Abstract

Volume I of this dissertation concerns the work of Polish composer Henryk Gorecki. He began his career as a serial composer and by the time of the premiere of his Scontri in 1961, was considered to be one of the best and brightest of the new generation of "modernist" composers. In the early 1970s, however, he turned away from the serialist techniques and modernist model toward a completely new approach---a distinct new compositional direction. Music writers and musicologists have since grouped him together with Arvo Part and John Taverner and dubbed them the "holy minimalists," probably because of their shared interest in religious topics and because of a characteristic repetition in their music. This term does very little to explain Gorecki's procedures or the context of his works within his life or ours, however. ;Through a survey of current scholarly discussion of time in music, the groundwork is laid for an analysis of the temporal aspects of Gorecki's works. The author then explores the experiences of time in the music of Gorecki and the specific techniques and procedures that the composer uses to create these experiences. Special attention is paid to Scontri, Symphony No. 3, the two published string quartets, and Kleines Requiem fur eine Polka. ;The double bass is an instrument that has many very different identities; Volume II of the dissertation explores two of these identities: the jazz/pizzicato and the singing/arco aspects of the instrument. Inspired by the work of arranger Harry Burleigh, bassist Charles Mingus, and singer Paul Robeson, this four-section, continuous-movement concerto is a virtuosic amalgamation of classical Western techniques and jazz styles with opportunities for improvisation by the double bass soloist, pianist, drummer, and alto saxophonist. The concerto is orchestrated for a chamber orchestra with a small compliment of winds and brass together with a piano, drums and percussion, and a chamber-size string ensemble