A Dialogue of Music between East and West: New Interpretations of 20th-Century Art Songs Based on Ancient Chinese Poems
(2024)
author(s): Zijing Meng
published in: Research Catalogue
This research aims to combine my two artistic identities as a Chinese zither (古筝) player and as a classical singer. After researching, interpreting and analyzing two art song cycles from the 20th century, 5 Poems of Ancient China and Japan by Charles Griffes and Songs of Autumn (秋之歌) by Zhongrong Luo (罗忠镕), I integrate Chinese traditional music forms, ornamentation and instrumentation into my vocal performance. The methodology includes literature review, expert interview, internet media review, score analysis, language analysis and experimental music practice. The outcomes highlight my approach of incorporating inspiration from zither music and folk singing styles into the art song cycles, while also addressing the ethical considerations encountered throughout the research process.
Making a simple International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)—For singers, conductors and composers
(2023)
author(s): Bas Ammerlaan
published in: KC Research Portal
This research develops a simplification of a graphical resource: the International Phonetic Alphabet. The choices made to simplify it are based on an analysis of existing diction methods. The thesis format seemed most suitable for my research, as the IPA is a graphical notation method which is meant to be used by writing it down. (While it is of course used to notate sounds, these sounds themselves are not actually the focus of the research. There are also already an abundance of audio examples for the IPA symbols.)
The IPA can be a very useful aid for classical singers, from ensemble singers to soloists, but appears intimidating from the amount of symbols it has. This research looks at which IPA symbols are used and which are not used in five different diction methods for classical singers. These are systematically analysed and presented graphically to the reader to help visualise which of all the symbols presented on the IPA chart are regularly used by singers. The end result is practical in nature: a Simple IPA chart which uses only those symbols a classical singer really needs to sing the five main languages for classical singing: English, French, German, Italian and Latin.
Singing and Well-being - The Experiences of Professional Choir Singers
(2020)
author(s): Laura Ginström
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Laura Ginström
Main subject: Ensemble Singing
Supervisor: Gerda van Zelm
Title of research: Singing and Well-being - The Experiences of Professional Choir Singers
Research question: How do professional choir singers describe the effects of singing and the professional life on their well-being, and what is the importance and effect of singing-related well-being for my own artistic development?
Summary of results:
Singing in choirs has been an integral part of my life, and I have personally experienced enjoyable physical sensations, positive emotions and social bonding associated with choir singing. Researching this topic further, I learned that these experiences can be described as singing-related well-being. According to a growing number of studies amateur choir singing produces various beneficial effects on health and well-being. Research on professional singers about their experiences and occupational well-being has been much scarcer. Based on the limited studies, they might not enjoy all of the same benefits of singing as amateurs do. The goal of this research was to start closing this research gap and to learn what professional choir singers have to say about singing-related well-being. I created an online questionnaire to gather experiences from professional singers, and also kept a diary of my own well-being experiences during professional choir projects. Analysing these two sources of data revealed that professional singers did recognise many of the well-being experiences associated with singing. However, professional choir singing was not perceived as something especially relaxing or therapeutic, which are common themes emerged from research on amateurs. The social aspects of choir work were deemed important in experiencing singing-related well-being, as well as the conductor’s artistic approach. For me personally, these well-being experiences have been the motivation for my career choice and for this research, and they also serve as an indicator of my development as a musician.
The format of this research is a thesis.
Biography:
Laura Ginström (1992) is a Finnish mezzo-soprano who has studied vocal pedagogy and clinical psychology in Helsinki. Her love for choir singing brought her to The Hague, where she started in the new Master Specialisation Ensemble singing at The Royal Conservatoire in 2018. She currently studies with Noa Frenkel and sings projects with The Netherlands Chamber Choir as a part of the master’s course. She is passionate about combining her two careers in singing and psychology, being particularly interested in the beneficial effects of singing on the body and the mind.
Trans-becomings in Western classical singing: An intra-active approach
(2018)
author(s): Milla Kristina Tiainen
published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
This exposition is an attempt to think transgender existence and experiences in relation to voice and the particular practices of western classical singing. A key source of inspiration for this voice and music-bound line of exploration is our collaboration with Finnish singer, voice teacher and trans man Demian Seesjärvi. Thus, the propositions presented here are meant to take form in-between Seesjärvi’s vocalizations, his spoken and written reflections on his body/voice and artistic activity, and the research interests and concepts that we bring into these encounters.
The exposition explores the interrelations of trans existence and vocal art practices through Seesjärvi’s distinctive practice in classical singing. Our accompanying theoretical aim is to participate in recent discussions about how materiality - or better, materialities - matter a great deal in trans ways of being or becoming and the unfolding of trans selves.
In particular, we engage with Seesjärvi’s activities as a classically trained singer by asking how his artistry and perhaps the music-cultural field of classical singing more generally prompt important insights into the co-formations of body, voice and sex/gender in trans ways of being. How do material, cultural and discursive aspects interrelate - or, in the terms used in this exposition, intra-act - within these formations? How can new materialist ideas concerning the emergent, instead of passive or predictable, character of matter, and the intra-active occurring of materialities and other phenomena, (e.g. Barad 2003; 2007) advance understandings of materiality, voice and sex/gender in vocal art practices and trans studies of music?
This research aims to combine my two artistic identities as a Chinese zither (古筝) player and as a classical singer. After researching, interpreting and analyzing two art song cycles from the 20th century, 5 Poems of Ancient China and Japan by Charles Griffes and Songs of Autumn (秋之歌) by Zhongrong Luo (罗忠镕), I integrate Chinese traditional music forms, ornamentation and instrumentation into my vocal performance. The methodology includes literature review, expert interview, internet media review, score analysis, language analysis and experimental music practice. The outcomes highlight my approach of incorporating inspiration from zither music and folk singing styles into the art song cycles, while also addressing the ethical considerations encountered throughout the research process.open exposition comments (0)