Composition strategies for the creation of science-based interdisciplinary and collaborative music-theatre
(2024)
author(s): Daniel Blanco Albert
published in: Birmingham City University: Faculty of Arts, Design and Media
The practice-based PhD research project comprises the development and application of composition strategies and techniques generated through interdisciplinary collaboration to integrate elements and ideas from non-sonic disciplines into the musical discourse of new music-theatre works, specifically opera. I explore mechanisms of mapping and association that engage with both the specific subject matter of each piece and the creative collaborative environment in which they are created, thus generating different compositional resources that I use to inform the creative process. By using mapping techniques, I can deeply engage and communicate a subject matter on different levels in the musical composition.
The framework for this research is the intertwining of art and science on a variety of levels from a music compositional perspective. Within this framework, I explored the integration of knowledge and data from the natural and social sciences to inform the composition of four science-based music-theatre works: In response to Naum Gabo: Linear Construction in Space No. 1 (2020), Autohoodening: The Rise of Captain Swing (2021), The Flowering Desert (2022), and TRAPPIST-1 (2023).
With this approach, I aim to closely link these works with their particular subject matter instead of being composed based just on my personal musical taste. By consistently and cohesively applying the strategies and techniques explored in this research, the outcome is not creating music about science or music inspired by science, but, instead, music embedded with science in which the scientific data and knowledge inform the composition decisions. The subject matter is therefore intertwined within the musical discourse, its performativity and theatricality, and its relationship with the other disciplines and collaborators involved in the creation of these music-theatre works.
Searching for Korean traditional music – Exploring rhythms and improvisational possibilities
(2024)
author(s): Michael Lee Sørenmo
published in: Research Catalogue
This exposition present my study about Korean traditional music in combination with improvisation and composition. It focuses specially on Korean rhythm with both the Korean drum janggu, and the drum kit.
I am going to present my work by giving an insight on my practice methods, discoveries and compositional work. And show how I gradually developed this project during my masters study.
This exposition also explores a theme related to identity, and finding back to ones roots through learning traditional music.
Laments for a Modern World: Exploring the pathetic capabilities of 17th-century Laments
(2023)
author(s): Ai Horton
published in: KC Research Portal
This thesis investigates the pathetic capabilities of the 17th-century vocal Lament. After first establishing an overview of the social and cultural conventions that influenced compositional choices, fourteen historic Laments from western Europe are analyzed to determine how they are able to evoke the feeling of grief. These pathetic elements are then applied to the composition of four new Laments for a Modern World, which couple 17th-century compositional techniques with newly commissioned texts that amplify stories including miscarriage, race-relations, displacement from one's homeland, and mental health.
,__ ^_. ||:_DOWN_DEEPCUTS_'LOCK[ANIMÉ.INVENTION] :||,•__\-‘ - - ÉTUDES FOR THE BEGINNING OF AN ONLINE PRACTICE
(2021)
author(s): Josh Spear
published in: VIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research
The Covid-19 pandemic of early 2020 has had a huge and wide-reaching effect. My group made up of four composer-performers called Bastard Assignments was not exempt. We were pulled to continue to make work, the difference now is that we are online at our individual homes and meeting each other on Zoom. Zoom is a company that has been around since 2011 and a lot of us have recently become familiar with it to celebrate birthdays at a distance, catch up with friends, or conduct our business. It was set up by a Chinese computer scientist who only after the ninth attempt at the application secured his visa to live in the USA. Since the beginning of 2020, the worldwide usage of Zoom has risen 67%, its use diversifying from corporate communications to domestic and arts activities. My compositional and performance work with Bastard Assignments is rooted in collaboration, devising, and group creation. It favours memorisation over the use of musical scores, emotional presence over reproducibility. As we take our work together into a purely online workspace, important questions arise. Through a new way of working online, does our adaptability bring about a new form? How will we understand this online work when and if normalcy returns? Skills that we learn as composer-performers are dropped, remade, and tested during this period, how will our practice have changed?
How Do I Compose Music Based on Game Rules? Transforming the Emotions of a Game Into Music
(2020)
author(s): Il Hoon Son
published in: KC Research Portal
HOW DO I COMPOSE MUSIC BASED ON GAME RULES?
Transforming the emotions of a game into music
Rite and identity of the cantaor flamenco in my own musical language
(2020)
author(s): ADRIÁN CRESPO BARBA
published in: Codarts
While flamenco harmony and rhythm has been widely used for creating new compositions, the use of flamenco voice in contemporary music is almost non-existent. The aim of this research was to uncodify the idiosyncrasy of the cantaor flamenco in order to apply it in a different musical context, starting from a solo instrumental piece and taking it to larger instrumental settings. To make this possible, the voice of the cantaor has been disaggregated into its melodic behaviour, its rhythm or its timbre.
The process consisted of transcribing examples of flamenco vocal recordings; analyzing many hours of videos, interviews and iconography to understand the cantaor’s rite; the participation of experts in the field like Mauricio Sotelo, Arcángel or Niño de Elche among others; and working side-by-side with the performers. The result came with three new compositions: ‘Cántico II: A la memoria de Antonio Mairena’, for trombone quartet, video media and soundtracks; ‘Cántico III’, a piece for voice, delay system and large ensemble; and ‘Cántico IV: Saeta por seguiriya after Velazquez’s ‘Cristo crucificado’’, a piece for electronic music, 3D animation and performative acting. In addition, this is probably the first study that treats in a deeper way the behaviour of the voice in the performance of cantes like fandangos or cañas, so it can open new perspectives on the field of flamencology.
Combining Greek folk with modal jazz improvisation
(2020)
author(s): Alkistis Lampropoulou
published in: Codarts
My personal striving for more freedom regarding melodic and rhythmic aspects in improvisation and less emphasis on functional harmony, led me to the exploration of modal jazz.
At the first cycle of my research, I studied two legendary trumpet players Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard in order to learn different techniques of developing a modal jazz solo.
Through this journey, I discovered a strong connection to my Greek roots. Greek music is modal and thus the idea of combining the two worlds seemed obvious.
For the second cycle of my research, I studied the French-Lebanese trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf. Maalouf combines his Arabic roots with modal jazz and therefore he was a great source of inspiration to me.
By arranging Greek folk songs with jazz elements and adding modal jazz improvisation to my Greek folkloric sound, I found an interesting way to combine my roots with jazz music.
During my research I received valuable feedback from my research coach Dr. Dick de Graaf, my main subject teachers Bart de Win, Francien van Tuinen, Harjo Pasveer as well as from important experts Jarmo Hoogendijk, Tineke Postma, Mark van Roon, Stefan Lievestro and Eren Aksahin.
‘Ūd Taqsīm as a Model of Pre-Composition
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Nizar Rohana
connected to: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
In this research project, Nizar Rohana analyzes and reflects on taqsīm recordings by two leading figures of ‘ūd playing who were pillars of modern Arabic music, namely the Egyptians Muḥammad al-Qaṣabjī (1898-1964) and Riyāḍ al-Sunbāṭī (1906-1981). Rohana encodes and underlines their most significant traits in order to:1) enrich and develop my melodic-rhythmic vocabulary;2) deepen my understanding of the structural, melodic and rhythmic processes underlying the genre; 3) design a structural framework or a model for pre-composing taqsīm-like pieces of music.
To put it another way, the dissertation discusses the creation of pre-composed taqāsīm. The pieces follow a specific model of pre-composition that was designed while taking al-Qaṣabjī and al-Sunbāṭī’s taqsīm practice as a reference and a source of inspiration. This model contributes to both artistic research and practical knowledge, and provides new insights into structural, melodic and rhythmical processes of the genre. The artistic outcome of this project includes five new works for solo ‘ūd.
Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Ilya Ziblat Shay
connected to: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation is a practice-based research project that aims to highlight the role of freedom and fixity in music and to develop a discourse based on these two concepts. This research of Ilya Ziblat Shay suggests a creative approach based on the interrelationship between freedom and fixity, for example their combination, juxtaposition, and tension, and describes them as abstractions or placeholders for musical agents such as rhythm, notes, structure, timeline, and interactive computer systems. Another important notion is the inherent coexistence of the two concepts, and proposing the constant oscillating between them as a creative musical approach. Furthermore, the research aims to establish the use of freedom and fixity as a productive paths for extra-musical disciplines. Four works by the author are used as case studies to examine the integration of the research concepts as tangible musical forms. In each of the case studies the concepts are embodied differently, thus different relationships develop between them in each piece. This study relies on the author's experience and experimentation as a composer, performer, improviser, and electronic-music practitioner, and draws inspiration from works by other musicians and scholars.
This thesis investigates the pathetic capabilities of the 17th-century vocal Lament. After first establishing an overview of the social and cultural conventions that influenced compositional choices, fourteen historic Laments from western Europe are analyzed to determine how they are able to evoke the feeling of grief. These pathetic elements are then applied to the composition of four new Laments for a Modern World, which couple 17th-century compositional techniques with newly commissioned texts that amplify stories including miscarriage, race-relations, displacement from one's homeland, and mental health.open exposition comments (1)
HOW DO I COMPOSE MUSIC BASED ON GAME RULES? Transforming the emotions of a game into musicopen exposition comments (0)