An Introduction to the Symbolic Dimension of Music: A Composer’s Perspective

Abstract

As a composer, it has always been my intention to produce music which can be listened to, analysed and appreciated for its own sake, without reference to any extra-musical material. However, I have always been acutely aware of the extent to which my compositional process has evolved as a direct result of my engagement with extramusical forms, both as a scholar and a composer. It is my interpretation of these extra-musical forms which both inspires, and finds symbolic expression in, the musical structures and processes contained in my compositions. On one level, these structures and processes function solely as musical entities, and, as such they can be analysed in purely musical terms – without reference to anything external to my compositions. However, when these entities are examined in relation to the extra-musical forms which influenced their creation, a new dimension of my music is revealed: its symbolic dimension. In this article, I outline the theoretical stances adopted throughout my own analyses of both my compositions and the external subject matter which prompted their creation, drawing upon the writings of Jean Jacques Nattiez (Nattiez, 1990), Carl Gustav Jung (Jung, 1956), and others. In the course of the discussion, various definitions of the “symbol” and their implications are explored and some of the key symbolic motifs in my compositions are examined.