Codarts
About this portal
Welcome to the online Research Catalogue of Codarts University of the Arts, Rotterdam.
The catalogue is an online forum for our Master of Music students to share and develop their artistic research with their coach and network, and to publish the final results.
contact person(s):
Santiago Cimadevilla ,
Christiaan van Hemert url:
http://www.codarts.nl/
Recent Activities
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Learning from a vocal approach on music
(2020)
author(s): Sophie Elisabeth Ehling
published in: Codarts
When we speak, there is rhythm, intonation and expression in the words that we choose. When we sing, a melody is added, the story surrounded by musical context. When I play the cello, I can express feelings, thoughts and stories without using any words.
I based my research on the relation between language and music, because I wanted to know how to be more expressive in my cello playing. Singers have the text to guide them into making clear what the story is about. As instrumentalists, we might not use words during a performance, but we can definitely learn from involving vocal elements into our approach to music.
That is why I consulted experts in the German, French and English language, as well as singers and cellists, to guide me in my process of making an ‘instrumental translation’ of vocal repertoire, in order to broaden my spectrum of possibilities to be expressive. Based on the results of desk research, text and score analysis, interviews and work sessions with the experts and experimentation on the cello, I made a comparison that led me towards the final result, recording the third movement of César Franck’s sonata, a piece in which I could put a lot of the new things that I had learned.
I hope that this research can assist anyone who is looking for a way to become more ‘outspoken’ in their instrumental playing, and to stimulate instrumentalists to always stay open for new ways to interpret a piece.
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Improvisation, Musical Analysis and Fretless Guitar: investigating the taksim practice within Ottoman Classical Music
(2020)
author(s): Juliano Abramovay
published in: Codarts
This research has developed tools and identified a series of procedures through an analytical investigation of how improvisation functions within the context of the taksim, a solo improvisational style found within the Ottoman Classical Music tradition. By transcribing and analyzing improvisations from masters on the style, it was possible to catalogue different types of musical structures, from ornaments and small phrases to the overall scheme of improvisations and strategies employed by the musician while performing it. The elements observed within master's improvisations were adapted to the technique of the fretless guitar, the instrument in which the research has been developed. With the aid of specialized software, a series of videos were produced where structures observed through analyses of improvisations are presented in a didactical manner. Practical examples introducing ways of employing these structures on the fretless guitar are also a part of the research output. The final goal of this research was to create my personal identity on the fretless guitar by using the tools developed here.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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?