Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• Developing new sonic landscapes for improvisation and composition by extended techniques for saxophone such as overtones, timbral fingerings and multiphonics (2020) author(s): Albert Kerekeš published in: Codarts
  The initial plan for my research was to analyze Pat Metheny’s concepts of improvisation over blues forms and incorporating his concepts into my improvisation. During my first year I thought this research would be a good idea until I had a major discussion about it with Paul van Brugge. The discussions conclusion was that this research wouldn’t add a significant value to my artistry and that this analysis of Pat Metheny’s concepts can be done, out of my own curiosity, in my free time and during my main subject lessons, if I really wanted to do it so badly. Since Paul is both jazz and classical composer in the 21st century and he have seen and experienced the development of music, he suggested me to get into extended techniques for saxophone which would give me a significantly bigger value as a performing artist, saxophonist and composer, in this ‘modern’ world. At first, I was hesitant towards extended techniques for saxophone because I heard they were extremely hard, but after I came to peace with the idea I was able to start seeing some of the benefits extended techniques could provide me. The question that I formulated and led me to find answers and start my journey was the following: How can I develop new sonic landscapes for improvisation and composition by extended techniques for saxophone such as overtones, timbral fingerings and multiphonics?
  open exposition comments (0)
• The search for passion: Arpeggione sonata analysis through vocal, modern cello and arpeggione influence (2020) author(s): Virginia del Cura Miranda published in: Codarts
  How can I develop a personal interpretation of the Arpeggione Sonata for cello and piano by F. Schubert, making a performer’s analysis in the first and second movement? *The performer’s analysis will include the following factors: a historical approach to the Sonata, Schubert’s compositional style, a form analysis of the final version, a study of the original notes written by the composer on the manuscript, the influence of the arpeggione (instrument) has on Arpeggione’s composing and the influence of vocal technique.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Discovering the National Idiom in Alexander Campbell Mackenzie’s Pibroch Suite: A Performance Guide (2020) author(s): Allison Stringer published in: Codarts
  This research explores the connection between Scottish traditional music and Alexander Campbell Mackenzie’s classical composition, the Pibroch Suite, through the concept of Scotland’s national idiom. The purpose of this study is to create a performance guide for future violinists who are performing Mackenzie’s Pibroch Suite. The guide includes a foundation for Scottish ornamentation, bowings, rhythm and phrasing also including general historical background to the composer and the Scottish traditional music culture. As well as technical information, this research resulted in an annotated score that incorporates the addition of ornamentations, bowings, phrasings and general stylistic ideas in order to perform the Pibroch Suite in a Scottish and classically informed style. The study focuses on Scotland’s national idiom as a foundation to discovering a performance that blends Mackenzie’s Scottish origins with his classical compositional style. The work will act as a performance guide for future musicians as a basis for their own interpretations of the Pibroch Suite as well as future work in the field of folk/classical crossover.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Developing phrasing and ornamentation in Taksim based on makam Ussak and Hicaz (2020) author(s): Danai Loudiki published in: Codarts
  From the very beginning when Ι started dealing with the modal music and the oral traditions of the Middle East I was so thrilled by the perception of this music as a living organism that evolves through time. This thought inspired me and made me want to get involved with this music in a creative way. Thus, Ι bacame interested in understanding the nature of the modal system of Makam and adopting all those elements that would allow me to express myself through this music. Through this quest, it didn’t take me long to realize that a big part of this expression that I was looking for, personified in this music via the Taksim (non-meter improvisation). Therefore, my goal of my artistic research at Codarts, was on the one hand, to gain a deeper knowledge of this music language regarding the makam-based modal improvisation (Taksim): phrases, motifs, ornaments and structure, and on the other hand, to improve my technical possibilities on the instrument so as to adopt the elements of this language on the violin. After brainstorming and having a number of interesting discussions, I formed the question that would allow me to achieve this goal. ARTISTIC RESEARCH QUESTION How can I improve my violin performance on Τaksim (non-metric improvisation), by playing, transcribing and analyzing ornaments and phrases of specific taksims on makam Ussak and Hicaz?
  open exposition comments (0)
• The Practice Guide for the Sequenza VII (2020) author(s): Maxime le Minter published in: Codarts
  The Sequenza of Berio is for me a special piece from the oboe repertoire. It is one of the only piece coming from what we consider modern music which oboe players arriving to a certain level need to master because this piece is now being asked in most of international competitions and even sometimes for audition for certain ensembles. This piece is also one of the most challenging of our repertoire. Written in 1969, this piece includes many difficulties for the performer such as extended techniques and high level technical difficulties. Because of the many audio versions that are available, it is in our days possible to get an idea of how the piece can be performed. however, I have made in this research a comparison between two reference recordings and how many differences can be found. Some other versions of the piece have been made in order to help the performers to practice the Sequenza. Jaqueline Leclair wrote a “a” version that can be found when you buy the piece in the store. That version, with the allowance of Berio, is a measured version of the piece intended to help the performer play the piece in a literal way and gives guidance regarding the tempo and the necessary time for this piece to be performed. This version has been refused by Heinz Holliger, who argued in letters with J. Leclair about how difficult and out of context her version can be, compared to the normal version. We will see in this research that this version is actually irrelevant to the original concept/idea of the piece if performed literally and also that it brings more troubles that it solves problems because of the impossibility to perform the piece in such a tempo. The method I used to go through this process is, based on a reference recording, to show the difficulties point per point. For more clarity, I have divided the research per section, and I have put in each section the difficulties that were relevant to me, according to the comparison I have made between versions of the piece, and my own technical struggles. On each of those difficulties, there is a recording of the experimentation, including different ways of playing it, and a recording of which version is the easiest for the performer. Each result and their difficulties have been discussed with one of my three specialists and experimented and recorded by myself so I strongly believe in the result of each of the difficulties I am talking about. Also, every oboe player is different and the best way of tackling those technical issues might be different for all of us, so what I am trying to do here is to help the performer who perform his piece and the results are all according to my own way of playing and of my strong and weak point as a oboe player. I would recommend to the reader to have a flexible view on that work and to take what is helpful for the player. I would be glad to have any performer telling me that he would have used one section of this whole research.
  open exposition comments (0)
• Discovering improvisation tools in Jazz (2020) author(s): Ella van der Mespel published in: Codarts
  Initially I viewed having these two years of my study as a chance to be able to recognise my capabilities, strengths and weaknesses and then delve into the unknown. Improvisation has been something I have longed to have the confidence and skill to be able to do. I have never had any previous training in improvisation and no chance to experiment with it. However by having the desire to gain fundamental skills in improvisation comes a deep fear of the unknown; that there is a chance of failure – that I would never reach the means to be able to improvise in a way that would bring me satisfaction. While accepting that there is always this possibility, my will and determination to experience improvisation and to find my own way to express myself through it, greatly outweighed my fear. I have always been greatly impressed by those who are ‘brave’ enough to improvise, especially in public -to be able to experience performing with no pre-conceived idea as to what will happen and to have every aspect of musical freedom at one’s disposal. So long as one can improvise fluently, anything is possible with regard to playing and performing music - to have a unique voice which has not been corrupted by others opinions and musical wishes. This was my original and rather romantic idea of what improvisation was. I have since learned that there is far less freedom and more rules than I could have ever imagined. Whilst having this uneducated and therefore idealistic notion of improvisation, there has been a deep embedded fear – to play music that has not been previously notated and therefore able to be decoded. A fear of playing a ‘wrong note’ – out of key and being unable to get back on the ‘right path.’ I have always loved musical genres where improvisation occurs frequently, such as in folk music and jazz. Despite being raised in a predominantly classical music environment, I have always had an affinity with music played by the greats, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. As my musical tastes began to broaden, the artistry of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli came into the picture. Perhaps it is therefore of no surprise that Django Reinhardt’s Nuages was the first tune I thought of when considering improvisation as my research topic. Over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to live in a house full of students studying Jazz. They constantly played records, and introduced me to so many artists and jazz vocabulary. During an evening of listening, we stumbled across jazz violinist Didier Lockwood performing Nuages. I fell in love with his performance and started fiddling around with it in the privacy of my home. It is from Didier’s performance that my research began to take shape.
  open exposition comments (0)