Klaas van Oostveen, theorist and composer : an analytical study of selected works with special reference to his melodic ideas

Abstract

Klaas van Oostveen is best known in South Africa for his Six Miniatures, published by UNISA in the Grade 6 piano album, list D. What is not that well-known is the fact that between 1936 and 1982 he had composed more than 80 pieces, encompassing a multitude of different genres and instrumental combinations. The method of composition Van Oostveen employed can be described as melodically based and to that end he had written an unpublished work entitled The Art of MelodyWriting. As teacher of Harmony, Counterpoint and Composition at the University of the Witwatersrand, Van Oostveen ·left as legacy a number of leading South African music educators that today impart his methods of composition to numerous students in these subjects. This thesis broadly attempts to quantify the extent to which Van Oostveen's compositional theories correlate with his actual compositions, and to that end some of his best known works were analysed from a mainly melodic viewpoint. The compositions included in the study spans a wide array of musical genres demonstrating Van Oostveen's control of all these different musical formats. A CD compilation of recorded works has been included to give the reader a practical insight into the music of Klaas van Oostveen.