Influences of Large-Scale Form on Continuous Ratings in Response to a Contemporary Piece in a Live Concert Setting

Listeners responded continuously at the world and North American premiere concerts of The Angel of Death by Roger Reynolds using one of two rating scales: familiarity or resemblance of musical materials within the piece and emotional force. Two versions of the piece were tested in each concert in different presentation orders. Functional data analysis revealed the influence of large-scale musical form and context on recognition processes and emotional reactions during ongoing listening. The instantaneous resemblance to materials already heard up to that point in the piece demonstrates strong relations to the sectional structure of the music and suggests different memory dynamics for different kinds of musical structures. Emotional force ratings revealed the impact of computer-processed sounds and a diminution in emotional force with repetition of materials. Response profiles and global preferences across the two versions are discussed in terms of the multifaceted temporal shape of musical experience.