IMAGE AS MUSIC

Course Description

Throughout history, composers have taken inspiration from things seen, whether in nature, painting, sculpture, or everyday objects. In this century alone, that impulse has led to works as diverse as Gunther Schuller's Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee, Michael Torke's Javelin, and Claude Debussy's La Mer. In this seminar, students will explore ways of bringing the visual into their own music. We will examine works with a specific visual reference, including (whenever possible) the composers' own commentary on the creation of them. In addition, students will compose a series of short movements for chamber ensemble, in which gestures, textures, and lines are a direct response to a visual stimulus. Our specific focus will be on images from nature: centered around water, light, earth, and air.