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

• Fractal Geometry in cello suites of J. S. Bach (2024) author(s): Beatriz Montes Martín Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  The relationship between music and mathematics is profound, as both disciplines share underlying principles. Musical harmony, rhythm, and structure often involve mathematical patterns and ratios. From the precise intervals in a melody to the rhythmic divisions in a composition, mathematics plays a fundamental role in shaping the beauty and coherence of musical expressions. Numerous studies have explored this connection, investigating it across different time eras – from the Pythagoreans in ancient Greece to contemporary composers – and including different styles and composers However, when it comes to the real world of the musicians, making music, how does this connection affect our playing? Does it have any influence on our playing or in the way we understand a certain musical piece? Does being aware of a mathematical structure or element hidden in a piece would make any difference in our performance? This is what you are going to read about in this paper.
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• Folking Around: a new approach to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra (2024) author(s): Raquel Roldan I Montserrat Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  As a classically-trained violist I did not have much knowledge about folk music, but when I encountered Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra I became very interested in understanding the English folk-music that inspired the piece. To enrich my interpretation of this specific work, I analyzed and explored tunes compilated by the composer, incorporated the four main characteristics of English folk music listed by his contemporary Cecil Sharp, and integrated these aspects in my own artistic practice, resulting in a list of tools which serve as a guide to interpret the piece.
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• Extracting violin and basso continuo parts from harpsichord suites by Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (2024) author(s): Marta Pindór Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  In 1707, the esteemed French composer Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre published her second book of harpsichord suites, titled “Pièces de clavecin qui peuvent se jouer sur le violon” - which in translation means “Pieces for harpsichord that could be played on the violin”. Regrettably, she left no explicit instructions on adapting these pieces for the violin. To tackle this challenge, I turned to the oeuvre of another luminary, François Dieupart, to glean insights into the intricacies of transcription. My goal is to assimilate Dieupart’s methodologies and apply them innovatively to transcribe Jacquet de La Guerre’s harpsichord pieces for the violin and basso continuo. This research endeavors to unravel the nuances of Dieupart’s transcription techniques and subsequently translate them to Jacquet de La Guerre’s repertoire. It involves an exploration of the transcription process, side by side with a biographical inquiry into the lives of both composers. Furthermore, an analysis of Dieupart’s compositions is undertaken to discern underlying principles guiding his transcriptions. Ultimately, the study aims to elucidate the methodology behind the transcriptional artistry of Dieupart and, by extension, to shed light on Jacquet de La Guerre’s compositions.
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• Encoding Emotion (2024) author(s): Geneviève Gates-Panneton published in: KC Research Portal
  The paper Encoding Emotion details an experiment conducted on early 18th-century French recitative to determine how composers relate harmony to sung text, if at all. Although the existence of a relationship between harmony and vocal expression is generally agreed upon, it is rarely properly taught to baroque singers, even though harmony is fundamental to the concept of basso continuo. It is also rarely discussed in continuo or singing treatises, either historical or modern, and, if so, never explicitly. The present experiment aims to fill that gap by examining harmony and text in actual written music. To do so, a harmonic analysis was performed on excerpts of secco recitative from French operas and cantatas written by Campra, Clérambault, Jacquet de la Guerre, and Rameau; the significant chords and harmonic passages were then logged in a spreadsheet with their corresponding text. Over two hundred lines of results were then analysed to determine whether patterns could be found associating certain words to chords or harmonic progressions. In the end, the dataset was too small for any general conclusions to be made with certainty, but patterns still emerged. Most notably, the plagal cadence correlated to feelings of love and tenderness, particularly in a sacred or noble context. It was also noted that, though general patterns could not always be identified, some chords or harmonic progressions appeared to have specific meaning for a certain composer. The V of IV, for example, was strongly associated with pleasure in Clérambault's works. Although there is only limited use for these results outside of this study, the identified patterns show that a more extensive dataset would yield enlightening results and give singers access to a remarkably rich tool with which to inform their interpretation.
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• Empirical Observations on the Use of Extended Harmonic Tensions in the Search for a Personal Music Vocabulary (2024) author(s): Pablo Cruz Placer Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  This study delves into the incorporation of extended harmonic tensions in the context of cultivating a distinctive music vocabulary. With a combination of empirical analysis and subjective qualitative assessments, encompassing dissonance, voicings, timbre, harmonic spectrum and scale formation, the research articulates the integration of these tensions into my personal style as both a composer and improviser. While this exploration does not focus on horizontal harmonic development, it will highlight the new possibilities these tensions bring to certain chord progressions in specific musical fragments. Some of the key findings include a fresh perspective on the vertical expansion of harmonies and the breaking of a one-octave framework for scale formation. This work also emphasizes the importance of empirical exploration in unlocking innovative harmonic potentials.
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• Efficient memorization strategies for piano repertoire and reflections on the tradition to perform without a score (2024) author(s): Yunke Shang Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  This research focuses on practice strategies aimed at enhancing memorization of complex piano repertoire and discuss the "play with or without issue" in piano performance. In Chapter I, I explores various strategies for efficient practice and effective memorization in piano performance. Drawing from personal experiences and insights from sources like Noa Kageyama's "Bulletproof Musician" website. Also delves into different types of memorization, including serial chaining and content addressable access etc. In Chapter II I delivered some practical experiment with various memorization strategies in two piano solo work which are in different style. Chapter III is a reflection on the tradition of memorized piano performance. It first summarizes its historical roots and contemporary relevance. Finally, the question is raised to what extent memorization is essential in piano performance; the impact of memorization on performance anxiety is discussed and suggestions for alternative approaches to musical expression are put forward.
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