Papers by Nate Mitchell
Music theory online, Dec 1, 2022
This paper digests a recent body of empirical work on narrative imaginings to music, bringing the... more This paper digests a recent body of empirical work on narrative imaginings to music, bringing them into dialogue with existing theoretical frameworks. By examining the stories imagined at three geographic locations using various methods, these studies present converging evidence that intuitive imaginings to music can be strikingly similar across individuals, but only when they share a cultural background. The intersubjectivity of these imaginings extends not just to the stories' content, but also to their dynamic event structure as imagined to unfold across the time course of the music.
In this paper, I argue that the acoustical information captured by the audio descriptor known as ... more In this paper, I argue that the acoustical information captured by the audio descriptor known as “sharpness” provides a musically insightful window into the timbral structures of Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons for solo cello. In Papillon I, I utilize Saariaho’s concept of a “sound/noise axis” as a means of interpreting both the succession of timbral states at the surface as well as the distribution of sharpness energy over time. I also investigate timbre’s narrative role in binding together distinct and seemingly opposing thematic gestures into a symbiotic relationship in Papillons IV and VII. The analyses as a whole demonstrate that audio descriptors provide a useful representation of timbral structures. By interpreting these representations through appropriate analytical lenses, analysts can begin to engage in more detailed inquiries into timbre’s crucial role in many contemporary musical languages.
Music Theory Spectrum , 2020
(This is a pre-final draft of an article that will appear in Music Theory Spectrum 42 no. 2)
Thi... more (This is a pre-final draft of an article that will appear in Music Theory Spectrum 42 no. 2)
This article presents an overview of a new pre-cadential schema in the galant style: the Volta. The Volta is a two-part schema featuring a prominent chromatic reversal: stage one charges up the dominant with a #4-5 melodic string, while stage two releases to the tonic using a ♮4-3 string. The schema sheds light on many aspects of galant music-making: its variants illustrate how central features of a schematic prototype motivate or constrain plausible manipulations, its pre-cadential function reveals the intimate communion between surface schemas and the harmonic patterns inscribed within the style's formal scripts, and, finally, its use as a climactic gesture in opera seria calls attention to the semantic possibilities of schemas beyond their role in defining musical topics. Leonardo Vinci, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Johann Adolf Hasse, Baldassare Galuppi, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Teaching Documents by Nate Mitchell
A website prepared for a meeting of the Princeton Theory Group on November 14th, 2016. The websit... more A website prepared for a meeting of the Princeton Theory Group on November 14th, 2016. The website guides readers through a comparative analysis of 15 partial settings and 3 full settings of the aria, culminating in a model composition.
Compositions by Nate Mitchell
A period composition based on the aria text "Se cerca, se dice" from Metastasio's L'Olimpiade. Th... more A period composition based on the aria text "Se cerca, se dice" from Metastasio's L'Olimpiade. The composition imitates the prevailing manner of setting this text from ca. 1760 until the century's end.
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Papers by Nate Mitchell
This article presents an overview of a new pre-cadential schema in the galant style: the Volta. The Volta is a two-part schema featuring a prominent chromatic reversal: stage one charges up the dominant with a #4-5 melodic string, while stage two releases to the tonic using a ♮4-3 string. The schema sheds light on many aspects of galant music-making: its variants illustrate how central features of a schematic prototype motivate or constrain plausible manipulations, its pre-cadential function reveals the intimate communion between surface schemas and the harmonic patterns inscribed within the style's formal scripts, and, finally, its use as a climactic gesture in opera seria calls attention to the semantic possibilities of schemas beyond their role in defining musical topics. Leonardo Vinci, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Johann Adolf Hasse, Baldassare Galuppi, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Teaching Documents by Nate Mitchell
Compositions by Nate Mitchell
This article presents an overview of a new pre-cadential schema in the galant style: the Volta. The Volta is a two-part schema featuring a prominent chromatic reversal: stage one charges up the dominant with a #4-5 melodic string, while stage two releases to the tonic using a ♮4-3 string. The schema sheds light on many aspects of galant music-making: its variants illustrate how central features of a schematic prototype motivate or constrain plausible manipulations, its pre-cadential function reveals the intimate communion between surface schemas and the harmonic patterns inscribed within the style's formal scripts, and, finally, its use as a climactic gesture in opera seria calls attention to the semantic possibilities of schemas beyond their role in defining musical topics. Leonardo Vinci, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Johann Adolf Hasse, Baldassare Galuppi, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.