Arts and Humanities Commons^™

George Van Eps’S Harmonic Mechanisms For Guitar: Concepts And Influence On Jazz Guitar Education And Performance Practice, Jimmy Brennan

Research Theses

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the content and influence of George Van Eps’s Harmonic Mechanisms for Guitar, with particular emphasis on the fields of education and performance practice. Key principles from the volumes are demonstrated through notation, analysis and audio reproduction. Chapter one is a literature review of the available secondary sources that cover aspects of GVE’s teaching and related methodology. Chapter two examines GVE’s early influences to understand the contextual basis for his Harmonic Mechanisms series. Chapter three presents the ten core concepts contained within GVE’s Harmonic Mechanisms series and addresses certain editorial shortcomings which have …

Metamorphosis, Microtones And Modes: Composition Portfolio With Commentary, Daragh Black Hynes

Research Theses

This research project consists of a portfolio of eight works accompanied by a thesis, which offers analytical commentaries on all of the works and the composition processes therein. The title of the thesis, ‘Metamorphosis, Microtones and Modes’, alludes to the primary factors involved in the composition processes, from a research perspective, across the course of the project. The concept of metamorphosis was approached in the context of attempting to musically interpret the visual ideas of M.C. Escher, and was subsequently explored extensively throughout the portfolio works in the parameters of pitch material, rhythm, form and structure, texture, timbre, and also …

Sunésis: Evolving Aesthetic Discourse In Traditional Music Practices In Ireland, Nollaig Ó Fiongháile

Research Theses

The enquiry ‘Súnesis’ investigates aesthetic awareness in traditional music practices in Ireland and seeks to evolve an aesthetic discourse with the practices at hand.Súnesis undertakes a critical examination of a suite of performances from contemporary and traditional folk music practices in Ireland. Engaging an interpretative model evolved by Paul Ricoeur, the author designs a dimensional pathway to articulate the modes of consciousness and aesthetic awareness at work in the creative act.

It is proposed that a rethinking of traditional folk music is required, beyond the disciplinary, geographical or political boundaries more typically conceived in music studies. With an alternate …

A Phenomenology Of Collaboration In Contemporary Composition And Performance, Paul Roe

Research Theses

This thesis considers how collaboration between composer and performer affects the practice of these musicians. The established paradigm for the creation of new work in the context of contemporary classical music promotes separation between composers and performers. Typically the composer is seen as ‘creator’, the performer as ‘interpreter’, and the audience as the ‘recipient’ of the music. This inherent hegemony creates division between these musicians, creating expressive barriers in the development and the dissemination of new work. In this research, the creative processes of both composition and performance are assessed in the context of collaborative practice, in a continuum where …

A Contextual Analysis Of Solo Bass Clarinet Music By Irish Composers, Marcella Barz

Research Theses

The investigation of the emergence of solo bass clarinet music in Ireland evolved out of my experience learning Irish contemporary bass clarinet music with Dr Paul Roe. The intention was to discover why there had not been any solo bass clarinet music in Ireland prior to 2000, as well as to determine which events influenced the creation of the repertoire.

Data from interviews was vital to understanding how the bass clarinet repertoire in Ireland has steadily grown since 2000 and a search through The Irish Times archives provided information about bass clarinet activity in Ireland. A list of solo bass …

A Portfolio Of Compositions, Anne-Marie O'Farrell

Research Theses

The works in the attached portfolio address a number of compositional focal points: to bring together diverse strands of musical influence into sustained musical argument, across various large-scale media; to enlarge and explore the musical language of the harp, including the lever harp; and to integrate received materials into new music so as to create a different context while acknowledging musical inheritance. These combine with the exploration of inherent instrumental colour within my approaches to rhythm, harmony, melodic transformation, structure and the use of text to demonstrate the development of my compositional style during my PhD study. The commentary opens …

Jane O’Leary And Her Approach To Contemporary Music For Clarinet And Bass Clarinet, Pablo Manjón-Cabezas Guzmán

Research Theses

American-born Irish composer Jane O’Leary is one of the most accomplished participants on the Irish New Music scene. Although trained as a pianist, her career has also been closely linked to the clarinet and bass clarinet through collaborative work she has undertaken with outstanding performers such as Paul Roe and Harry Sparnaay. Thus, this thesis explores this composer’s contributions to the contemporary repertoire for clarinet and bass clarinet.

In order to examine O’Leary’s oeuvre for clarinet and bass clarinet, this research project analyses two of her most remarkable solo pieces for these instruments, Within/Without and a piacere, by determining …

The Flute Music Of Luigi Zaninelli, Julie Martin Maisel

Research Theses

Luigi Zaninelli, born in 1932, currently serves as Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. During his tenure there, he has composed more than 150 works. His total output exceeds 300 published compositions and more than 60 unpublished pieces. Zaninelli's compositions involving the flute are a valuable addition to the flutist's solo and chamber repertoire. The music can be performed by advanced high school and college level students and provides access to twentieth-century American flute music. His writing for flute is idiomatic and focuses on the ilmate beauty of the instrument. Through researching flute …