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.

Aavan meren täällä puolen : Arkkityyppiset piirteet ja amerikkalaisvaikutteet suosituimmissa suomalaisissa molli-iskelmissä

What are the musical features that turn a song into a hit? The aim of this research is to explore the musical features of hit tunes by studying the 224 most popular Finnish evergreens from the 1930s to the 1990s. It is remarkable, that 80-90% of Finnish oldies are in a minor key, though parallel major keys have also been widely employed within single pieces through, for example, modulations. Furthermore, melodies are usually diatonic, staying mostly in the same key. Consequently, chromatically altered tones in the melody and short modulations in the bridge sections become more prominent. I have concentrated in particular on the melodic lines in order to find the most typical melodic formulas from the data. These analyzed melodic formulas play an important role, because they serve as leading phrases and punchlines in songs. Analysis has revealed three major melodic formulas, which most often appear in the melodic lines of hit tunes. All of these formulas share common thematic ground, because they originate from the triadic tonic chord. Because the tonic chord is the most conventional opening chord in the verse parts, it is logical that these formulas occur most often in verses. The strong dominance of these formulas is very much a result of the rhythmic flexibility they possess; for instance, they can be found in every musical style from waltz to foxtrot. Alongside the major formulas lies a miscellaneous group of other tonic-related melodic formulas. One group of melodic formulas consists of melodic quotations. These quotations appear in a different musical context, for instance in a harmonically altered form, and are therefore often difficult to recognize as such. Yet despite the contextual manipulation, the distinctive character of the cited melody usually remains the same. Composers have also made use of certain popular chord-progressions in order to create new but familiar-sounding melodies. The most important individual progression in this case is what is known as a "circle of fifths" and its shortened, prolonged and altered versions. Because that progression is harmonically strong, it is also a contrastive tool used especially in chorus parts and middle sections (AABA). I have also paid attention to ragtime and jazz influences, which can be found in harmony parts and certain melody notes, which extend, suspend or alter the accompaning chords. Other influences from jazz and ragtime in the Finnish evergreen are evident in the use of typical Tin Pan Alley popular song forms. The most important is the AABA form, which dominates over the data along with the verse/chorus-type popular song form. To briefly illustrate the main results, the basic concept of the hit tune can be traced back to Tin Pan Alley songs, whereas the major stylistic aspects, such as minor keys and musical styles, bear influences from Russian, Western European, and Finnish traditions.

The Ecologic Foundations of Stylistics in Music and in Language

This contribution suggests that it is possible to describe the transformations of musical style in an analogous way to the transformations of style in language, and also that it can be explained how the ‘musics in contact’ behave in an analogous way to the ‘languages in contact’. According to this idea, the ‘evolution’ of styles in music and in language can be identified and studied as dynamic exchanges in ecological niches. It is suggested, also, that the idiolectic-ecolectic, and acrolectic-basilectic relationships in music and language are functions of cycles in several ‘layers’ and ‘rhythms’. The presence of stylistic varieties and influences in music and in language may imply that they are part of major sign systems within a more complex ecological relationship.

A emoção em rede: as éticas e estéticas Emo

O presente trabalho consiste em analisar as características mais marcantes da tribo urbana Emo, cuja origem se encontra no estilo musical emocore. Trata-se de um estudo que pontua basicamente a música, sexualidade, moda e sentimentalidades no imaginário emo, apresentadas como elementos que se configuram em élans comunitários da tribo. Dentro da perspectiva da Pós-modernidade, a pesquisa não objetiva encontrar razões ou justificativas para o comportamento dos jovens da tribo, apenas ponderar algumas temáticas sob a ótica do imaginário, tribalismo urbano e conceitos de corpo dentro do viés já explorado em pesquisas de Comunicação Social. Tendo a rede social Facebook como principal terreno para realização da netnografia, foram analisadas publicações em perfis e fan pages desmistificando a tribo e mostrando as diversas facetas destes jovens. Ao abordar temas polêmicos como bissexualidade, androginia, suicídio e automutilação, o estudo mostra como os emos se colocam socialmente dentre suas lógicas subversivas e contraditórias elucidando outras formas de ver o mundo. Os conceitos de tribalismo urbano de Maffesoli (1987) guiaram os passos deste estudo que se valeu da ótica deste e de outros autores que tratam questões da Pós-modernidade

CONSERVATIVE AND PROGFESSIVE ASPECTS OF THE SONATA FROM LATE BEETHOVEN TO PROKOFIEV

The term 'sonata' arose in the early seventeenth-century Baroque period and was originally used to distinguish instrumental (sonata) music from vocal music. Later. the sonata style, as a reliable yet flexible compositional framework, was extensively shaped and utilized throughout the Classical period. Subsequently, in the Romantic period, freer creative, individualistic. and expressive musical elements began to be preferred by composers in their use of harmonj., tone color, form, and rhythm. However, even during the revolutionary Romantic period in music. the compositions which did not have a pre-defined format (character pieces, etc) were often comfortably framed and limited within the recognizable boundaries provided by the Classical sonata style. The sonata format, when used as a tool in musical composition, provides logical boundaries that may serve to organize any unexpected emotional expressions on the part of the composer. Yet the sonata framework is also flexible enough to allow freedom of expression. In the Romantic period and beyond, composers had relied, some more than others, upon the sonata's adaptable blend of stability and flexibility. In my opinion, it is more persuasive to express oneself musically within the framework of an established musical style. Thus, I have chosen my dissertation topic as the performance of six pieces incorporating elements of the reliable and flexible sonata style. The sonata of each composer that I have selected clearly demonstrates a tension between logic and emotion expressed within the sonata framework. However, the compositions can be divided interestingly into two groups, such as 'conservative' and 'progressive' group. The 'conservative' group consists of composers who seemed to strive for greater freedom of self-expression within the constraints of the traditional sonata form. On the other hand, the 'progressive' group consists of composers who seemed more to rely upon the sonata form to rein in and add stability to their highly individual and emotional musical ideas. It is my hope that this project will provide a stimulating viewpoint from which to consider the evolution and utilization of the sonata style especially as it is applied to the composition and performance of these six diverse and interesting pieces.

ARAB MUSICIANS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA: ETHNICITY AND IDENTITY

Musicians living in the Arab Diaspora around the Washington, D.C. metro area are a small group of multi-faceted individuals with significant contributions and intentions to propagate and disseminate their music. Various levels of identity are discussed and analyzed, including self-identity, group/ collective identity, and Arab ethnic identity. The performance and negotiation of Arab ethnic identity is apparent in selected repertoire, instrumentation, musical style, technique and expression, shared conversations about music, worldview on Arabic music and its future. For some musicians, further evidence of self-construction of one's ethnic identity entails choice of name, costume, and venue. Research completed is based on fieldwork, observations, participant-observations, interviews, and communications by phone and email. This thesis introduces concepts of Arabic music, discusses recent literature, reveals findings from case studies on individual Arab musicians and venues, and analyzes Arab identity and ethnicity in relation to particular definitions of identity found in anthropological and ethnomusicological writings. Musical lyrics, translations, transcriptions, quotes, discussions, analyses, as well as charts and diagrams of self-identity analyses are provided as evidence of the performance and negotiation of Arab identity.

BOULANGER, SATIE, AND DEBUSSY: THEIR SPHERES OF INFLUENCE ON FRENCH MELODIE AND AMERICAN ART SONG

This dissertation project explored the spheres of influence on art song by Nadia Boulanger, Erik Satie, and Claude Debussy within Boulangeries, Les Six, and Les Apaches. After World War I, American composers flocked to Paris to study with Boulanger. Boulanger gave her students the confidence to explore their native talents instead of mimicking foreign models. Works by Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Theodore Chanler, John Duke, and Richard Hundley were included in the first dissertation recital on January 31, 2010: The Legacy of Nadia Boulanger: Her Influence on American Song Composers. Satie established a new modern French musical style, and was a catalyst for the formation of Les Six. Ned Rorem came to Paris, and had a close association with Les Six. Works by Satie, and three members of Les Six, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud; and Rorem were featured in the second recital on September 1, 2010: Satie, Selected Members of Les Six, and Rorem in Paris. Debussy was one of the most significant French composers in the late nineteenth century, predating Boulanger and Satie. Young composers exploring new directions were inspired by Debussy, forming the group Les Apaches. The final recital, April 7, 2011, featured works by Debussy and two members of Les Apaches, Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla: Debussy: A Catalyst for Les Apaches, Ravel and Falla. Falla‘s less well-known repertoire was presented. This dissertation showed the influence of these three major figures and that they embraced innovation in their own time, along with their followers. Recordings of these three performances may be obtained from the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library in Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park.

PIANIST-COMPOSERS WHOSE WORKS INCLUDE PIANISTIC INNOVATIONS

Throughout the piano’s history, certain composers have created innovations in the areas of virtuosity and sonority. These innovations came not only from the composers’ imagination, but also from the development of instruments and changes in musical style from one period to another. To investigate what kinds of innovations these pianist composers made, I divided them into technique and sound from Mozart to Cowell. I chose two-piano music (Sonata in D major, K.448 by Mozart and Rachmaninoff’s Second Suite) to demonstrate their experiments with varieties of textures and sonorities, using different registers of the two pianos orchestrally. En Blanc et noir by Debussy shows this composer’s deep interest and originality in piano sonorities. For solo piano music, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op.53 shows extensive technical invention. His use of long pedal effects shows a pianistic possibility not explored by Mozart. Hummel’s Piano Sonata in D major represents orchestral devices as well as pianistic techniques showing recent developments in the instrument. Chopin’s Ballade No.3 and Scherzo No.3 show virtuosic moments and also the expanded range of the keyboard. His Nocturne Op.27, no.2, with its sonorities resulting from the combination of pedal, and widespread accompaniments derived from Alberti bass figures, is a perfect example of Chopin’s characteristic sound-world. “Vallée d’Obermann” by Liszt uses many virtuosic techniques as well as the extreme wide ranges of keyboard in both hands to create dramatic contrasts of texture. Debussy’s etude, “Pour les Sonorités opposés” is probably the first etude designed for sonority rather than for keyboard virtuosity. Albeniz’s “Evocación” and “Triana” show Spanish atmosphere. Prokofiev’s Sonata no.3 shows frequent motoric driving elements that demand percussive virtuosity. Cowell’s piano music is some of the earliest to explore the sonorities of tone clusters and playing on the strings. This performance dissertation consists of three recitals performed in the Orchestra Room, Leah Smith Hall, and Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. These recitals are documented on compact disc recordings that are housed within the University of Maryland Library System.

Describing vocal performance of Portuguese cantadeiras of Alto Minho

Portugal has strong musical traditions, which have been perpetrated by decades through folkloristic activities. In folk groups from Alto Minho (north of Portugal), folk singing is mostly performed by cantadeiras, amateur female solo singers who learn this style orally. Their vocal characteristics are distinctive when compared with other regions of the country; however, deep understanding of these vocal practices is still missing. The present work aims at studying Alto Minho cantadeira’s vocal performance in a multidimensional perspective, envisioning social, cultural and physiological understanding of this musical style. Thus, qualitative and quantitative data analyses were carried out, to: (i) describe current performance practices, (ii) explore existent perceptions about most relevant voice features in this region, (iii) investigate physiological and acoustic properties of this style, and (iv) compare this style of singing with other non-classical singing styles of other countries. Dataset gathered involved: 78 groups whose members were telephone interviewed, 13 directors who were asked to fill in a questionnaire on performance practices, 1 cantadeira in a pilot study, 16 cantadeiras in preliminary voice recordings, 77 folk group members in listening tests, and 10 cantadeiras in multichannel recordings, including audio, ELG, air flow and intra-oral pressure signals. Data were analysed through thematic content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics, hierarchical principal components, and multivariate linear regression models. Most representative voices have a high pitched and loud voice, with a bright timbre, predominance of chest register without excessive effort, and good text intelligibility with regional accent. High representativeness levels were obtained by few cantadeiras; these sing with high levels of subglottal pressure and vocal fold contact quotient, predominance of high spectrum energy and vocal loudness, corroborating indications of prevalence of pressed phonation. These vocal characteristics resemble belting in musical theatre and share similarities with country (USA) and ojikanje (Croatia) singing. Strategies that may contribute to the preservation of this type of singing and the vocal health of current cantadeiras are discussed, pointing at the direction of continuous education among folk groups, following practices that are already adopted elsewhere in Europe.

Groove, Fanfare & Finale pour quintette de cuivres ; Voyage pour orchestre ; et Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

Entre nationalisme et modernité : le répertoire pour le piano de la péninsule ibérique des années 1886-1927

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

Loquit, ridet, et vincit : l’intégration du toscan dans la commedeja pe ‘mmuseca et sa mise en musique : une forme de résistance contre la domination étrangère

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

Juventude, mídias sonoras e cotidiano escolar: um estudo em escolas de periferia

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Momento bossa nova: arte, cultura e representação sob os olhares da revista O Cruzeiro

Pós-graduação em História - FCLAS