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

• 
  New (old) Music - Intercontextual Compositional Methodologies (2023) author(s): Martín Mayo published in: KC Research Portal
  It would be more than reductive to say that art is not created in a vacuum. Simply said, all art exists in a context, and said context includes medium, genre, style, and idiom, amongst other things. In the realm of Western music, much insight has been given regarding quotation, and less so regarding subtler applications of stylistic, generic, and idiomatic thought in composition. So, if all music exists in a specific context, how can composers creatively account for context in their compositions? This research seeks to answer this question by outlining methodologies via analysis of relevant works. Given the background and musical focus of the researcher, this research predominantly focuses on musical works that adapt or interact with Latin-American folkloric music and traditions, with many works dealing specifically with Venezuelan and Cuban folklore.
  open exposition comments (1)
• 
  (2019) The Singing Violin: Portamento use in Franz Schubert’s violin music (2023) author(s): Emma WIlliams published in: KC Research Portal
  (this research was submitted March 2019) How can late-18th- and early-19th-century vocal techniques influence our way of experimenting with portamento use in Schubert’s violin music and how can we reinstate the practice in ways that are relevant for current listeners and players? The voice and violin have always shared an intimate connection. Violin treatises from the late-18th and early-19th centuries consistently encourage violinists to imitate vocal techniques. My thesis explores this relationship via the music of Franz Schubert (1797-1828), who revolutionised Lieder and used vocal techniques in his instrumental writing. Many fundamental vocal expressive devices, including portamento, have been lost in “modern” and “historically-informed” (HIP) singing and violin playing. My thesis aims to (1) understand the historical appropriateness of portamento in Schubert’s violin music and how different types of portamento work, (2) examine why the technique was lost, and (3) explore ways of reigniting it in today's musical aesthetic. I first analysed relevant written sources and early vocal and violin recordings, finding clear evidence of frequent and varied vocal and violin portamento use, clear links in portamento use between early-recorded singing and violin playing, and consistency between early-recorded portamenti and written sources from Schubert’s time. To understand why portamento was lost, I examined the wider phenomenon of style change in the 20th century and found that both recording technology and general 20th-century aesthetic changes encouraged “cleanness” and “repeatability” in music, thereby eradicating spontaneous and unique expressive devices like portamento. Finally, I researched innate emotional responses to music and portamento’s importance as an engaging communicative tool, and undertook my own artistic experimentation in early-19th-century music, collaborating with and surveying leading vocal and string 19th-century HIP practitioners to explore ways of making portamento expressive and relevant to modern musical practice and appreciation.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  'What may have happened…' (2023) author(s): Johan van Kreij published in: Research Catalogue, KC Research Portal
  “What may have happened…" is a research driven by the desire to augment the sense of sharing in a decentralized improvisation-a creative musical situation in which the participants are in different locations. It focusses on extending the amount of communication channels in a decentralized improvisation setting—beyond the audible and visible. The aim will be not just adding extra layers of data exchange, but introducing various modes of interaction. This will be realized through the use of software and mobile devices.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Embodied Bits (2023) author(s): Pedro Latas published in: KC Research Portal
  The Master research “Embodied Bits” concerns how trans-human, post-digital and post-internet ideas relate to my Queer experience. It is, in a nutshell, an ongoing research on how the technological world has spilled over into the biological world and how Queer folks are front and centre when it comes to taking advantage of technological developments in order to realise their identities. The research question is “How do we perform ourselves in the digital realm?”. Though it started as a research on the practicalities and aesthetics of internet/networked-based performances it quickly opened a Pandora’s Box of social inquiry and analysis. Performing ourselves means performing ethnicity, gender, sexuality, cultural identity... There is an inevitability in drawing a direct connection between these topics and how do we, as singular and, paradoxically, plural human beings within ourselves engage with modern day technology. Through technology we are able to build ourselves, to draft new identities, to build again if they no longer suit our needs. As an artistic research, “Embodied Bits” looks into how digital media has influenced human experience and focuses on the experiences of non-normative bodies and identities, in which I include my own. These topics are interlaced with my own compositional and performative work, always informed and inspired by the previously mentioned ideas and historical context.
  open exposition comments (1)
• Younger audience for Classical Music (2023) author(s): Manuel Urios Hernández Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  In recent years, the audience for classical music has been aging. Fewer and fewer young people are attending concerts. This is not a problem of classical music itself, but of the factors surrounding it, such as codes of behavior or the usual concert rituals. The aim of this research is to look for different ways of innovating classical music concerts, so that classical music becomes a style of music that is better known and more present among young people.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Yin-Yang Relationships in Music (2023) author(s): Zalan Berta Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  Have you ever lost your motivation and felt stuck in music? I have, but I found a way to overcome these issues: the wisdom of Daoism. If a Daoist faces an unsolvable problem, he sits down and peacefully drinks a tea. It means that sometimes it is better to take step back and let things go. Is this your cup of tea? The purpose of my research is to combine Western music theory with an ancient Chinese philosophy, called Daoism (Taoism). This research is not about theory or exercise – however it contains both – it is more like a new kind of perspective in music, and in improvisation itself. First and foremost, I designed this research to introduce the essence of Daoism and to translate its spirit into music and into our daily lives, to help us become a better musician. The reason why I have chosen Daoism is because the main ideas of it are spontaneity and tranquility. For a musician, these qualities are essential, especially for an improvising musician. But the most important thing is: The core of most Eastern philosophies is enlightenment, and in my writing, I have striven for nothing less, the goal of my research is to bring spirituality back into music. My approach is meant to give a great insight of music and improvisation with the help of Daoism, and to help musicians in their daily music practice, playing and composing, and last but not least, to provide mental support at a mentally unstable age.
  open exposition comments (1)