Compositional Language in the Oratorio the Second Act the Composer as Analyst

The Second Act, composed by this book's author, is a musical representation of the events recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of The Apostles from the Holy Bible: New International Version. Performing forces include large orchestra, brass septet, mixed chorus (SATB), men's chorus (TTBB), soprano solo, tenor solo, baritone solo, and bass solo. Of central significance in this book is the utilization of an important analytical tool for investigation of much 20th-century music: Category Analysis. This methodology observes the composer's usage of various musical parameters in the establishment of structure. Part I provides an examination of textual and outer musical form. Part II explores the wide spectrum of melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, textural, and internal form procedures. Concludes with a comparison of salient features in the composition.