University/Organization
NATIONAL SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN
Title
AN EVENING IN THE PALACE OF REASON WITH BACH AND FRITZ: LIBBY LARSEN AND THE ROYAL THEME
Synopsis
This study explores Libby Larsen’s creative compositional reintroduction of a centuriesold theme, the Royal Theme, in which she draws from the Musical Offering in her Evening in the Palace of Reason (2007). In the composition Larsen does more than simply display her composing ideas on the Royal Theme; many familiar musical characteristics and ideas that have in common certain elements of style from the musical past are also used. The work goes beyond the usual musical style of Larsen; it demonstrates the composer’s individual and unique synthesis of conservative and contemporary musical language. The study shall also examine how Larsen copes with the stylistic changes of the three periods and how she reinterprets these different musical styles in the music.