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Summary:

Abstract: The Replenishment cycle contains five works that allude to the experience of sleep, beginning with awake drowsiness and ending with the piece inspired by rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, titled Conceiving Realities. This last piece is an intermedia work composed for chamber ensemble, live painting with biofeedback, computer, and audiovisual processing. This critical essay describes the composition of Conceiving Realities within the context of the Replenishment cycle, followed by a thorough analysis of the research involved in the technological aspects of the piece, and finally, a description of the instrumentation, notation, intermedia elements, and technology comprising the work. Conceiving Realities uses a system of interactions between painting, biofeedback, music, and video, in which a painter wears brainwave and heartbeat sensors that send data to a computer patch processing the sound of an ensemble as the painter listens and creates the painting while responding to the music. This requires a passive biofeedback system in which the painter is focused on listening and painting. The computer uses the data to process existing sounds, instead of synthesizing new lines. The score blends elements of traditional notation, graphics, and guided improvisation; giving the performers some creative agency. This alludes to the way in which scenarios in dreams occur without voluntary control of the dreamer. Finally, a camera captures the painting and projects three video screens applying individual types of processing to the original video stream, controlled in real time by the amplitude of the ensemble. All these elements create an immersive experience for the audience that is mediated by the interaction of sight and sound.

Table of Contents:

• Part I, An intermedia work about sleep. Introduction: the experience of human sleep ; A cycle of compositions about sleep ; Preliminary research in electroencephalography ; Writing the intermedia piece Conceiving Realities ; Conclusions
• Part II, Replenishment. Lassitude for flute, calrinet and percussion ' Somnolence for viola, violoncello, prepared kick drum and computer ; Dimming for electric guitar and computer ; Submergence for tuba and computer ; Conceiving realities for live painter, chamber ensemble, and computer.

Author/Creator:

Espinel, Miguel Angel , author

Contributors:

May, Andrew, 1968- , major professor

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Replenishment: A Musical Narrative Inspired by Sleep [by Espinel, M.A.]

Related Series:

NT thesis, Music (Complete); [volume] 2017

Subjects:

Composition (Music)

Mixed media (Music)

Sleep — Songs and music

Sleep

Genres:

Academic theses

Chamber music

Mixed media works

Scores

Songs and music

Dissertation Notes:

M.A. ― University of North Texas, 2017.

General Notes:

Discipline: Composition.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 43-44).
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (UNT Digital Library, viewed April 8, 2020).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 103 pages) : illustrations, music.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

Electronic Thesis

OCLC Numbers:

1269301550