Petr Eben's oratorio Apologia Sokratus (1967) and ballet Curses and Blessings (1983): An interpretative analysis of the symbolism behind the text settings and musical style

The Czech composer Petr Eben (1927-2007) has written music in all genres except symphony, but he is highly recognized for his organ and choral compositions, which are his preferred genres. His vocal works include choral songs and vocal-instrumental works at a wide range of difficulty levels, from simple pedagogical songs to very advanced and technically challenging compositions. This study examines two of Eben‘s vocal-instrumental compositions. The oratorio Apologia Sokratus (1967) is a three-movement work; its libretto is based on Plato‘s Apology of Socrates. The ballet Curses and Blessings (1983) has a libretto compiled from numerous texts from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. The formal design of the ballet is unusual—a three-movement composition where the first is choral, the second is orchestral, and the third combines the previous two played simultaneously. Eben assembled the libretti for both compositions and they both address the contrasting sides of the human soul, evil and good, and the everlasting fight between them. This unity and contrast is the philosophical foundation for both compositions. The dissertation discusses the multileveled meanings behind the text settings and musical style of the oratorio and ballet in analyses focusing on the text, melodic and harmonic construction, and symbolism. Additional brief analyses of other vocal and vocal-instrumental compositions by Eben establish the ground for the examination of the oratorio and ballet and for understanding features of the composer‘s musical style. While the oratorio Apologia Sokratus was discussed in short articles in the 1970s, the ballet Curses and Blessings has never previously been addressed within Eben scholarship. The dissertation examines the significant features of Eben‘s music. His melodic style incorporates influences as diverse as Gregorian chant and folk tunes on the one hand, and modern vocal techniques such as Sprechgesang and vocal aleatoricism on the other. His harmonic language includes bitonality and polytonality, used to augment the tonal legacy of earlier times, together with elements of pitch collections and limited serial procedures as well as various secundal and quartal harmonic sonorities derived from them. His music features the vibrant rhythms of folk music, and incorporates other folk devices like ostinato, repetitive patterns, and improvisation.

Ultrasonic wave reflection measurements on self-compacting pastes and concretes

The objective of this study was to extend the use of combined longitudinal (P-wave) and shear (S-wave) ultrasonic wave reflection (UWR) to monitor the setting and stiffening of self-compacting pastes and concretes. An additional objective was to interpret the UWR responses of various modified cement pastes. A polymeric buffer with acoustic impedance close to that of cement paste, high impact polystyrene, was chosen to obtain sensitive results from the early hydration period. Criteria for initial and final set developed by our group in a prior study were used to compute setting times by UWR. UWR results were compared with standard penetration measurements. Stiffening behavior and setting times for normal cement pastes, pastes modified with mineral and chemical admixtures, self-compacting pastes, and concretes were explored using penetration resistance, S-wave and P-wave reflection. All three methods showed that set times of pastes varied linearly with w/c, that superplasticizer and fly ash delayed the set times of pastes, and that differences in w/cm, sp/cm, and fa/cm could be detected. Final set times determined from UWR correlated well with those from penetration resistance. Initial set times from S-wave reflection did not correlate very well with those from penetration resistance. Final set times from P-wave and S-wave reflection were roughly the same. Pastes with different chemical admixtures were tested, and the effects of these admixtures on stiffening were determined using UWR. Self-compacting concretes were studied using UWR, and their response and setting times were largely similar to that of corresponding self-compacting pastes. The P-wave reflection response was explored in detail, and the phenomenon of partial debonding and the factors affecting it were explained. Partial debonding is probably caused by autogenous shrinkage at final set, and was controlled and limited by water. The extent of partial debonding was higher with the transducers placed on the side as opposed to the bottom, and the S-wave transducer seemed to promote debonding in the P-wave reflection, whereas the P-wave transducer seemed to reduce debonding in the S-wave reflection. Simultaneous formwork pressure testing and UWR were performed; however, no clear correlation was seen between the two properties.