Musical Culture Research Articles

Фортепианный квинтет ор. 55 А. Г. Рубинштейна и его место в отечественной истории жанра

In the article examines the artistic concept of the piano quintet op. 55 in F major by A. G. Rubinstein, one of the little-studied pages of Russian chamber instrumental music of the 19th century. A comprehensive examination of the composition is given in the context of the composer’s creative biography and the national history of the genre, the formation of which significantly differed from the European path of quintet development. Based on a detailed analysis of the musical dramaturgy, the author formulates a position on the underrated artistic merits of the work and its stage significance for Russian musical culture. The innovation in the interpretation of the quintet is emphasized: the first in the history of Russian chamber instrumental music to turn to a large-scale four-movement cycle and its symphonization. The transformation of conflictive beginnings into a classical-romantic model of the genre is noted. The stylistic features of the quintet are identified that determine the romantic dominants of its artistic intent.

David Kennerley. Sounding Feminine: Women's Voices in British Musical Culture, 1780–1850. New Cultural History of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. 240. $82.00 (cloth).

David Kennerley. Sounding Feminine: Women's Voices in British Musical Culture, 1780–1850. New Cultural History of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. 240. $82.00 (cloth).

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ КАДРОВОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА В БУРЯТ-МОНГОЛЬСКОЙ АССР В СФЕРЕ МУЗЫКАЛЬНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ И ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ В 1920–1930-е ГОДЫ

One of the tasks of the state cultural policy in the 1920s and 1930s was to create the necessary conditions for the development of musical culture and education in the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR. To solve the problem of personnel training in this sphere, a number of activities were carried out: organization of training courses for cultural and educational work, amateur art instructors, attraction of specialists from the main cities of the country, development of the material base, search for various forms of financing. The most important events in that period were the opening of a children’s music school in Verkhneudinsk (since 1934 — the city of Ulan- Ude) and the first institution of secondary specialised music education — the Technical School of Arts, transformed in 1936 into a Theatre and Music College. The opening of the Technical School allowed the creation of theatres, orchestras, philharmonic society, and contributed to the further development of musical culture and art in the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR. To provide highly qualified personnel, the most talented musicians were sent for internships and studies to the leading universities in the country. As a result, the first decade of Buryat-Mongolian art, held in Moscow in 1940, showed a high level of achievement of creative and professional potential of its participants. Thus, in the 1920s and 1930s, the formation of human resources in the field of musical culture and education in the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR took place.

Musical instruments from the period of antiquity found on the territory of Turkmenistan (artifacts of Margush, ancient Merv and old Nisa)

The concept of musical culture includes many components, the most important of which are musical instruments. The purpose of this study is to describe artifacts found on the territory of Turkmenistan, depicting musical instruments, which represent a valuable source of information that reveals amazing facts about the culture and life of the distant ancestors of the Turkmens. Musical instruments and their images found in the excavations of Margush, Ancient Merv and Old Nisa make it possible to reveal interesting facts about the culture of the ancient peoples who inhabited Turkmenistan in ancient times, as well as to reveal their connections with other civilizations.

Ivo Stolařík's contribution to the research into the musical culture of northeast Moravia and Czech Silesia

Ivo Stolařík was certainly the most important researcher in the field of music-historical and ethnographic research in northeast Moravia and "Czech" Silesia. The authors of the study evaluate the lifelong contribution of this scholar to music history and folklore studies. Stolařík was the first (before the arrival of other musicologists in Ostrava in the second half of the 20th century, graduates of musicology from the universities in Brno or Olomouc, such as Vladimír Gregor, Miroslav Malura, Karel Boženek and others) to begin to systematically research the musical culture of the wider Ostrava region. This was firstly in the Department of Musicology of the Silesian Study Institute in Opava (from 1958 the Silesian Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences) where he virtually laid the foundations for systematic research into the musical culture of the region. Stolařík was very active both in scientific publishing and in his other jobs, as Director of the Ostrava State Philharmonic (renamed the Janáček Philharmonic in 1971), A&R Specialist of the Supraphon record label in Prague, and before his retirement at the Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. The paper also presents analytical probes into Stolařík's two most important monographs, Umělecká hudba v Ostravě 1918–1938 (Art Music in Ostrava 1918–1938) and Hrčava. Monografie goralské obce ve Slezsku (Hrčava. A Monograph of a Goral Village in Silesia).

Introduction to New Book on Stravinsky

A new book is devoted to the work of Stravinsky follows and expands upon the tradition of Boris Asafyev’s 1929 monograph. The central analytical object of the new book is the sound fabric unfolding over time in the works of the Russian master. Content-related and semantic interpretations of this object are intended to expand upon, refine, and in some cases correct ideas about Stravinsky’s work that exist in the modern musical consciousness. The book relies on four methodological premises. The historiographical premise stems from an interpretation of Stravinsky’s artistic legacy as a musical universe resting on proto-elements formed during the early stage of his creative development. The methodological premise is based on emphasizing the differences between the dynamic-procedural creative method, which is characteristic of the classical and romantic branch of Western European music, and Stravinsky’s object-descriptive polymorphism, which is rooted in the traditions of 19th-century Russian music. The musical-imagery premise is conditioned on the expressive spheres within Stravinsky’s oeuvre which were new to the world of early-20th-century music. In these areas, the composer operates masterfully in realms of the human emotional universe which were previously unrepresented in music. Finally, the cultural and worldview-related premise originates with Stravinsky’s unique role in 20th-century musical culture as the most brilliant representative of a new, essentially dialogic, cultural type. The dialogical mental apparatus, the diverse forms of intercultural dialogue in his life and art, and the harmonization of European and non-European strategies for perceiving the world around us — a characteristic feature of Stravinsky’s life and work.

Ornamentation in the musical-theoretical teaching of Giusto Dacci: a didactic standard

The article draws attention to the system of musical ornaments given in the didactic standard of the Italian teacher of the mid-XIX century Giusto Dacci. Created in the conditions of the changed practice of performance, where the importance of reading the musical text as close as possible to the composer's intentions, Maestro Dacci's ornamentation system not only offered teachers their unification in the form of abbreviated letter signs, but also set standards for their decoding. In relation to the content of the music theory, section related to the study of ornamentation, the Dacci system has become the organizing construct that has acquired a stable form of didactic generalization. The types of ornamentation highlighted by Giusto Dacci: appoggiatura – accaccatura – mordent – gruppetto – trill, these are the elements of musical theory that retain universality to this day. They were introduced into the didactic standard at a special historical moment of the active creation of methodological concepts that provide theoretical and technological foundations for pedagogical work in professional musical educational institutions in Italy. Such work not only enriched the musical culture of the XIX century. In the formation of basic coloring skills, it remains an important educational guideline today. 1.In music theory, it captures the experience of accurately encoding ornaments. This experience, in fact, is the key to the visualization of an unchanging sound. For musicology, it is of interest from the point of view of studying the history of the formation of the cycle of musical-theoretical disciplines and its content. 2.In educational practice, it expands the existing format of knowledge, opens up the opportunity for teachers to include this educational material in their practical work. 3.In performance, it allows to understand the facets of possible performing freedom in deciphering jewelry in works taken from a particular time chronotope.

A Study of Chinese Peking Opera Arithmetic Coding in Tan Dun’s Opera Marco Polo and the Art of Mixed Sexuality

Abstract Opera is an important part of Western music culture. Chinese Peking Opera and Western opera are a kind of art style focusing on expressiveness. Both of them are isomorphic to a certain extent, and they are different due to cultural differences. This paper takes Tan Dun’s opera “Marco Polo,” a hybrid work of art containing elements of Chinese Peking Opera and Western Opera, as the object of study and quantitatively analyzes the artistic characteristics and expressive forms of the work by means of arithmetic coding technology of audio signals and terminology acquisition and labeling model. According to the results, there are 15 labeled Beijing Opera singing tune fields in the work and 12 labeled locations, which indicate the destinations of Marco Polo’s travel process. The feasibility of the arithmetic coding quantization method, which was employed in the study of Tan Dun’s opera Marco Polo, is confirmed by the results.

The importance of observing the master's hand: Action Observation Training promotes the acquisition of new musical skills.

Via mirror mechanism, motor training approaches based on the alternation of action observation and execution (i.e., Action Observation Training-AOT) promote the acquisition of motor abilities. Previous studies showed that both visual and auditory stimuli may elicit a common motor representation of music-related gestures; however, the potentialities of AOT for the acquisition of musical skills are still underexplored. Twenty-one music-naïve participants underwent two blocks of training: AOT and Key-light Observation Training (KOT). AOT consisted of the observation of a melodic sequence played on a keyboard with the right hand by an expert model, followed by participant's imitation. Observation and execution were repeated six consecutive times (T1-T6). KOT followed the same procedure, except for the visual content of the stimulus, depicting the sequential highlighting of the piano keys corresponding to the melody. The rate of correct notes (C), the trainee-model similarity of key-pressure strength (S), and the trainee-model consistency of note duration (R) were collected across T1-T6. Both AOT and KOT improved musical performance. Noteworthy, AOT showed a higher learning magnitude relative to KOT in terms of C and S. Action Observation Training promotes the acquisition of key elements of melodic sequences, encompassing not only the accurate sequencing of notes but also their expressive characteristics, such as key-pressure dynamics. The convergence of listening and observation of actions onto a shared motor representation not only explains several pedagogical approaches applied in all musical cultures worldwide, but also enhances the potential efficacy of current procedures for music training.

Predstaviteľka ženskej emancipácie – Hana Gregorová v zbierkach Literárneho a hudobného múzea v Banskej Bystrici

Museum of literature and music in Banská Bystrica documents important writers and composers, artistic ensembles and works of literary and musical culture of the region. Among the literary collections, an important place is occupied by the typologically diverse collections of female writers: Elena Maróthy-Šoltésová, Terézia Vansová, Božena Slančíková-Timrava, Hana Gregorová, and others. Hana Gregorová, one of the first Slovak feminists, is the subject of a special museum exhibition in the family home of her husband, the writer Jozef Gregor Tajovský in Tajov. The paper focuses on the development and structure of Hana Gregorová’s collection and the reflection on documents of writers Elena Maróthy-Šoltésová, Terézia Vansová, Božena Slančíková-Timrava and Hana Gregorová in the context of the women’s emancipation movement. In addition to the periodicals, the correspondence is a valuable source of information.

The Scholarly Activities of the Astrakhan State Conservatory

The Astrakhan State Conservatory, which was established in 1969, has played a significant role in the creation of an artistic atmosphere, as well as the spiritual and intellectual life of the city. It is emphasized in the article that Doctor of Arts, Professor Mark Etinger, who chaired the Music Theory and Music History Department for 29 years, actively participated in its organization. At the initial stage of the formation of this educational institution, in the 1970s, the conservatory’s scholarly activities were connected with two main directions: historic-theoretical musicology and regional musical culture. Theoretic musicology, devoted to the research of the issues of scales and modes, melody and harmony, found its reflection in the dissertations written for the Cand.Sci. degrees by faculty members of the Music Theory and Music History Department defended in the early 1980s. Questions related to musical content, form, style, genre, dramaturgy, musical symbolism, semiotics and folk music are actualized in them. Starting from the 1990s, two additional directions have undergone active elaboration at the Astrakhan Conservatory: “Philosophical and Aesthetical Issues of Artistic Culture and Art” and “Psychological and Pedagogical Issues of Musical and General Humanitarian Education.” The faculty members of the Astrakhan Conservatory have made an estimable contribution to musicology in this country, actively participating in Russian nationwide and international conferences in various cities in Russia and other countries.

Exploring the Integration and Innovation Path of Chinese Traditional Music Culture in Popular Percussion Education in Colleges and Universities

Abstract This study explores the integration of Chinese traditional music culture with contemporary percussion education in higher education institutions. It delves into three primary areas: the rhythmic language inherent in Chinese national instrumental music, the acoustic properties of combined percussive instruments, and the distinctive features of percussion music compositions. In response to the evolving trends in popular percussion education at universities, we have designed a curriculum framework titled “Chinese Percussion,” which leverages the abundant percussive resources available. This framework includes a detailed examination of audio signal processing and the extraction of percussion rhythms. Furthermore, we address the significant challenges in teaching percussion at the collegiate level and propose using the music spectrum to direct instructional rhythms. Employing the creative environment of the music classroom as a methodological tool, this study assesses the atmosphere of creativity in college percussion classes before and after incorporating traditional Chinese music elements. With the exception of the sixth dimension (classroom conflict atmosphere), which did not show statistical significance, all other positive dimensions—challenge/involvement, freedom, trust/openness, reflective thinking time, joy, support for creativity, discussion, and adventurous spirit—demonstrated significant improvements. Specifically, the seventh and eighth dimensions showed increases of 0.4121 and 0.6459 points, respectively, in post-test scores. Incorporating Chinese musical elements into percussion teaching not only enhances the uniqueness of the educational experience but also stimulates interest and engagement, thereby fostering the advancement of music education.

THE PROMOTION AND PRACTICE OF DIGITAL MUSIC CULTURE EDUCATION IN YANCHENG

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China states the need to accelerate the construction of a high-quality education system, to develop digital education, and to achieve educational equity. In the case of music and cultural education in Yancheng, a coastal city in Southeast China, the current trend is to promote the transformation from traditional music education into digital music education, which is conducive to achieving the educational goal of “fostering virtue through education” by the implementation of aesthetic education, and better inheriting local folk songs and operas such as Fishermen’s Work Songs, Funing Cattle Songs, and Huai Opera. This requires educators to constantly consider the necessity of digital music culture education, to propose innovative measures for digital music culture education, and to summarize educational experience that can be drawn on for reference and promotion nationwide.

Research on the Integration Strategy of College Music Teaching and Traditional Music Culture in the Context of Internet Plus

Abstract The integration of traditional music culture into music education in higher education institutions is crucial for enhancing students’ musical literacy and cultural refinement and fostering cultural self-confidence. This paper addresses the integration of music teaching with traditional music culture, employing a coupled coordination degree model based on the CRITIC method to quantitatively assess this integration at a specific music college. Key influencing factors were identified across seven dimensions and were used as condition variables in a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The analysis indicates that the current level of integration at the institution is critically low, categorized as “endangered dysfunction,” with an average coupling coordination degree of 0.478. The fsQCA identified four distinct pathways, accounting for approximately 82.6% of the variance in integration levels. To enhance the integration of music teaching and traditional music culture effectively, institutions should focus on several strategic dimensions: curriculum development, instructional materials, interactive teaching methods, technology integration, faculty development, the incorporation of traditional music cultural practices, and the promotion of scholarly research in traditional music culture. This multifaceted approach promises to significantly advance the integration process, benefiting both educational outcomes and cultural preservation.

Reform of University Music Education under Ethnic Music Culture

Reform of University Music Education under Ethnic Music Culture

Especulación filosófica en la música tradicional China

Abstract: Chinese civilization has always been known as the civilization of rituals and music, with music playing a significant role throughout the dynasties. The development of Chinese traditional music cannot be separated from the injection of various philosophical ideas and social consciousness. Whether it is the ritual music system of the Zhou Dynasty, the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Warring States period, the metaphysical discussions of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, or the Buddhist philosophy of the Han and Tang Dynasties, each era has played an important catalytic role in the formation of the aesthetic theory of Chinese traditional music. This article summarizes the historical developmental process of Chinese traditional music culture. It also analyzes the construction process of the aesthetic philosophy of Chinese traditional music from the perspectives of the three major philosophical schools: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. These three schools have had the most profound impact on Chinese traditional music.

한국 대중음악에서의 B급 문화 분석 연구

The purpose of this paper is to study B-class culture in Korean popular music. B-class identity as a subculture was examined, observing the changes in B-class music since the 2000s, and cultural diversity was discussed. Following the literature review, Psy, Norazo, and UV were selected as research subjects. The external items of capital, popularity, and intentionality and the internal items of language, content, format, behavior, and image characteristics were analyzed deductively through NVivo 14. As a result, Psy's music carried B-class features in terms of language, behavior, and image, and Norazo and UV's music had them in all internal aspects. Those meanings have all been transferred to a reconceptualized B-class. They were subordinated to large capital or the mainstream system, and the consumer base expanded from the minority to the majority. Moreover, resistance has weakened and was replaced by interest. The B-class mainstreaming passed through a latent and transitional period in the 2000s and settled on one side of the popular culture in the 2010s, facing the authenticity issue. Opinions on diversifying music culture were presented, with the claims for recovery of the rights of musical cultural subjects and resolution of the imbalance in music culture.

Epistemic Transmission and Originality in Greek-Karamanlidika Publications Related to Makam Music in 19th-Century Istanbul

Ottoman Istanbul retained its position as the cultural center of the Greek community for centuries. During this period, Greeks interacted with multicultural societies in the city. Their musical culture and interests were also influenced by social interactions. As a result, they recorded some Ottoman musical pieces in various manuscripts from the 16th to the 20th centuries. In the 19th century Greek musicians, mainly cantors, started to publish a series of works on Ottoman repertoire and theory. First, Euterpi (1830) was published in Istanbul. Then a number of publications emerged prior to 1909, at which point O Rithmographos, the last theoretical work of the time, was published. At that time, both the reform of the Orthodox Church (1814) under the influence of modernism and the spread of the printing press facilitated the distribution of such books. In order to write makam music with an efficient technique, they drew upon some theoretical principles from European, Ottoman and church music alike. Since these theoretical adaptations were the result of both technical needs and cultural tendencies, the Greeks cultivated an epistemic originality in terms of makam theory and its history. Moreover, this was the reason that a symbiotic knowledge emerged, drawing upon the aforementioned sources. This study aims to demonstrate both the symbiosis and the originality by examining the musical knowledge embedded in Greek-Karamanlidika publications. The sources will be evaluated in terms of notation, terminology, theory (makam and usûl), repertoire and historical understanding of the makam tradition. The aim of the study is to carry out musicological research on those publications in light of the multicultural character of 19th-century Istanbul.

국악교육에서 지속가능발전교육 가치 함양을 위한 실천적 접근

This study presented various practical approaches to cultivating the values ultimately aimed by sustainable development education in Korean music education based on the 2022 revised music curriculum. To this end, first, literature research was reviewed to identify the meaning and value of sustainable developmental education and the connection between the 2022 revised music curriculum and sustainable developmental education. Second, on the basis of its characteristics, the relationship between Korean music education and sustainable developmental education was examined. Third, practical approaches to cultivating the value of education for sustainable development in Korean music education were presented. Four practical approaches reflecting the value of education for sustainable development in Korean music education were presented. The first is to communicate with generations through Korean music. The value of respecting human rights and future generations was cultivated through learning traditional children’s songs and creating Korean children’s songs. The second is examining the relationship of Korean music with nature and life. It is a way to cultivate the values of respecting human rights, future generations, and ecological diversity. Third, it is to value various local music cultures by appreciating Korean music and cultural heritage, talking about how to protect and preserve Korean music and cultural heritage for future generations, and cultivating the values of respecting human rights, future generations, and cultural diversity. Fourth, what should be done to promote sustainable Korean music in the world? The value of respecting human rights, future generations, and cultural diversity was cultivated by finding ways to improve and solve Korean music and cultural heritage registered in UNESCO to continue to maintain its status in the world. This study focused on cultivating the value of sustainable developmental education by linking it with the value of Korean music, not the content approach of Korean music education. Therefore, it is very important to highlight values and ask appropriate questions from teachers so that learners can cultivate them. Therefore, starting with this study, I hope that inquiry research, teaching and learning methods, and data-related studies will continue to cultivate the value of teachers.

КЫРГЫЗ ОБОНДУУ ЫРЛАРЫНЫН САЛТТУУЛУГУН САКТОО БҮГҮНКҮ КҮНДҮН ШАРТЫНДА

The functioning of Kyrgyz folk song folklore in modern conditions is considered as a factor in the preservation of musical culture. The article discusses the problems of the existence and preservation of song performing tradition of the Kyrgyz people. The place and role of the Kyrgyz folk song in musical culture is noted, as a work of oral and professional creativity, which is undoubtedly distinguished by its exceptional richness and wide variety. The purpose of the article is to preserve the song performing traditions that occur in folk song culture at the present time, to determine their causes and predict their results and identify characteristic trends. The article also identifies positive and negative aspects associated with preservation processes in folk musical culture. The historical perspective of folk song performing traditions is revealed. A set of measures is proposed to preserve and develop the traditions of folk song performing art. The idea is that the Kyrgyz song is an important component of the musical, cultural and historical heritage of the Kyrgyz people.