Thoughts on Temporal Perception's Relativity in Grisey's Vortex Temporum and Voss's Perspectives

This thesis centers around a comparative analysis between an instrumental work, Vortex Temporum (1995), by Ge�rard Grisey (1946-98), and a mixed media work by Emerson Voss (b. 1991), Perspectives (2017). This essay articulates an interest in musical temporal perception, and serves as a precursor to a larger, ensuing research project concerning musical temporal perception. The comparative analysis stems from a question. How does temporal perception relate to a musical object's artistic expression? Offered through the lens of the comparative analysis is an experience of these works as complementary, poetic discourses on temporal perception's relativity and its ability to further the realization of a musical object's artistic expression. Temporal perception is the subjective measurement of objects in motion. Quantitative and qualitative time are a two-part definition of temporal perception that show how our spatial orientation and movement through space (or speed) is linked to our perception of time's passing. Our temporal perception of everything is relative to our spatial orientation and our movement through space--our qualitative and quantitative time respectively. This notion is temporal perception's relativity. The comparative analysis shows how the frameworks of Vortex Temporum and Perspectives each uniquely describe temporal perception's relativity. Each work could be perceived as a composer's figurative moving of either his audience or his musical object around one another enhancing the realization of each musical object's artistic expression. Vortex's musical object is a repeated stream of an arpeggio motive from a flute solo in Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe�. Perspectives's musical object is Johannes Brahms's Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2 in A major. The analysis of these works compares each composers' methods for articulating their poetic discourse on temporal perception's relativity. Specific techniques used by each composer are analyzed. First, Vortex's use of varying density of "perceptual events" in the first movement's piano solo and Perspectives's use of synchronization of mediums' times in acceleration is analyzed. Second, Vortex's use of condensed, harmonic spectra and Perspectives's use of staging is analyzed. Finally, Vortex's use of recurring opening material from the first movement and Perspectives's use of nine-shot split screen is analyzed. The concluding section contains three possible paths for research stemming from the comparative analysis. First, research could be conducted by continuing to apply temporal perception's relativity as a framework for analysis to other pieces. Second, research could be conducted by applying classifications of durational arrangements in Grisey's table to vastly differing styles of music in a way similar to the creation of a "perceived events" chart in the comparative analysis's first part. Finally, research could be conducted by examining similarities between vastly differing styles of music and their artistic interpretations by performers of varying skill levels and artistic backgrounds