“Canto Gregoriano”: Paul Creston’s Adaptation of Plainchant as Topic
Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic, 8 April 2016. University of Michigan Graduate Music Research Conference, 20 March 2016. This study explores the hermeneutic efficacy of topic theory in the context of 20th-century American music by theorizing Paul Creston’s adaptation of contemporary plainchant practice as a recurring topic in his compositions. The paper considers the definitions of “topic” offered by Leonard Ratner, Robert Hatten, Raymond Monelle, Michael Klein, and Danuta Mirka....