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

• Inspired by Bach (2022) author(s): Katharina Jacob Limited publication. Only visible to members of the portal : KC Research Portal
  The aim of this research is to examine, how the historical interpretation practice of the second Suite for unaccompanied cello by Bach could inspire the performance of Reger’s second Suite for cello solo. Max Reger, a German composer from the late 19th – early 20th century, competed during his lifetime with his colleagues Mahler, Strauß and Schönberg but never got the same recognition. A recurring criticism of Reger was his "obsession" with the music of Bach, which was quite different in degree from his contemporaries. Although opinions differ to what extend the Reger Suites are connected to Bach’s Suites, there is a consensus that they can be seen as an inspiration for Reger and are therefore relevant when it comes to performance approaches. In the first part of the research, the background of the two Suites as well as the relationship of Max Reger towards J.S. Bach is presented. In the second part, the historical performance practice of the Bach Suites is applied to the Reger Suite by means of practical experiments. This led to the conclusion that historical performance practice can influence the performance of the Reger Suite in various ways: by enrichening romantic melodies and giving them an inner structure, initiating a discussion of possible interpretations which one might not otherwise consider, as a practice tool and by shaping interpretative approaches. To present both the background research and the video journal of the practical experiments in an appealing way, the chosen format of this work is a research exposition.
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  Place to Action! Art that Inteferes (2022) author(s): Thalia Hoffman, Yannick Schop, Lakisha Apostel, Maryam Touzani, Alicia Cotillas Vélez, Robin Whitehouse, Bødvar Hole, Miro Gutjahr, Žilvinas Baranauskas, Anne-Claire Flora Mackenzie, Gaetan Langlois-Meurinne connected to: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague published in: Research Catalogue, KC Research Portal
  The course Place to Action - Art that Interferes is motivated and inspired by places. More specifically: the histories, contexts, narratives, situations, circumstances and people’s interactions and intra-actions and relationships with locations, which form places. Lingering in places with attention, listening to them and experimenting the possible ways of movement within them. These attentive gazes of places will initiate interdisciplinary artistic actions and interventions that aim to explore and reflect the possibilities of art to interfere. Here on this exposition the group will share their findings and actions.
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• Size Matters: Historical String Lengths and Possible Tunings of the Chitarrone or Theorbo (2021) author(s): Gao Menglin published in: KC Research Portal
  What was considered the "normal" size for the Italian theorbo or chitarrone upon its creation in the 17th century, and why should 21st century players like us embrace the historical size? This research tackles the question from several different angles: description in historical texts, surviving instruments, the optimal string gauge and tension, and tone comparison. The study finds the vast majority of surviving chitarroni to have a stopped string length around 88-89cm, with some exceeding 90cm and very few falling short of 80cm. This sparks the question of whether smaller instruments required a different tuning. Upon comparing with lute family instruments from the same era, the logical conclusion is that smaller instruments with string lengths around 76cm most probably did not need to have a double re-entrant tuning which is the standard tuning for all solo chitarrone music. When comparing a large instrument (95cm) and a small instrument (76cm, with single re-entrant tuning), one can hear that they perform very different roles as continuo instruments, and are not mutually replaceable. As modern-day lutenists, one should really embrace the large size if one wishes to play the chitarrone, and develop a technique to suit the instrument, instead of scaling down the instrument to suit the technique. Menglin Gao has been a recorder player, a countertenor, and now a theorbist, studying at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague. He is the founder and director of the Shanghai Camerata, an early music ensemble based in Shanghai, China.
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• One in Norway by One of Them: Vlogging for Classical Musicians (2021) author(s): Ursula Skaug published in: KC Research Portal
  The internet is a promising place for musicians; one can promote and perform music for free, with possibly endless reach. Especially online video and streaming are booming spaces with many opportunities. Online music videos are often either recordings of a live performance, or they are an "online performance" from a musician who acts as if they are part of a regular live concert with an audience. However, the practices of regular concerts and online video are very different in nature. Perhaps online video requires a different way of engaging with the musical material within the video format. What if classical musicians created videos that emphasized the more casual and chatty style of the online platforms? Through an iterative process I researched how classical musicians can use the vlog-style format with classical music and music theatre. In these vlogs I draw inspiration from the book "Three in Norway by Two of Them" and combine it with music by Julius Röntgen and Edvard Grieg. From this process I drew some conclusions and came up with a process for other musicians to try out this video format.
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• Exploring Expressive Lied Performance: Re-enacting Lotte Lehmann’s Pre-World War II Lied Performances (2021) author(s): Marlina Deasy Hartanto published in: KC Research Portal
  After the second world war, the musical performance style remains changing from intensely expressive into clean and litteral. The exaggeration of expression through tempo, rhythm, portamento, ornamentation were suddenly gone and became utterly unrealistic and old-fashion. The cleanliness of the performance style brought singers to put more focus only to the score and text. Realizing how much the gap between two different styles, I have only partially understood the half picture of the style. My thesis will focus on the re-enactment study of Lotte Lehmann's recording in 1930s of An die Musik by Schubert and Ich grolle nicht by Schumann.
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• Integration and development of jazz drum soloing (2021) author(s): Borut Rampih published in: KC Research Portal
  The desire to improve my drum soloing and the lack of in-depth material and examples on the subject led me to research drum soloing. Evaluating my playing, I found my approach to drum soloing was based heavily on playing “licks,” copying other drummer’s vocabulary literally with no clear idea of my own sound and identity with problems associated with this approach, such as forgetting phrases, feeling uncomfortable in unknown musical situations, etc. In my research, I tried to answer the question of how to integrate the playing of the master drummers of the bebop era into my own vocabulary and how modern drummers that I admire developed the classic language to fit their own style. I chose some of the most notable drummers of the bebop era, namely Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Roy Haynes, transcribed their solos, and analyzed their playing. Through their playing, I discovered fundamental concepts of drumming like the Call and response concept, the rudimental concept, the melodic concept, and tools and methods that help with technique, musicianship, and creativity on the drum set.
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