Melting the Boundaries: The integration of ethnic instruments into western art music

Abstract

Melting the Boundaries: The Integration of Ethnic Instruments into Western Art Music Margaret Collins Stoop PhD Dissertation, Music Composition Trinity College Dublin Abstract This dissertation presents eight original musical compositions which include seven different ethnic instruments: the Native American flute, the Irish uilleann pipes, the Persian tar, the Persian santoor, the Chinese xiao, and the Irish low D and high D tin whistles. The ethnic instruments are integrated into ensembles with western orchestral instruments, and a cultural exchange occurs between differing genres. Integration of the ethnic instruments into western art music ensembles necessitates an understanding of the original contexts of the instruments as a frame of reference for further exploration and expansion of the repertoire for the instruments. Research was conducted on each of the instruments through the reading of authoritative texts, listening to the traditional music as well as new compositions for the instruments, interviews with musicians, and personal experimentation on the instruments. A discussion of the history and tradition of each of the instruments is included with the commentaries on the compositions.