Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 3. Internal publication Research published in this issue are only for internal circulation within the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague.
• 2. Royal Conservatoire Investigations Royal Conservatoire Investigations
• 1. Master Research Projects All research in KC

• Bloody serious business (2025) author(s): Renée Compen Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  From my own experience I am quite sure that the menstrual cycle has both mental and physical effects on us as professional musicians. But what exactly are these effects, what does it affect and how aware are we of them? What can we do to keep our practice sessions productive and how do we manage to do rehearsals, auditions, and concerts when we suffer from our menstrual cycle? It is still a taboo subject, and it is high time that we got rid of it. That it becomes normal to talk about our menstrual cycles. This research is not about solving the monthly problems we experience but about making them negotiable and finding ways to deal with them so that we can make our lives as professional musicians easier. For this research I used several methods. I did a literature review and investigated the effects of the menstrual cycle on myself, my fellow saxophone students in the KC saxophone class, and other female musicians through the following methods: menstruation log, discussion session, and a questionnaire among professional students and musicians in the work field. The results show that the menstrual cycle affects us as professional wind musicians. It affects us in several ways such as motivation, energy, concentration, physical pain, confidence level, and emotional stability. This can have an impact on our individual lives as musicians, but also on our working environment. It is time to start talking about our menstrual cycles, to make schools and teachers aware of how important it is, and for students to learn about their own menstrual cycles!
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• Big Slides in Augsburg (2025) author(s): Floris van Daalen Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Name: Floris van Daalen. Main subject: Classical trombone. Title: Big Slides in Augsburg. Research question: How was the bass sackbut used in Hans Leo Hassler's music while he was in Augsburg? A lot can be found about the use and application of the tenor sackbut, with a wide range of sources on this subject. However, this is lacking for the bass sackbut. This was a surprise to me as the bass sackbut is regularly used in performances today. In this research, I attempt to fill in this gap a little by diving into a specific area in Germany and focusing on a single composer. I will do this by, in the first part, diving into the context of the development of the sackbut and the consequent development of the bass sackbut, gaining knowledge of the instrument itself. I follow this up by evaluating the city of Augsburg, with the focus being the history of the city around 1600 and the years leading up to that. This all leads into the investigation of prominent composer Hans Leo Hassler and his time as an artist in the city of Augsburg. Following this more theoretical aspect, I examine music written by Hassler to explain the use of the bass sackbut in his music, providing more practical examples of where and how the bass would fit in and where we could use the bass sackbut today. by examining parts from Hassler’s published works and connecting them to the information set out before about the bass sackbut, I will try with this research to give a more conclusive answer to the practical use of the bass sackbut for this music.
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• Beyond the Ink | An Early Music Master Project by Agata Sorotokin (2025) author(s): Agata Sorotokin Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Several recently unearthed manuscripts contain fascinating implications about the range of genres that Neapolitan partimenti — partially sketched pieces — contained at the turn of the eighteenth century. My research focuses on selected materials from three particular sources: Rés. 2315 (partimenti by Francesco Mancini), I-Nc 45.1.65 (improvisation exercises by Gaetano Greco, the teacher of Domenico Scarlatti), and I-Mc Noseda 0.46.4 bis (melodies by Giulio de Ruvo). First, we explore the sophistication of Mancini’s Toccata Sesta in B minor, studying the clues that the composer has left the keyboardist to co-create a dynamic piece with many parts. Then we turn to the shorter partimenti and partite of Gaetano Greco, which connect Neapolitan improvisation methods with the world beyond the conservatory walls, incorporating tarantelle and other dances (some more archaic than others). Finally, my research plays with the idea of turning a partimento on its head. We consider how a given melody can spark the creation of a basso continuo part – in this case for Giulio de Ruvo’s charming cello pieces that also embrace popular genres like the tarantella. All of these examples emphasize that the hands-on improvisation training in Naples helped develop a thorough knowledge of counterpoint while simultaneously allowing students to unleash their creativity. Ultimately, this research aims to honor the vibrancy of early, lesser known Neapolitan partimenti and to advocate for including such works (or their upside down siblings) in performance.
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• Audience Engagement Strategies in Jazz (2025) author(s): Geraldo Bhaskara Putra Sibbald Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Jazz, with its harmonies, improvisational nature, and intricate rhythms, has often been perceived as an acquired taste, potentially alienating those who are not well-versed in its vocabulary. My primary objective is to demystify this genre by creating a sense of accessibility and inclusivity. With this research, I hope to develop effective audience engagement strategies to bridge the complexity and accessibility of jazz.
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  Arvo Pärt | Holy Minimalism | Silence. Exploring New Sources of Inspiration for Composers and Improvisers (2025) author(s): Firtina Kiral Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  In today’s age of information overload, it is all too easy to become constantly overstimulated. As both a composer and an improviser, I have found a new source of inspiration by exploring minimalism—especially Holy Minimalism—using simple materials, embracing a slower creative process, and diving into the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The introspective elements, structure and usage of space and silence in this music guided me towards a journey that has helped me reconnect with music in a profound way. Drawing from the composers of the ECM Record Label's New Series who specifically connect a certain image and sound, this thesis examines selected works by Arvo Pärt, whose Tabula Rasa was the starting point for the New Series. This research is to unpack the ideas behind these compositions, explore the thought processes involved, and discuss the underlying philosophies with external concepts that I find highly inspiring, all in search of fresh perspectives. As more artists turn toward simplicity, I believe that looking at this music and the philosophies behind it through both an improvisers and a composers lens can open up exciting new pathways for inspiration.
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• Arranging Video Games Music in a 19th-century Fashion (2025) author(s): Filippo Zaccaria Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  How can i take inspiration from 19th-century sources to arrange melodies from video games for clarinet and piano? This research was born to guide me in the composition of a series of historically inspired pieces; more precisely, in the arrangement of contemporary tunes from video games, treated in a similar way as opera arias were in the 1800s by composers such as Czerny, Liszt and Cavallini. As I ideally wanted my work to resemble real 19th-century compositions, I was faced with a series of questions that could be summed up in the following three: are all melodies suitable for this endeavor? How should I deal with the original harmonies? What genres can I use to arrange? To each of them I dedicated a chapter, starting from the first and most restrictive, the one about melody. I considered it as such because, as I would like my pieces to be heard and understood, I think that melodies should be left unchanged; however, as I also wanted them to follow 19th century “rules”, it follows that only certain melodies can be used. Therefore, I determined some boundaries to be respected in regard to mode, rhythm and meter. In the second chapter, about harmony, I followed a less systematic approach, as writing down all the limitations didn’t seem very realistic; so, I presented them more implicitly, by applying them directly to the music and explaining my choices. It was evident that, at least in the limited corpus of melodies I had chosen, many changes had to be made to the original harmonies in order to make them “right”. Finally, I examined the genres which I could use to arrange existing material, determining two main ones, the fantasy and the variations, and two “ancillary” ones, the fugue and the passacaglia. For three of them I gave a general explanation and showed my own way of applying them.
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