Symmetry and proportion: how these issues guide, inform and add coherence to musical composition

The central subject of this thesis is the application of the concepts of symmetry and proportion in music and how these can be used to generate original compositions.

Information about the musical application regarding concepts of symmetry and proportion both in the twentieth-century and earlier is provided. The first section also offers additional
information about the construction of symmetrical harmony and its common usage; here too, principles of intervallic proportion are explained based on the compositional thinking
of English composer Christopher Bochmann.

The second section presents seven original compositions, each supported by their own commentary. Each work features a variety of instrumental forces ranging from solo to orchestral. Lending a separate emphasis (in analysis) to each composition helps to provide a broad picture of the potential that the ideas of symmetry and proportion bring to
contemporary composition.