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

• “Invocación y Danza – Homenaje a Manuel de Falla” - a new light on the piece brought by the manuscript. (2014) author(s): João Diogo Rosas Leitão published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: João Diogo Rosas Leitão Main Subject: Guitar Research Coach: Enno Voorhorst Title of Research: “Invocación y Danza – Homenaje a Manuel de Falla” - a new light on the piece brought by the manuscript Research Question: How to deal with the different editions and solve the problems in the manuscript in order to get a playable and faithful version of “Invocación y Danza – Homenaje a Manuel de Falla” by Joaquin Rodrigo? Research Process: Two main topics were focused on in my research: An understanding of Joaquin Rodrigo's life, both personal and musical, focusing on his relationship with the guitar and the details behind the composing process of “Invocación y Danza” and the appearance of the manuscript. A comparison of the different editions of the score and the manuscript, noticing where each one of them differs from the other and how and trying out the different possibilities and solutions for each problematic spot. Summary of Results: Although I could not prove without a doubt that the manuscript available is the one that was sent for the Paris competition, I gathered strong evidence that can support this theory. With this manuscript we can see that some of the original ideas are actually not possible to play in the guitar, since Rodrigo did not play the guitar, and there are some doubts regarding the handwriting and the fact that it was a handmade copy made in a hurry. Apparently this manuscript disappeared after the first edition and all the following editions, that were trying to solve some of the doubts and difficult passages of the piece, were based on that same first edition. By comparing all the different details in each score and by creating and trying out new options and solutions I managed to make a new edition that is a compromise between the original idea and musical intention from the manuscript and a technically comfortable and playable score.
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• The place of modern technique in historical performance practice. (2014) author(s): Mikaela Oberg published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Mikaela Oberg Main Subject: Historical Flutes Research Coaches: Wouter Verschuren Title of Research: The Place of Modern Methods used to acquire Technique on Period Instruments, within Historically Informed Performance Practice. Research Question: How has the way we acquire technique on the flute developed since 1700 and to what extent can the use of instructional methods intended for Boehm system flutes within historically informed performance practice be deemed valid? Research Process: The information for my research has come from a collection of over fifty treatises, methods and technical workbooks written between 1700 and 2013. My historical overview was based on a more in-depth analysis of just over thirty of these and I also interviewed twenty-seven historical flute players, of various ages and levels to acquire an understanding of the current approach towards technical development. Summary of Results: By examining a large variety of flute instructional methods written across three hundred years I have discovered that there is a continuous relationship in ideologies associated with the development of sound, articulation and finger technique on the flute. This continuity of ideas, combined with the results of my interviews with current student and professional historical flute players has brought me to the conclusion that it is quite valid for historical flute players to include methods intended for Boehm system flutes as part of their practice material. I have found evidence supporting the fact that eighteenth century flute players included technical exercises as part of a daily practice routine, apart from their repertoire practice. I have also found that the most popular and enduring exercises in use today, many of which us flute players know from our modern flute studies, have their foundations in material found in eighteenth and early nineteenth century method books. In my power point presentation I will offer various examples from my research material highlighting the development of technical material from 1700 to the present. This will display the links that exist between the old and the new as well as offer several often over-looked suggestions for flute players looking to expand their practice resources.
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• The influence of some characteristics of Romanian folk music on the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu – An arrangement for 2 pianos (2014) author(s): Andrea Vasi published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Andrea Vasi Main Subject: Piano Research Coach: Theo Verbey Title of Research: The influence of some characteristics of Romanian folk music on the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu – An arrangement for 2 pianos Research Question: What is the nicest way to make an arrangement for 2 pianos of the first Romanian Rhapsody opus 11 no. 1 by George Enescu, and how has this piece been influenced by Romanian folk music? Research Process: My (Romanian) father, who is also a professional musician, helped me in the sense that he told me his views on what Romanian folk music was, which I took as a starting point. Throughout my childhood, I listened to Romanian folk music a lot (every week, we went to a café in The Hague where Romanians would play their music), so I have quite much personal experience with it as well (I sometimes played along, and had my own ‘gypsy’ ensemble). Only one valuable book on Enescu has been published in the west, in 1990, namely ‘George Enescu: His Life and Music’ by N. Malcolm. A lot of biographical and musicological information on Enescu I could find in here, but I really needed my father to translate the Romanian sources I had collected. I had the chance to quote Enescu himself, because he did some extensive interviews with B. Gavoty. As for the arrangement, I am a pianist myself, and played and studied a lot two piano-pieces in the past. With the help of my coach, composer Theo Verbey, I made my own arrangement for two pianos of Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11. Summary of Results: First of all, one can find the arrangement I made of the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu in the Appendix. I make clear how I made this arrangement for two pianos, and why I made it like this. The main goals were to keep the material as much intact as possible, but while doing this, I wanted to make sure both piano parts were very ‘playable’, very ‘pianistic’. Secondly, I wanted to know how this piece has been influenced by Romanian folk music. In order to be able to do this, I had to determine what ‘Romanian folk music’ actually is. So I tried to narrow it down to the most distinct and prominent characteristics. I did this in chapter three, in which I started by quoting Enescu himself on the subject. According to him, the music of his country is full of ‘dor’ (‘Sehnsucht’), and there is ‘sadness even in the midst of happiness’. Shifting between major and minor also occurs frequently, I noticed. When I started analyzing songs I knew from my childhood, and started looking for characteristics on the internet, in chapter four, I deminstrated that there are some elements which appear in most of Romania’s folk music, concerning instruments, scales and modes, meter and rhythm, ornamentation, ‘doina’ and gypsies.
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• Combining Coco, Arranging for Het Coco Collectief (2014) author(s): Jannelieke Schmidt published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Jannelieke Schmidt Main Subject: Classical Singing Research Coach: Patrick van Deurzen Title of Research: Combining Coco, Arranging for “Het Coco Collectief” Research Question:How do I arrange from a market, artistic, voice technique and stylistic point of view mostly single-voiced by piano accompanied music for “Het Coco Collectief” which consists of five sopranos and one pianist? Research Process: In order to develop my skills, theoretic knowledge and insight in the process of making arrangements I studied sources concerning music theory and chord writing, I made several arrangements, I interviewed arrangers and singers, I had my fellow Coco colleagues answer questions about their preferences concerning singing in the ensemble and I analysed my arrangements. Summary of Results: My paper contains all the information I gathered over a two year research period. It has become a little handbook of tips, tricks and rules. I gained skill and knowledge mainly through trial and error, rehearsals with the ensemble and analysing my interviews and questionnaires. I arranged three pieces by Rossini (La pastorelle delle Alpi, La Danza, La legend de Marguerite) one piece by William Bomcom (Amor) one piece by Johannes Röntgen (Op een Kwal) and one piece by Bizet (Adieux de l’hotesse Arabe). I used La Danza en La legend de Marguerite as material to compare arrangements before and after my research in order to detect differences in choice making and using gained knowledge and skill. I used Op een Kwal en Adieux de l’hotesse Arabe in order to explain how a piece changes through a rehearsal process and adapting the piece for either stage of radio. Through talking to the arrangers and working on my pieces together with my coco colleagues and my research coach I found what I was looking for: skill. From the beginning of this research I was looking for justification of my choices. I found that for me to feel secure of my work I needed those two years of thinking that rules is all I needed. That if I could explain an idea by saying it there because of a style or historical context, from a voice technical of personality choice, from Coco’s image or other peoples opinion my arrangement would be good enough. If I could find arguments and explanations for why I did what I did, I should not have to justify why I dare to rearrange already ‘perfect’ repertoire. I created the handbook, containing tips tricks and rules: music theory, all the knowledge shared with me during interviews, Coco’s preferences, all the rules are there. Everything in order to be able to let go of them if it pleases me. My choices are still based on knowledge but now I can consciously use or not use the rules. I have developed a greater trust in my own artistic ideas about the pieces I arranged. I have developed a greater understanding of what it is to write for this ensemble, for these people. And as said before I have created a little booklet of rules for anyone who wants to arrange for voices and piano. During my presentation Het Coco Collectief will sing both La Danza and Adieux de l’hotesse Arabe.
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  How Do You Swing a Quarter Note? An Analysis of the Great Walking Bassists of the 1950s and 60s. (2014) author(s): Steven Zwanink published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: Steven Willem Zwanink Main Subject: Jazz Double Bass Research Coach: Patrick Schenkius Title of Research: How do you Swing a Quarter Note? An Analysis of the Great Walking Bassists of the 1950s and 60s. Research Question: In theory, a bass player's walking quarter notes should not swing, as they are not syncopated like eighth notes are for example; syncopation being a necessary condition of what it is to swing, in that it allows for the long-short lilt that people identify with swing music. In practice however, it is evident that certain bassists are able to create a swing feeling, through a highly complex, and often idiosyncratic approach to quarter note placement within the 'big beat,' as well as to sound production and articulation. By using sonic visualization software such as Audacity, my goal is to shed light on the unique and often highly mysterious properties behind swinging bass lines: are there strategies in common between swinging bassists, or does each performer swing in their own inimitable way; do swinging bass lines rely on a temporal tension between bassist and drummer; and to what extent are the timbral properties of an instrument and the attack with which a string is engaged relevant? Research Process: My research process involves four phases: Firstly, selecting contrasting examples of swinging bass players from the 1950s and 1960s; secondly, studying selected examples using Audacity, creating a visual data set that will then be used to examine what the similarities and differences are between each bassist's approach to swinging quarter notes; thirdly, examining whether the push and pull of swinging quarter notes results from either tension or synchronicity between a bassist and a drummer, as well as what effect the tonal shape of the quarter notes the bassist plays, as related to timbre and attack, have on swing feel; and fourthly, examining my own instincts with regards to the spectrum and parameters of the various swinging quarter notes of each bassist studied. Summary of Results: I have recently discovered in my own playing, that regardless of which drummer with whom I am playing, that my time feel needs to remain strong and unchangeable by what it is they are doing. This allows me to swing immediately and consistently on my own, or with whomever I am playing, provided the drummer is competent. All of this together answers my initial questions of: Do swinging bass lines rely on a temporal tension between bassist and drummer? No. Can the bassist swing his quarter notes all on his own? Yes. To what extent are the timbral properties of an instrument and the attack with which a string is engaged relevant? Extremely. In undertaking this study I have had the opportunity to think critically about a major parameter of jazz bass performance that is highly ephemeral and rarely quantified, though at the end of this project I now realize that that major parameter, while reliant on time, is actually sound and articulation.
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• Keyboard transcriptions of orchestral works by M. Marais and J. Ph. Rameau (2014) author(s): João Guimarães Rival published in: KC Research Portal
  Name: João Guimarães Rival Main Subject: Harpsichord Research Coaches: Inês de Avena Braga and Patrick Ayrton Title of Research: Keyboard transcriptions of orchestral works by M. Marais and J. Ph. Rameau Research Questions: How did French Baroque composers adapt orchestral works for the harpsichord? What needs to be observed when making new transcriptions based on historical examples? Research Process: Often, as a harpsichordist, one needs to transcribe or adapt an orchestral piece for keyboard, either when accompanying or even if only to understand it more deeply for continuo playing. The motivations of playing orchestral excerpts that were not yet transcribed, or which are currently known nowadays is perhaps the main point of my research. It relies on the analysis of the examples of transcriptions realized by Jean-Henri D’Anglebert (1629- 1691) from several works by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), the 1693 Anonymous transcriptions from Alcide by Marin Marais (1656-1728), and Jean-Philippe Rameau’s (1683-1764) Les Indes Galantes (1735). In order to apply the results of these analyses, I transcribed a few instrumental excerpts from the operas Sémélé (1709) and Les Boréades (1764) by Marais and Rameau respectively, and will present a report on how the transcriptional process was made. Summary of Results: I believe that the results of my research have opened up new perspectives in this field, and provided new historically informed transcriptions for solo performance. With the examples analyzed, the present study detailed important aspects of the transcriptional process and unraveled many of its issues, concerning compositional techniques involved on translating an orchestral piece to harpsichord in two different periods of French music. As mentioned above, it is extremely important for a harpsichordist to identify which tools were used to idiomatically translate an orchestral writing to a keyboard one, if only for a better understanding compositional practices, the solo repertoire and for the development of a more historically informed accompaniment. My research aimed to identify more clearly what could be considered a “French harpsichord language”, considering its sound qualities and different possibilities of interpretation, and how it was used in two major periods of French music, symbolized in this context by Marais and Rameau, and their impact on the musical life of nearly a century. The presentation will be focused on the process of transcription with live music examples enhanced by a PowerPoint presentation.
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