be presented with different variations.

Figure 4.1. Obrigado, Section 1


34!

Figure 4.2. Obrigado, Section 9

Obrigado, like many of Moran’s works, is based around tonal centers. The work

is primarily rooted in E major, but also moves to related keys (E minor and G major)

during the middle sections. Harmonic chord progressions at the phrase level are present

and align with common harmonic practices. As expected, Moran’s harmonies make use

of non-chord tones, and with often random or misplaced notes. These tones provide not

only dissonance, but also foreshadow other chords. Though many of these harmonic

workings can be analyzed and described in various levels of detail, Moran was not
specifically concerned with applying compositional devices. When asked about the

harmonic content in Obrigado, Moran laughs:

Ha, Ha. How would I know? I just composed the thing for the percussion in the
National Orchestra, [Washington] D.C., and the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy
Center. I just felt that a tonal center with a few notes that “do not fit” can make it
structurally weak enough to fall into the next center. I guess this is done internally
since I do it all the time. I write out the sound cluster or a group of notes in a
tonality, make sure that a few simply don't fit and use those pitches to move on
into the next set. It's sort of like a game I have with myself.108

The final section returns to the primary tonal center of E major, and the work ends

with a direct dominant-tonic authentic cadence. This cadence provides finality and a bit

of humor. Throughout Obrigado, Moran implies, avoids, and distorts the traditional
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
108
Moran, email correspondence, February, 2012.
35!

dominant-tonic relationship, and uses a strong cadence that brings the piece quickly to a

close — perhaps with a laugh and a knowing wink (Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3. Obrigado, Section 13

Rhythm

Moran states that many of the rhythms in Obrigado were inspired by the complex

patterns heard in Brazilian folk music.109 However, other than syncopation, exact
references to those particular rhythms are not evidently apparent, leaving the rhythmic

content relatively simple and uncomplicated.

Typical of many of Moran’s pieces is the use of unison figures and rhythms.

Unison rhythms will be placed in two or three parts while the remaining part(s) move in

and out of unison, sometimes occupying the rests between the other players and

sometimes emphasizing them, as shown previously in Figure 4.1. In Section 1, the

timpani highlight beats 1 and 2.5 in the first measure, but quickly shifts to unison

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
109
Robert Moran, Obrigado (Philadelphia: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers: 1995).
36!

rhythms with player III in the second measure. Unison rhythms also shift from players I-

II-III in measure one to I-II and III-IV in measure two.

For rhythmic contrast Moran often uses eighth-note triplets against the straight

eighth notes. These do not appear, however, until the A theme returns in Section 9.

Roughly the last third of the piece contains triplet figures, which distinguishes the last A

section from the first A section.

Moran frequently incorporates silence as an effective contrast to rhythmically

active patterns. Section 6 is a typical example of Moran’s use of space where all players

play in unison. The syncopated placement and isolated attacks may result in a somewhat

challenging section for ensemble execution and phrasing (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4. Obrigado, Section 6, mm. 1-2

Texture and Thematic Material

Texturally, Moran creates contrasts between unison and contrapuntal writing.

With an abundance of unison or paired figures, the texture remains fairly dense

throughout. The texture typically becomes thin during sections where rests are

interspersed among the five players (Figure 4.5).


37!

Figure 4.5. Obrigado, Section 3

The thematic material presented is developed through variations. In reference to

Table 4.3, each repeated section such as A1, A2, A3, etc. is altered in some fashion. The

main theme presented in the A sections contains an ascending and descending melodic

arc in the first measure followed by three syncopated eighth-notes (previous figure 4.1).

This later becomes varied by use of triplet rhythms.

Moran also uses a unique palette of instruments in Obrigado. In Section 1, the

timbales and woodblocks of player I follow closely the same melodic contour as the

marimba and vibraphone. This pairing helps to solidify the thematic material not only

with pitch, but also with percussive punctuation. With this technique of orchestration, the

woodblocks also become melodic instruments. Player III requires temple blocks, which

are used in the same manner. At times the temple blocks and wood blocks are also

allowed to take over thematic interest that can be heard at the end of Section 4 and

Section 11, and are shown in Figure 4.6 and Figure 4.7. These unique orchestrations are

strong characteristics in Moran’s percussion writing.


38!

Figure 4.6. Obrigado, Section 4

Figure 4.7. Obrigado, Section 11

Obrigado is a clear example of Moran’s characteristic use of rhythm, harmony,

and texture. Elements of syncopation, tonal centers, and timbre combinations utilized in

this piece can also be found in many of his later percussion ensemble compositions.

Obrigado is appropriate for advanced collegiate ensembles and serious enough for

professional groups.
39!

CHAPTER V

BOMBARDMENTS NO. 2!

“You just move in with tanks and clear the place out.”110!

Bombardments No. 2 was composed in 1964 and premiered by the Manhattan

School Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Paul Price in 1965. This work is

perhaps Moran’s best-known percussion ensemble composition and can be found in

collegiate percussion libraries across the country.111 Despite its ubiquitous nature,

Bombardments No. 2 is rarely performed today, perhaps because many percussionists and

educators have set it aside due to the challenges of interpreting graphic notation.!

Because of Moran’s interest in the visual arts, he has always enjoyed graphic

composition because “you can hang them up” as artwork.112 This type of score might be
described as Augenmusik, or eye music, where the musical score is initially more

symbolic or meaningful to the eye rather than to the ear.113 Bombardments No. 2 is the

only fully artistic graphic score to be discussed in this essay. !

At first glance the score is visually impressive. It combines distorted musical

elements and modified score-like images with non-musical and completely artistic

symbols. Though many of Moran’s graphic scores do not include directions or any

navigational suggestions, this work is prefaced with a detailed set of instructions and

clear descriptions for each symbol used in the score. !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
110
Moran, interview, 2011.
111
A basic search for the score on WorldCat quickly returned over 70 entries for universities
across the United States.
!
112
This quote from Moran is in reference to the fact that many of his graphic scores tend to be
artistic as well as musical, so one could literally hang it up on the wall as piece of art.
113
Dart Thurston, "Eye music," In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University
Press, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/09152,
(accessed November 28, 2012).
40!

At the time Moran was composing the piece, he felt that the work made total

sense with regard to how the performers should move through the graphics.114 This work

was composed at a time when graphic notation was a relatively new tool for composers.

Some of the first entirely graphic compositions, those without reference to any musical

symbols, occurred in the early 1950s. Earle Brown’s December 1952 was a pioneering

work in this medium along with others by Morton Feldman and Christian Wolff.115

Moran noted that percussionists immediately succeeded with graphic notation whereas

other instrumentalists often needed more assistance.116!

In the 1960s, Bombardments No. 2 became a standard in the percussion ensemble

repertoire. According to Moran, Paul Price required Bombardments No. 2 to be

performed as a solo piece for any graduate-level percussion recital at the Manhattan

School of Music. Moran gleefully remarked: “It’s like moving into academia with a

vengeance. You just move in with tanks and clear the place out. I thought it was

interesting that this [Bombardments No. 2] got you partly through graduation.”117 !
!

Graphic Notation and Its Relation to Improvisation!

Graphic notation in its simplest definition is a system of notation developed in the

1950s where visual shapes or patterns are used in lieu of, or in combination with,

traditional notation.118 In the liner notes of the 2011 Innova recording, Cabinet of

Curiosities: The Graphic Percussion Scores of Robert Moran, Dan Moore noted that: !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
114
Moran, interview, 2011.
!
115
Glenn Watkins, Soundings: Music in the Twentieth Century, (New York: Schirmer Books,
1988), 566.
116
Moran, interview, 2011.
117
Ibid.!!
!
118
Anthony, Pryer, "Graphic Notation" In The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison
Latham, Oxford Music Online, accessed December 2, 2011.
41!

Composers turned to graphic or alternate notation in the early 1950s and 60s as a
way to effectively express their ideas. Graphic composers were particularly
interested in unlocking the creative energies of classical musicians, who were not
typically predisposed to improvisation. As Moran said, “There had to be a way to
get these uptight classical musicians to loosen up and let go, and graphic notation
seemed to be the way to get them to do it.”119 !
!
In the score of Bombardments No. 2 Moran states, “If a conductor is not used,

performers treat the work as a free improvisation.”120 When performing graphic works as

an ensemble, listening is the most important interaction. Performances of Bombardments

No. 2 and many other graphic scores can be treated as a dialogue. Moran’s instructions

include three basic rules of engagement: agreement, when all players agree on musical

style, tempo, harmonic material, and other points; disagreement, when some or all players

disagree; and indifference, where performers neither agree nor disagree yet continue to

listen and interact with each other. If an ensemble is actively listening and constantly

engaging each other with these rules, a graphic composition can become a unique musical

journey allowing for creativity and expressivity. !

For the novice performer of graphic notation, Bombardments No. 2 and many

other graphically notated scores might initially appear overwhelming and difficult to

interpret. When performing a graphic score, many decisions must be made by the

performer such as choice of instruments, interpretation of non-standard notation, style,

attitude, and tempo, to name only a few. This is a very different experience from a

traditionally-notated piece where many of these decisions are already made for the

musicians.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
119
Moore, Liner notes to Cabinet of Curiosities.
120
Ibid.
42!

Instrumentation

The first challenge for percussionists when learning a new graphic score is

determining instrumentation. Many of Moran’s graphic scores are written for a “variable

ensemble,” meaning any combination of performers and instruments. This opens the door

to infinite possibilities, allowing percussionists a wide sonic palette from which to

choose.

Selecting instruments is contextual. In some cases, found objects are preferable to

traditional instruments and vice versa. Mixing instruments or keeping them in families —

such as western or non-western, traditional or non-traditional, electric or acoustic, can

provide a cohesive feeling for a graphic composition. In this author’s opinion, two factors

should be observed when making these choices: the title of the piece and the visual

appearance of the score. If, for example, the score is linear and abstract, perhaps metallic

and articulate instruments could be selected. If the score uses circular figures, instruments

that impart a warm and legato sound might be considered. Matching the timbre of

instruments to the visual appearance of a score is an effective approach. In the end,

however, there are no right or wrong interpretations of this music. As John Cage is often

quoted as saying, “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only

make.”121

Depending on the piece, selecting an instrumentation of all found objects is a

creative method of allowing individuality into a composition. Care should be taken when

selecting instruments, especially when performing with an ensemble. A variety of sounds

will make for more sonic interest. In certain situations, avoiding more than one of the

same types of instruments is preferred while at other times it can make perfect sense.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
121
This quote is taken from “Ten Rules for Students, Teachers, and Life” complied by Sister
Corita Kent and is often attributed to Cage who is mentioned directly in Rule Number 10.
43!

In planning for the recording of Cabinet of Curiosities, Dan Moore spent months

planning a singular instrumentation for each track of the recording. He writes, “More

than 100 instruments and implements were used to create this recording. Much care was

taken to ensure that each track features a unique instrumentation, and only a few standard

percussion instruments appear in more than one piece.”122

His efforts did not go unnoticed. In his review of Cabinet of Curiosities, music

critic Robert Carl wrote,

This is the sort of thing that can elicit enormous self-indulgence, and end up
sounding homogeneous from one piece to another. Let me testify right now that
this is not the case here. In fact, this is one of the finest releases I’ve ever heard to
take the indeterminacy bull by the horns and make refined, engaging, and varied
music from it.123

Utilizing extended techniques on traditional instruments is another option for

performance. Creating new or non-traditional sounds on existing instruments is a great

way to begin learning graphic notation and exploring new timbres. This can be as simple

as using the handle of a marimba mallet to strike the resonators or as unusual as dropping

ping pong balls on marimba bars. The main objective is to allow for as many new and

creative timbres using existing instruments as possible.

Moran’s suggested instrumentation for Bombardments No. 2 contains elements of

both traditional instruments and found objects. The performance instructions suggest

extended techniques by using “wooden mallets or coin” and “attack made with hand.”124

While the specific instrumentation for Bombardments No. 2 is listed, other instruments

may be added to taste (Table 5.1).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
122
Moore, Liner Notes to Cabinet of Curiosities.
123
Robert Carl, "Interiors II: Uncharted lands. Elegant Journey. Salagrama. Cabinet of Curiosities.
Meister Eckhard and the Point of No Return. Electric Boogies. Bombardments." Fanfare: The Magazine
For Serious Record Collectors 34:6 (2011): 319-320.
124
Robert Moran, Bombardments No. 2 (New York: C. F. Peters Corporation, 1966).
44!

Player! Instrumentation!
Player 1! high hat, 1 pair of bongos, 1 snare drum (without snares), guiro, 3
suspended cymbals, 2 gongs (high, low), 3 timpani, 4 cowbells, marimba!
Player 2! triangle, car coil, maraca, 1 snare drum (with snares), 2 brake drums, 2 pairs
of bongos, 3 temple blocks, 3 tom-toms, symphonic chimes!
Player 3! piano (top removed), celesta, radio, anvil, bass drum, wind chimes (metal
and tubular), 3 wood blocks, small metal cricket (toy)!
Player 4! triangle, car coil (lower than player 2), 1 pair of bongos, 2 tabla, 2 cowbells,
3 timpani, wooden wind chimes, 2 brake drums, xylophone!
Player 5! finger cymbals, claves, 1 drum (low pitch), 3 suspended cymbals, 2 gongs
(medium, low), 2 pairs of bongos, 3 roto-toms, 4 temple blocks, vibraphone!
Table 5.1. Bombardments No. 2, Instrumentation!

Navigation of the Score

Graphic scores allow much more freedom than traditional scores. In

Bombardments No. 2, Moran instructs the performer to “start at any point and move in

any direction.”125 It could be read like a traditional piece, left to right and down the page,

or just the opposite. The possibilities are seemingly endless. For some graphic scores,

jumping randomly from point to point may be another option. The beauty of this art form

lies in its infinite possibilities and unpredictability. Different navigational paths can be

explored with every performance.

When performing graphic scores, care should be taken for the music not to sound

contrived. A piece that is allowed to develop organically will create a more interesting

journey for the listener. Performers can use personal intuition and taste to create a

spontaneous performance path through the score.

Like any other piece of music, a graphic score must be rehearsed. Practicing

different ways of interpreting a graphic score might include setting parameters such as

time limits, or providing predetermined formal schemes. Limiting the number and type of

instruments that may be used can create opportunities to fully explore a single instrument

and challenge performers to be creative.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
125
Moran, Bombardments No. 2.
45!

Both improvisation and composition are at the forefront of a graphic score. In

essence, when navigating the notation, the performer becomes a co-composer of the piece

by deciding the overall form and musical content spontaneously.

Symbols

The visual interpretation of graphic music presents interesting challenges. Each

graphic score naturally contains different symbols and each symbol has a different

meaning. Learning a graphic piece is often like re-learning how to read music. In

comparison to traditional notation, groups of symbols can be considered as a measure,

and groups of measures as a phrase. Moran defines these groups of symbols as events.

Figure 5.1 shows a singular symbol and Figure 5.2 shows that symbol as part of an event.

Just as traditional scores are comprised of numerous phrases and sections, graphic scores,

especially Bombardments No. 2, encompasses multiple events.

Figure 5.1. Bombardments No. 2, Example of symbol


Copyright © 1966 by C. F. Peters Corporation. Used by Permission.

Figure 5.2. Bombardments No. 2, Example of event from upper left corner of score
Copyright © 1966 by C. F. Peters Corporation. Used by Permission.
46!

In the instructions for Bombardments No. 2, Moran frequently uses language such

as “note suggests” and “perhaps use of.”126 This gives the performers an idea of

possibilities, but nothing necessarily concrete. For example, in Figure 5.1 Moran suggests

an instrument of a car coil.127 If a performer does not have a car coil, but still chooses to

play that symbol, another instrument must be selected — perhaps a similar sound or

something entirely different.

Moran often uses solid dots or circles of various sizes. He suggests that the size of

the circles should correspond directly with dynamics — larger dots imply louder notes,

and smaller dots softer notes. The length of the horizontal lines tied to the dots can

govern duration. Pitch level may also be assigned to these dots depending on their

position on the page. These are not necessarily fixed or determined pitches, but imply a

relative high to low relationship (Figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3. Bombardments No. 2, Example of event from upper left corner of score
Copyright © 1966 by C. F. Peters Corporation. Used by Permission.

Analysis of Dan Moore’s Solo Version of Bombardments No. 2 !


Dan Moore recorded a solo version of Bombardments No. 2 for the Innova CD

release Cabinet of Curiosities in 2011. Instead of 5 performers playing simultaneously,

Moore recorded each part individually. To maintain an improvisatory character, each

track was overdubbed as a reaction to the previous track(s). Table 5.2 shows Moore’s
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
126
Robert Moran, Bombardments No. 2 (New York: C. F. Peters Corporation, 1966).
127
Moran states “car coil” although the intended instrument is a large car spring taken from the
suspension of an automobile.
!
47!

instrumentation. Though it is not exactly what Moran prescribes in the original score,

many similarities exist. When asked about the original instrumentation, Moran replied: “I

thought it was a great collection, but it is completely open.”128 !

!
Track! Instrumentation!
Track 1! Snare drum (snares off), hi-hat, ride and crash cymbals, bongos,
almglocken, small gong, water buffalo bell!
Track 2! Two guiros, Puerto Rican scraper, three bullfrog scrapers, five high pitched
blocks, seashell wind chimes, bamboo wind chimes, rawhide maracas!
Track 3! Wind-up toy drumming bear, five nipple gongs, triangle, two cowbells,
brass maracas, small splash cymbal, key wind chimes, metal wind chimes!
Track 4! Three tom-toms, wind gong, sound tube, two small suspended cymbals!
Track 5! Toy piano, crotales, Chinese gong, maracas, old toy music egg!
Table 5.2. Bombardments No. 2, Instrumentation for Dan Moore’s solo realization !
!!
Variables such as instrumentation, improvisation, and personal interpretation will

naturally inspire significantly different performances of this work. Moore’s recording

will serve as a constant for this analysis, which will provide insight into performances of

this piece and one possible realization of the score.

Even with a graphic score and a multi-tracked recording, distinct formal sections

are apparent in Moore’s eleven-minute realization. His journey through the score begins

with spacious sound effects including that which sounds like a wind-up-cymbal-crashing

toy bear. Drums enter around 0:36 foreshadowing their important role later in the work.

By 1:01, the toy bear returns as well as other introductory material, closing the first

section of the performance.

The next section begins at 1:28 with the presence of a steady scraper. Tom-toms

and bongos contrast against the opening material with more active and metrically stable

figures. As this section progresses, themes are being introduced, and tempos increase and

solidify. A hierarchy of instruments also forms with primary thematic instruments being

supported by supplementary material. Starting at 2:15, almglocken enter and begin to

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
128
Robert Moran, phone interview, 2012.
48!

form a melodic theme, which appears at approximately 2:40. Other timbres such as

woodblocks often accent or highlight parts of the theme. A woodblock closes this section

at 4:07.

In contrast, long spacious tones occupy nearly the next three and a half minutes.

This ethereal character is provided mostly by ringing metal instruments such as gongs,

cymbals, wind chimes, and bells. Moore is playing in agreement with the other tracks at

this point. Staccato attacks on suspended cymbals, struck with drumsticks rather than soft

mallets, demarcate the next section. This lasts for roughly thirty seconds before a gong

signifies a change to a new section.

The next section begins at 7:47 with rapid, bombastic drum figures and staccato

interjections — a completely contrasting mood from the ethereal gongs. A steady groove

forms, creating a solid foundation for the toy piano at 8:21. Aside from the almglocken,

the toy piano is the only other pitched instrument to hold a steady theme, while muted

gongs provide a countermelody. This groovy section lasts until 9:00.

As the steady beat dissipates, other mallet instruments enter, bongo and tom-tom

interjections relate back to earlier in the piece, and shakers and scrapers tie together

previously heard music. The final two minutes provides a brief summary or recap of the

entire work. However, the hi-hat makes its first appearance and provides a new timbre

until legato cymbal hits and scrapes fade out to close the performance.

Moore’s journey through the score took the listener in many directions. The

instrumentation resembled that of Moran’s; attitudes of agreement, disagreement, and

indifference were utilized; improvisation was at the forefront of the performance; and

returning thematic material existed allowing for a cohesive formal plan.

For those interested in graphic notation, Bombardments No. 2 is an excellent

launching point. Moore’s successful solo realization can be used as a model for future

performances. With the considerations and methods presented in this chapter, the author

hopes for a resurgence of this work back onto the concert stage.
49!

CHAPTER VI

BY ANY OTHER NAME

“Well, I’ll just write an easy piece for marimba quartet.”129

The marimba quartet By Any Other Name,130 composed in 2008, was written for

and dedicated to Dan Moore and Iowa Percussion. During the summer of 2008, the Iowa

River flooded the Voxman Music Building, forcing the School of Music to relocate into

temporary locations throughout Iowa City. This composition served as a house-warming

gift written to ease the tension of the flood and the relocation to new facilities.131
By Any Other Name is written in three contrasting movements. The outer

movements are lively and rhythmically intricate while the second movement is slow and

introspective. This is a challenging work to perform, though that was certainly not the

intention of the composer. Moran notes: “Well, I’ll just write an easy piece for marimba

quartet. As I was writing, it seemed like it was reasonable.”132

There are two main challenges: rhythm and harmony. These challenges pertain

mostly to the ensemble performance. The individual parts are not extremely demanding,

but they do require advanced preparation. Technical complications arise due to some

writing that might not be considered idiomatic to the marimba. Un-nested rhythms133
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
129
Moran, interview, 2011.
!
$"%!By
Any Other Name is scored for three 4.3-octave marimbas and one 5-octave marimba.
Though a 5-octave instrument is designated, a 4.5-octave marimba could be used. Simple octave
transpositions make it possible to perform using a 4.5-octave instrument without sacrificing musical
content.
!
131
Dan Moore, Program Notes, By Any Other Name, University of Iowa New Literature Session
Concert, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, November 10, 2011.
!
132
Moran Interview, 2011.

133
The concept of nested and un-nested rhythms is adapted from Joel Lester’s book, The Rhythms
of Tonal Music. There he describes evenly grouped patterns (i.e. two eight-notes subdivide into four 16th
notes) as nested rhythms. Unsynchronized subdivisions occur when odd groupings such as eighth-note
triplets against two eighth-notes are paired together. Therefore any polyrhythmic pattern that does not fit
(nest) within the framework of hierarchy could be considered an un-nested rhythm.!!
50!

appear among the four parts frequently causing challenges in ensemble execution.

Harmonic dissonances used throughout the piece are subtle. Generally, an interval of a

fourth or ninth may be present, creating slight tension within the chord, and this effect

can often sound like an error. Understanding these potential pitfalls will aid the

performers and director when learning the piece, especially from an ensemble standpoint.

Movement I: Munich Miniature- Var. I

The first movement, Munich Miniature- Var. 1, is short, quick, and many subtle

compositional nuances may go unnoticed upon first hearing. Moran writes that this

movement:

Was inspired by a note written to me, complete with drawings, from the five-year-
old son of a friend in Munich, a choral member there. The note, in the most basic
of German, told about his kindergarten class and their pet “haus maus,” with only
minimal information on “Mimi” the mouse.134

Rhythm and Texture

The main rhythmic material is uncomplicated and contains simple rhythms,

primarily quarter and eighth notes. The interest lies in syncopation and the use of unison

rhythms. Frequently throughout the movement, simple rhythms will be placed in three

marimbas while the fourth marimba will have a moving line or will occupy the spaces

between the other three. In Figure 6.1, the bass fills in many of the rests of the other three

parts.

Unison rhythms among all four parts also occur frequently. There is a stark

contrast between these block chords, especially when one or two lines emerge suddenly

out of the texture (marimba 3 and marimba 4 in Figure 6.1, measure 6).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
134
Moore, Program Notes, By Any Other Name.
!
Score Munich Miniature - Var. 1 51!
Robert Moran
Edited By Dan Moore

# >œ ‰ >
Fast q = 126

j 3 j j > 3
# œ ‰ œ œ # œ œ c # œ ‰ ‰ # œ. # œ œ œ. œ. Œ # œ. œ. œ. œ. Œ
5

&c œ ‰ # ˙æ #œ ‰ Œ Ó 4 # œ. œ. œ. œ. ‰ œ. . . 4
> > f> > > >
Marimba 1

ƒ ! Ï ! P
j 3 j j #œ 3
& c # œ ‰ # œ ‰ ˙æ #œ ‰ Œ Ó 4 # œ. œ. # œ. œ. ‰ œ. # œ ‰ > œ œ œ c # >œ ‰ ‰ # œ. # œ. # œ œ. œ Œ # œ. œ. œ. œ. Œ 4
> > > > f > >> . .
Marimba 2

ƒ ! Ï ! P
& c # œ ‰ œ ‰ ˙æ
j
#œ ‰ Œ Ó 3 j ‰ #œ
4 # œ œ # œ. œ ‰ œj c #œ #œ œ Œ # œ. œ. œ. œ. 3
4
> > > .. . .# œ > œ œ œ # œ > > > œ. œ. œ. œ. # œ # >œ
Marimba 3

ƒ >! Ï ! > f> > >


P >
#œ ƒ
? c # >œ ‰ ‰ ˙ # >œ ‰ Œ > > > >> > > > >
34 # œ. ‰ # œ. œ. ‰ # œ. . . # œ. . . > >
J Ó J # œ # œ # œJ ‰ # œ œ c # œ # œ # œ œ # œ ‰ œ.j # œ # œ œ œ ‰ # œ # œ 43
Marimba 4
æ J >
ƒ ! Ï ! P f ƒ
>
3 # >œ > j j >œ # œ. >œ # œ. # >œ 3 # >œ > # Jœ
Mrb. 1 & 4 Œ œ. # œ. œ. œ. Œ œ. # œ. Œ œ # œ ’ ’ ‘ Œ # œ ‰ # œ ‰ # œ œ œ œ. # œ. c œ ‰
10
‰ 4 œ‰ Œ c
7
Figure 6.1. By Any Other Name, Mvt. I, mm.1-6
. . . .
p ! ƒ
ƒ p
is# >œ
cresc.

3 #œ # œ j j > . Contrast
>3
Mrb. 2 & 4 Œ # œ œ œ œ Œ . # œ Œ # œ œ ’ ’ Œ ‰ ‰ c ‰ ‰ œ œ œ ‰ œ # œ œ ‰ JŒ c
7
The texture alternates between dense and transparent orchestration.
. ... . ‘ # œ # œ. œ. # œ. œ. œ. œ. # œ. . 4
p > > > >
created primarily by rhythmic ƒ p !In general, loudƒdynamics
cresc. activity and dynamics.

3
3 & 4 Œ with a Œthicker Œ texture Œ # œ and ‰ jsubtler
‰ j dynamics c ‰ ‰allow ‰ œ a43 thinner ‰ # œj Œ c
7

# œ
# œ. œ. œ. œ. . # œ. # œ œ ’ ’ ‘ œ # œ œ # œ œ
œ. . > . > > > >
correspond while softer for
> # >œ œ. œ. # œ. œ. œ. œ.
Mrb.

p
texture. Eighth-note triplets are often placedƒin a single
cresc.
p ! part, creating ƒa two-against-three
? 43 Œ # œ œ œ œ Œ # œ œ Œ # œ œ ’ ’ ‘ Œ # œ # œ œ # œ œ # œ # œ œ. # œ. c # œ. ‰ >œ # œ. # >œ œ. ‰ >œ 43 # œ # œ >œ >œ # >œ >œ
. . . . . . > >
c
Mrb. 4
polyrhythm in relation to the other marimbas. However, . . . unison
. rhythms provide for > > more
p cresc.
ƒ p ! ƒ
transparency of texture, allowing the listener to grasp the content without being distracted

by interlocking patterns. Copyright © Robert Moran 2008

Harmony

Like many of Moran’s other works, By Any Other Name is harmonically based

around tonal centers. While there are no sharps or flats in the key signature, the first

measure indicates the tonal center of F#, but the third-less voicing keeps the harmonies

neutral. It is not until measure three that the A# appears indicating a tonality of F# major

(previous Figure 6.1).

Conventional harmonic motions are present such as dominant to tonic resolutions.

For example, in measure five, a C# major chord (V) quickly returns to F# (I) in measure

six. Another device used throughout the movement is that of non-chord tones. In measure

four, the D# in the bass appears to change the chord to D#m7, but on beat two the F#
Score Munich Miniature - Var. 152!

# >œ ‰ >
Fast q = 126

j 3 j j
5
> œ. œ
&c œ ‰ # ˙æ #œ ‰ Œ Ó 4 # œ. œ. œ. œ. ‰ œ. # œ ‰ œ œ # œ œ c # œ ‰ ‰ # œ. # œ. œ. . Œ
> P >adds f> >motion
> > to the
Marimba 1
quickly returns. Thus, the D# does not change
ƒ ! Ï ! but rather
the tonality,
j Œ Ó again # œ. œ ‰ j 8-9.
43 # œ.inœ. measures
c # œ 6.1).
‰ ‰ This j ‰ The
# œ perfect
bass lineMarimba
(previous
2 &Figure
> # >œ ˙ # >œ ‰occurs
æ idea
. œ. # >œ > >œ >œ >œ
c #œ ‰ ‰#œ
> . # œ. # œ. œ. œ. Œ
ƒ ! Ï ! P f
fourth interval in measure seven places a B natural against the F# causing slight tension,
& c # œ ‰ œ ‰ ˙æ j 3
#œ ‰ Œ Ó 4 # œ œ # œ. œ ‰ œj # œj ‰ # œ œ œ œ c # œ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ. œ.
Œ
but it quickly resolves to >A# >on!the offÏ>beats. This B serves . . as . a non-chord
. > tone, but also > > > > . .
Marimba 3

ƒ > ! P > f > >


# >œ ‰ # œ6.2
? c(Figure >œ
‰ ˙mm. #7-12). ‰Œ Ó 3 # œ. ‰ # œ. œ. ‰ # œ. # >œ # >œ # >œ ‰ # >œ >œ c # >œ # >œ # >œ >œ # œ .
‰ œ.j # œ
adds melodic
Marimbainterest
æ J 4 J J J >
4

ƒ ! Ï ! P f
> > > # œ. >œ # œ. # >œ
& 43 Œ œ. # œ. œ. œ. Œ œ. # œ. Œ œ #œ ’ ’ Œ # œ # œ ‰ # œj ‰ # œj œ œ œ. # œ. c œ ‰ œ
10

7

Mrb. 1 ‘ . . . .
p p ! ƒ
ƒ
cresc.

> . >
& 43 Œ # œ. œ. #œ
œ. œ. Œ . # œ. Œ Œ #œ #œ ‰ j ‰ j # œ œ œ c # œ ‰ ‰ œ. œ œ‰ œ
7

Mrb. 2 #œ œ ’ ’ ‘
> > # œ. œ. . . œ. . .
p cresc. ƒ p ! ƒ
& 43 Œ Œ #œ Œ Œ #œ ‰ j ‰ j c œ. ‰ œ
7

. # œ. ’ ’ ‘ ‰ ‰ œ #œ
# œ. œ. œ. œ. #œ œ > # œ œ. œ # œ
. œ œ. œ
. œ. . > >
Mrb. 3

p cresc.
ƒ > p ! . . ƒ
? 43 Œ # œ. œ. œ. œ. . . > > . > . > œ. ‰ >œ
Mrb. 4 Œ #œ œ Œ
#œ œ ’ ’ ‘ Œ # œ # œ œ. # œ. œ # œ. # œ. œ. # œ c # œ. ‰ œ # œ # œ
p cresc.
ƒ p ! ƒ
Figure 6.2. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 7-12
Copyright © Robert Moran 2008

After a cadence to F# major in measure 19, an interesting shift to G major occurs

in measure 21 (Figure 6.3). However, the pitch collection of E, G, B, C#, D is present.

Figure 6.3. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 21-26

Upon first listening, it may seem as if G major remains constant, but the E in the

bass forces the harmony into E minor in measure 22. This is a common aspect of Moran’s
53!

writing: harmonically, he employs subtle changes such as incorporating the parallel major

and minor in close proximity.

Moran explores other key centers such as A major and F major, but only briefly.

The shift to A major corresponds directly with a new theme in measure 33: marimba 1

contains an ascending three note figure (C#, D, E). This theme is also presented with a

slight variation in the following measure (Figure 6.4).

Figure 6.4. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 1, mm. 27-34

Thematic Material

Multiple thematic elements appear throughout the movement. One theme is a

series of four eighth-notes where the third note leaps above the others (previous Figure

6.1). Another theme that frequently recurs is a simple two-note motif: a pair of eighth

notes with a major or minor second descending interval as shown in marimba 1 measures

7-9 in previous Figure 6.2.


54!

Movement 2: Satyagraha Variation

Moran uses a quote from Philip Glass’s opera Satyagraha as the melodic basis for

this movement. In the last scene of that opera, the tenor sings an ascending E Phrygian

scale repeatedly for, as Moran says, “something like 30 times. So I decided to turn it

around, and have the marimbas play that scale, but downwards! It is all about subtle

colors.”135 This main theme is set as a two-bar phrase and is presented 19 times

throughout the movement (marimba 4 in Figure 6.5).

Figure 6.5. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 1-6

Only once does Moran break the symmetrical two-measure phrase. In measure 18

he inserts an extra measure that elongates the cycle, creating a three-measure phrase —

the only time a three-measure phrase occurs (Figure 6.6).

The theme is generally presented in the bass (marimba 4), but throughout the

movement it is passed around to all of the voices and doubled in unison or at the octave,

shown in Figure 6.6 and in Figure 6.7.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
135
Moore, Program Notes, By Any Other Name.
55!

Figure 6.6. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 16-19

Figure 6.7. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 20-23

Harmony and Texture

The harmonic content in this movement is direct and simply stated. As the E

Phrygian mode supports the thematic material, the tonal center is correspondingly based

around E minor. However, there is a prevailing descending motion innately due to the

falling line that creates a D minor chord resolving to E minor. The first beat of every

thematic measure establishes this D minor harmony.

The second beat of the figure (subdividing the 6/8 meter in two: 1, 2, 3 | 4, 5, 6) is

challenging to interpret harmonically. The second beat can be interpreted in two ways.

The D minor triad naturally stays throughout the measure and leads directly downward

resolving to E minor. Another interpretation is that the second beat could be considered

an A minor chord where a C natural is present in measures 12, 19, 27, and 35 (Figure

6.8).
56!

Figure 6.8. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 12-15

Aside from these four measures where the C is present, only the pitch A exists.

The note D is also occasionally present along with the C as shown in measure 10

(marimba 2, Figure 6.9). This added pitch creates harmonic color regardless of the

specific key center.

Figure 6.9. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 7-11

Transparent textures appear throughout the movement. As most of the

counterpoint materializes in a note-for-note or first-species fashion, the texture is


thickened by means of rhythm and harmony. For instance, in beat 6 of measure 13, the

octave Fs in marimba 1 clash with the Es in marimba 3 and 4, thickening the sonority

before the harmony quickly resolves to D minor on the next downbeat (previous Figure

6.8).
57!

While the primary theme is repeated throughout the movement, Moran places

subtle colors and textures in the remaining parts. Non-thematic voices are often used as

supporting characters, accentuating and punctuating the E Phrygian mode. The

contrapuntal activity helps to outline the primary motif. Moran tends to place an

ascending line directly against the theme or immediately following the theme for melodic

contrast (marimba 3 in Figure 6.7, measure 23; and marimba 1 in Figure 6.10). The

dynamic level reaches a maximum volume of mezzo-forte only once, while the remaining

42 measures are marked mezzo-piano or softer.

Figure 6.10. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 2, mm. 37-38

Rhythm

Rhythmic content in this movement is straightforward. The meter is 6/8 and the

rhythmic lilt subdivides the measure into two beats. A feeling of forward motion is

present with a strong push leading towards the downbeats of each measure.

The pulse changes to a superimposed 3/4-meter briefly in measures 14-18, 24, and

37. While the thematic material remains constant, the supporting marimbas accentuate

this three-beat feel (previous Figure 6.8).


58!

Movement 3: Libations

Although Moran calls the third movement a “drinking song or just some basic

party music,” this movement is by far the most demanding of the entire composition.136 It

contains the most notes, the fastest tempo, and most complex rhythms.

Thematic Material

The basic thematic material in this movement is relatively simple. Beginning in

measure one, marimba 1 states the melody, which can be condensed into a simple four-

measure quarter note motif of A, G, F# | E, C#, F# | G, G, F# | B, A, E (Figure 6.11).

Throughout the movement, slight variations of this four-measure theme occur during the

third and fourth measures.

Figure 6.11. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 1-5

One such variation occurs in measure 17. The descending motion of the A, G, F#

melody is prominent, but here it is presented in eighth-note triplets as seen in Figure 6.12,

measure 18. Other themes are introduced throughout this movement and varied in a

similar fashion.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
136
Moore, Program Notes, By Any Other Name.
59!

Figure 6.12. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 15-19

The overall form is not conventional, but the A section returns throughout the

movement with slight variations. Table 6.1 reveals a modified rondo form.

Theme Measures

A 1-8

A 9-16

A 17-20

B 21-32

A 33-40

C 41-48

D 49-64

A 65-72

E 73-80

F 81-84

A 85-92

Coda/Ending 93-96

Table 6.1. By Any Other Name, Modified Rondo Form


60!

Rhythm and Texture

Similarities in rhythm are evident between the first and last movements. Libations

is much more saturated and less syncopated than Munich Miniatures- Var.1 though many

of the same rhythms appear. Moran presents unison rhythms contrasted with intricate

counterpoint.

The rhythms for each marimba are individually quite simple and consist mainly of

quarter notes, eighth notes, and eighth-note triplets. However, rhythmic interplay exists

when all four parts are combined. The main challenge is that one player may be playing

triplet groupings against the other three playing straight eighth notes. These un-nested

rhythms appear frequently and almost immediately from the first measure, resulting in a

relatively dense texture throughout.

The culmination of rhythmic activity of the entire marimba quartet takes place

during the final section beginning in measure 85 (Figure 6.13). Though no new rhythms

are introduced, there is a constant stream of eighth-note triplets. The triplet line is passed

between each marimba and at times may be doubled.

Texturally, there is juxtaposition between dense and more transparent textures

based on rhythmic content. Since one or more voices usually carry an eighth-note triplet

figure against straight eighth notes, a polyrhythm is created, thickening the texture.

Likewise, the pitches of these triplet figures are often arpeggiated chords or groupings of

wider intervals that are not always evenly spaced, which adds a denser harmony and

thicker texture. In contrast, a thinness of texture results from simpler and unison rhythmic

lines (Figure 6.14).


61!

Figure 6.13. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 85-96

Figure 6.14. By Any Other Name, Mvt. 3, mm. 45-49

Harmony

Moran’s use of harmony in this movement is based on a simple chord

progression. He does, however, employ variations and extended harmonies that are

typical of his writing. While it is impossible to say that the harmony is the melody, it can
62!

be implied that the chord progression does serve as a landmark and recognizable feature

when listening to the piece. In the initial A theme, a chord progression appears:

D, Em7, D | A, A, D | G, A7, D | A, A, A (previous Figure 6.11). This pattern remains

fairly consistent throughout every A section with only slight variation.

While this movement is the most demanding to perform, it has a lighthearted

nature. The movement uses recurring motifs and unexpected harmonic motion. The

juxtaposition of complex and simple rhythms carefully manipulates the texture

throughout the movement.

By Any Other Name is a quirky mix of contemporary and classical writing. Upon

first hearing, many subtle details pass by too quickly to notice. Moran displays total

compositional control through harmony, thematic development, rhythm, textural

variations, and at times a playful melody. Moran creates an intriguing palette that is both

engaging for the untrained audience member as well as the veteran percussionist. By Any

Other Name appears as one of his more serious compositions, though one would not

surmise that by his inspirations or descriptions of the work. Though many musical

elements are similar between this work and his others for percussion ensemble, the

restricted instrumentation results in an engaging and thoughtful composition.

!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
63!

CHAPTER VII

STIRLING: IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS

“That’s splendid – we’ll use them all...”137

Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs was commissioned in 2007 by Moran’s

neighbors Patricia and Michael Scullin. Stirling is the name of the Scullin’s black poodle

that Moran would often babysit. The premiere performance occurred in 2008 and was

performed by Iowa Percussion. During the composing process, Moran asked the

ensemble members to make a list of their three favorite percussion instruments. Upon

receiving the list Moran said, “That’s splendid – we’ll use them all, along with the 18

players on numerous other instruments.”138

Group Instrumentation Number of


Players
A 4 marimbas (4.3 octave), glockenspiel, 3 thunder sheets, 1 4
didgeridoo, 1 prayer bowl, 1 wine glass
B 2 vibraphones, celeste, triangle, 1 timpano (20/23”), bongos, wind 3
chimes, 1 wine glass
C 2 vibraphones, 3 timpani (32”, 29”, 20/23”), 3 suspended 3
cymbals, tambourine, ocean drum, 1 prayer bowl, bongos
D Prepared piano, bass drum, chimes, 1 timpano (20/23”) toy piano, 4
wind chimes, 1 prayer bowl, bongos
E 2 marimbas (4.3 octave), three tam-tams, tambourine, 3 Thai 4
gongs (G#, C#, A), xylophone, pod rattle, 3 wine glasses
Extras Rain sticks 2
Tape Rain sound-scape 0
Table 7.1. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Instrumentation

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
137
Moran, Liner Notes to Mantra.
!
138
Ibid.
64!

This work exhibits a myriad of Moran’s compositional techniques. Included in

Stirling are elements of his city pieces, graphic and proportional scores, tonal centers,

rhythmic complexity, and non-standard instrumentation.

Though written for a large ensemble, the players are divided into five small

groups. In essence, each group plays their own individual chamber work. However, the

music for each group is related by various elements forming a cohesive and thoroughly

crafted composition. Moran refers to Stirling as “more of a musical landscape in rain than

a traditional percussion ensemble work.”139 In addition to the five small groups, a pre-

recorded rain sound-scape plays for the duration of the piece and two or more players

with rain sticks are instructed to navigate around the stage and throughout the audience.

Moran notes that the pre-recorded rain should not be a “background sound,” but rather a

constant from which each group should enter and exit.

The conductor’s score does not contain all of the individual parts, but only

provides a visual guide showing when to cue the five groups in and out. Though Moran

notes that the length of the piece should be a maximum of 16 minutes, the conductor

ultimately determines the length of the work. Each page is visually divided in half to

maintain uniformity of duration for each page. Moran instructs the conductor not to use a

stopwatch or timing device and to take a more creative role rather than simply a

timekeeper (Figure 7.1).

The score provides little information other than tempo and the relative time of

each cue. As each group enters, the overlapping entrances phase in and out among

multiple groups creating intricate textures and thematic material. Due to the nature of the

composition, performances of this piece will inherently be different each time. However,

musical elements, ideas, and thematic material will remain consistently intact. For the

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
139
Moran, Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs (Philadelphia: Charlotte Benson Music, 2008).
65!

purpose of this document, the recording from the CD Mantra140 will be reviewed as a

consistent and unchangeable reference.

Figure 7.1. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Score Pages 1-2

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
140
Robert Moran, Mantra, Innova 714, CD, 2008.
66!

Analysis
Similar to Obrigado, each group performs a number of repeated sections, but will

continue playing the given section from cue-in until cue-out. Various themes and tonal

centers create landmarks of stability throughout the composition. This work utilizes two

main tonal centers: B minor (B, D, F#, E) and G major (G, B, D, C#) both with added 4.

A third contrasting harmonic emphasis is on A (A, C#, E, G#), but occurs less frequently.

Table 7.2 designates primary themes along with sections and tonal centers.

Theme Section Tonal Center


Group A, E 1 B, D, F#, E
Group B, C 2 A, C#, E, G#
Group A 4 A, C#, E, G (natural)
Group E 4 G, B, D, F#, C#
Group B 4 G, B, D, C#
Group A 6 B, D, F#, C#, E
Group E 7 G, B, D, F#, C#
Group A 8 G, B, D, C#, A
Group B, A 9, 10 D, F#, A, B
Group E 13 B, F#, C#, E
Group E 14 C#
Table 7.2. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Themes, Groups, and Tonal Centers

Thematic material, or rather melodic pitched content often alternates with

spacious interludes and supporting material. In Section 1, Groups A and E enter with a
melodic theme played by marimbas and xylophone (Figure 7.2 and 7.3).

Following these two sections with the initial thematic material, Group B enters

with supporting figures in the same tonal center. In general, while two groups often have

the melodic theme, others complement with spacious and less active material. This

activity may also have pitched instruments (most always in the same tonal center) that

serve as a complementary figure to the main theme (Figure 7.4).


67!

Figure 7.2. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group A-Section 1

Figure 7.3. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group E-Section 1

Figure 7.4. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group B-Section 1
68!

Pitched percussion instruments do not always contain all of the thematic interest.

Bongos and timpani become a focal point in Group C-Section 3. Although the

instruments are not keyboard percussion, the timpani are pitched within the same tonality

to G, C#, F#. The short, staccato rhythmic figures contain the thematic interest as the

remaining Groups D and E stop. Also, each line contains a different number of measures.

In similar fashion, while each global section may overlap the others, at times each

instrument within individual sections may also overlap other instruments (Figure 7.5).

Figure 7.5. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group C-Section 3

While much of this melodic material remains staccato and rhythmically steady,

various other themes present a contrast in texture with longer, legato tones. Group B-

Section 4, for example, enters with long rolls in the timpani, setting a base for tied whole

notes in the vibraphones (Figure 7.6).

The next melodic entrance occurs in Group E-Section 7. This quarter note based

theme foreshadows a similar aesthetic in Moran’s marimba quartet By Any Other Name.

The tonal center has moved back to G, B, D, F#, C# (Figure 7.7).141

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
141
In Figure 7.7, Marimba 1 should play a C# in measure 3, beat 1.
69!

Figure 7.6. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group B-Section 4

Figure 7.7. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group E-Section 7
70!

When analyzing the middle sections of Stirling (Sections 6-9), many themes begin

spiraling around one another due to overlapping entrances among the five groups. The

tonal center is constant, resulting in a continuous wave of thematic material. Occasionally

between sections, brief interludes occur. For instance, in Group D-Section 6 the prepared

piano and toy piano provide a muted staccato sound effect, also in the same tonality

linking the sections, but not necessarily containing a primary theme (Figure 7.8).

Figure 7.8. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs, Group D-Section 6
71!

Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs is a large-scale work for percussion

ensemble. There are logistical concerns that may prohibit the programming of this piece.

For one, this work requires a minimum of 20 musicians. Also, only music schools with

active percussion programs are likely to own the quantity and diversity of instruments

needed which in turn requires a large performance space.

While Stirling:It’s Raining Cats and Dogs is not a traditional percussion orchestra

composition in the same style as Crown of Thorns by David Maslanka or Palace of Nine

Perfections by Eric Ewazen, it presents a different set of musical challenges. Timing and

coordination are crucial elements for the conductor, who cues each group to enter and

exit. Rushing through these events interrupts the meditative feeling of the composition,

while dragging can impede the natural flow causing listeners to lose focus. Within each

small group, individual parts may not be the most technically demanding, but musical

sensitivity and a keen ear is essential. Comfort with improvisatory techniques will also

aid in successful performances. In the five years since it was written, Stirling: It’s

Raining Cats and Dogs has had just one performance to date. Though daunting in size

and scope, the multitude of compositional techniques, musical elements, and educational

concepts warrants more performances.


!
72!

CHAPTER VIII

CONCLUSION

“Thanks for the compliment. The music is really for you.”142

American composer Robert Moran has maintained a successful career of over 50

years in contemporary music, and, at age 75, shows no signs of slowing down. He has

studied with Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud and has collaborated with celebrated

composers John Cage and Philip Glass. Moran has received commissions from around

the world and has released numerous recordings on labels such as Argo, BMG, and

Innova Records.

The works of Robert Moran can be adventurous, humorous, serious, large-scale,

small-scale, or left entirely to the discretion of the performers. Flowing throughout all of

his wide-ranging music, however, is his unfailing sense of expressive and emotionally

beautiful music that Moran has been quoted as calling “shockingly romantic” and

“disgracefully pretty.”143 He follows where his interests lead him, which is usually on to
something new, and which makes him delightfully impossible to categorize as a

composer.

His style has shifted throughout the course of his career to many different forms

of composition. Aside from his city pieces and dance works, Moran is not necessarily a

leader or pioneer of specific twentieth-century genres, but could be considered somewhat

of a musical chameleon. He experienced Apostel and the development of twelve-tone

music, experimented with John Cage and indeterminacy in the 1960s, and participated

with Haubenstock-Ramati, Christian Wolff and others in creating graphic scores. His

work with Philip Glass resulted in many more opportunities and opera commissions. His

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
142
Moran, email correspondence with Lucas Bernier, July 30, 2012.
143
Cornall, Liner Notes to Mantra.
73!

collaborations with choreographers and dance companies have resulted in significant

success. Moran has been able to adapt, adopt, and incorporate many different genres. He

is able to reference and seamlessly draw from his diverse background and experiences to

create expressive music.

Moran has little interest in conforming to a single compositional trend and even

less interest in discussing motivations, meanings, or theories of his compositions

preferring simply to create what moves him. Moran composes for the art of music and for

what he finds to be emotionally inspiring, which might not always be what critics,

publishers, or even audiences want from him.

Throughout the research process of this document, this author has become even

more intrigued with this iconic American composer. The hope for this document is that

others will continue to investigate the music of Robert Moran, perform his compositions,

and commission new pieces. Moran is humbly dedicated to his art form. Upon the author

thanking him for his music and his willingness to be a part of this project, he simply

replied: “Thanks for the compliment. The music is really for you.”144

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
144
Moran, email correspondence, 2012. !
74!

APPENDIX A

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ROBERT MORAN’S PERCUSSION COMPOSITIONS

Percussion Ensemble Works

Eclectic Boogies (1962)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1976, at Buffalo State University, conducted by James Kasperwitz,
Buffalo, NY.
Instrumentation: 13 Players: triangle, maraca, temple blocks, 3 cowbells,
bongos, 3 suspened cymbals, 3 tom-toms,
gong, piano, marimba, xylophone,
vibraphone, chimes
Notes: Traditional notation. Written as an exercise in serialism at the suggestion
of Luciano Berio. Partner piece to Meister Ekhard and the Point of No
Return (2010). Recorded on Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792.

Variations for Six (1963)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: Never performed.
Instrumentation: Variable percussion instrumentation.
Notes: Graphic notation.

Bombardments No. 2 (1966)


Publisher: C.F. Peters Corporation
Premiere: March 18, 1965, Manhattan Percussion Ensemble, Paul Price, Director,
New York, NY.
Instrumentation: Player 1: hi-hat, 1 pair of bongos, 1 snare drum (without !
snares), guiro, 3 suspended cymbals, 2 gongs (high !
and low), 3 timpani, 4 cowbells, marimba!
Player 2: triangle, car coil, maraca, 1 snare drum (with snares), !
2 brake drums, 2 pairs of bongos, 3 temple blocks, 3 !
tom-toms, symphonic chimes!
Player 3: piano (top removed), celesta, radio, anvil, bass drum, !
wind chimes (metal and tubular), 3 wood blocks, !
small metal cricket (toy)!
Player 4: triangle, car coil (lower than player 2), 1 pair of !
bongos, 2 tabla, 2 cowbells, 3 timpani, wooden wind !
chimes, 2 brake drums, xylophone!
Player 5: finger cymbals, claves, 1 drum (low pitch), 3 !
suspended cymbals, 2 gongs (medium, low), 2 pair !
bongos, 3 roto-toms, 4 temple blocks, vibraphone!
Notes: Recorded on Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792.
75!

Bank of America Chandelier (1968)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: August 1968, MacDowell Colony, Buffalo Percussion Ensemble.
Instrumentation: Written for a hanging glass chandelier with extra instruments to
be suspended from the chandelier. 4 players.
Notes: The instruments: a construction in the shape of a multi layered chandelier
hangs center stage, below it is a small table with the circular score; the
four musicians play the chandelier which is made up of pieces of hanging
glass, wind chimes, small bells, any other such small and delicate-
sounding instruments (great to have the stage very dark with just a light
from above the chandelier, casting shadows).

Borrby Boogies (1970)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1970, San Francisco, CA.
Instrumentation: Variable percussion instrumentation.
Notes: There is no full score, but rhythmic parts. The instrumentation is 'open';
any small/large percussion ensemble may be used. The conductor shapes
the work as it progresses. Many performances throughout the USA
through l989.

Obrigado (1995)
Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: March 1996, Kennedy Center, National Symphony Orchestra,
Leonard Slatkin, Director, Washington DC.
Instrumentation: Player 1: vibraphone, 3 wood blocks, 3 timbales
Player 2: vibraphone, tam-tam, chimes
Player 3: marimba (4.3 octave), 3 temple blocks
Player 4: timpani (B, E, F#), bass drum
Player 5: piano (optional)
Notes: Written at the request of the National Orchestra, Washington DC, for
the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center. The piano is not
required, but in the words of Moran, it is “so much more fun with it.”
The premiere was performed without the piano part. The premiere
with the piano part was given by Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, in
2008. Recorded on Mantra Innova 714.
76!

Kboco (2006)
Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 2006, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Instrumentation: Player 1: 3 tom-toms, vibraphone, chimes!
Player 2: bongos, timpani (1 drum), 3 blocks (medium temple !
blocks), tam-tam !
Player 3: marimba, bongos, 3 toms, glockenspiel !
Player 4: 3 wood blocks, bongos, xylophone, bass drum!
Player 5: marimba, 2 suspended cymbals !
Player 6: vibraphone, 3 tom-toms, snare drum!
Player 7: piano/prepared piano, celeste
Notes: Some instruments may be replaced: for example, timbales for bongos in
Player 4, Chinese bangu for snare drum in Player 6, Chinese toms for tom-
toms in Player 3. Recorded on Mantra Innova 714.

Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs (2007)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: April 12, 2008, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Instrumentation: Group A: 4 marimbas (4.3 octave), glockenspiel, thunder sheets
(1 or more), didgeridoo, 1 prayer bowl, 1 wine glass
Group B: 2 vibraphones, celeste, triangle, timpani (could
possibly be done with one drum range= B-G), bongos,
wind chimes, 1 wine glass
Group C: 2 vibraphones, 3 timpani (32, 29, 23), 3 suspended
cymbals, tambourine, ocean drum, 1 prayer bowl,
bongos
Group D: prepared piano, toy piano bass drum, chimes, timpani
(23), wind chimes, 1 prayer bowl, bongos
Group E: 2 marimbas, 3 tam-tams, tambourine, thai gongs (G#,
C#, A), xylophone, seed pods, 3 wine glasses
Notes: Combination of five different percussion ensembles, performing at the
same time overlapping one another. Conductor required. Recorded on
Mantra Innova 714.

By Any Other Name (2008)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers, available from Cricket City Music
and Media (www.dan-moore.com)
Premiere: Dec. 14, 2008, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Instrumentation: 4 marimbas (one 5-octave marimba, three 4.3- octave marimbas)
Notes: Could be performed with a 4.5-octave instrument instead of a 5-octave
marimba, only some low octave doubling would be lost.
77!

Meister Ekhard and the Point of No Return (2008)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: Dec. 4, 2010, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Instrumentation: 13 Players: triangle, maraca, temple blocks, 3 cowbells,
bongos, 3 suspended cymbals, 3 tom-toms,
gong, piano, marimba, xylophone,
vibraphone, chimes
Notes: Proportional notation. Decelerated partner piece to Eclectic Boogies.
Recorded on Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792.

Cabinet of Curiosities (2010)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers, available from Cricket City Music
and Media (www.dan-moore.com)
Premiere: Dec. 4, 2010, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Instrumentation: Found objects, mallet instruments, left up to performer(s)
Notes: A collection of six graphic scores. Instrumentation, number of performers,
and length are all open to interpretation. Recorded on Cabinet of
Curiosities, Innova 792.

Bats in the Belfry (2010)


Publisher: Charotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: Dec. 4, 2010, Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, Director, Iowa City, IA.
Vocalists: Stephen Swanson, Kitty Eberle, Lisa Hearne, Adam Webb
Instrumentation: marimba, 3 timbales, xylophone, 3 congas, bass drum, piano,
vibraphone, chimes, bass marimba, timpani, bongos (3), 6
timbales (2 players, 3 each), toy piano, glockenspiel, 3 temple
blocks, 3 wood blocks, tam-tam, 3 tom-toms, slide whistle, 2
suspended cymbals, sleigh bells, 2 ice bells, almglocken (E and
F), wind chimes, anvil, 4 voices
Notes: An opera with percussion ensemble pit orchestra
78!

Variable Ensemble Works

Interiors (1964)
Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1965, Charlotte Moorman New Music Festival, New York, NY.
Instrumentation: variable ensemble
Notes: Graphic score. Recorded on Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792.

Elegant Journey with Stopping Points of Interest (1965)


Publisher: Schott and Sons (Mainz)
Premiere: Spring 1970, Music of Robert Moran Concert, Grace Cathedral, SF
New Music Ensemble, San Francisco, CA.
Instrumentation: variable chamber ensemble
Notes: Graphic score. Written as a birthday gift to Darius Milhaud. Recorded on
Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792.

Divertissement Number One (1967)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1967, San Francisco, CA.
Instrumentation: Electric frying pan and any variable ensemble
Notes: Performers with large circus sunglasses with musical staves taped on the
lenses. As the popcorn pops and flies into the air, performers play the
notes they see as the popcorn crosses the lines of their sunglasses.

Waltz in Memoriam Maurice Ravel (1970)


Publisher: Peters Edition
Premiere: 1978, Chicago Arts Institute, Chicago, IL.
Instrumentation: Originally for solo piano, works well for marimba and
vibraphone duo.
Notes: Originally recorded on Nonesuch Records, 1981. Part of The Waltz
Project.

Salagrama (1979)
Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1979, Graz Styrian Festival, Graz, Austria.
Instrumentation: Organ, variable percussion instruments — Moran notes that it is
most effective with bells, chimes, and gongs.
Notes: Written for the restoration of the organ in the Grazer Dom. Recorded on
Cabinet of Curiosities, Innova 792. Performed once in the Mt. Holyoke,
MA, area with two organs and Chinese percussion.

Rocky Road to Kansas (1994)


Publisher: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers
Premiere: 1998, Toronto Ballet, Toronto, Canada.
Instrumentation: Percussion, keyboards, guitar
Notes: Commissioned and recorded by ARGO Records, Argo 444540.
79!

APPENDIX B

CONCERT PROGRAMS

Percussion Music of Robert Moran: Iowa Percussion


80!
81!
82!
83!
84!

New Literature Session PASIC 2011: Iowa Percussion


85!
86!
87!
88!
89!
90!
91!
92!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brooks, Richard James G. “Structural Functions of ‘Musical Gesture’ as Heard in


Selected Instrumental Compositions of the Twentieth Century: A Graphic
Analytic Method.” Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1981.

Cage, John. Notations. New York: Library of Congress, 1969.

Carl, Robert. "Interiors II: Uncharted lands. Elegant Journey. Salagrama. Cabinet of
Curiosities. Meister Eckhard and the Point of No Return. Electric Boogies.
Bombardments." Fanfare: The Magazine For Serious Record Collectors 34:6
(2011): 319-320.

Cornall, Andrew and Robert Moran. Liner Notes to Mantra. Innova 714. CD. 2008.

Coyle, Patrick O. “Significant Male Voice Repertory Commissioned by American Gay


Men’s Choruses.” D.M.A. diss., University of Cincinatti, 2006.

Davies, Hugh. “Musical Notation Old and New.” In Eye Music, 12-20. London: Arts
Council of Great Britain, 1986.

Drew Joanna and Michael Harrison. “Preface.” In Eye Music, 4. London: Arts Council of
Great Britain, 1986.

Evarts, John. “The New Musical Notation: A Graphic Art?” Leonardo 1:4 (1968) 405-
412. Accessed through JStor July 27, 2011.

Francois, Jean Charles. “Percussion Sound Sculpture.” Percussive Notes Research


Edition 18:3 (1981): 40-70.

Griffiths, Paul. “Sound Code-Image.” In Eye Music, 5-11. London: Arts Council of Great
Britain, 1986.

Gruber, Gerold W. “Apostel, Hans Erich.” In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/
music/01097 (accessed December 10, 2011).

Julian-Jones, Rachel Carissa. “A survey of multiple percussion notation with an emphasis


on timbre staff notation and setup.” D.M.A. diss., University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, 1999.

Kamstra, Darin J. “Multiple-percussion notation: The effectiveness of three types of staff


notation on sight-reading...” D.M.A. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, 2006.

Karkoschka, Erhard. Notation in New Music. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972.
93!

Lester, Joel, The Rhythms of Tonal Music. Southern Illinois University Press, 1986.

Moore, Dan. Liner Notes to Cabinet of Curiosities: The Graphic Percussion Scores of
Robert Moran. Dan Moore and Iowa Percussion. Innova 792. CD. 2011.

_________. Program Notes. By Any Other Name. University of Iowa New Literature
Session Concert- Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Indianapolis,
IN. November 10, 2011.

Moran, Robert. “Biography.” Robert Moran.


http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/biography.htm. (accessed
December 10, 2011).

___________. Bombardments No. 2. NY: C. F. Peters Corporation, 1966.

___________. Cabinet of Curiosities. PA: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers, 2010.

___________. Cabinet of Curiosities: The Graphic Percussion Scores of Robert Moran.


Dan Moore and Iowa Percussion. Innova 792. CD. 2011.

___________. “Chronological Index,” Robert Moran,


http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/chronological_index.htm,
(accessed December 9, 2011).

___________. “Compositions on My Mind 1970.” Soundings January:1 (1972): 43-45.

___________. “Desert of Roses.” Robert Moran


http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/desert_of_roses.htm. (accessed
December 9, 2011.)

___________. Email Correspondence with Lucas Bernier. August 28, 2012.

___________. Email Correspondence with Lucas Bernier. February 23, 2012.

___________. Email Correspondence with Lucas Bernier. November 3, 2012.

___________. Interview with Lucas Bernier. St. Paul, MN. September 10, 2011.

___________. “Kraft singles.” Opera News 60:6 (1995): 74.

___________. Mantra, Innova 714, CD, 2008.

___________. Obrigado. PA: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers, 1995.

___________. Phone Interview with Lucas Bernier, September 15, 2012.


94!

___________. “Remember Him to Me.” Robert Moran.


http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/Remember%20Him.htm.
(accessed December 9, 2011)

___________. Salagrama. PA: Charlotte Benson Music Publishers, 1979.

___________. Stirling: It’s Raining Cats and Dogs. PA: Charlotte Benson Music
Publishers, 2008.

___________. “Towers of the Moon.” Robert Moran.


http://members.macconnect.com/users/r/rbtmoran/from_the_towers_of_the_moon
.htm. (accessed December 9, 2011).

O’Neill, John C. “Recent Trends in Percussion Notation.” Percussive Notes 18:1 (1980):
20-55.

Pryer, Anthony. "Graphic Notation." In The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by


Alison Latham. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t
114/e3008 (accessed December 2, 2011).

“Public Art.” From News and Notes. Umbrella Magazine 5:3 (1982): 74.
http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/umbrella/article/viewFile/1034/983
(Accessed October 1, 2012).

Rausch, John R. “Obrigado” from New Percussion Literature and Recordings. Percussive
Notes 35:4 (1997): 78-79.

“Robert Moran.” http://www.innova.mu/composers/robert-moran. (accessed January 26,


2012).

“Robert Moran.” WQXR. http://www.wqxr.org/#!/people/robert-moran/ (accessed


November 28, 2012).

Rombouts, Luc. "Carillon." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.


http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/
music/04929 (accessed August 29, 2012).

Rubin, Nathan. John Cage and the Twenty-Six Pianos of Mills College: Forces in
American Music from 1940 to 1990, a History. Moraga, CA: Sarah's Books, 1994.
Ruppenthal, Stephen and David Patterson. "Moran, Robert." In Grove Music Online.
Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/
music/19085 (accessed December 10, 2011).
95!

San Francisco State University. “SF State Facts 2011-2012.” San Francisco State
University. http://www.sfsu.edu/~puboff/sfsufact/ (accessed August 29, 2012).

Shepherd, Scott Lawrence. “Notational Practices of Percussion Since 1950: An Analysis


of Selected Chamber Works.” M.A. Thesis, University of California Los Angeles,
1977.

Simmons, Walter. “Classical Recordings - Moran: "There Appeared an Angel";


"Cortege"; "Elegy for a Young King"; "Mantra"; "Obrigado"; "Stirling: It's
Raining Cats and Dogs"; "Kboco"; Processional.” Fanfare, the Magazine for
Serious Record Collectors 33:4 (March 2010): 256-257.

Siwe, Thomas. Percussion Ensemble Literature, ed. Thomas Siwe. Champaign, Ill:
Media Press, 1998. Viewed electronically through Percussive Arts Society
Website, www.pas.org.

Smith, Geoff. “Composing after Cage. Permission Granted.” The Musical Times
139:1864 (1998): 5-8.

Smith, Geoff and Nicole Walker Smith. New Voices, American Composers Talk about
Their Music. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995.

Smith, Stuart. “Avant Garde Percussion.” Percussive Notes 10:1 (1972): 3-4.

Smith, Stuart and Sylvia Smith. “Visual Music.” Perspectives of New Music 20:1/2
(1981)” 75-93.

_________. “Musical Notation as Visual Art.” Percussive Notes Research Edition 20:1
(1981): 49-54.

Smith, Sylvia. “Scribing Sound.” Percussive Notes Research Edition 23:3 (1985): 34-51.

Tagg, Barbara. "Fourteen Conductors Speak about American Choral Music." Choral
Journal 43, no. 8 (2003): 9-25,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1032333?accountid=14663 (accessed
December 10, 2011).

“The Waltz Project.” NYC Ballet. http://www.nycballet.com/ballets/w/the-waltz-


project.aspx (accessed November 28, 2012).

Thurston, Dart. "Eye music." In Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/
music/09152 (accessed November 28, 2012).
96!

Udow, Michael. “An Interview with Karlheinz Stockhausen.” Percussive Notes Research
Edition. 23:6 (1985): 4-47.

_________. “Visual Correspondence Between Notation Systems and Instrument


Configurations.” Percussive Notes Research Edition 18:2 (1981): 15-29.

Watkins, Glenn. Soundings: Music in the Twentieth Century. New York: Schirmer
Books, 1988.
!
!

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi