Dissertation submitted

Last week, I finally submitted my PhD dissertation at NYU, which have kept me busy for the last months. Here the abstract:

THE HYPERORCHESTRA: A STUDY OF A VIRTUAL MUSICAL ENSEMBLE IN FILM MUSIC THAT TRANSCENDS REALITY

This dissertation analyzes how Contemporary music for audiovisual media integrates with the concept of Hyperreality, as defined by Jean Baudrillard. The study begins with a philosophical investigation for the ontology of the concept of hyperreality, integrating Baudrillard’s philosophical thought with McLuhan’s theory of media. Further, it discusses the ontology of cinema and music in relationship to hyperreality, with special emphasis to digital cinema. As an art born in the twentieth century, cinema has a integral relationship with the hyperreal. In this context, I define the Hyperorchestra, a virtual music ensemble that inhabits in hyperreality, product of the process of virtualization of the musical experience that started with the audio recording. I describe how this newly defined ensemble combines traditional live instrumental techniques with the utilization of Sample Libraries and Synthesizers, in addition to recording techniques and sound processors, to generate music that transcends both the framework established by Western musical traditions and what can be achieved just by physical means.The second part of the dissertation is analytical. First, it describes one of the key new tools for the Hyperorchestra: the Sample Libraries and MIDI, which acts as an interface that surpasses traditional music notation. The section continues by analyzing the musical scores in Contemporary movies that highlight the utilization of diverse Hyperorchestral techniques.The final part of the study focuses on the aesthetics of the new ensemble. It defines new frameworks that aim to model the music experience when transported to hyperreality. Moreover, it defines Hyperinstruments, the hyperreal counterpart of the physical musical instruments. Finally, the study centers in Hyperorchestration, which defines the new set of tools and techniques associated with writing music for the Hyperorchestra. With these new tools, the Hyperorchestra is afforded the power to generate music that utilizes the whole sound spectrum, closing the gap between music composition and sound design, at the same time that it becomes a powerful tool for the transmission of meaning.