Aspects Of Music Research Articles

Longing for a place that does not exist: the importance of kitsch for the Estonian Singing Revolution

ABSTRACT This article proposes that popular forms of art and affect-driven culture initiate historical, cultural, and social change. The Estonian Singing Revolution between 1987 and 1991 offers an example of cliché-driven sentimentalism that contributes to political change. Although the concept of kitsch tends to have a negative connotation, in this article, we reconsider it as a politically productive concept, by contemplating its affective powers in creating a sense of nationhood. We do so by providing an example of how some musical aspects of the Singing Revolution became important elements of affective nation-building to gain independence from the Soviet Union.

A Musical Mash-Up of Phrynichus Tragicus and New Music in Aristophanes’ Birds

Abstract I argue that in the ode and antode of Birds (737–52 and 769–84), Aristophanes presents a ‘mash-up’ of the early tragic songs of Phrynichus and the late fifth-century New Music. I analyze the comic presentation of both in Aristophanes and other comic poets to show that while they are contextually distinct, there is evidence of some musical congruity that renders them a fitting pair for combination in a mash-up. Regarding the ode and antode of Birds, I argue that despite the Phrynichean style of the songs, their meta-musical discourse shows a New Music poetics. I identify the New Musical aspect of the songs in the figure of the nightingale-aulete and the bird-noise refrains. Contextualizing the mash-up in the comic plot, I suggest that it constitutes a comic musical commentary on the play’s politics.

CHOREOGRAPHIC AND MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF DANCE CULTURE ACCOMPANIMENT OF LEMKIV REGION

The matter about formulation, study and inveStigation process of the formulation of choreography culture in Ukraine as for example of Ukrainian ethnographic region of Lemkivshchyna is considered in the given article . The outlining of the matters of the importance of spreading and popularization of Ukrainian original culture, therefore the understanding and realization of the importance of saving the traditions of dancing Ukrainian culture in the modern world is done. The object of the article – to consider the eminent features of the national dancing culture of Ukraine on the basis of the example of the dances of Lemkivshchyna, and also their tendencies of the perception in the context of the integrated changes and globalization of world art space at the beginning of 21St century. The inveStigation formulating objects: the inveStigation of the choreography heritage of Lemkivshchyna and hiStorical facts which affected its formulation. The methodology of the inveSStigation: consists of approbation the methods of objectivity, hiStoricism in comparative and art cultural analysis of choreographic processes. Art hiStoric method – for learning the hiStory of the ethnic region of Lemkivshchyna and historical factors which influenced the formulation of the choreography culture of the lemky authority. The method of generalization – for working out the theoretical references, formulation personal summaries on the basis of processed literature and other possible references. The method of providing the scientific analysis – for the inveStigation of the ethnic region of Lemkivshchyna, segmenting it to several elements (geographic peculiarities, hiStory, lifeStyle, cuStoms, choreographic art). The scientific novelty of the given article deals with the extension of the concepts of the function of choreographic art in the formulation of the perception of the high-grade dance in modern science. Also it consists in outlining the expressive features in the dancing culture of Lemkivshchyna. Summaries. The choreographic and musical culture of Lemkivshchyna has its own and unique character, which reflects the traditions, hiStory and specification of this ethnic group. The principal features of the choreographic musical aspect of dancing culture of Lemkivshchyna concludes in few issues. The music is often played on authentic folk musical inStruments such as violins, trembitas, drakys and baradan. The clothes for traditional lemky’s dances reflect the cultural heritage and regional identity. The dancing culture of Lemkivshchyna represents social cultural context of the history of the given ethnos including its authority, belief, holidays and cuStoms. The dances can be performed during religious ceremonies, weddings, and other important occasions. Generally, the choreographic and music culture of Lemkivshchyna is multi-layered and colorful displaying the high range specter of traditions, beliefs and authorities bounds in the entire ethnical group. It suStains the important part of the cultural heritage of Lemkivshchyna that represents the uniqueness of Ukrainian choreographic art.

Singability and Naturalness in Opera Translation

Singability in song translation has been a popular subject especially for the last two decades in the field of translation studies. Nevertheless, while only a few studies have satisfactorily problematized the musical aspect, even fewer have elaborated on the essential link between singability and naturalness in the target language. This study suggests a practical way to address such a shortcoming. It argues that accounting for singability in opera translation requires a theoretical approach integrating linguistics, musicology, and translation studies. Taking an actual opera translator’s discourse as a point of departure, it demonstrates the importance of naturalness in creating a singable target libretto. Then, linking such practical observations to a theoretical discussion fusing linguistics, musicology, and translation studies, it argues that metadiscourse on singability and naturalness can and should go beyond intuitive interpretations and can be based on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, which is also demonstrated in the final part through the libretto translation analysis of Leonard Bernstein’s one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti. The study also proposes a vertically-juxtaposed musical notation and lyrics method for a detailed comparison of the source and target librettos.

Muzyczny dialog "Sarabandy" i "Jesiennej sonaty" Ingmara Bergmana

The significant representation of Western classical music in Ingmar Bergman’s filmography is a very broad phenomenon. This article combines some findings of different researchers with Bohdan Pociej’s intermedial theory to compare two films which are distant from each other in time, but not in style – Saraband (2003) and Autumn Sonata (1978). The comparison between them is focused on their musical aspects and some non-phonic elements which refer to classical music. The aim of this analysis is not only to identify some similarities and differences between these two productions, but also to show that Bergman’s films can be compared in a strictly musical context.

Orofacial and musculoskeletal disorders of professional musicians - Frequency and therapy principles

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders are frequently found in the upper extremety and the spine. Moreover, orofacial pain syndromes and craniomandibular dysfunctions are important in upper string players and wind players. The treatment of musicians is based on a diagnostic process including the evaluation of specific musical aspects, a functional manual medicine examination and an evaluation of postural and movement characteristics while playing the musical instrument.

Pedagogy versus performance in primary classroom music teaching: Lessons from a ‘usable past’ in Wales

From the earliest days of music in the primary (elementary) schools of England and Wales there has been pressure to equip children with the ability to perform music. The early influence of the established Church, and the value attached to musical performance ability as part of cultural aspirations or perceived heritage, ensured that teachers were judged on their ability to perform music, and in turn teach their pupils to do the same. Indeed, throughout successive legislation and the rise to graduate status of the teaching profession primary school teachers have been judged on their perceived ability to perform music themselves rather than on their pedagogic ability to teach it. This resulted in a situation where other aspects of musicality were virtually ignored and opportunities to develop alternative pedagogies, based a broader range of musical skills and interests, were neglected by successive policy makers. It is argued that with a broader conceptualisation of music envisaged in the new Curriculum for Wales, lessons can be learned from a ‘usable past’ which may enable primary school teachers to develop new pedagogic approaches, which would allow them to respond to children in an informed, artistic and musically sensitive manner, rather than requiring specific musical ‘skills’.

SONG ANALYSIS ON THE PRESENTATION OF POMPANG MUSIC

This study aims to analyze the song on the presentation of Pompang music in Mamasa district. The research approach is to use descriptive qualitative research methods where data collection, is done through document studies, observations, and interviews, including recording research activities. This study focuses on the intra-musical analysis of the presentation of pumping music, especially the type and structure of the song and how the composition of the musical aspects. Data analysis is done by reduction, display, and verification. The results of the research are the types of songs that are played in the presentation of Pompang music, namely songs in the form of Maras and Hymns. The song Maras is presented without lyrics and vocals, while the hymn uses poetry with the main melody dominated by a flute. In the presentation of the music, each group of instruments has a pattern of rhythm, harmony, and melody that influence each other and form the uniqueness of pumping music.

PORTUGUÊS AO PÉ DO BERIMBAU: SOBRE A CAPOEIRA COMO UMA LÍNGUA ADICIONAL

ABSTRACT From its historical origins as a resistant and violently repressed bundle of music, dance and martial arts practices of the African diaspora in Brazil, capoeira has travelled, becoming a global phenomenon with groups and networks in diverse sites around the world, including London, Cape Town and Hong Kong and indeed Leeds where this research was based. We focus on the linguistic, cultural and embodied ensemble of capoeira, researching a capoeira group with diverse participants led by Sandro, a Brazilian contramestre, providing a rich laboratory for what has been called language learning “in the wild”, specifically of the Afro-Brazilian linguistic and cultural practices (music, movement, lyric, voice) that are a crucial element of the capoeira ensemble. These linguistic and cultural practices contingently bring together, in rehearsal and performance, the characteristic capoeira dance/ martial arts movements, the pervasive regulation of rhythm and the apprenticeship of the body into its rhythm and movement. Seen from the perspective of informal language learning the capoeira group seems to constitute a near optimal context. We will explore the affordances of the capoeira group for linguistic/cultural/embodied learning of Afro-Brazilian Portuguese, drawing on the “maximalist” framework for translanguaging (BAYNHAM; LEE, 2019), which we extend to encompass the pervasive musical aspect of capoeira, linking these to contemporary perspectives on language learning, particularly informal language learning and language learning “in the wild”.

Aesthetic hybridity of the song “Jali-jali” in Gambang Kromong music

"Jali-jali" in Gambang Kromong (Kromong Xylophone) music is a very popular Betawi song. This song is the result of acculturation of Betawi and Chinese culture. The popularity of “Jali-jali” is inversely proportional to the existing literature about this song. This study aimed to understand its specificity thoroughly. It is a type of field research by describing the data qualitatively and the selection of theory is based on data in the field. The type of data in this study is qualitative data. Research data sources consist of primary and secondary data sources. Data were collected through interview, observation, documentation and literature studies. Data analysis was carried out by data reduction, data presentation, and data verification. The results show that in "Jali-jali" the hybridity of Chinese and Betawi culture can be seen from the cultural aspects, namely ideas, activities, and artifacts. There is also a musical aspect in the playing of Tehyan which has a diatonic scale and Gambang Kromong which has a pentatonic scale. The form of "Jali-jali" in Gambang Kromong music is A-B-A-B-C, has 10 sentences and 5 periods. The aesthetics of "Jali-jali" is found in the melodic tone that sounds distinctive because the differences in the hybridity of Betawi music and Chinese music produce a contrasting melody, from which there is a very distinctive harmonization so that "Jali-jali" in Gambang Kromong music is closely related to Betawi cultural identity.

Instrumental Music Education in Rural North Carolina: A Descriptive Study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary instrumental music education in rural North Carolina. This descriptive study investigated the experiences, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions that rural instrumental music educators (n = 55) held about their schools, students, and communities. Furthermore, the researchers examined how participants defined success for their programs, what challenges and rewards they experienced in their positions, and what skills they considered most important for themselves as teachers. Results indicate that although rural music educators find the musical aspects of their positions rewarding, they believe that their nonmusical skills related to teaching, such as developing relationships with students and advocating for their programs, were more important than their own musical skills. Participants also considered student personal growth and experiences to be larger markers of success than musical performance abilities and reported moderately high levels of job satisfaction. The three greatest challenges named by participants were lack of support, limited funding or resources, and limited student involvement. Conversely, the most frequently reported rewards were musical experiences with students and witnessing students’ musical growth. Implications for music teacher education and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Azerbaycan'daki düğün törenlerinin çeşitliliği bağlamında Nahçıvan bölgesinin düğün gelenekleri

Bu makalenin amacı Azerbaycan müzik folklorünün önemli öğelerinden biri olan düğün törenlerinin Nahçıvan yöresine ait özelliklerinin kültürel ve müzikal açıdan incelenmesini amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma modeli, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması ve doküman analizi tekniklerine uygun olarak tasarlanmıştır. Düğün türkülerinin derlenmesi ve Sibelius Music Notation Software programı ile nota analizleri yapılmıştır. Araştırmada, Nahçıvan bölgesinin seçilmesinin nedeni bölgenin folklorik özellikleri açısından zengin içeriğe sahip olması ve folklorik doğasının korunmasıdır. Araştırmada veri toplama araçları olarak ilgili dokümanlar ve görüşme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada Nahçıvan düğün ritüelinin öğeleri ve müzikal özellikleri ilgili kaynaklar ve görüşmeler ışığında sunulmuştur. Düğün ritüelinin unsurlarından icra edilen eserler müzikal açıdan analiz edilmiştir. Nahçıvan yöresi düğünlerinde; kız beğenme, söz kesme, elçilik, nişan, bayramlık, kız düğünü, kına gecesi, erkek düğünü, duvak töreni, el öpme aşamaları bulunmaktadır. Yallı Dansı, yörenin önemli bir müzikal sembolüdür. Bu dans topluca yapılır, çeşitliliği ve dans ezgileri kendine özgüdür. Düğünlerde kültürel aktarımla günümüze kadar gelen oyunlar Köçeri, Tanzara, Tello, Galadan-galaya, Urfanı’dır. Araştırmada, Hakışta, Gülüm Hey, Kına Gecesi ve Gelin Uğurlama türkülerinin nota analizleri yapılarak sunulmuştur.

„Nie wierz tak niedorzecznej baśni” . O tożsamości postaci „Królewny Śnieżki” Roberta Walsera i Heinza Holligera

This article is devoted to the characters in Heinz Holliger’s opera Snow White (1998) based on Robert Walser’s dramolette (1901) of the same title. Taking into account the chronology of the plot, the analysis and interpretation focuses on the evolution of the relationships of the characters struggling with the baggage of a difficult past written in the Grimms’ fairy tale. Snow White, the Queen, the Prince and the Huntsman juggle with each other’s versions of events, swapping positions at the expense of the characters’ individual contours, succumbing to the changeability of their feelings and opinions, not stopping in their search for a post-tale identity which would allow them to coexist harmoniously. The discussion emphasises the psychoanalytical approach and criticism of language characteristic of the period in which the dramolette was written. The interpretation of the libretto is complemented by the presentation of selected musical aspects, corresponding with the character of Walser’s text and determining the final meaning of the operatic work.

KENONG GOYANG: SUATU KAJIAN GARAP MUSIKAL DALAM KARAWITAN GAYA SURAKARTA

The research entitled "Kenong Goyang: A Study on Musical Work in Surakarta Style Karawitan" is a type of qualitative research using an analytical descriptive approach. This study refers to the musical aspect of traditional Javanese music, namely karawitan. This research aims to explain and investigate musical garap as well as the formation factors of garap kenong goyang by using the garap theory from Rahayu Supanggah. While the formation factor of working on kenong goyang caused by the arrangement of the balungan and working on the instrumen kendang as well as other supporting factors such as the form of the cultivator's gending and style. Based on written evidence, working on kenong goyang only occurs in the ladrang form of gending, namely, ladrang Sobrang pelog barang, ladrang Surung Dayung pelog nem, ladrang Kuwung pelog barang and ladrang Lengker pelog nem. However, in accordance with the development of work, kenonggoyang can also be served or worked into the slendro tuning system. With a note the shape and name of the gending is the same as the classification of the gending in the pelog tuning system which is adjusted to the balungan arrangement. Kenong goyang is free or loose. This means that it can be served using kenong goyang or not, it depends on the gending treatment.

Calidad de la voz cantada en sopranos. Influencia del texto y el acompañamiento musical en el canto de ópera

Introduction and objectivesOpera singing voice uses different technical tools for artistic purposes. We want to define if the quality of the sung sound is affected by an aware work on the musical accompaniment and the text. We analyze the acoustic signal and the subjective perception. The pitch studied in the soprano voice is A4 (880Hz) with the vowel /a/. We have chosen a tone and a vowel that can be generated by different strategies in terms of phonoresonance adjustments. Materials and methodsWe have carried out a prospective study with 20 sopranos, without voice pathology, who have sung a phrase from the aria Deh, vieni non tarda and another from the aria Dove sono i bei momenti from the opera Le nozze di Figaro, by W.A. Mozart. First, each phrase sung spontaneously was recorded and then a second time, after a proposed work on the content of the text and musical aspects of the accompaniment such as: rhythm, harmony, texture and direction of the phrase. The participants prolonged the emission of the A4 for more than three seconds, maintaining the context of the sentence. The acoustic signal has been analyzed using the PRAAT program and a VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) questionnaire has been used to collect subjective perceptions. ResultsThe mean age was 36±11 years (range between 20 and 58) and the mean number of years singing was 17±12 years (range between 3 and 35). No statistically significant differences were found, although an improvement in the VAS was seen in the second sentence after the intervention. ConclusionsThe acoustic analysis parameters are stable, and the VAS tends to improve when an awareness of the text and the instrumental accompaniment is carried out.

Improvisation is a novel tool to study musicality

Humans spontaneously invent songs from an early age. Here, we exploit this natural inclination to probe implicit musical knowledge in 33 untrained and poor singers (amusia). Each sang 28 long improvisations as a response to a verbal prompt or a continuation of a melodic stem. To assess the extent to which each improvisation reflects tonality, which has been proposed to be a core organizational principle of musicality and which is present within most music traditions, we developed a new algorithm that compares a sung excerpt to a probability density function representing the tonal hierarchy of Western music. The results show signatures of tonality in both nonmusicians and individuals with congenital amusia, who have notorious difficulty performing musical tasks that require explicit responses and memory. The findings are a proof of concept that improvisation can serve as a novel, even enjoyable method for systematically measuring hidden aspects of musicality across the spectrum of musical ability.

MUSICAL DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY JUDGEMENTS IN LITURGICAL TRANSLATION

The paper is dedicated to the issues of how translation quality assessment can deal with the musical aspects of liturgical praxis. It is not limited to the matters of melody and isosyllabism (which partially overlap with the theory of verse translation), but it has also to cover the issues of functionality, perception and reception (which are integrated in translation sociology and criticism). The study consists of three foci: singability and melody (isosyllabism and local chants, collective and individual creativity), historicism (hidden interpretations, functional censorship) and phonetic and semantic prosody (problems of subjectivist perception, churchly interventions, modulations of poetic texts for liturgical use). The problem of relay translation looks very unusual: although all liturgical texts came from the same language (Patristic Greek), vernacular believers receive their national texts which were translated via the mediating language (Latin or Church Slavonic, or even more languages). The main text of the analysis is the Paschal Troparion (in the Greek, Church Slavonic, Ukrainian, Polish, and English versions), but observations over other various liturgical texts are included. The juxtaposition of the Roman and Byzantine Rites shows how great the role of vocal music is in both rites and how attentively the ecclesiastical authorities cherished the sacred music for the propaganda of ecumenical moral dogmas.

MUSICAL DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY JUDGEMENTS IN LITURGICAL TRANSLATION

The paper is dedicated to the issues of how translation quality assessment can deal with the musical aspects of liturgical praxis. It is not limited to the matters of melody and isosyllabism (which partially overlap with the theory of verse translation), but it has also to cover the issues of functionality, perception and reception (which are integrated in translation sociology and criticism). The study consists of three foci: singability and melody (isosyllabism and local chants, collective and individual creativity), historicism (hidden interpretations, functional censorship) and phonetic and semantic prosody (problems of subjectivist perception, churchly interventions, modulations of poetic texts for liturgical use). The problem of relay translation looks very unusual: although all liturgical texts came from the same language (Patristic Greek), vernacular believers receive their national texts which were translated via the mediating language (Latin or Church Slavonic, or even more languages). The main text of the analysis is the Paschal Troparion (in the Greek, Church Slavonic, Ukrainian, Polish, and English versions), but observations over other various liturgical texts are included. The juxtaposition of the Roman and Byzantine Rites shows how great the role of vocal music is in both rites and how attentively the ecclesiastical authorities cherished the sacred music for the propaganda of ecumenical moral dogmas.

Genre Evolution of the Psalm and Ecclesiastical Miniature

"The article deals with the evolutionary processes of development of psalm and ecclesiastical miniature genres in choral music from the Renaissance to the present. It has been found that the wide possibilities of creating liturgical and non-church, concert and stage spiritual works gave the way to the enrichment of canonical канонічних principles of such traditional genre models as psalm and ecclesiastical miniature with individual stylistic features. Accordingly, gaining more and more popularity in church and secular music practice, psalms and ecclesiastical (prayer) miniatures have acquired nmiew qualities – canonical flexibility, genre mobility, openness to style and stylistic syntheses and authorial individualization in both textual and much more in musical aspects. The research methodology is based on historical-typological, genre-stylistic, and analytical methods. The historical-typological method relates to the problems of historical evolution of psalm and ecclesiastical miniature genre models, genre-stylistic and analytical methods allow to come to reasonable conclusions about the peculiarities of prayer texts in choral compositions created by modern Ukrainian composers. Traditions of Ukrainian spiritual music and at the same time the modern tendencies of the musical language are brightly shown in choral compositions. It is noted that the level of correlation between traditional and innovative referrence to psalm and ecclesiastical miniature genre models is determined by the individual creative approach of a certain composer, which requires making references to ecclesiastical texts and creating unique motets on their basis. Keywords: choral genres, psalm genre model, ecclesiastical (prayer) miniature, Ukrainian choral music, canonical texts. "

Choral Music by Samuel Barber: Genre and Style Aspects

"The article is devoted to the research of choral music by Samuel Barber who was a 20th-century American composer. The research is carried out in terms of its genre and style diversity. It represents the historical stages of turning to choral art. The compositions are differentiated by voice composition into a cappella choirs and choirs with instrumental accompaniment. The orchestral scores are analyzed through the interaction of the poetic text and musical intonation taken into consideration. The figurative and semantic shades of religious and secular origin poems are discovered, the relationship between the music and ancient genres is revealed: Gregorian monodies, antiphons, plain chants, motets, madrigals, Easter hymns. The substantive music aspects are researched as projected on the historical genesis and synthesis of stylistic phenomena of different nature. It is researched how much the elements of medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic and modern musical vocabulary influence the integral system of choral composition artistic means. Keywords: choral music, Samuel Barber, genre traditions, style aspects, chants, motets, madrigals. "