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.

“Contemporandino”: tres piezas de música andina colombiana en lenguaje contemporáneo

La Música contemporánea, como corriente estética de los siglos XX y XXI, ha contado con distintos desarrollos teóricos y técnicos, que se han convertido en herramientas con amplias posibilidades creativas para la renovación del lenguaje sonoro del compositor -- El objetivo de este artículo es dar cuenta de un proceso compositivo que buscó unir la riqueza tímbrica, rítmica y melódica de las músicas populares tradicionales de la zona andina colombiana, con algunas de las estéticas y formas más representativas de la música académica contemporánea -- En primer lugar, se realizó una investigación sobre estas últimas, seleccionando, en un primer momento, algunas de las más representativas, seguido por una identificación de ciertos aires, formas y estructuras propias de la música tradicional colombiana que permitieran este proceso de fusión entre ambos lenguajes -- Esta etapa de reflexión y experimentación dio lugar a la composición de tres piezas instrumentales basadas en elementos de Guabina-Torbellino (primer movimiento); Danza (segundo movimiento) y Bambuco-Pasillo (tercer movimiento), acompañadas de su respectivo análisis descriptivo que tiene, como objetivo pedagógico, el acercar a compositores y a ejecutantes intérpretes de cuerdas pulsadas colombianas (Bandola, Tiple y Guitarra) a este tipo de fusión, que buscó que la música andina colombiana pueda encontrar, en otro tipo de estéticas, nuevos caminos de evolución

Elementos de la música folclórica como material musical en la composición: unión de la tradición y la academia en la composición contemporánea

La música folclórica más apegada a sus raíces es de tradición oral; la combinación de esta tradición con la música académica permite preservar, mediante el uso de las partituras, las músicas tradicionales de diferentes culturas del mundo -- En la música académica, se cuenta con referentes del uso de la música tradicional como una herramienta que brinda material que puede ser rítmico, melódico, armónico o tímbrico, entre otros -- La aproximación sonora al timbre de instrumentos tradicionales como el shehnai de la India, el morin jur de Mongolia, el Koto de Japón y el tiple de Colombia realizada con instrumentos acústicos occidentales de uso académico, es uno de los ejes de esta investigación; como producto de la misma se busca usar los elementos y el lenguaje propios de la tradición para la creación de ideas musicales, combinados con lenguajes de composición de los siglos XX y XXI que, a su vez, pueden ser o no fieles al carácter folclórico de cada cultura

Expresiones populares en la música electroacústica latinoamericana: la inclusión de músicas de tradición popular en la composición electroacústica

La composición académica siempre ha buscado la manera de nutrirse de las músicas de tradición popular y es posible rastrear, en la historia de la música occidental, muchos compositores que han recurrido al uso de éstas -- Es importante seguir observando y estudiando los procesos creativos que mantienen vivas ambas prácticas musicales y las expresiones artísticas que continúan explorando diversas maneras de establecer relaciones entre lo académico y lo popular -- Mi intención es mostrar diferentes vías para hacer inclusión de elementos sonoros que hagan referencia a músicas y/o contextos de tradición popular en la composición de música electroacústica y ver su incidencia en el discurso musical -- Se establecerán categorías para la identificación y análisis de lo que llamaré Objeto Sonoro Popular y se notará la manera en que éste es utilizado y manipulado por diferentes compositores en Latinoamérica y, particularmente en Colombia

Music of the American Indian : Northwest (Puget Sound) : from the Archive of Folk Culture /

Mode of access: Internet.

Fantasia on Hungarian folk-melodies. [music] : for pianoforte : two pianos, four hands (in score) /

"Piano II arr. from the orchestral score by Hans von Bülow".

Folk-dance music; a collection of seventy-six characteristic dances of the people of various nations.

Stamped on the title page: H.J. Votteler, Cleveland, Ohio.

Folk songs from Somerset gathered and edited with pianoforte accompaniment. [music] /

Vols. 2-3 have imprint: London, Simpkin.

Negro folk singing games and folk games of the habitants ... [music] /

Mode of access: Internet.

A kindergarten book of folk-songs. [music] /

With piano accompaniment.

Breton folk-songs : set to music (for soprano, contralto, tenor and bass) /

English words also printed as text.

Folk opera and theatre for development

The research field was intercultural theatre, specifically adapting indigenous performance forms for applied theatre purposes. The context was the rich performative traditions of Papua New Guinean cultures, which have remained largely untapped over several decades of "theatre for development" and "entertainment education". Papua New Guinean company Raun Raun Theatre developed Folk Opera from a similar concept in African theatre in the 1970s. The form incorporates elements of song, dance, ritual, chant, metaphor, music, and body adornment from traditional cultures. The form’s spectacular scope suited international touring in large theatrical venues, and the themes of emerging nationalism with which Raun Raun was concerned. The research team made three key innovations in the use of Folk Opera: adapting the form from theatres to community contexts, using the form to address issues of individual choice for health promotion, and emphasising experiential education over entertainment. Field-testing in Karkar Island showed community members gained clearer understandings of relevant health issues through participating in the folk opera form than through other educational approaches. The significance of the research was recognised by the members of the cross-cultural workshop team and the community of Karkar Island including the local Member of Parliament. The success of the Folk Opera form as an approach to sexual health promotion was recognised through the provision of AUD$74,000 funding by the National AIDS Council Secretariat of Papua New Guinea for a train-the-trainer program incorporating this innovative form of applied theatre. The research has been presented at a number of national and international conferences including the 6th International Research in Drama Education conference in 2009.

Bättre folk, bättre smak? : Suomenruotsalaisten maku ja kulttuuripääoma

The aim of my thesis, which consists of five original articles and a summarizing chapter, is to study the identity, lifestyle and cultural taste of the Finnish Swedes, i.e. the Swedish-speaking language minority in Finland, from a qualitative point of view. The Finnish Swedes are a somewhat special minority, first of all because of their wide-ranging language rights guaranteed by the constitution, and secondly because of the common image that Finnish Swedes represent a more legitimate or better lifestyle and taste than the Finnish-Speaking Finns. This conception is corroborated by the fact that, in comparison to the language majority, the Swedish-speakers have better health, employment, income and so on according to a number of quantitative studies. My research data is composed of twenty-six focus group interviews conducted among a geographically and socio-economically wide range of Swedish-speaking Finns. Group sizes ranged from 3 to 11 people. In the interviews, culture was approached through a framework of seven topics: music, cinema, television, arts, reading, eating and clothing. In each focus group interview, two subfields of culture were discussed along with a short section about cultural events and participation and definitions on good and bad taste. After discussing culture and taste, there was a final discussion on the Finnish Swede identity. The main theoretical framework of my thesis comes from Pierre Bourdieu (1979) and his followers: I am asking whether the status of being a Swedish-speaker can be used as a means of distinction. The main research questions are the following: (1) How does the Swedish-speaking minority look studied in the light of extensive qualitative data and in a framework of lifestyle and taste? (2) What kind of differences in lifestyle, taste and linguistic identity are there between different Finnish Swedes and how do those connect with socio-economical position, place of residence or age? I also ask how belonging to the language minority might work as a tool for cultural distinction and how different Swedish-speaking groups take use of it. My main research question is (3) whether mother tongue is a remarkable factor of lifestyle or cultural taste in contemporary Finland.

Selected Piano Works by Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms Incorporating or Based on Pre-existing Music

This dissertation shows how Schumann, Liszt and Brahms composed piano works based in a variety of ways on other music that already existed. My idea to do this project came through my fascination with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, which was the first piece selected. Brahms composed six sets of variations for solo piano, and I also chose Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. Besides the variations, I included Brahms’s Ballade in D minor, Op. 10 No. 1, based on the Scottish ballad “Edward”. This piece demonstrates that Brahms applied pre-existing music not only in the form of variations, but also in other genres. Among Romantic composers, Schumann and Liszt are two others besides Brahms whose music frequently quotes pre-existing materials. In Schumann’s output, the inspiration from Clara Wieck is significant. The best examples may be the Impromptus Op. 5 and the third movement of the Grand Sonata No. 3, Op. 14, in which Schumann quotes the music by Clara Wieck as the theme of the variations and in the other movements as well to unify the entire piece. In addition, Schumann quotes the old German folk song “Grossvater Tanz” (Grandfather Dance) in the finale of Papillons. The same tune also appears in Carnaval for a programmatic purpose. These two pieces are a clear illustration that Schumann applies pre-existing music, and in addition they represent the spirit of literary reference. Liszt is well known for his superb transformations of other composers’ works into glorious piano compositions. Liszt drew his inspirations from different genres, including both vocal and instrumental music. His ability to turn earlier musical materials into virtuosic solo piano pieces that demonstrate his brilliance in creating imaginative keyboard sounds is remarkable. Among those pieces composed by Liszt, terms such paraphrase, reminiscence, or fantasy frequently appear as titles. I selected two such pieces: Rigoletto: Paraphrase de concert, S. 434 and Rondeau fantastique sur un thème espagnol, S. 252. In addition, Liszt also uses variation form to explore the possibilities of pre-existing themes. The piece I chose to represent this is Variations on the Theme “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” and Crucifixus from the Mass in B minor by J.S Bach, S.180. This dissertation comprises three piano recitals that were performed in 2010 and 2011 in Ulrich Recital Hall and Gildenhorn Recital Hall of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center of the University of Maryland. The recordings are documented on compact discs that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.