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

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  (RE)SOUNDING ALEXANDER J. ELLIS: A SPECULATIVE BIOGRAPHY THROUGH TUNING, SONG WRITING AND COMPOSITION. (exam version) (2020) author(s): Seamus Cater published in: KC Research Portal
  Abstract: An attempt to explore a method of speculative biography through composition, taking Alexander J. Ellis as an object of research, and creating opportunities for exploring elements of his work, with the very tools he used at that time. Combining research, correspondence, composition and instrument tuning, a (re)sounding of some key ideas of Ellis are presented. In a manner I postulate he may have experienced or imagined himself. Aside from tuning two instruments common to Ellis, firstly, a London made concertina, and secondly, a set of 74 tuning forks, I will attempt a musical representation of parts of his archive and nineteenth century scientific research, using his means, objects and measurements as starting points for composition. Tuning a concertina from 1924, in Skhismic tuning, an extended Pythagorean chain of 24 fifths, affords a system of ‘practically just intonation’, described by Ellis in the Appendix of Helmholtz’ ‘On the Sensations of Tone’ (first English translation 1875). Concertinas with 24 reeds within one of the octaves had not been not available in the time of Ellis. Historically, reference pitches had often been tuned onto tuning forks for sharing locally and internationally. Using the data from ‘On the History of Musical Pitch’ (1880), where Ellis gathered 223 historical instances of the note A from European instrument makers and musicians, I produced a just intonation system with the 74 unique Hz frequencies. Extremely minor adjustments were made, allowing the possibility that each Hz frequency could be expressed as a small number or Pythagorean ratio. These were then tuned onto a set of new forks ranging from F# to C#, by current A440 standards.
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• Antonio Casimir Cartellieri: a forgotten master at the Viennese Court (2020) author(s): Elia Celegato published in: KC Research Portal
  The solo clarinet compositions of Antonio Casimir Cartellieri (1772-1807) are comparatively unknown in these days, although during his lifetime his works were widely acclaimed in the Viennese Court. This research has a threefold purpose: Reconstructing the life of Antonio Casimir Cartellieri; locating and procuring as many of Cartellieri’s works as possible; studying the selected compositions; assessing both his historical role in the clarinet repertory and the value of his compositions for the instrument. The results are presented in three chapters. The first one contains a biography of Cartellieri, the second deals with Cartellieri’s repertoire and the last chapter, the most important, contains the analysis of the clarinet solo works. Observation upon Cartellieri’s compositional style and treatment of the clarinet will be drawn from the analysis of the four clarinet concertos and the four clarinet quartets. With regards to the nowadays clarinet performer, Cartellieri’s compositions serve as a model representing the best traits of the late eighteenth-century wind virtuoso school. Furthermore, they provide a repertory bridging the gap between the old style of Stamitz and Mozart, and the new style of Weber, and Spohr. The concertos and the quartet are excellent training pieces for clarinet students, showing formal characteristics of the period. They are pleasant, charming, and unassuming works of the chamber genre, idiomatically suited for the solo instrument, emphasizing directness and balance of conventional structure. Cartellieri’s works were undoubtedly fashionable vehicles for displaying the Viennese Clarinets virtuosos. They possess a high degree of musical craftsmanship with moments of true musical inspiration.
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• An Approach to Romantic cello playing in Brahms's time (2020) author(s): María Cadenas Rodríguez published in: KC Research Portal
  The revolution of sound recording at the beginning of the 20th century influenced classical performance practice, setting definitive interpretations and eradicating more personal approaches to music-making. Many fundamental expressive devices were lost over the years and thus Romantic musical performance was no longer understood in the same way. This is why my research tries to look backwards in time with the aim of exploring the main attributes of Brahms’s Romantic style in music for string instruments. My research aims to: (1) understand lost Romantic expressive devices and how they worked, and (2) explore ways of using them today. I first analysed primary and secondary literature to establish context. Then I examined historical edited cello scores by Brahms, using them to show the different fingerings and slurrings provided by the main cellists of the period, which give us a clear idea about the use of portamenti, for example. Finally I listened to cello and string quartet early recordings to hear sonic evidence of these techniques, before applying them in Brahms's chamber music for cello. The main outcome I found is that diverse and emotional approaches to music-making made the Romantic period unique. I hope these tools can encourage today’s cellists and string players in general to create new, more personal, freer and more creative approaches to playing Romantic repertoires.
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• SOUND IDENTITY (2020) author(s): Sara Maganzini published in: KC Research Portal
  The purpose of my Research is to explore why at the beginning of the XX° century wind orchestras in different Countries in Europe sounded so singular and why nowadays the sound is so similar one to the other. Haven’t found any book which speaks about this specific topic I decided to research about the subject hoping it will maybe be useful or interesting not only for my development as conductor/musician but also to other people, be they conductors, composers, musicians or just wind orchestra music lovers. Above historical issues I will also include some artistic material such as examples, audio samples and scores which support the development of my Research. Special focus will be given to the analysis of a couple of significant original scores from the first decade of the XX° century which will be the guide line throughout my research.
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• The Prolonged Touch: Finger Pedaling and Legatissimo in Classical and Early Romantic Piano Music (2020) author(s): Blake Proehl published in: KC Research Portal
  The term prolonged touch comes from Carl Czerny and is synonymous with finger pedaling, legatissimo, overlegato, and, in some cases, legato. This was a common technique used by the early pianists who took it out of the practices of harpsichord, clavichord, and organ playing. Its use in piano music declined during the Romantic period and beyond, due to the development of the piano and its sound, the advancement of damper pedal technique, and a more "literal” reading of notation. My research aims to understand how and where in music the prolonged touch was used in Classical and early Romantic piano music. Passages describing this technique were found in treatises and works by C. P. E. Bach, Türk, Milchmeyer, Adam, Hummel, Moscheles, Czerny, and more. From these passages, I examined the ways the aforementioned composers notated or indicated the use of this technique in their compositions. Next, based on what the treatises tell, I organized categories of musical applications of the prolonged touch. And then I gave examples from piano literature to further illustrate their use within each category. Finally, I demonstrated my artistic use of the prolonged touch in Mozart’s Sonata in F major, K. 332.
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• Rethinking ornamentation : a rhetorical approach to da capo arias of Georg Friedrich Händel (2020) author(s): Francisca Prestes Branco Gouveia published in: KC Research Portal
  Ornamenting baroque da capo arias is crucial for the historically informed singer. However, the choice of ornaments should do more than fit the affects portrayed in a given piece: it should emphasize their expression and move the affections of the audience. In Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Capellmeister it is suggested that rhetorical figures can be of good use as ornaments. Out of the abundant number of figures listed by theorists associated with the movement of the German Musica Poetica, only a few have simultaneously an affective meaning and can be applied to a pre-existing melody. This research explores some of the existing ornamented melodies by G. F. Händel and singers from the time of the composer to understand how these ornaments can be linked with figures from rhetoric, and how they assist in the expression of the text. This research associates rhetorical figures and manieren with general affects and demonstrates its practical use in selected operatic repertoire by G. F. Händel. This study aims to enhance the author’s aesthetic choices while performing, and furthermore encourage other singers to use ornamentation effectively in similar repertoire.
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