Creating music by means of 'physical thinking' : the musician oriented genesis environment

International audienceMass-interaction physical modeling scheme is often cited as the traditional physical modeling technique, but surprisingly some of the possibilities for musical creation it allows have not yet been pointed out. GENESIS is a graphical environment based on the CORDIS-ANIMA mass-interaction paradigm and designed for musicians. It was conceived so as to help the user "think physical"; that is, to discover and experiment with new ways of creating music, which is necessary when using physical modeling. The paper introduces version 1.5 of the GENESIS environment. Its major features and ergonomic aspects are exposed - especially model representation, low and h i g h level modeling tools, multisensorial simulation facilities. Examples of composer's works are presented

Marshall University Music Department Presents an Eighth Annual Festival of New Music

https://mds.marshall.edu/music_perf/1765/thumbnail.jp

Flute Music Throughout the Years

To fulfill the Senior Honors Project requirements, I have chosen to partake in a senior recital performance of flute works from a range of eras, genres, and styles. As I began my musical journey at the mere age of three, music has played a vital role in shaping my cognitive and emotional status. Not only did piano and ultimately flute studies enhance my overall academic performance through nurturing a hierarchical understanding of notated rhythmic sequences (“Music and Spatial Task Performance� 611), but was a personal means of emotional expression. Thus, for my Senior Honors Project, I have decided to share this passion with an audience through performing a compilation of flute repertoire from a wide range of styles. Not only will this signify a milestone in my 18 years of musical studies, but will provide an enjoyable, emotional experience for the audience members. After all, sharing the soul of a work is the foremost purpose of creating music. This Senior Capstone performance will require me to access my toolbox of skills accumulated through countless lessons, rehearsals, master classes, auditions, competitions, and performances. Not only will this apply to the actual production of flute music, but also performance practices such as etiquette, stage presence, and wearing proper attire. By including works from multiple eras of music, from Classical to Modern, I will exemplify the progression and application of the flute throughout time. On top of this, I will provide myself and listeners proper understanding of the works performed through conducting prior research to be summarized on program notes. Through this, I will be able to provide a stylistically and historically accurate performance with an informed audience

Ensemble Concerts: Symphony Orchestra, Civic Chorale, and Concert Choir; October 30, 2022

Center for the Performing ArtsOctober 30, 2022Sunday Afternoon3:00 p.m

Playing the Ear: Non-Linearities of the Inner Ear and their Creative Potential

This thesis concerns the application of psychoacoustic phenomena relating to the non-linear nature of the inner ear as an electroacoustic compositional tool. The compositions included in this portfolio explore the validity of a variety of non-linear inner ear phenomena within composition by employing them as primary compositional devices. Psychoacoustics research into the non-linearities of the inner ear has proven that the inner ear has much more to offer the composer than has been previously considered. By reversing the role of the ear from, what Christopher Haworth describes as, 'being a submissive receiver',13 to becoming an active participant in the creative process, an exciting level of opportunity opens up for both the composer and listener. A focus is given in this research to auditory distortion products and bandwidth phenomena with references to the author's own compositional material. While it is relatively common for composers to have explored various elements of psychoacoustics in their work, a project of this size, which explicitly explores such material, has not been carried out until now. The work of Maryanne Amacher, Alvin Lucier, Diana Deutsch, and others has highlighted the possibilities of employing psychoacoustic principles in music. This research takes a new approach by placing a direct focus on the benefits of the utilisation of these non-linear mechanisms of the inner ear for the composer, while also positing a number of new creative methodologies with respect to the non-linearities of the inner ear

Robert Shaw and the Brahms Requiem, op.45: a conductor's approach to performing a masterpiece

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityRobert Lawson Shaw (1916-1999) was a revolutionary figure in the world of choral music. He pioneered effective choral techniques that both refined the skills of his choristers and faithfully realized the composer's music. These techniques ultimately contributed to his acclaimed performance achievements. Although research on Shaw has been previously conducted, it generally consists of biographical data or single techniques, dissected from the whole of Shaw's complex process. This study outlines the wide array of Shaw's choral methods and how he applied them to the preparation and performance of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, op. 45. The Introduction provides insight into Shaw's acclaim, his relationship with the Requiem, and the rationale, as well as methodology, of this study. Chapter One details Shaw's analytical process-its influences and specific procedures. Chapter Two outlines Shaw's philosophies regarding the "time" element of music (pulse, rhythm, accentuation) as well as his techniques for improving their execution and how he applied them specifically to the Requiem. Chapter Three examines Shaw's notions of music's "tone" component (intonation, vocalism, dynamics, phrasing, and balance) and methods of refining them in and out of the Requiem's context. Chapter Four discusses Shaw's approach to text and traces its origin and evolution. It also provides a synthesis of decades of writings on diction techniques as well as a full, unpublished English translation, which Shaw created in 1999. An edition of the Requiem's sixth movement comprises Chapter Five, placing all of Shaw's choral methods and English translation into the proper musical context. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this study and offers suggestions for future research. Appendices contain additional germane data, including a listing of career performances, his personal reference materials about the Requiem, his choices of tempi, pertinent diction information, as well as various musings comparing the Requiems of Berlioz, Brahms, and Verdi

Robert Shaw and the Brahms Requiem, op.45: a conductor's approach to performing a masterpiece

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityRobert Lawson Shaw (1916-1999) was a revolutionary figure in the world of choral music. He pioneered effective choral techniques that both refined the skills of his choristers and faithfully realized the composer's music. These techniques ultimately contributed to his acclaimed performance achievements. Although research on Shaw has been previously conducted, it generally consists of biographical data or single techniques, dissected from the whole of Shaw's complex process. This study outlines the wide array of Shaw's choral methods and how he applied them to the preparation and performance of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, op. 45. The Introduction provides insight into Shaw's acclaim, his relationship with the Requiem, and the rationale, as well as methodology, of this study. Chapter One details Shaw's analytical process-its influences and specific procedures. Chapter Two outlines Shaw's philosophies regarding the "time" element of music (pulse, rhythm, accentuation) as well as his techniques for improving their execution and how he applied them specifically to the Requiem. Chapter Three examines Shaw's notions of music's "tone" component (intonation, vocalism, dynamics, phrasing, and balance) and methods of refining them in and out of the Requiem's context. Chapter Four discusses Shaw's approach to text and traces its origin and evolution. It also provides a synthesis of decades of writings on diction techniques as well as a full, unpublished English translation, which Shaw created in 1999. An edition of the Requiem's sixth movement comprises Chapter Five, placing all of Shaw's choral methods and English translation into the proper musical context. The conclusion summarizes the findings of this study and offers suggestions for future research. Appendices contain additional germane data, including a listing of career performances, his personal reference materials about the Requiem, his choices of tempi, pertinent diction information, as well as various musings comparing the Requiems of Berlioz, Brahms, and Verdi

Karol Szymanowski's first violin concerto, OP. 35

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityIn the absence of a thriving Polish music scene in the latter half of the 19th century, Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) sought inspiration in other traditions. Consequently, his music is a cosmopolitan blend of Romantic, impressionistic, and nationalistic styles. Changes in Szymanowski's compositional style over the course of his career can thus be read as musical responses to outside stimuli; first to German, then French and fmally, eastern European folk trends. The first violin concerto, as the epitome of his "impressionistic" period, displays imaginative lyricism and a sensuous and colorful sound world.^1 Szymanowski was evidently pleased with the result. After finishing the piece in August 1916, he wrote, "I must say I am very happy with the whole thing-again a new, different music, but at the same time, a bit of return to the old. The whole thing is terribly fantastical and unexpected."^2 Written in close collaboration with Kochanski, the concerto, together with Myths (1915), exemplifies a "new mode of expression"^3 which highlighted Kochanski's strengths: an irresistibly sweet lyrical tone and left-hand facility. It was this marriage of affinities, a blending of lyricism with innovative coloristic sound effects, which came to signify Szymanowski's violin idiom. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide the following: a thorough examination of the background, history and style of the first violin concerto, a detailed analysis of the work as a whole, and a discussion of performance considerations. Chapter One will provide background history and context, including composer biography, description of his compositional style during his middle period, features of his violin idiom, developed in collaboration with his friend Pawel Kochanski as well as the immediate circumstances of the concerto's composition, with information on its history, premieres, and reception. Chapter Two will be a detailed analysis of the piece, addressing questions of form, harmony, motive, and genre; these fmdings will contribute to a hermeneutic investigation of the piece. Finally, Chapter Three discusses how tools like John Rink's "performer's analysis," historical recordings, genre analysis and narrative analysis can be used to create a more carefully considered interpretation of the piece. 1 Alistair Wightman, Karol Szymanowski: His Life and Work (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1999), 177. 2 Ibid. 3 Alistair Wightman, "Szymanowski, Bartok and the Violin," The Musical Times 12211657 (March 1981), 159

TUTTI! - Music Composition as Dialogue

As an engineer, when I could not comprehend a physical phenomenon, I turned to mathematics. As a mathematician, when I could not link sciences to humanity, I turned to music. As a music composer, I no longer see things, I see others. The novel method of music composition presented herein is a first comprehensive framework, system and architectonic template relying on the ideologies of Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogism as well as on research in auditory perception and cognition to create music dialogue as a means of including and engaging participants in musical communication. Beyond immediate artistic intent, I strive to compose music that fosters inclusiveness and collaboration as a relational social gesture in hope that it might incite people and society to embrace their differences and collaborate with the 'others' around them. After probing aesthetics, communication studies and sociology, I argue that dialogism reveals itself well-suited to the aims of the current research. With dialogism as a guiding philosophy, the chapters then look at the relationship between music and language, perception as authorship, intertextuality, the interplay of imagination and understanding, means of arousal in music, mimesis, motion in music and rhythmic entrainment. Employing findings from Gestalt psychology, psychoacoustics, auditory scene analysis, cognition and psychology of expectation, the remaining chapters propose a cognitively informed polyphonic music composition method capable of reproducing the different constituents of dialogic communication by creating and organizing melodic, harmonic, rhythmic and structural elements. Music theory and principles of orchestration then move to music composition as examples demonstrate how dialogue scored between voice-parts provides opportunities for performers to interact with each other and, consequently, engage listeners experiencing the collaboration. As dialogue can be identified in various works, I postulate that the presented Dialogical Music Composition Method can also serve as a method of music analysis. This personal method of composition also supplies tools that other musicians can opt to employ when endeavouring to build balanced dialogue in music. If visibility is key to identity, then composing music that potentially enters into dialogue which each and every voice promotes 'humanity' through inclusivity, yielding a united Tutti