Music Commons^™

La Ricarda, Mestres Quadreny I L'Experimentalisme Musical Català Dels Anys Seixanta: De Com L’Arquitectura Va Esdevenir Música I La Música, Arquitectura, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Eren uns temps magnífics per a la creació: els concerts semblaven obres de teatre i les obres de teatre, concerts. Els músics feien d’actors i aquests havien de fer de músics. I la distinció entre el públic i els intèrprets també es diluïa, si és que no s’eliminava del tot. Els semiòlegs —o són semiòtics?— havien explicat que en tot acte comunicatiu hi havia un emissor, un missatge i un receptor; i precisament d’això es tractava, d’eliminar aquestes distincions. Ah, i en molts casos, tampoc no hi havia escenari, ni sala de concerts.

A Bird’S Eye View: Large-Scale Tonal Structures In Robert Schumann’S Four Song Cycles (Op. 42, 24, 39, And 48), Peter Kramer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Some of Robert Schumann’s most notable works are his Lieder for solo voice and piano accompaniment. Schumann's Lieder are considered some of the best compositions in this genre, engendering various interpretations by performers and exciting vigorous debate among musicologists and theorists. Robert Schumann’s early music was almost entirely composed for the piano alone; it wasn’t until 1840 that he started to compose almost exclusively Lieder and song cycles inspired by his predecessors Beethoven and Schubert. This was a prolific year for Schumann compositionally, in part due to his marriage to Clara Schumann who was one of Europe’s most preeminent piano …

Music Pedagogy In Venezuela’S Plains: Making Space In Alma Llanera, Elaine Sandoval

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation argues that the process of institutionalizing traditional música llanera (plains region music) education in Venezuela is informed by a hierarchical spatialization of the capital, Caracas, and the historically agricultural- and livestock-producing region known as the llanos, or the plains. Drawing on Lefebvre’s The Production of Space (1991), I argue that the representations of space that have defined the llanos region and música llanera often obscure the lived space of music-making and dwelling in the llanos. This dissertation is based on fieldwork in Guárico state between 2016-2018, where I observed the state-funded Alma Llanera program, which had been …

The World Is Your Pulpit: A Research-Based Performance On The Broder Singers, Amanda Seigel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My capstone project is a research-based performance about the Broder Singers, the first Yiddish actors. They performed primitive musical and theatrical pieces in Yiddish beginning in the mid-19th century in non-theatrical spaces such as taverns and gardens, in Eastern Europe. They were part of a larger movement creating secular Yiddish culture beyond the religiously proscribed expressions of traditional Jewish life. Largely born and raised in traditional communities themselves, they mocked wealthy religious community leaders, utilized gender drag, and compassionately portrayed impoverished people. This white paper explores the context of their work and draws on primary sources such as memoirs, published …

Music And Madness: Three Critical Case Studies, Beth A. Cooper

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation interrogates and develops the multiple connections between music history, theory, composition, and reception and the sociopolitical structures of madness in the twentieth century. My work first uncovers the various definitions of psychological abnormality as they have taken shape through discourses of Western medicine, psychology, and history/criticism of the arts. As I argue, madness is not purely a somatic, transhistorical illness, but an elusively constructed term with tentative relations to shifting concepts of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral non-normativity. Following an outline of this methodological premise, rooted in the fields of disability studies and mad studies, I contextualize the life …

The Development Of Slurs In Violin Bowing During The Italian Seicento: Printing And Rhetoric, Joan Plana Nadal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Venice and Bologna were the leading Italian publishing centers for violin music during the seventeenth century. While composers in other countries circulated their music in manuscript or copper engraving, Italian publishers continued operating with movable type. Although this printing method was cheaper, it was also inadequate when faced with more advanced instrumental music. With the fast rise in popularity of the violin at the beginning of the century and the new stile moderno, composers started adding more technical demands for the violin, including requests that publishers were not always able to add later in print. Some of the most …

Strength And Vulnerability In Maurice Ravel’S Sonata For Violin And Cello And Osvaldo Golijov’S Mariel For Cello And Marimba: An Analysis Through Performance And Composition, Andrea Casarrubios

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to “stimulate more ambitious performances,” as David Lewin writes in his Studies in Music with Text, this dissertation is meant to provide new perspectives into two preexisting works, Maurice Ravel’s Sonate pour Violon et Violoncelle, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel for cello and marimba, through the active making of two original compositions written for similar instrumentations, La Libertad se levantó llorando for violin and cello, and Speechless for cello and percussion. Taking Lewin’s proposition into consideration, I share performance insights and discuss how the creation of these new compositions have influenced my interpretations of the two respective …

Intro To Jazz, Jon De Lucia

Open Educational Resources

OER Based Syllabus for MUS 145 Intro to Jazz course at City College. Covers the history and development of jazz along with basic music fundamental vocabulary.

2019 Overture, Philip H. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Composed for the Hunter Symphony Orchestra Call for Scores.

To Launch A Thousand Ships, Daniel Silva

Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by Madeline Miller’s novel The Song of Achilles (2012), To Launch a Thousand Ships is a four-movement orchestral piece that depicts the story of Achilles and the Trojan War.

Llegir, Escriure, Escoltar: Els Paisatges Sonors De Guillem Frontera, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Resumen:

El ensayo presenta una panorámica de las novelas y ensayos de Guillem Frontera (Ariany, Mallorca, 1945) y examina el papel de la música en su producción literaria. En sus primeras obras de los años sesenta y setenta hay una gran cantidad de referencias al jazz, el rock y el pop. Esos géneros son vistos como un signo de modernidad y cosmopolitismo normalmente traído por el turismo de masas a Mallorca. Los escritos posteriores incluyen muchas referencias a la música clásica, especialmente la música sacra, y presentan la música como un refugio espiritual, una protección contra del ruido de la …

La Musique Dans Les Cultures Tech. La Synthèse Modulaire En Temps De Covid-19, Eliot Bates

Publications and Research

Depuis 1996, la synthèse modulaire matérielle est passée d’une pratique artisanale de fabrication d’instruments de niche soutenue par un petit nombre de musiciens, à un phénomène transnational, une véritable culture tech. Malgré cet engouement, elle n’a pas donné naissance à de nouveaux genres musicaux populaires, et il n’est pas certain que la « musique », quelle que soit sa définition, soit ce qui rassemble les amateurs de synthèse modulaire. Ce texte a deux objectifs : tout d’abord, il présente les résultats d’une recherche en cours menée en ligne et dans plusieurs pays concernant le rôle des objets technologiques dans la …

Salome- Femme Fatale, Gaze And Rejection Of The Feminine, Ramya Thiyagarajan

Publications and Research

Salome was an unnamed, minor character in the New Testament of Mark and Matthew, an innocent girl who is presented as a pawn in her mother’s scheme to behead John the Baptist. Over time, Salome developed a life of her own, from being imagined as an acrobat in the Middle Ages, to a virgin beauty in the Renaissance and for Christians a constant example of evil woman. In 1891, Salome was reborn as the erotic femme fatale through the imagination of Oscar Wilde and given an existence on the stage, though the play was banned for years. Only after an …

Youth Musicians’ Executive Functioning And Its Impact On Emotional And Behavioral Health, Michael A. Tate

Dissertations and Theses

A growing body of neuroscience literature shows that music promotes brain development, as learning a music instrument involves multiple brain regions and neurocognitive systems. In partnership with a non-profit organization with a mission to strengthen New York City communities through music education programs, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of music training on children’s executive functioning (EF), as well as emotional and behavioral outcomes. We hypothesized that (i) children’s EF would develop more rapidly with exposure to the program; (ii) the intensity of practice would be associated with rate of growth of children’s EF, emotion regulation and behavior; (iii) …

Creating An Interpretive Edition Of "Sage And Spirit", Michael Crowley

Publications and Research

This paper reports on a practice-based research project designed to create a critically edited score of Bob Weir’s Sage and Spirit for solo guitar. Since no score exists for the piece, potential performers must first go through the time-consuming process of transcription as a way to learn how it works. This may deter potential performers who are either unfamiliar with the Dead’s music or lack formal training to undertake this preliminary work. This project was designed as an attempt to bridge the gap between what musical information is available through published sources and the concerns of the music’s potential performers. …

Xero Tolerance: A Critical Look At The Complicated Legacy Of Type O Negative, Brandon Futernick

Capstones

Type O Negative have been one of my favorite bands for nearly half my life. They were the soundtrack for some pivotal moments in my adolescence, and I’ve held them near and dear to my heart into my adulthood. But after some time away, revisiting their music in 2021 revealed some ugly sides to their lyrical content that gave me pause. So I conducted an in-depth, critical review of my relationship to their discography to see if I could reconcile my lifelong appreciation for them with some of their more problematic tendencies.

Link: https://brandonfuternick.medium.com/xero-tolerance-a-critical-look-at-typ-226f16682e50

Cross-Pollinating Music: The Past, Present And Future Of Genre-Blending Experimental Musicians, Vanessa Ague

Capstones

Recently, experimental music that mixes popular genres with academic styles has skyrocketed into the mainstream. Part of that’s because of the democratizing power of the internet, part of that’s because it’s a style that’s slowly become more prevalent over many years. This essay explores the different ways experimental musicians blend popular genres into their compositions, providing a succinct timeline of the style’s history and a playlist that features musical examples. Link to full capstone project: https://medium.com/@vanessa.ague/cross-pollinating-music-the-past-present-and-future-of-genre-blending-experimental-musicians-83f0d2ba9f2d

Òpera, Diversitat, Inclusió: Una Reflexió A Partir D'Una Estrena A Nova York, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

La inauguració de la temporada d’òpera a qualsevol ciutat important sol ser un gran esdeveniment i el Metropolitan Opera de Nova York (MET) no és cap excepció. És, lògicament, una nit de gala i tots els rituals de le grande monde es despleguen amb rigor litúrgic. Hi ha autoritats polítiques, naturalment, però sobretot lluminàries del món de les altes finances, la cultura i la ciència. Hi ha, també, sectors de la societat que no s’ho voldrien perdre per res del món: un petit univers d’estudiants de música tan ambiciosos com pobres i alguns grups com, el col·lectiu LGBTI+, molt discrets …

Mus 121: Writing About Music (Syllabus, Zero Cost), Emily Wilbourne

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Un Piano «Tòxic»: Chopin I El Seu ‘Pianino’ En Temps De La Covid, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

L'escena la podria haver escrita Proust o tal vegada Henry James en un dels seus viatges per l’Europa meridional. Hi ha grans dames, salons elegants i un piano molt especial. Hi ha, sobretot, gent ociosa.

I també, amb més coneixement de causa, hauria pogut ser un quadre de costumisme literari de Llorenç Villalonga perfilant amb sorna, distància i sang-froid la belle époque mallorquina. Fins i tot alguns dels protagonistes reals que hi intervenen, en aquest petit sainet verídic, apareixen en els llibres de l’escriptor mallorquí, com la senyora Gradolí, o, en tot cas, hi haguessin pogut aparèixer, com la comtessa …

“Leisure With Decorum”: Gentlemen Making Music In The Georgian Era, Lidia A. Chang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project examines the musical activities of Georgian gentlemen with the goal of illustrating the ways that recreational music-making tested the boundaries of gender, class, and nationality. While the English nobility could respectably engage in music-making, socialize with professional musicians (subverting, or temporarily suspending otherwise rigid class boundaries), and openly extol the virtues of Continental culture without compromising their gentlemanliness, English gentlemen walked a much thinner line. In pursuit of these claims I will expand the scope of primary sources beyond conduct books and novels to include selections of unpublished, peripheral accounts of recreational music-making as found in letters, diaries, …

Listen Like This: Audiovisual Argument In Rockumentary, Lindsey Eckenroth

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rockumentaries are commodities that construct authoritative interpretations of popular music history, shaping how we come to know, value, hear, consume, and identify with popular music and those who create it. The arguments rockumentaries make, and the ways they make them, are the subject of this dissertation. Rather than position rockumentary as a genre, I investigate it as a set of representational tendencies to be examined in relation to stardom, authenticity, fandom, the culture industry, and the music(ians) these films represent. My introduction argues that rockumentaries operate according to what I call the offstage pattern, a dialectical structure in which …

Salvatore Sciarrino's Sei Capricci For Solo Violin: Analysis And Performance Guide, Caroline Eva Chin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation provides insight into the compositional and string techniques used in Salvatore Sciarrino’s Sei Capricci for solo violin. Each of the six chapters provides an analysis and performance guide for a caprice. A diagram of the score analysis for each caprice is included at the end of each chapter. In addition to the examination of Sciarrino’s original techniques for violin, caprices that make references to Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin are discussed. Salvatore Sciarrino is an Italian composer (b. 1947) whose use of untraditional hushed sounds has become his signature compositional style. His innovative use of instrumental techniques …

A Schema-Theoretic Approach To Hierarchy In Eighteenth-Century Tonality, Simon K. S. Prosser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Prevalent modern-day theories of tonal hierarchy for eighteenth-century music, especially those influenced by the ideas of Heinrich Schenker, have been called into question by schema theorists such as Robert Gjerdingen and Vasili Byros, who argue from both cognitive and historical evidence that eighteenth-century tonal cognition was sequential or “windowed” rather than hierarchical. This dissertation seeks to recuperate the concept of tonal hierarchy in eighteenth-century music, drawing on research that reconstructs the implicit tonal theories of the partimento and thoroughbass traditions, as well as concepts of hierarchy from schema theory itself, to formulate a historically and cognitively grounded theory of tonal …

Aloof: Black Divas Of Refusal, Kwame K. Ocran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Aloof: Black Divas of Refusal” studies performers Lena Horne and Billie Holiday as the progenitors of a new tradition of authentic representation of Black female interiority in the entertainment arts. As interiority denotes the wide-ranging amalgamation of human expression, these divas equipped themselves with a sense of refusal and aloofness to strategically posture themselves in conditions that suited their personal predilections best and considered their status as representatives of the Black community. Lena Horne’s evolution as an aloof diva successfully saw the singer and actress escape classist thought of racial uplift to the full embracing of the totality of Black …

Gendering The Virtual Space: Sonic Femininities And Masculinities In Contemporary Top 40 Music, Michèle Duguay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes vocal placement—the apparent location of a voice in the virtual space created by a recording—and its relationship to gender. When listening to a piece of recorded music through headphones or stereo speakers, one hears various sound sources as though they were located in a virtual space (Clarke 2013). For instance, a specific vocal performance—once manipulated by various technologies in a recording studio—might evoke a concert hall, an intimate setting, or an otherworldly space. The placement of the voice within this space is one of the central musical parameters through which listeners ascribe cultural meanings to popular music. …

Performing Empowerment: Children's Rights And Musical Participation In Dakar, Senegal, Lynne Stillings

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation provides a critical examination of how music is used to introduce concepts of children’s rights to children and youth in Dakar, Senegal. I explore why music has been chosen as a tool of engagement and promotion, building on Senegal’s history of youth activism and music as a grassroots tool for inspiring social change and sparking political movements. Both international NGOs and local programs use musical activities, centering children as performers and songwriters, to address rights in Senegal including girls’ equality, the right to education, early marriage, violence towards women and children, access to healthcare, and street children. Outside …

Between Occitania And Al-Andalus: Reconsidering The Emergence Of Troubadour Melody Through Algorithmic Analysis, Veronica Maria Da Rosa Guimaraes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How the musical and poetic traditions of the troubadours arose remains unknown, despite a century of scholarship that has attempted to account for their seemingly ex nihilo appearance in late twelfth-century Europe. Scholarly debate was particularly intense during the first half of the twentieth century and revolved around two competing theories: the Andalusi theory, which linked the troubadours to the poetic-musical traditions of medieval Muslim Iberia (also known by its Arabic name al-Andalus), and the Aquitanian theory, which argued that the troubadours were rooted in the folk and sacred traditions of the Aquitanian region. Since the 1980s, interest in the …

Astor Piazzolla's Cinco Piezas Para Guitarra: A Performer's Guide To The "Unwritten", Federico J. Díaz Páez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Astor Piazzolla found his voice as a composer in tango music. Starting in the 1950s, he extended the horizons of the popular genre by using the influences of classical music and jazz primarily. The performance practice is one of the strongest aspects that connects his music with traditional tango. The “unwritten” concepts particular to tango are unfamiliar for musicians outside of this tradition. This dissertation explains in detail these concepts and their application to Piazzolla’s only work for solo guitar: Cinco piezas para guitarra. Besides proving the context of Piazzolla’s life and production, Chapter 1 reviews the use of tango …

The Quartet’S Death: Embodiment, Performativity, And Physicality In Heinz Holliger’S 1973 String Quartet, Vicente Alexim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Throughout the twentieth century and continuing today, many composers have explored and expanded the ways in which performers are asked to interact with their musical instruments. Often referred to as “extended techniques,” these modes of playing frequently produce sounds of indefinite pitch, or which fall outside equal temperament, and the works that employ them rely on the physicality of these techniques in order to create additional layers of meaning. The concrete parameters involved in making use of such resources can sometimes take precedence over or drive other more abstract compositional materials such as precise pitch and rhythm, but their influence …