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Music Composition Portfolio
Daniel O'Neill
There are six pieces included in this M.Phil. These were completed over two years and are accompanied by a written text part. These pieces contain different instrumentations and range from solo to orchestral works. In this portfolio there is a set of two choir pieces, a trio for piano, clarinet and violin, an orchestral piece, a guitar quartet, three pieces for saxophone quartet and a solo piano piece. The written part of this portfolio examines in detail my compositions with reference to their inspiration, construction and overall shape. There is a detailed description of the six works along with musical examples. A CD accompanies this document with recordings and MIDI files of selected compositions. Chapter One is an introductory section with some background information about the composer. The purpose of this short introduction is to give the reader some insight into the day to day working of the composer and specific references to his influences. Due to the kind of music that was written and the kind of musician this composer is, there was a need to provide some material on the approaches and instinct of his particular style. Chapter Two contains six commentaries, one for each of the works in the portfolio. Each commentary discusses inspiration, technical aspects of the piece, and provides musical examples. These musical examples are used to explain more clearly the methods used by the composer in the construction of the piece.