Voice and mimesis in the compositional process : To seek ones inner voice in the composing of notated music

In this bachelor thesis in the field of artistic research, the author’s aim was to gain practical and experience-based knowledge on how to access their inner voice in the process of composing notated contemporary music. The theoretical framework was obtained from theories on compositional craft, composers’ voice and a concept from the rhetoric, mimesis, was used as a model for the approach to creating composition exercises. The procedure of the bachelor thesis started with semi-structured interviews with four professional composers, who were asked about their compositional processes. Based on the results of the interviews, a composition exercise, called mimesis-exercise, was created for each of the interviewee, and then performed by the author. After each mimesis-exercise was finished, a reflective evaluation on the process was written. A summary of each interview is presented in the implementation and detailed descriptions on how the compositional process was conducted for each of the four mimesis-exercises are presented in the results part. The artistic production of the bachelor thesis consists of five new pieces, each composed for one of the ensembles: SATB-choir, string ensemble, organ (two pieces), and solo trombone. The four research questions were answered through a thematic analysis and reflective texts. The conclusions made during the process of the bachelor thesis was that the author experienced an enhanced understanding and connection to both the compositional process and the sounding material produced. The experience of composing, both the pieces which was part of the project, but especially those composed close after the thesis’s end, was more emotional and personal than the author experienced before the start of the bachelor thesis. The author reflected on how her development and discovering of her compositional voice was made through the procedure of the mimesis-exercises. The conclusive texts of the bachelor thesis add accounts for experience-based and personal perspectives to previous research on composer’s voice.