Jean Coulthard's twelve essays on a Cantabile Theme: an overview of the set with detailed analyses of the theme and three selected essays
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Abstract
This thesis examines Twelve Essays on a Cantabile Theme (1972), a chamber work for double string quartet by Canadian composer Jean Coulthard. It begins with a biographical overview that situates Coulthard’s life, musical influences, and compositional output, followed by a musical overview of the twelve “essays” and their relation to Coulthard’s own experience. The second part of the thesis offers detailed analyses of the “Cantabile Theme” and three selected essays — “Summer Night on the Water,” “The Academicians,” and “Chimera” — through the lenses of set-class analysis, intervallic contour, thematic variation, and performing techniques, highlighting Coulthard’s integration of neo-Romantic lyricism with post-tonal elements.
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2026