Cassandra’s Dream Song in Context: Reinventing Greek Mythology through the Contemporary Flute

Abstract: The subject of the present thesis stems from my personal interest about the way Greek mythology has influenced the craft of composing for, and playing, the flute. Although I have always been connected to my heritage, this particular interest was piqued during my studies abroad and especially when I began to tackle Brian Ferneyhough’s Cassandra’s Dream Song (1970) for solo flute. Consequently, I have decided to focus on my personal interpretation of Cassandra’s Dream Song, taking the unique character of the piece into account. To accomplish that, I will first set the framework of the piece by exploring the relation between the flute and Greek mythology prior to Cassandra’s Dream Song, then briefly presenting Cassandra’s myth and appearance in literature throughout the years and finally examining Ferneyhough’s profile as a composer’s. Afterwards, I will expand on the piece and its notable traits – in particular, the structure and notation – in order to demonstrate how Cassandra’s story materialises through the composer’s approach. Lastly, I will present how, in my own interpretation, I applied various elements of Cassandra’s myth while also keeping in mind all the aforementioned elements of my study.