Musicological Studies Research Articles

Concert activities of Chinese pianists: the history of development

Statement of the problem. The article discusses the formation and development of concert activities of Chinese pianists, starting from the 20th century. The performance art of Chinese pianists, although recognized today as an extremely bright phenomenon, is still the least studied among all areas of music art in the country. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. Analysis of the current musicological studies shows that, despite a significant number of the works devoted to the piano music of China and the performance creativity of Chinese pianists, the formation of latter’s concert activity as a whole remains in the shadows. In this regard, there is a need to summarize this experience and forecast the further development of Chinese national piano art, which is the scientific novelty of the proposed study. The purpose of the article is to determine the stages of the formation of the concert activity of Chinese pianists in the context of the development of the country’s national piano performance. The main methods involved in the work were analytical, historical-typological, theoretical, interpretive, and comparative one. Results of the research. The facts of the concert practice of both foreign artists and the formation of national pianistic cadres, which formed the foundation of the Chinese national pianistic art, are analyzed and compared. The factors that contributed to its development or, on the contrary, inhibited it, are determined. The concert performances of M. Paci, B. Zakharov, A. Cherepnin, which became a “performing model” for Chinese pianists at the beginning of the twentieth century, are considered. The first solo concerts of Chinese performers Ding Shande, Li Cuizheng, Zhou Guangren, Gu Shenying, Jing Shi, Liu Shikun, Li Minqing, etc. are analyzed. Their role in the festival and competition movement, which made it possible to announce to the world about the development of Chinese pianistic art, is determined. The article provides historical facts about the biased concert activity and dramatic fate of many Chinese pianists during the “Cultural Revolution”. The trends in the renewal and further development of Chinese piano performing art (since the late 1970s) and its rapid rise (after the 1980s) are determined. The largescale touring and international competition activities of modern Chinese pianists Lang Lang, Li Yundi, Jiang Tian, Du Ning-wu, etc. are analyzed. Conclusion. The assessment of the presented scientific works on the performing activities of Chinese pianists confirms their limitations and inconsistencies regarding some facts and personalities of the artists. The dramatic period of the “cultural revolution” is worse represented in the aspect of hushing up many facts, forgetting the names of outstanding performers because of their tragic fate. A comparison of facts from many different sources made it possible to make an attempt to restore a truly fair picture of the development of piano performance in China, to outline its main trends and prospects. Keywords: piano perf

INKULTURASI NILAI INJIL DALAM BUDAYA JAWA PADA LAGU BOJANA AGUNG: SUATU KAJIAN MUSIKOLOGIS

The musicological study of the Bojana Agung song examines the inculturation song as a faith reflection that lives and develops in the context of Javanese culture. Combining textual research methods and literature studies, this paper describes (1) How can the Javanese inculturation style in the Bojana Agung be a contextual reflection of the faith experience in the Eucharist?; and (2) How can the encounter between the Gospel and Javanese culture in the Bojana Agung's inculturation process encourage the faith growth in being more participative and transformative? Using the music score from Kidung Adi number 242 as the primary data, this research shows that Bojana Agung uses a pelog nem pentatonic scale with a binary song form. Part A's unison melody depicts the Last Supper contemplation; meanwhile, part B's two and four voices composition creates a livelier Church's response to this glorious passage. Diversity, togetherness, cooperation, humility, and wisdom are Javanese's noble values that are inculturated in this song. The encounter between the Gospel and the local is the essence of the inculturation process. Through it, the Church is more active, creative, and inclusive in responding to the fullness of Christ's incarnation.

Querying ‘Global’ Music History: Significant Geographies between Goswami Pannalal and Queen Victoria

Abstract Global music history projects have become increasingly popular in recent years. Going global has its advantages: it develops conversations between researchers working on disparate regions; it sheds light on larger frameworks that are less evident on smaller scales of analysis; it decentres how we teach music history; and it retraces a global hinterland for music systems that have conventionally been called ‘Western’. At the same time, the global history approach raises challenges for researchers working on the world beyond Europe. In particular, there is the danger of unintentionally reinstating Eurocentrism, either by uncritically exporting research questions based on the European experience to the wider world, or by narrowing our focus onto those musicians and scholars who engaged with European ideas and practices, especially in colonial settings. This work is valuable, but it also comes with risks. This essay considers these problems through a case study: a largely forgotten music scholar, Goswami Pannalal, who travelled and taught across north India in the late nineteenth century. Examining his musicological study in Hindi, the Nād Binod (‘Sonic Delight’, 1896), I consider how far asking ‘global’ questions might shed light on his work, and offer an alternative reading based on a ‘significant geographies’ approach.

General aspects of Dumitru Capoianu's music in the feature film Adventures in the Danube Delta

Romanian film music of the 20th century was a very well-developed field, especially in terms of symphonic music. However, research and musicology studies on this cinematic period are at the beginning, as there is little information on this area. Dumitru Capoianu is among the composers with an already established career in concert music who have also taken the step towards film music. Its adaptability to the script was realized in soundscapes of extended durations or in melodic themes that became a sound exponent of the characters and the action, transposing in them moral valences, particularities of age, tensions and also musical illustrations of the video landscape. All these qualities and the compositional patterns that he and other Romanian composers followed can also be observed in the feature film Adventures in the Danube Delta (1973), part of the particularities of the musical language elements used closely related to the script being presented and analyzed in this article.

Impressionism in Serbian Music

"Musical Impressionism is one of the currents that reflected the anti-romantic discourse of the beginning of the 20th century, having a resonance only in the French cultural space - where the preference for suggestion, for deliberately imprecise tone and nuance has always worked. Although musicological studies do not display very important differences in attitude when it comes to defining impressionist compositions, musicologists’ opinions sometimes diverge. However, taking into consideration the extent to which the comparative method and the stylistic analysis, applied to music, can be conditioned by subjective experiences, the discrepancies can be said to be almost negligible. Basically, the opinion is that the elements of Impressionism in the first half of the 20th century were the most marked in certain compositions by Petar Konjović (1883-1970), Miloje Milojević (1884-1946) and Stevan Hristić (1885-1958), and to a lesser degree (only in the case of a few parameters of the musical language) we can see them in certain compositions by other composers. Keywords: impressionism, suggestion, analyze, composition, musicology, Serbian"

Amanda Maier’s String Quartet: an interpretation of the Romantic genre model

Statement of the problem. The proposed study is devoted to the chamber instrumental heritage of the Swedish violinist and composer Amanda Maier-Röntgen, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and the Leipzig Conservatory, whose person and work are practically unknown in the Ukrainian musical community. However, her chamber instrumental compositions are of indisputable interest for performers and have recently gained popularity among the latter. Also, the study of the composer’s best opuses, undoubtedly, enriches scientific ideas about the development of the leading genres of musical culture in the second half of the 19th century. Recent research and publications. The creative person of A. Maier-Röntgen is sporadically mentioned in reviews considering the Swedish musical culture (Jönsson, 1995; Karlsson, 1994; Öhrström, 1987; Öhrström & Eriksson, 1995; Riemann, 2017; Laurence, 1978), in some reference materials (Öhrström, n.d.; Riemann, 2017; Laurence, 1978). The name of the composer is also found in sources covering the work of J. Brahms, E. Grieg, and Julius Röntgen, the husband of Amanda Maier, also a romantic composer (Fuchs, 2001; Hofmann & Hofmann, 2006; Grieg, 2001; Vis, 2007). At the moment, there is the only research that directly examines A. Maier’s person – it is the dissertation of J. F. Martyn (2018), where considerable attention is paid only the life and creative path of the musician, her performing activities, as well as the general problem of gender inequality in the musical environment of the second half of the 19th century. Thus, today there are no musicological studies dedicated to the composer work by A. Maier. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to consider one of the chamber instrumental opuses of the composer, the String Quartet in A Major, from the standpoint of an individual interpretation of the Romantic genre model. The novelty of the research consists in the first experience in Ukrainian musicology of studying the genre-stylistic features of Amanda Maier’s String Quartet. The research results are based on the use of such methods as historical and stylistic, genre and stylistic, comparative, as well as on the set of analytical musicological methods. Research results and conclusion. A. Maier’s String Quartet imitates the features inherent in the genre model formed in the Austro-German tradition, in particular, in the work of F. Schubert, the peculiarities of which are the reliance on song and dance genre elements, a large specific weight of lyrical and epic images and narrative, the absence pronounced conflict in the sonata allegro. But in the cycle there are contrasts between the dance-genre, lyrical and lyrical-dramatic spheres, which causes a certain “mosaic” of the form with rapid changes of images that reminds of the chamber works of F. Mendelssohn and R. Schumann. Manifestations of virtuosity in the Finale of the Quartet testify to the composer’s deep understanding of the specifics of playing stringed instruments and become an imprint of her performing individuality. At the same time, the Quartet also shows certain tendencies to experiment with the already existing Romantic model, which are manifested in the tonal openness of the cycle, the absence of typical tonal correlations between its parts and between the fragments of the form within of the parts, and in a bright contrast between the First part and the Finale.

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ON KOLINTANG MUSIC LEARNING

This study aims to describe the use of Project Based Learning (PjBL) in teaching Kolintang music at the junior high school level, with a focus on SMP Negeri 4 Tondano. Qualitative approach and musicological study were used by the researcher in this study, with data collection techniques through observations, interviews, and written notes. The results showed that cultural arts teachers at SMP Negeri 4 consistently apply learning models to improve students' academic achievement. Learning is conducted in three stages: preparation, core activities, and closing. In teaching Kolintang music, teachers use a project-based learning model with the following steps: 1) setting important questions; 2) planning project action steps; 3) making plans; 4) conducting evaluations; and 5) reflecting on past events. Students are guided towards higher order thinking through the Project Based Learning approach, and they are able to create 21st century learning products with positive results.

Musicological analysis of the recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha in the musically-performed congregational worship

The Qur’anic recitation with melodious vocals and melodies has a significant role in implementing congregational prayers in a mosque. Musical recitation by a competent Imam can increase the worshipers’ comfort during the prayers. However, little is known to the general public about what is behind the beautiful recited voice. Some Muslims believe that the recitation of the Qur’an in prayer could not be included as music, even though some musicological aspects support its aesthetics. Although the artistic significance of the Qur’an’s recitation is not uncommon among Muslims and even contested openly, the musicological aspects of its recitation in congregational prayer rarely be discussed. The problem discussed in this study is what underlies the recitation of a trained Imam so that the worshippers sincerely feel comfort in following the congregational. This study aims to identify the scale modes within recited Qur’anic verses by the Imam during the congregational prayer at the Jogokariyan Mosque in Yogyakarta. This research uses qualitative methods with a participating observation as its approach. The analysis unit of this study is the Al-Fatiha Chapter recitation by one of the best Imams of the mosque while leading the congregational prayers during the month of Ramadhan this year. Data disclosure uses musicological analysis involving field data recording transcription and theoretical methods. The research stage includes the field research process, transcription from the Qur’anic reading by the subject, theoretical analysis, and formulating findings. This study has resulted in an array of knowledge concerning the Imams and Muadzin management system and the characteristics of the Qur’anic recitation performed by the research subject. From a Western musicological perspective, the music transcription showed varieties of Qur’anic recitation tunes produced by the Imam within the framework of major and minor scale modes. The Imam clarified that the recitation implemented Islamic music theory known as maqam types. In conclusion, the Bayati maqam applied by the Imam resembles the Phrygian Mode of Medieval mode. Meanwhile, the Hijaz maqam resembles the Phrygian Dominant scale. Implication: While for some circles of Islamic society, music is controversial in reality, many valued aspects of Islamic religious activities can contribute to the development of musicological studies.

The Decoration of Manuscript PL-GD Mar. F 406 in the Context of Illumination Art in Fifteenth-Century Gdańsk

This article analyses music manuscript Mar. F 406, originally from the collection of St Mary’s church in the Main Town (Rechtstadt) of Gdańsk, now kept at the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The codex is a compilation of liturgical chants. This article offers the first analytical study of the source undertaken from the perspective of the history of art, with a discussion of the character and quality of the gouache and calligraphic ornaments. These decorations are presented in the wider context of illumination art in fifteenth-century Gdańsk. Stylistic and comparative analyses were supported by non-invasive XRF and IR examination. The physical characteristics of the volume, along with the results of parallel musicological studies (Piotr Ziółkowski and Kamil Watkowski), make it possible to present a new chronology of the manuscript’s compilation, distinguish the individual illuminators’ hands and obtain knowledge of the techniques and practice of the scriptorium in Gdańsk. The codex is thus shown to have received its present-day form in the mid-fifteenth century. It is partly an original work from that period (by two Gdańsk-based copyists), and partly a compilation of older fragments (from the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century). It was bound in Gdańsk by the elder Dragon Bookbinder (älterer Drachenbuchbinder). The first scribe-illuminator was a representative of the Gdańsk environment trained according to Bohemian models. The last three gatherings (VIII–X) remained blank until the early sixteenth century, when more chants were added by a team of copyists. The decoration in this section is the work of a single illuminator, who drew on old thirteenth-century models, as well as calligraphic patterns used in the decoration of incunabula. This section can be dated to the turn of the sixteenth century; the work of this illuminator has analogies in other Gdańsk books from the first quarter of the sixteenth century. The source constitutes a valuable example of a manuscript’s intense, long-term liturgical use. Its analysis demonstrates the need for a comprehensive study of the Gdańsk scriptorium in the second and third quarters of the fifteenth century (including illuminating and bookbinding techniques).

Coupling Study of Urban Ecological Planning and Environmental Music in Hefei University Town, China

Urban ecological planning uses ecology, environmental science, economics, and urbanology to adjust and transform various complex urban relationships, seeking to expand benefits and reducing risks. Environmental music, a kind of non appreciative music, can act on subject consciousness and may influence the urban ecosystem in which it is employed. Many connections appear between urban ecological planning and environmental music. This study took the university town of Hefei City, Anhui Province, China, as an example. This work was conducted to explore the effects of environmental music on the development of urban ecological planning by combining relevant studies of environmental science, urban ecology, urban planning, and musicology. The results showed that environmental music, as a cultural information flow, affected the urban ecosystem and had a typical function for different ecological function zones in the city. Different types of environmental music had spiritual and cultural publicity functions in regulating the main body of the urban ecosystem (residents and students), and it also influenced the growth of common plants in cities and had different ecological and environmental effects.

Analisis Struktur Melodi dan Makna Lagu “Sayur Kol” Karya Punxgoaran

Purpose: This research discusses about analysis of the melodic structure of Sayur Kol by Punxgoaran. Sayur Kol was published in 2017. The theoretical basic used in this research is William P. Malm's theory to get a musicological study, and Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotic theory to explain the meaning of this song. The song Sayur Kol by Punxgoaran was performed in the Batak language with Rock and Punk nuances with drums, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Method: In this thesis, the writer uses a qualitative descriptive analysis method. Results and Discussion: The results of the study of the melodic structure of the Sayur Kol song are Song Form with 2 parts consisting of A (a, a'), B (b, b') and the song Sayur Kol performed by Punxgoaran consists of the Intro, the beginning, continuation part, chorus part, interlude part, and outro part. Implication: The meaning contained in song Sayur Kol is about the personal story of the creator, Guido Virdaus Hutagalung, expressing a picture of the situation of the people of North Sumatra when they meet each other and strengthen the relationship between fellow tribes, especially the Toba Batak tribe. Punxgoaran loves and supports the preservation of Batak Cultural Arts.

Musicology Dissertations by Stefaniia Turkevych and Zynovii Lysko as a Factor in National and Cultural Identity Establishment

The purpose of the research is to comprehend the work of the first Ukrainian scholars in the field of musicology in the context of international musical relations of Ukrainian musical culture. The article examines the musicology dissertations of Stefaniia Turkevych and Zynovii Lysko as a factor in the affirmation of national and cultural identity. The main emphasis is made on the musicological and cultural analysis of these dissertations. Research methodology. The article uses historical, axiological, and cultural approaches and their corresponding methods. In particular, the historical and chronological method was used to consider the issues of dissertations covering a significant period (nineteenth – early twentieth centuries) and spatial dimension (Ukraine, Russia, Galicia, Czechoslovakia), the axiological method – to determine the value of the achievements of Ukrainian musicologists, the comparative method – to compare the issues of dissertations, and the cultural method – to present the contribution of musical culture figures to the world and Ukrainian treasury. The scientific novelty of the research is the introduction of systematized information and archival materials about the first musicological studies of Ukrainians abroad. Conclusions. Both dissertations by S. Turkevych and Z. Lysko were not only innovative at the time, but have not lost their relevance today when the issues of national and cultural identities are again becoming acute at the beginning of the twenty-first century when Ukraine is defending its freedom and independence in the fight against the Russian enemy.

Art “talismans” of Kharkiv: symbols and thoughts. In memory of Tetyana Vyerkina and Volodymyr Ptushkin

Statement of the problem. In 2022, Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts celebrates the 105th anniversary of its foundation and, despite the difficult conditions of wartime, it honours the memory of its outstanding artists – T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin. Continuing the national tradition, their creative legacy is a remarkable achievement of Ukrainian musical art. The creative experience of these prominent artists reveals the ways for the further successful development of the University and the domestic musical art, and its comprehending becomes one of the urgent research tasks. Recent research and publications. The life and creativity of T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin were reflected in the modern musicology studies (portrait-book “Tetiana Vierkina: to Change the World by Art”, 2016; Shubina, 2019; Verbitska-Shokot, 2007; Drach, 2009; Bondarenko, 2014; Derkach, 2015; Krichenkova, 2015; Sediuk, 2017; Savchenko, 2018; Kuzmina, 2019; Nikolaievska, 2020). In the context of the article the linguistic-cultural and musicological works on the theory of symbols and concepts were important (Svyrydov, 2011; Dmytrenko, 2015; Gazheva, 2021; Nikolaievska & Shapovalova, 2021). In connection with T. Vyerkina’s and V. Ptushkin’s creativity the symbolism of the concept as “talisman” was not considered. Objectives, methods, novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to consider the individual contribution of People’s Artists of Ukraine, Professors T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin, to the development of creative traditions of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts. The proposed cultural-epistemological approach, based on existential reflection, is innovative in the disclosure of the topic, which makes it possible to see the “concentric circles” of the influence of an artistic personality in the spatial and temporal coordinate system of culture. Metaphorically likening such an influence to the action of a “talisman”, we fill this concept with a symbolic meaning. Research results. A compositional-dramaturgical, genre-style and performing-interpretative analysis of V. Ptushkin’s romance “Talisman”, which was constantly performed by T. Vyerkina in a duet with the composer, is presented; her performance of the vocal part became “exemplary” from the composer’s viewpoint, which allowed this musical piece to “inherit” the status of a kind of stage talisman for both artists. The circles of influence of the concept-symbol “talisman” have been revealed: in art, at various levels, artists themselves, their works, ideas, , principles, schools, performance versions, i.e., that creative energy, which according to the model of concentric circles covers different layers of cultural life, often become “talismans”. The interpretation of the creative work by T. Vyerkina and V. Ptushkin, presented in the article, reveals the significance of the pedagogical activity of artists as “teachers-talismans”, bearers of the achievements of the “school”, and reveals the symbolism of the “talisman” metaphor in the “composer – performer – listener” system. So, not every student manages to find “his” teacher, that is, one with whom a special internal “energy-informational” connection is established, however, if this search becomes successful, then a “talisman symbol” appears, the function of which is performed by the teacher and his school. Talent, creative energy, charisma, professionalism contribute to the appearance of such a “teacher-talisman”. In the same way, the performer may or may not become a kind of “talisman” for the composer to attract listeners to him. The idea of “actual performing intoning” (T.Vyerkina) and personal characteristic composer’s intonation (V. Ptushkin) were tested on the concert stage, demonstrating the unity of theory and practice. The role of the festival “Kharkiv Assemblies”, founded by T. Vyerkina, and the history of the development of the University of Arts – a kind of “talismans” of the city – are also interpreted in a symbolic way. At the centre of the Festival, which took place within the walls of the University, has always been a Human as a creative personality, and this theme covers different eras. Popularization of the Ukrainian art, in particular works by Kharkiv composers, for which T. Vyerkina often was became the first interpreter, was one of the dominant festival strategies. So, the musical composition appears as a meta-message from the Past through the Present to the Future, and this makes art able to model new strategies of cultural development. Conclusion. The comprehension of the traditions of the Alma Mater and the ways of their continuity in the system of “resonant connections”, which is based on the phenomenon of the university as a centre of knowledge, and the grateful memory of Kharkiv artists open up an inexhaustible prospect of further researching the “concentric circles” of their influence on the development of domestic musical art.

Assessing Acoustic Parameters in Early Music and Romantic Operatic Singing

Since the recent early music (EM) revival, a subset of singers have begun to specialize in a style of singing that is perceptually different from the more "mainstream" romantic operatic (RO) singing style. The aim of this study is to characterize EM with respect to RO singing in terms of its vibrato characteristics and the singer's formant cluster. This study presents a within-subject experimental design. Ten professional singers (5 F; 5M) versed in both EM and RO repertoire were enrolled in the study. Each singer recorded the first 10 bars of the famous Aria, "Amarilli Mia Bella" (Giulio Caccini, 1602) a cappella, in RO and EM styles, in random order. Three sustained notes were extracted from the acoustical recordings and were analyzed using the free user-friendly software Biovoice to extract five parameters: vibrato rate, vibrato extent, vibrato jitter (Jvib), vibrato shimmer, and quality ratio (QR), an estimation of the singer's formant power. Vibrato in EM singing was characterized by a higher rate, a smaller extent, and less regular cycle-cycle period duration (higher Jvib) compared to RO singing. As in previous studies, RO singing presented a more prominent singer's formant, as indicated by a smaller QR. Acoustical analysis of some vibrato characteristics and the Singer's Formant significantly differentiated EM from RO singing styles. Given the acoustical distinctions between EM and RO styles, future scientific and musicological studies should consider distinguishing between the two styles rather than using a singular term for and description of Western Classical singing.

Benjamin Piekut. Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem and George Henderson. Blind Joe Death’s America: John Fahey, the Blues, and Writing White Discontent (review)

In the last decade or so there has been an increase in musicological studies on the liminal space between art music and popular styles. A foremost scholar in this field (if it can be called that) is Benjamin Piekut, who wrote his first book, Experimentalism Otherwise: The New York Avant-Garde and its Limits (University of California Press, 2011) as a series of interrelated case studies. For his second book, Piekut focuses instead on a single band, Henry Cow, who sit neatly in the twilight zone between high and low art. Appropriately, this book is equally accessible to general readers and critically minded musicologists alike: its highly readable narrative avoids jargon and unnecessary citation. Divided into eight chapters (plus an introduction and afterword), Henry Cow traces the band’s story from its genesis in 1968 to its dissolution ten years later. […]

Intangible Mosaic of Sacred Soundscapes in Medieval Serbia

Religious practice in Serbia has taken place using both indoors and outdoors sacred sites ever since the adoption of Christianity in medieval times. However, previous archaeoacoustic research was focused on historic church acoustics, excluding the open-air soundscapes of sacred sites. The goal of this review paper is to shed light on the varieties of sacred soundscapes that have supported the various needs of Orthodox Christian practice in medieval Serbia. First, in relation to the acoustic requirements of the religious service, we compare the acoustic properties of masonry and wooden churches based on the published archaeoacoustic studies of medieval churches and musicological studies of the medieval art of chanting. Second, we provide an overview of the ethnological and historical studies that address the outdoor sacred soundscapes and investigate the religious sound markers of large percussion instruments, such as bells and semantra, the open-air litany procession that has been practiced during the annual celebration of a patron saint’s day in rural areas, and the medieval assemblies that took place on the sacred sites. This paper finally points out that the archaeoacoustic studies of sacred soundscapes should not be limited to church acoustics but also include open-air sacred sites to provide a complete analysis of the aural environment of religious practice and thus contribute to understanding the acoustic intention of medieval builders, as well as the aural experience of both clergy and laity.

Computer-assisted Analysis of Field Recordings: A Case Study of Georgian Funeral Songs

Three-voiced funeral songs from Svaneti in North-West Georgia (also referred to as Zär) are believed to represent one of Georgia’s oldest preserved forms of collective music-making. Throughout a Zär performance, the singers often jointly and intentionally drift upwards in pitch. Furthermore, the singers tend to use pitch slides at the beginning and end of sung notes. Musicological studies on tonal analysis or transcription have to account for such musical peculiarities, e.g., by compensating for pitch drifts or identifying stable note events (located between pitch slides). These tasks typically require labor-intensive annotation processes with manual corrections executed by experts with domain knowledge. For instance, in the context of a previous musicological study on pitch inventories (or pitch-class histograms) of Zär performances, ethnomusicologists tediously annotated fundamental frequency (F0) trajectories, stable note events, and pitch drifts for a set of 11 multitrack field recordings. In this article, we study how musicological studies on field recordings can benefit from interactive computational tools that support such annotation processes. As one contribution of this article, we compile a dataset from the previously annotated audio material, which we release under an open-source license for research purposes. As a second contribution, we introduce two computational tools for removing pitch slides and compensating pitch drifts in performances. Our tools were developed in close collaboration with ethnomusicologists and allow for incorporating domain knowledge (e.g., on singing styles or musically relevant harmonic intervals) in the different processing steps. In a case study using our Zär dataset, we evaluate our tools by reproducing the pitch inventories from the original musicological study and subsequently discuss the potential of computer-assisted approaches for interdisciplinary research.

Женщины в церковных хорах: дискуссия в периодической печати рубежа XIX–XX веков

The purpose of the article is to consistently analyse the statements of contemporaries about the reform of church choirs in the Russian church and secular periodicals of the early 20th century, which have not been previously involved in musicological studies. At the beginning of the 20th century, the question of the role of women in society was considered in various publications, including periodicals on art. They discussed the position of women in musical professions and keenly debated the topic of women being involved in liturgical singing in the choir. Adherents of patriarchal views defended the inadmissibility of female singers in church, whereas innovators advocated their participation. The reform of church choirs in Russia was carried out gradually, under the influence of transformations in the structure of church life, the growth of social freedoms, and the spread of humanistic ideas in society related to the condemnation of child labour. Public discussion in the music and church press began in 1906. The topic of the church choir reform was raised at the All-Russian Congress of Church Singing Leaders in Moscow in 1908–1909, but the issue of women’s participation in liturgical singing in the choir was finally resolved only at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1918.

Evolution of Amanda Maier’s chamber music work

Statement of the problem. In modern performance and musicological practice, there is a clear tendency to revite the works of little-known or forgotten authors, in particular, female composers. The study of their work in modern discourse, mainly English-speaking, is mostly of an overview nature. The work of female composers is often considered from the standpoint of gender inequality and gender psychology. A certain lack of actually musicological studies of the works by female composers is observed. One of such little-known figures is Amanda Maier Röntgen – a Swedish violinist and composer, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and the Leipzig Conservatory, the first woman received the title of “Musik Direktor” and was actively toured in Europe, whose work is practically not studied in Ukrainian musicology. Analysis of recent publications. The figure of A. Maier is briefly mentioned in a number of works devoted to Swedish musical culture, in reference materials (Jönsson, 1995; Karlsson, 1994; Öhrström, 1987; Öhrström & Eriksson, 1995; Riemann, 2017; Laurence, 1978), in the studies devoted to other composers: J. Brahms, E. Grieg, J. Röntgen (Internationaler Brahms-Kongress Gmunden, 2001; Hofmann & Hofmann, 2006; Grieg, 2001; Vis, 2007). The most meaningful study dedicated to A. Maier is J. Martin’s dissertation (2018), but it focuses on the biographical moments and the position of female artists in the 19th century in general, omitting the actual musicological consideration of the composer’s works. Analysis of recent research and publications. The figure of A. Maier is briefly mentioned in a number of works devoted to Swedish musical culture, in reference materials (Jönsson, 1995; Karlsson, 1994; Öhrström, 1987; Öhrström & Eriksson, 1995; Riemann, 2017; Laurence, 1978), studies devoted to other composers: J. Brahms, E. Grieg, J. Röntgen (Internationaler Brahms-Kongress Gmunden, 2001; Hofmann & Hofmann, 2006; Grieg, 2001; Vis, 2007). The most meaningful study dedicated to the creative personality of A. Maier is the dissertation of J. Martin, but the researcher focuses on biographical moments and the position of female artists in the 19th century in general, omitting the actual musicological consideration of the composer’s works. The purpose of this article is to characterize A. Maier’s chamber work, to prorose its periodization and to trace the specifics of evolution of the composer’s chamber-instrumental style. The scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian musicology, a comprehensive study of A. Maier’s chamber-instrumental work is carried out. Methodology of the research. The research results is based on such scientific and culturologic methods as historical and biographical; historical and genrestylistic; also the analytical musicological methods were used when considering A.Maier’s chamber instrumental works. Conclusions. The main phases of A. Maier’s professional development as a composer are the early and mature periods. Taking into account both, the biographical and purely musical stylistic factors, we regarde it inappropriate to talk about the late period of the artist’s work. We consider the early period to be the study time at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. The mature period begins after its end with the creation of the Sonata for violin and piano (1873). The mature period of the composer’s creativity is also subject to internal differentiation, since the time period from 1873 to 1880 (the year of marriage) was marked by much more active creative searches, a greater variety of genres and instrumental compositions, than the later years of A. Mayer’s life (in addition to chamber instrumental works, the Concerto for violin and orchestra, the chamber and vocal pieces were written). In the mature period, such notable opuses as Piano Trio, String Quartet, cycles of miniatures for piano and violin were created. The analysis of A. Maier’s scores revealed the main trends in the development of the composer’s chamber-instrumental style: an aspiration to symphonize the chamber music; the expansion of the imagery palette (the dominance of lyricodramatic impulses in the first mature works, the synthesis of lyrico-dramatic, lyrico-epic, epico-heroic, folklore-genre imagery spheres in the laters ones); active search for an individual solution to the violin miniature genre, in which the Swedish national musical traditions are most vividly embodied.

Luciano Berioʼs “Folk Songs”: Reconstruction of the Idea in the Context of Creativity

Relevance of the study. Luciano Berio’s vocal cycle «Folk Songs» for mezzo-soprano and seven instrumentalists (1964) was considered for the first time in Ukrainian musicology. The relevance of the research is determined by the imbalance between the high degree of performance demand of the work in the modern cultural space and the insignificant activity of its musicological study. The purpose of the study. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the creative idea of the vocal cycle «Folk Songs» by Luciano Berio in the context of the composer's searches, their mutual influences and interaction. Methods. The article uses historical, cultural and biographical methods (to study the stages of the formation of the idea of the work in the context of the composer’s creative biography), source studies (to find the sources of multinational folk songs that became the basis of the vocal cycle), methods of comparison and analogy (to propose a hypothesis about the origins of the creative idea of «Folk Songs») and the method of theoretical generalization. The results and conclusions. The biographical context and stages of creation of Luciano Berio’s «Folk Songs» are studied in detail, the sources of folk songs from five countries of the world (USA, France, Italy, Armenia, Azerbaijan) used by composer in the vocal cycle are determined. The main features of the formation of the unity of the cycle are considered: the general logic of the construction, the content of the texts, the composition of the instrumental ensemble, metro-rhythmic features. A hypothesis is proposed about the combined influence of the performing skills of Cathy Berberian and the linguistic and stylistic features of John Cage’s «Aria» (1958) on the formation of the idea of Luciano Berio’s «Folk Songs». The manifestation in the vocal cycle of Luciano Berio’s interest in the linguistic (phonological) aspect of creativity, which became active in his work from the 1950s, is emphasized. Based on the results of the research, it is proposed to perceive and realize «Folk Songs» as a link of two «lines» of Luciano Berio’s creative interests, manifested in his work — interest in multinational folklore and phonological features of different languages. Vocal cycles created in the 21st century based on the model of Luciano Berio’s «Folk Songs»: «Ayre» by Osvaldo Golijov, «Worksongs» by Samuel Blaser and «Chanzuns Popularas Romanchas» by Oscar Strasnoy were identified. These works indicate possible prospects for the continuation of the research topic.