Summary: | This thesis consists of five musical compositions of diverse styles. Movement,
the first composition is written for two pianos and percussions. It is a piece that is
chromatic and yet very tonal; at times, some minimalistic tendencies are evident.
The second piece, Three English Poems, is a song cycle for a soprano, flute, harp, and cello. The texts are taken from poems of Milton, Crowne, and Falconer. These poems are tied together by the pastoral atmosphere of the music. The third piece, Oremus, is a setting of common prayers of the Roman Catholic Church. In Nomine Paths frames Pater Noster, Ave Maria, and Gloria Path into one whole extended a cappella piece for a double choir. The fourth piece, Variations on Rachmaninoff's 18th Variation on a Theme by Paganini, is written for piano and a tape recorder. The title itself tells much what
this piece is all about. The part on the tape recorder is a mixing of MIDI and
WAV files produced by Cubase and Roland Audio Tools software. The last piece, Mga Salmo, is a setting of selected passages from the Psalms translated into Pilipino. It is written for sixteen singers who also play some Philippine ethnic instruments. This composition is a fine example of an
integration of Western and non-Western elements of music.
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