Musicology Commons^™

Sounding Identity: Soundscapes, Music, And Technoculture In The Chinese Diaspora Of Panama, Corey Michael Blake

Masters Theses

Present in Panama since the 19^th century, the Chinese diaspora in Panama City, Panama represents an empowered community of individuals who identify as both Chinese and Panamanian. These Chinese Panamanian hybrid identities emerge within sonic environments through an engagement with transnational media and digital technologies, notably within retail stores. Specifically, music surfaces as an especially important sonic marker of the Chinese Panamanian hybridity. Within the mall of the Panamanian Chinatown of El Dorado, an interesting mixture of both Chinese and Latin American popular music genres sounds throughout the various stores. This mixture of music genres demonstrates Chinese Panamanian agency …

Sonic Environmentalism: God, Nature, And Politics In Olivier Messiaen's Des Canyons Aux Étoiles . . ., Ryan James Taussig

Masters Theses

Scholars often speak of Olivier Messiaen’s (1908-1992) use of birdsong as inspiration in his compositions. The avian vocalizations he dictated and catalogued while traveling throughout France and the world make appearances throughout his oeuvre. Other well documented influences upon his music include landscape and religion. In order to better comprehend the ecological, religious, and political underpinnings of Olivier Messiaen’s musical output, one must deduce how he drew upon nature and religion as inspiration. I propose that such an understanding can be reached through an in-depth examination of Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles . . . (1971-1974).

Through analysis of Messiaen’s …