Polystratalism: Compositional Layering Techniques and Perception of Polytonal and Other Multi-Strata Music

How is music that is in two or more distinct layers, which may be closely related, only distantly related, or not related at all, perceived and apprehended by human listeners? Polytonality and other similar forms of simultaneous juxtaposition are described as forms of “Polystratalism”: a new term meant to encompass an array of layering techniques found in 20th-century composition. This dissertation explores Polystratalism from three vantage points: a music-theoretic view (focusing especially on terminology), a cognitive psychology view (using auditory stream analysis), and a compositional view (exploring what techniques composers of the past have used to create and to reinforce their polystratal music). On the basis of these approaches, hypotheses regarding how compositional parameters combine to support the independence of layers within a polytonal texture, and how this independence supports perceptibility of polytonality are presented. Works by Adams, Britten, Corigliano, Danielpour, Ives, Mahler, Milhaud, and Ravel are examined through the lenses of time, timbre, space, register, and tonality. Polystratalism’s potential for meaning in music is explored. The accompanying orchestral composition, Millennial Lullabies, is introduced and briefly analyzed