Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• The Drum Also [insert blank]: jazz drumming and electronic sound processing (2025) author(s): Rita Brancato published in: Codarts
  The following report aims to explore the potential of electronic manipulation of sound applied to drums’ playing, with a focus on designing hybrid drum setups that can function in a jazz-derived band setting. Although the universe of hybrid drumming - blending a traditional drum kit with triggers, pads, or sample pads - continues to expand, the process of building such a setup is rarely documented, and the challenges involved are often overlooked. Through experimentation, interviews and media review I researched a way to fill this gap while embarking on my own journey with hybrid drumming. Although the outcomes match with a very personal exploration, they also offer a variety of examples of how electronics can be applied to an acoustic drum set up and how this application can influence a drummer’s perspective both in terms of improvisation and composition. These results, indeed, can encourage musicians interested in the same topic to initiate their own creative processes, incorporating elements that resonate with them, with the goal of achieving a similar level of artistic progression.
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• The musical environment of the duet Zurna-Davul to Laouto (2025) author(s): Asterios Varveris published in: Codarts
  This research is about the implementation of elements derived by the musical environment of the Zurna-Davul duet into a stringed instrument named Laouto. Although, in Greece, Laouto is mainly used for accompaniment roles close to violins, clarinets, singers and lyras, the potential and the possibilities of this instrument seems to have changed given that enough musicians use it to perform even complicated and demanding melodies. In any case, I am really glad that I dived in the process of revealing and formulating the solo aspect of the Laouto in association with this distinct musical environment. During this research, I experimented and tried to find ways to utilize elements of this duet on Laouto; those elements were the Zurna phrasing, including ornaments, Davul phrasing, the songs’ structure and rhythm flexibility - rhythm plasticity. Furthermore, practicing the idioms’ repertoire, playing, improvising as well as composing over odd rhythms such as 7/8, 9/8 and 11/8 while using the above mentioned elements was part of that research. As my main reference about this style and idiom I used recordings conducted by the Ethnography process in the city of Naousa. Last but not least, in this musical environment dance constitutes an indivisible aspect.
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• Berio Sequenza VIII: The violin’s journey through the music (2024) author(s): Sara Molina Castellote published in: Codarts
  The path that a musician traverses when starting and playing a new piece it’s a long process of discoveries and learning. In this case, this process is settled on a deep understanding and analysis of the Sequenza (that is based on Berio experts’ knowledge) and which supports the technical and musical decisions made for my approach to this piece. The steps are made by intervention cycles: the piece is divided in four big sections and each of them is addressed in one intervention cycle. The analysis of two important recordings of the piece was basic for this Research: Jean-Marie Conquer’s and Carlo Chiarappa’s (the latter one was the player that premiered the piece), and also the meetings that I had with some experts on this field: Joseph Puglia and Simone Fontanelli. I didn’t take the decision of starting to play this piece carelessly: it is a piece which requires a great deal of knowledge about violin technique and about contemporary music notation. The kind of work that I carried out was very helpful for me as a musician and as a violinist: I learnt about how to approach technically many problems that I can find, and how useful different sources can be which in other contexts I wouldn’t have considered as a learning source. This Research could be very useful for other musicians that are interested in Berio’s music, and of course for violin players who wonder how they can solve some of the problems that can be found on this or similar pieces.
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