Abstract:
This thesis surveys the life, works, and musical style of Joseph H. Ott through 1987. A brief biography of his professional life and achievements is included, followed by a detailed catalog of his more than 400 works, classified by medium and chronology. The final part of the thesis is a detailed discussion of his musical style, organized into four periods, with an in-depth analysis of representative works from each period. The first period works exhibit romantic, impressionistic, or quartal styles of harmony, with straightforward and relatively simple rhythms and formal structures. Works of the second period are dissonant and atonal. The rhythms are increasingly complex and sophisticated; a strong pulse is fundamental to the many ostinatos and polyrhythms used. Musical form is defined by changes in texture, articulation, dynamics, and pitch register. The third style period consists mostly of aleatory and electronic works. Nontraditional sounds, improvisational and indeterminate forms, and the spatial movement of sound are explored, and often combined with electronically synthesized music. In the fourth period, the style traits that were formative in the second period are used in a more mature manner. These include: atonal harmonies, polyrhythms and ostinatos, a wide range of dynamics and articulations, imitative and polyphonic devices, and a variety of melodic contours. Forms are constructed with a changing succession of textures. A summary of style characteristics concludes the thesis. Also included are three appendices, which contain Mr. Ott's resume, a detailed list of performances of his works, and the Claude Benny Press catalog.
