Kroppslig läsning
(2025)
author(s): Aleksandra Czarnecki Plaude
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
Projektet avser att lyfta fram betydelsen av skådespelarens kroppsliga kunskap i förhållande till repetitionsarbete. Som regissör och pedagog och i samarbete med professionella skådespelare ville jag fånga och kommunicera mina arbetsmetoder. Detta med förhoppning om att generera ny kunskap i frågan om skådespelarens fördjupade gestaltningsarbete av dramatisk text med och via kroppen som instrument.
Kroppen är skådespelarens instrument. Jag ser kroppen som ett kärl, en källa att hämta från och ösa ur. Ett instrument som har förmågan förbinda de analytiska tankegångarna med det undermedvetna, med instinkterna och det öppna hjärtat. Min ursprungliga forskningsfråga för detta projekt var att undersöka det glapp som uppstår mellan kroppsliga impulser i ett undersökande led i arbete/improvisation och när det ska överbryggas till en ”färdig” gestaltning av ett dramatiskt verk. Denna frågeställning tog mig vidare till att undersöka en repetitionsteknik som skulle öppna möjlighet för skådespelarna till att öppna sig för och omfamna sin kroppsliga kunskap och kreativitet. Utan att bortcensurera sina uttryck genom textanalys och det logiska tänkandet. Möta en text på kroppsliga villkor. Jag kallar det för ”kroppslig läsning”.
Mother of the unlikely: the unifying nature of the milonga
(2025)
author(s): Julián Muro
published in: Codarts
Throughout my career, my work has been dedicated to incorporating aspects of Argentine traditional and popular music along with those of Western Classical Music, Jazz, Northern and Sub-Saharan African music, Argentine Rock, and Pop. In the case of this research, I continued and deepened the work I started more than ten years ago with my project Dingungu, which focused on highlighting the African presence within Argentine music. Although the album had a great component of historical research, I did not have the tools to articulate it into academic writing, which was added to the fact that Afro-Argentine history was and still is a difficult area of study, facing backlash and ideology-related omission throughout Argentine academic and political history. This project of artistic research has allowed me to conduct a thorough exploration of this aspect of the cultural and historical identity of the country while providing inspiration to compose, arrange, and record six new pieces of music.
The making of a tango singer
(2025)
author(s): Lenore Huang
published in: Codarts
This research delves into the stylistic intricacies of tango singing, combining systematic analysis and practical experimentation. Motivated by a profound emotional connection to tango’s expressive power, the study spans three research cycles, examining – in addition to fraseo – interpretive tools such as tone, ornamentation, vibrato, dynamics, phonetic articulation, and special effects like speaking and sobbing, and how they relate to the delivery of text and emotion. Through these cycles, the researcher aims to deepen artistic understanding, refine stylistic execution, and ultimately shape a distinctive vocal style in the genre of tango.
Across the three cycles, the research first carries out a panoramic and comparative investigation of the stylistic precedents set by early tango singers Ada Falcón, Carlos Gardel, and Charlo. Then it shifts focus to three singers of Aníbal Troilo’s orchestra – Francisco Fiorentino, Alberto Marino, and Floreal Ruiz, exploring their nuanced dynamic variation and its interplay with ornamentation. Finally, it delves into phonetic articulation and special effects like sobbing, chuckling and speaking as means of enhancing expressivity, drawing inspiration from three singers of Osvaldo Pugliese’s orchestra – Jorge Maciel, Alfredo Belusi, and Alberto Morán. Selected recordings are analyzed through transcription and text annotation, and re-enactment is used throughout the research process as the method of experimentation. Each cycle ends with a recording of the researcher’s performance of a piece, culminating in a rendition of Pasional as the final research outcome.
By exploring a wide variety of interpretive parameters, the research fills the research gap in the field of tango singing where existing musical studies center on fraseo. It identified a considerable number of characteristics that are important to tango singing and developed practice approaches serving to internalize these features as part of one’s musical intuition. It should be possible for fellow students of tango singing to use the methodology presented in the research as a template to achieve these results for themselves.
The relation of clave motifs, batá rhythms and vocal performance in Yoruba-influenced Afro-Cuban music
(2025)
author(s): Sarah Raabe
published in: Codarts
Yoruba-influenced Afro-Cuban music blends traditional Yoruba rhythms with Cuban cultural expressions, often serving as a means of communicating with the orishas in Santería. Central to this music are the batá drums, which convey "drum language" that mimics the tonal nature of Yoruba speech. The batá drums and clave rhythms interact closely with the voice, creating intricate polyrhythms and emotional tension. This fusion of drumming and vocal elements is both a powerful artistic expression and an essential part of spiritual and cultural ceremonies.
This research investigates the relationship between clave rhythms, batá rhythms, and vocal timing in Yoruba-influenced Afro-Cuban music, aiming to explore how drums and clave can reinforce vocal timing. The study emphasizes the interconnectivity of these elements and their impact on rhythmic synchronization, tension, and release. The project has progressively deepened the understanding of clave patterns, their integration into vocal performance, and the application of these insights in improvisation and composition.
Through the exploration of batá drumming, clave patterns, and vocal phrasing, the research highlights the importance of internalizing rhythm and understanding its cultural context. The study examines the roles of various rhythms on batá drums, the significance of the clave in guiding rhythm, and the complex interplay between vocal lines and percussion. The research also reflects on the challenges of incorporating 6/8 and 4/4 meters into performances, the importance of rhythmic precision, and the necessity of clear communication within the ensemble.
Throughout the cycles of the study, significant progress has been made in improving rhythmic coordination, vocal projection, and timing, particularly in relation to the clave and batá rhythms. Field research, re-enactment exercises, and expert feedback have refined the performer’s technical skills and deepened the understanding of rhythmic expression. The outcome recordings demonstrate marked improvement in vocal and drumming integration, offering clearer interpretations of traditional and contemporary pieces.
Ultimately, this research contributes to a broader understanding of Afro-Cuban music and its performance practice, expanding the rhythmic expression possibilities of the vocalist while emphasizing the importance of cultural context, musical authenticity, and artistic development.
Performing Gaspar Cassadó’s music through Pau Casals’ legacy
(2025)
author(s): Clara Piccoli
published in: Codarts
The aim of my research is to understand how to improve my playing and develop my interpretation of Gaspar Cassadó's music by incorporating Pau Casals' playing style into my own. My goal is not to emulate Casals but to grasp the spirit of his playing, understanding the key concepts, technical and interpretative, of his performing style, and to apply and adapt them to my playing to develop my performance of some compositions by Cassadó. To accomplish this goal, I will firstly go through an extended data collection, listening to and analyzing many Casals’ recordings, watching his recorded masterclasses on YouTube, and reading articles, theses, books, and treatises about his playing. I will interview, get feedback, and have lessons with some experts on my topic. I will work on the embodiment of my discoveries through a self-critical practice and through my re-enactment of Casals’ recording of Requiebros. I will then apply my discoveries and experiment with them in my performances of Requiebros and in the first movement of the Preludio-Fantasia of his Suite for Solo Cello, which I will then record to show the outcomes of my research. My research has improved my performances of those pieces and my playing in general because of a fuller and more radiant sound, improved articulation and clarity, better phrasing direction, enhanced unity within the pieces, and richer expressivity through the use of Casals-inspired expressive intonation, rubato, vibrato, and portamento. This study is aimed for people who are curious about Casals' approach to music and his performing style, as well as how I was inspired by it and how I used and experimented with my findings to improve my playing and particularly to interpret some of Cassadó's compositions.
Images as Defibrillators: An Attempt to Resuscitate the World
(2025)
author(s): Giselle Hinterholz
published in: Research Catalogue
This visual essay emerges from a confrontation with interrupted spaces, once places of life and labour, now marked by abandonment. It is not an attempt to document the ruin, but to propose a sensitive listening capable of rediscovering vibration where everything appears still. Inspired by Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception (1945), I understand the body as a space of resonance with the world, a place where every surface touched by the gaze gains density and breath.
Here, the images function as defibrillators: distortions, cuts, and movements inserted into the photographs act as electric shocks, attempts to resuscitate territories that no longer breathe. Each photograph is less a documentary proof of abandonment than a sensitive reverberation, where silence and noise converge. If social and urban abandonment crystallises time, artistic practice seeks to open fissures, to return a pulse to what once seemed lost.
Thus, the images do not merely record, they react. The photographic gesture is one of listening and response, not restoration, but insistence that something might still vibrate, even when life has already ceased.
