Zoroastrianism, Cosmology, and Chaos: A Detailed Analysis of the Musical Composition, Druj Aeterni

Druj Aeterni is a large chamber ensemble piece for flute, clarinet, French horn, two trumpets, piano, two percussionists, string quintet, and electric bass. My composition integrates three intellectual pursuits and interests, ancient mythology, cosmology, and mathematics. The title of the piece uses Latin and the language of the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism, and comments upon a philosophical perspective based in string theory. I abstract the cosmological implications of string theory, apply them to the terminology and theology of Zoroastrianism, and then structure the composition in consideration of a possible reconciliation. The analysis that follows incorporates analytical techniques similar to David Cope’s style of Vectoral Analysis.