"Giving New Life to Old Ideas": the synthesis of Early Music Techniques with modern practice in the music of Judith Bingham, Clare Maclean and Heather Percy

Abstract

The appropriation of compositional techniques from earlier musical styles within contemporary composition is a practice that composers have been adopting for centuries. Indeed, Arvo Pärt, one of the most influential contemporary composers of sacred music, developed his unique sound world by employing old composition techniques. This thesis is concerned with the re-interpretation of early music composition techniques within contemporary sacred choral music. It focuses specifically on the music of female composers Judith Bingham (United Kingdom) and Clare Maclean (Australia/New Zealand), exploring the role that early music techniques play within their composition style and aesthetic, and provides a route to ways that I may incorporate similar elements in my own work.

Approaches to ancient techniques are examined in the following works by Bingham and Maclean: Epiphany (1996) and Sanctus and “Lamb of God” from Missa Brevis Awake My Soul (2007) by Bingham and Maclean’s Sanctus and Agnus Dei from Osanna Mass (2008). As well as identifying early music composition techniques, I explore the sound-worlds of both composers, recognising their contribution to advanced harmonic practice. These findings contribute towards an understanding of these composers’ stylistic trademarks and their individual musical aesthetics, which in turn have influenced my own creative work and are demonstrated in the accompanying portfolio of original compositions.

This research confirms that contemporary composers continue to utilise ancient techniques as part of the creation of new music and that this practice can be further explored by emerging composers. It also brings to the fore the sacred choral music of Bingham and Maclean and documents their contribution towards the canon of contemporary sacred choral music in Australia and abroad.