Kopp, DavidGracy, Thomas2025-01-232025-01-232025https://hdl.handle.net/2144/496212025A novel harmonic language has emerged within certain choral works of the 21st century that is symptomatic of a more post-structuralist interpretation of musical form and tonal direction. Works by Composers Ola Gjeilo and Frank Ticheli have been canonized in repertoires of professional and amateur choirs alike, sought after for their unique color and impactful performances. Compositions of this style are common in their aim to project topics such as peace, transcendence, and metamorphosis, but are unique to the choral genre in its structural manifestation of such. These works have, in their most characteristic parts, moved beyond the conventional teleological organization of tonal harmonies, and towards a phenomenological process that, while remaining largely triadic, ambiguates function and turns attention towards the moment and away from any harmonic end goal. A unique harmonic and syntactic organization is observed in which clear direction and thematic statements are most actualized within the center of the work, surrounded by sections of an ambient, teleologically indeterminate nature, thus inverting the traditional paradigm of stability within a tonal work. As the compositions become less harmonically ambiguous and more directed, these composers create and utilize dominant and subdominant functional implications to set up tonal expectations, then subvert these implications through unexpected means. Consequently, middleground structures evolve phenomenologically, leading the listener to shift their attention away from the functional and teleological aspects of harmony, and toward entraining solely to the euphony of the music. Important attributes of the style include the mixture of smooth voice-leading progressions with classically tonal phrase structures, a seemingly wandering sense of tonal centricity projected through overall downward contour, and the prioritization of subdominant cadences.en-USAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Music theoryCube danceHarmonic ambiguityMetamorphic musicMinimalismPost-structuralismRhizomeThesis/Dissertation2025-01-220009-0005-9296-2841