Composition portfolio
- Boesack, Lenrick Jonathan Angus
- Authors: Boesack, Lenrick Jonathan Angus
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Piano music , Prepared piano music , Saxophone music
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/56233 , vital:26786
- Description: This short composition portfolio comprises 40% of the requirements for the Master of Music Degree in performance and composition at Rhodes University. In addition to the music presented here, I played two public exam recitals of 70 minutes each. While I played piano as a child, my main instrument during my BMUS studies at the University of Cape Town (2004-2007) was the saxophone. In 2010 I was diagnosed with Polymyositis(an auto-immune desease) which particularly affected my breathing and therefore my ability to play the saxophone. For this reason I opted to play my recitals on the piano. The first recital focused on interpretations of Swing Era, Bebop and post-Bebop standards such as: Someday my prince will come, What is this thing called love, In your own sweet way, Eternal Triangle, Recordame, Peace, Dolphin Dance, Caravan and Some other blues. The second recital comprised of seven original compositions that were presented in trio, quartet and quintet settings.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Boesack, Lenrick Jonathan Angus
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Piano music , Prepared piano music , Saxophone music
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/56233 , vital:26786
- Description: This short composition portfolio comprises 40% of the requirements for the Master of Music Degree in performance and composition at Rhodes University. In addition to the music presented here, I played two public exam recitals of 70 minutes each. While I played piano as a child, my main instrument during my BMUS studies at the University of Cape Town (2004-2007) was the saxophone. In 2010 I was diagnosed with Polymyositis(an auto-immune desease) which particularly affected my breathing and therefore my ability to play the saxophone. For this reason I opted to play my recitals on the piano. The first recital focused on interpretations of Swing Era, Bebop and post-Bebop standards such as: Someday my prince will come, What is this thing called love, In your own sweet way, Eternal Triangle, Recordame, Peace, Dolphin Dance, Caravan and Some other blues. The second recital comprised of seven original compositions that were presented in trio, quartet and quintet settings.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
A survey of the development of pitch perception theories, their application to bell sounds and an investigation of perceived differences between ringing and chiming bells
- Authors: Botha, Alison
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Music -- Acoustics and physics , Musical pitch , Change ringing , Chimes , Bells
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:2631 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002296 , Music -- Acoustics and physics , Musical pitch , Change ringing , Chimes , Bells
- Description: A brief overview of the workings of the human auditory system is followed by a review of literature concerning both the theories and experimental investigations of human pitch perception. The application of these theories to the inharmonic complex tones produced by bells is discussed, and further experiments using bell sounds are reviewed. A methodology for psychoacoustic experiments with specific reference to those investigating pitch perception of inharmonic complex tones is presented. This methodology is then implemented in an experimental investigation of pitch perception of ringing and chiming bell sounds. A pitch matching experiment using ringing and chiming sounds from four bells aimed to determine perceived pitch differences between ringing and chiming bells. This experiment was inconclusive because insufficient data was collected. Known experimental results, such as the inability of non-musicians to match the pitches of sounds with different timbres were confirmed. Spectral analyses of the stimuli were performed. The presentation of stimuli at a low level of sensation is questioned, as this might have prevented pseudo high frequency noise resulting from stronger upper partials in the ringing sound from being audible, and hence the pitch differences between ringing and chiming bells would not be observed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Botha, Alison
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Music -- Acoustics and physics , Musical pitch , Change ringing , Chimes , Bells
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:2631 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002296 , Music -- Acoustics and physics , Musical pitch , Change ringing , Chimes , Bells
- Description: A brief overview of the workings of the human auditory system is followed by a review of literature concerning both the theories and experimental investigations of human pitch perception. The application of these theories to the inharmonic complex tones produced by bells is discussed, and further experiments using bell sounds are reviewed. A methodology for psychoacoustic experiments with specific reference to those investigating pitch perception of inharmonic complex tones is presented. This methodology is then implemented in an experimental investigation of pitch perception of ringing and chiming bell sounds. A pitch matching experiment using ringing and chiming sounds from four bells aimed to determine perceived pitch differences between ringing and chiming bells. This experiment was inconclusive because insufficient data was collected. Known experimental results, such as the inability of non-musicians to match the pitches of sounds with different timbres were confirmed. Spectral analyses of the stimuli were performed. The presentation of stimuli at a low level of sensation is questioned, as this might have prevented pseudo high frequency noise resulting from stronger upper partials in the ringing sound from being audible, and hence the pitch differences between ringing and chiming bells would not be observed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
A short composition portfolio
- Buitendag, Kingsley Alexander
- Authors: Buitendag, Kingsley Alexander
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Music -- South Africa Composition (Music)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2632 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002297
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Buitendag, Kingsley Alexander
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Music -- South Africa Composition (Music)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2632 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002297
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The jazz divas an analysis of the musical careers of six New Brighton vocalists
- Authors: Butete, Netsayi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Jazz musicians -- Research -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Ethnomusicology -- Research -- South Africa Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Apartheid -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2633 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002298
- Description: There has been insufficient academic research on the music of the Eastern Cape in general and Port Elizabeth and New Brighton in particular. This study, as part of the International Library of African Music (ILAM)lRed Location Museum Music History Project (ILAMIRLMHP) - an oral history intervention to save the music history of New Brighton from extinction through research and documentation of the memories of veteran musicians - is focused on jazz vocalists. The primary objective of my study is to investigate, critically analyze, interpret and document the career experiences of six New Brighton jazz vocalists in the context of performing in the Port Elizabeth music industry during the apartheid and the post-apartheid eras. The secondary objectives are to stimulate research interests in music students and ethnomusicologists to pursue research on the music of Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape and to inspire and motivate the vocalists to continue making music with renewed zeal. A qualitative research paradigm informed the field research necessary for this study. The fieldwork paved the way for an eclectic framework of analysis grounded in Pierre Bourdieu's notions of habitus, field and capital, examining the impact of the context on the vocalists' habitus which influenced how they viewed and interpreted their past and current experiences in the performance field. Data obtained through extensive interviewing of New Brighton's contemporary female vocalists and their male counterparts revealed that they have no opportunity to make commercial recordings. The musicians have to migrate to Johannesburg to have successful music careers, although personality politics, greed and lack of professionalism also work against the musicians' success. The data shows that New Brighton musicians, both male and female, do not have enough performance opportunities and there are fewer chances to tour now than there were from the 1960s through the 1980s. As in the apartheid era, female vocalists are still discriminated against in terms of pay, and men discriminate in how they pay other male musicians. Analysis of the vocalists' jazz compositions revealed that their song lyrics depict a bona fide urban African culture and reflect the emotional needs of the society in which they live.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Butete, Netsayi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Jazz musicians -- Research -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth Ethnomusicology -- Research -- South Africa Sex discrimination against women -- South Africa Sex discrimination in employment -- South Africa Apartheid -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2633 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002298
- Description: There has been insufficient academic research on the music of the Eastern Cape in general and Port Elizabeth and New Brighton in particular. This study, as part of the International Library of African Music (ILAM)lRed Location Museum Music History Project (ILAMIRLMHP) - an oral history intervention to save the music history of New Brighton from extinction through research and documentation of the memories of veteran musicians - is focused on jazz vocalists. The primary objective of my study is to investigate, critically analyze, interpret and document the career experiences of six New Brighton jazz vocalists in the context of performing in the Port Elizabeth music industry during the apartheid and the post-apartheid eras. The secondary objectives are to stimulate research interests in music students and ethnomusicologists to pursue research on the music of Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape and to inspire and motivate the vocalists to continue making music with renewed zeal. A qualitative research paradigm informed the field research necessary for this study. The fieldwork paved the way for an eclectic framework of analysis grounded in Pierre Bourdieu's notions of habitus, field and capital, examining the impact of the context on the vocalists' habitus which influenced how they viewed and interpreted their past and current experiences in the performance field. Data obtained through extensive interviewing of New Brighton's contemporary female vocalists and their male counterparts revealed that they have no opportunity to make commercial recordings. The musicians have to migrate to Johannesburg to have successful music careers, although personality politics, greed and lack of professionalism also work against the musicians' success. The data shows that New Brighton musicians, both male and female, do not have enough performance opportunities and there are fewer chances to tour now than there were from the 1960s through the 1980s. As in the apartheid era, female vocalists are still discriminated against in terms of pay, and men discriminate in how they pay other male musicians. Analysis of the vocalists' jazz compositions revealed that their song lyrics depict a bona fide urban African culture and reflect the emotional needs of the society in which they live.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Composition portfolio
- Authors: Cooper, Corinne Jane
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Music , Musical bow -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sound recordings in ethnomusicology -- South Africa , Dywili, Nofinishi. The bow project , Music -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168338 , vital:41568
- Description: In June 2014, I was introduced to Christine Dixie by a film maker I had worked with on a previous project. Christine was looking for a composer who could arrange a soundtrack around musical themes that she had commissioned from Jared Lang to accompany her video installation To Be King (Dixie 2014. Jared composed five different melodies that I wove into a palette of sounds that comprised the soundtrack. To Be King was exhibited at the National Arts Festival in 2014 as part of the Main Festival. It moved to Cape Town in 2015 and 2017, to Venice and London in 2017, and to Lithuania in 2018. In 2017, Christine approached me to compose a soundtrack for a different work, based again on seventeenth century Spanish artist, Velázquez’ painting ‘Las Meninas’ (1656), but this time, using a series of sculptures representing the different figures in the painting, a reinterpretation with strong Eastern Cape (South Africa) themes and associations. Christine proposed reimagining the figures in the painting by clothing them in Shweshwe 1 material and placing African masks on each of them, masks that she had sought out during her travels around Africa. The use of Shweshwe material, ties the figures very closely to the Eastern Cape, and in particular, close to where I grew up in Alice, just 60 kilometres away from where it is manufactured in King William’s Town. Alice is important in the unfolding of this portfolio as Ntsikana, purportedly the first Xhosa person to be converted to Christianity and a prophet, lived in Peddie (which is about 70 kilometers from Grahamstown and Rhodes University) and Gqora, near the Kat River District which is located in the Amathola District near Alice. (Kumalo 2015, p.26). Alice is steeped in history, and is the town where Lovedale Mission Station was founded in 1824 and later, the Lovedale Press in 1861. Therefore, this project felt close to my roots, hence this interaction between Western and African cultures is very relevant to my world view and has impacted on my scoring of this music. I was initially challenged by the idea that the project would require a deeper understanding of traditional Xhosa music and while I had been exposed to Xhosa culture while growing up in Alice, my formative years were largely shaped by the culture of my Christian parents who immigrated to South Africa from England during the 1960s. During the first decade of the twentieth century, in my capacity as a sound engineer, I was tasked with recording and mastering a double CD called The Bow Project. Various South African composers were invited to transcribe and paraphrase or reimagine traditional Xhosa bow music for the classical string quartet. The uhadi songs 2 of Nofinishi Dywili formed the basis for many of these intercultural explorations, and I recorded and mastered the string quartets as well as 12 individual recordings of Dywili’s music. I spent many hours listening to Dywili’s recordings while I mastered them, but though I was very familiar with how they sounded, I realised, as I started compiling this portfolio, that I was not familiar with their notation and rhythmic structures. I approach sound engineering with a very different ear and sonic perspective to that of a composer. To learn more about uhadi bow music I visited the International Library of African Music (ILAM) which is housed by Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Here I consulted with sound engineer and African music specialist, Elijah Madiba, on Xhosa instruments and traditional music-making. With Madiba’s assistance I listened carefully to different bow performances and examined a variety of instruments. After this introduction I loaned a selection of recordings from the ILAM collection and listened to them as carefully as I could. Every time I listened, I seemed to hear something different, both melodically and rhythmically. To gain a deeper understanding of how this music was created I decided to transcribe some of the songs. Following a steep learning curve I completed transcriptions of two songs with my transcriptions including a wealth of vocal parts. As my ears grew accustomed to the sound world I heard additional counter melodies. Notating the rhythms using staff notation was challenging, as this music is created according to a different format, but I am familiar with staff notation and if I was going to use this material while composing then I needed to remain with that which was familiar. I finally settled on notating with shifting time signatures and the first song is scored in bars of 3/4, 4/4, and 2/4 while the other song uses 3/4, 2/4. It was a very worthwhile exercise and after completion I humbly set about composing the eleven pieces that would musically express Dixie’s new work: Worlding the White Spirit Maiden (2019).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Cooper, Corinne Jane
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Music , Musical bow -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sound recordings in ethnomusicology -- South Africa , Dywili, Nofinishi. The bow project , Music -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168338 , vital:41568
- Description: In June 2014, I was introduced to Christine Dixie by a film maker I had worked with on a previous project. Christine was looking for a composer who could arrange a soundtrack around musical themes that she had commissioned from Jared Lang to accompany her video installation To Be King (Dixie 2014. Jared composed five different melodies that I wove into a palette of sounds that comprised the soundtrack. To Be King was exhibited at the National Arts Festival in 2014 as part of the Main Festival. It moved to Cape Town in 2015 and 2017, to Venice and London in 2017, and to Lithuania in 2018. In 2017, Christine approached me to compose a soundtrack for a different work, based again on seventeenth century Spanish artist, Velázquez’ painting ‘Las Meninas’ (1656), but this time, using a series of sculptures representing the different figures in the painting, a reinterpretation with strong Eastern Cape (South Africa) themes and associations. Christine proposed reimagining the figures in the painting by clothing them in Shweshwe 1 material and placing African masks on each of them, masks that she had sought out during her travels around Africa. The use of Shweshwe material, ties the figures very closely to the Eastern Cape, and in particular, close to where I grew up in Alice, just 60 kilometres away from where it is manufactured in King William’s Town. Alice is important in the unfolding of this portfolio as Ntsikana, purportedly the first Xhosa person to be converted to Christianity and a prophet, lived in Peddie (which is about 70 kilometers from Grahamstown and Rhodes University) and Gqora, near the Kat River District which is located in the Amathola District near Alice. (Kumalo 2015, p.26). Alice is steeped in history, and is the town where Lovedale Mission Station was founded in 1824 and later, the Lovedale Press in 1861. Therefore, this project felt close to my roots, hence this interaction between Western and African cultures is very relevant to my world view and has impacted on my scoring of this music. I was initially challenged by the idea that the project would require a deeper understanding of traditional Xhosa music and while I had been exposed to Xhosa culture while growing up in Alice, my formative years were largely shaped by the culture of my Christian parents who immigrated to South Africa from England during the 1960s. During the first decade of the twentieth century, in my capacity as a sound engineer, I was tasked with recording and mastering a double CD called The Bow Project. Various South African composers were invited to transcribe and paraphrase or reimagine traditional Xhosa bow music for the classical string quartet. The uhadi songs 2 of Nofinishi Dywili formed the basis for many of these intercultural explorations, and I recorded and mastered the string quartets as well as 12 individual recordings of Dywili’s music. I spent many hours listening to Dywili’s recordings while I mastered them, but though I was very familiar with how they sounded, I realised, as I started compiling this portfolio, that I was not familiar with their notation and rhythmic structures. I approach sound engineering with a very different ear and sonic perspective to that of a composer. To learn more about uhadi bow music I visited the International Library of African Music (ILAM) which is housed by Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Here I consulted with sound engineer and African music specialist, Elijah Madiba, on Xhosa instruments and traditional music-making. With Madiba’s assistance I listened carefully to different bow performances and examined a variety of instruments. After this introduction I loaned a selection of recordings from the ILAM collection and listened to them as carefully as I could. Every time I listened, I seemed to hear something different, both melodically and rhythmically. To gain a deeper understanding of how this music was created I decided to transcribe some of the songs. Following a steep learning curve I completed transcriptions of two songs with my transcriptions including a wealth of vocal parts. As my ears grew accustomed to the sound world I heard additional counter melodies. Notating the rhythms using staff notation was challenging, as this music is created according to a different format, but I am familiar with staff notation and if I was going to use this material while composing then I needed to remain with that which was familiar. I finally settled on notating with shifting time signatures and the first song is scored in bars of 3/4, 4/4, and 2/4 while the other song uses 3/4, 2/4. It was a very worthwhile exercise and after completion I humbly set about composing the eleven pieces that would musically express Dixie’s new work: Worlding the White Spirit Maiden (2019).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A study of Oliver Messiaen's song-cycles Poèms pour mi, Chants de terre et de ciel, and Harawi
- Authors: Donkin, Deborah Jean
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Messiaen, Olivier, 1908-1992 Song cycles--Interpretation (Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002300
- Description: This thesis ventures into the relatively neglected world of twentieth century vocal music, via the three song cycles of Oliver Messiaen. The song cycle is a comparatively young genre, generally dated from Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte or by some, even later to Schubert's Die schone Miillerin. Nevertheless, considerable changes have taken place in the 160 years which separate Messiaen's cycles from those of the 'pioneers' mentioned above. A fuller appreciation of twentieth century cycles is facilitated by observing this evolutionary process and placing the works within an historical and cultural perspective. Such an introduction is provided in part one of this thesis, along with relevant details on the life and interests of Messiaen. The latter information gives insight into the compositions themselves and may satisfy the reader's curiosity on the origin of some of the more unexpected techniques or ideas Messiaen llses. Before embarking on a study of the cycles, it is necessary to look at the highly individual musical language of the composer. Section two undertakes this task in some depth, wherever possible relating the explanations directly to the songs which follow. In order to clarify the text and to simplify the exercise for the reader, numerous musical examples have been used. This contributes to the apparent bulk of this section. The main emphasis of the thesis is the detailed study of the 20 songs contained in Poemes pour Mi, Chants de Terre et de Cief and Harawi. The third section of the thesis deals with this material thoroughly and systematically, dividing it up into musical and extra-musical aspects. The texts are considered in terms of Surrealist, religious, Nature, numerological and, in the case of Harawi, mythological and Peruvian folk symbolism. The relationship of text to music is studied and evelopments highlighted. Musically, the study is further sub-divided into piano part and vocal part. In each case, an extensive exploration of the techniques required of the performer is presented. This makes possible the subsequent categorisation of the songs on the basis of similarities in the musical means. Conclusions reached show a progressive development through the three song cycles in the composer's handling of the text, his treatment of the voice, his use of the piano and his expansion of the voice-piano relationship. This body of solo vocal literature emerges as typical of Oliver Messiaen's compositional style in general and therefore properly representative of the meticulous craftsmanship with which his works are constructed. The detailed analysis of all aspects of the songs contributes original material to scholarship on Messiaen and on song cycles in the twentieth century.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
- Authors: Donkin, Deborah Jean
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Messiaen, Olivier, 1908-1992 Song cycles--Interpretation (Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002300
- Description: This thesis ventures into the relatively neglected world of twentieth century vocal music, via the three song cycles of Oliver Messiaen. The song cycle is a comparatively young genre, generally dated from Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte or by some, even later to Schubert's Die schone Miillerin. Nevertheless, considerable changes have taken place in the 160 years which separate Messiaen's cycles from those of the 'pioneers' mentioned above. A fuller appreciation of twentieth century cycles is facilitated by observing this evolutionary process and placing the works within an historical and cultural perspective. Such an introduction is provided in part one of this thesis, along with relevant details on the life and interests of Messiaen. The latter information gives insight into the compositions themselves and may satisfy the reader's curiosity on the origin of some of the more unexpected techniques or ideas Messiaen llses. Before embarking on a study of the cycles, it is necessary to look at the highly individual musical language of the composer. Section two undertakes this task in some depth, wherever possible relating the explanations directly to the songs which follow. In order to clarify the text and to simplify the exercise for the reader, numerous musical examples have been used. This contributes to the apparent bulk of this section. The main emphasis of the thesis is the detailed study of the 20 songs contained in Poemes pour Mi, Chants de Terre et de Cief and Harawi. The third section of the thesis deals with this material thoroughly and systematically, dividing it up into musical and extra-musical aspects. The texts are considered in terms of Surrealist, religious, Nature, numerological and, in the case of Harawi, mythological and Peruvian folk symbolism. The relationship of text to music is studied and evelopments highlighted. Musically, the study is further sub-divided into piano part and vocal part. In each case, an extensive exploration of the techniques required of the performer is presented. This makes possible the subsequent categorisation of the songs on the basis of similarities in the musical means. Conclusions reached show a progressive development through the three song cycles in the composer's handling of the text, his treatment of the voice, his use of the piano and his expansion of the voice-piano relationship. This body of solo vocal literature emerges as typical of Oliver Messiaen's compositional style in general and therefore properly representative of the meticulous craftsmanship with which his works are constructed. The detailed analysis of all aspects of the songs contributes original material to scholarship on Messiaen and on song cycles in the twentieth century.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1992
Analysing from experience : Gustav Mahler’s Quartetsatz for piano and strings
- Authors: Du Plessis, Jacques
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911. -- Quartet, piano, violin, viola, cello, A minor , Musical analysis , Music appreciation , Phenomenology and music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2696 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017818
- Description: Musical analysis has traditionally been located within the context of musicology. It is therefore an activity usually considered the purview of music scholars rather than practical musicians. The musical analyses produced by music scholars therefore provide us with intellectual understandings of musical works, rather than insights into the experience of listening to or playing music. In this thesis, I will propose that those agents involved in practical music-making can produce insights into musical works that are as valid as the work of traditional music scholarship. I will attempt to re-conceptualize the position of the ‘knower’ or ‘experiencer’ - the performer - of music as one with primary access to knowledge of a musical work, and therefore ideally suited to offer analyses of these works. The establishment of the performer as a bearer of central analytical knowledge functions in direct opposition to the traditional distinction between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’. My thesis will trace the Platonic origins of the philosophical separation of practice and research, and as an alternative to the traditional separation of practice and research, I shall explore the concept of Practice-Based Research (PBR). My exploration of PBR will be informed by phenomenological approaches to music scholarship. As a field of enquiry which concerns itself with experience, the phenomenology of music suggests that the mind and body of the practitioner are important sources of musical insight. To address this issue, Bourdieu’s notion of habitus will be explored. The habitus will be shown to contain a vast network of socio-cultural codes informing the practitioner’s relationship with the musical work. A central aim of this thesis is to explore the possibilities of using practice-based research as the foundation for the study and analysis of a composition, in order to allow for a deeper understanding of the work by means of the generation and harnessing of practical knowledge. Thus, the theoretical outline of PBR provided in this thesis will be applied to a piece of practical performance-based analysis. As such, an analysis of Mahler’s Quartetsatz will be used as the basis on which to draw knowledge in this project.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Du Plessis, Jacques
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911. -- Quartet, piano, violin, viola, cello, A minor , Musical analysis , Music appreciation , Phenomenology and music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2696 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017818
- Description: Musical analysis has traditionally been located within the context of musicology. It is therefore an activity usually considered the purview of music scholars rather than practical musicians. The musical analyses produced by music scholars therefore provide us with intellectual understandings of musical works, rather than insights into the experience of listening to or playing music. In this thesis, I will propose that those agents involved in practical music-making can produce insights into musical works that are as valid as the work of traditional music scholarship. I will attempt to re-conceptualize the position of the ‘knower’ or ‘experiencer’ - the performer - of music as one with primary access to knowledge of a musical work, and therefore ideally suited to offer analyses of these works. The establishment of the performer as a bearer of central analytical knowledge functions in direct opposition to the traditional distinction between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’. My thesis will trace the Platonic origins of the philosophical separation of practice and research, and as an alternative to the traditional separation of practice and research, I shall explore the concept of Practice-Based Research (PBR). My exploration of PBR will be informed by phenomenological approaches to music scholarship. As a field of enquiry which concerns itself with experience, the phenomenology of music suggests that the mind and body of the practitioner are important sources of musical insight. To address this issue, Bourdieu’s notion of habitus will be explored. The habitus will be shown to contain a vast network of socio-cultural codes informing the practitioner’s relationship with the musical work. A central aim of this thesis is to explore the possibilities of using practice-based research as the foundation for the study and analysis of a composition, in order to allow for a deeper understanding of the work by means of the generation and harnessing of practical knowledge. Thus, the theoretical outline of PBR provided in this thesis will be applied to a piece of practical performance-based analysis. As such, an analysis of Mahler’s Quartetsatz will be used as the basis on which to draw knowledge in this project.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The role of the cadence as determining factor of phrasing of the organ toccatas, preludes and fantasias of Johann Sebastian Bach
- Authors: Du Plooy, Jacobus Stephanus
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2636 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002301
- Description: This study examines the phrasing of J.S. Bach's preludes, toccatas and fantasias for organ. Consequent upon Bach's silence on the subject and the inadequacy of available sources, the cadence has been used as a means to determine the phrasing of these works. The goal of this thesis is to identify those characteristics of the cadence that can assist the performer in two ways: On the one hand, to select the appropriate type of break between phrases, and, the other hand, selecting the appropriate changes in tempo and articulation essential to the shaping of phrases. The term, 'cadence', therefore, applies not merely to an isolated entity of two chords, but rather to a broader formula including the progressions towards and away from it. This investigation follows an eclectic approach. Accordingly, the exploration of various sources is combined with diverse methods of analyses. The first method is a detailed structural analysis of Bach's cadential progressions, and more specifically, the way in which he integrated the basic musical elements into them. This shows the points of tension and relaxation, two musico-psychological effects fundamental to any decision regarding phrasing. The second method puts Bach's cadences within the context of the larger musical structure, including the 'extra-musical' (i.e. grammatical, rhetorical and 'affective') forms. This method organises cadences according to their various punctuation functions, hence main and secondary cadences. The cadences of twenty-eight works - those works of which the authenticity is more or less secure - are analysed. Descriptions cover a selection from these works considered to be the most representative. A significant number of examples, induding performing suggestions, accompany and elaborate in detail on all descriptions of cadences. An application of the findings is presented by an analysis and di scussion that elaborates in detail on the suggested performance of two works, BWV 542 and 541. These two works epitomize, and simultaneously form the culmination of the two principal styles (i.e. the improvisatory and motorically-orientated) prevalent in Bach's free organ works. Examination of the findings of this study and implications for further research conclude this thesis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
- Authors: Du Plooy, Jacobus Stephanus
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 -- Criticism and interpretation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2636 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002301
- Description: This study examines the phrasing of J.S. Bach's preludes, toccatas and fantasias for organ. Consequent upon Bach's silence on the subject and the inadequacy of available sources, the cadence has been used as a means to determine the phrasing of these works. The goal of this thesis is to identify those characteristics of the cadence that can assist the performer in two ways: On the one hand, to select the appropriate type of break between phrases, and, the other hand, selecting the appropriate changes in tempo and articulation essential to the shaping of phrases. The term, 'cadence', therefore, applies not merely to an isolated entity of two chords, but rather to a broader formula including the progressions towards and away from it. This investigation follows an eclectic approach. Accordingly, the exploration of various sources is combined with diverse methods of analyses. The first method is a detailed structural analysis of Bach's cadential progressions, and more specifically, the way in which he integrated the basic musical elements into them. This shows the points of tension and relaxation, two musico-psychological effects fundamental to any decision regarding phrasing. The second method puts Bach's cadences within the context of the larger musical structure, including the 'extra-musical' (i.e. grammatical, rhetorical and 'affective') forms. This method organises cadences according to their various punctuation functions, hence main and secondary cadences. The cadences of twenty-eight works - those works of which the authenticity is more or less secure - are analysed. Descriptions cover a selection from these works considered to be the most representative. A significant number of examples, induding performing suggestions, accompany and elaborate in detail on all descriptions of cadences. An application of the findings is presented by an analysis and di scussion that elaborates in detail on the suggested performance of two works, BWV 542 and 541. These two works epitomize, and simultaneously form the culmination of the two principal styles (i.e. the improvisatory and motorically-orientated) prevalent in Bach's free organ works. Examination of the findings of this study and implications for further research conclude this thesis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1996
An exploration of James Dreier’s Standard Tune Learning Sequence in a self-directed learning environment : an interpretative phenomenological analysis
- Authors: Ellis, Stephen James
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Dreier, James Drum -- Performance -- Studies and exercises Drum -- Methods -- Self-instruction Drum -- Instruction and study Drummers (Musicians)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2680 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011312
- Description: This qualitative case study was undertaken in order to explore the experiences of drum set students who apply themselves to James Dreier’s Standard Tune Learning Sequence (STLS) in a self-directed learning environment. These experiences ultimately shed light on how best to implement Differentiated Instruction to the STLS. The study draws on the experience of three adult drum students under the instruction of the author. The students were provided with the STLS and left to proceed with it on their own. They were asked to keep a record of their progress in the form of a learning journal. These learning journals were used, in conjunction with transcribed interviews and learner profiles, as data for this study and as such were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The study recognizes three factors which affect the student’s successful progression through the STLS: readiness, interest and meaning. Each factor is discussed in relation to literature on differentiated Instruction. Recommendations are made regarding the implementation of Differentiated Instruction to the STLS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Ellis, Stephen James
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Dreier, James Drum -- Performance -- Studies and exercises Drum -- Methods -- Self-instruction Drum -- Instruction and study Drummers (Musicians)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2680 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011312
- Description: This qualitative case study was undertaken in order to explore the experiences of drum set students who apply themselves to James Dreier’s Standard Tune Learning Sequence (STLS) in a self-directed learning environment. These experiences ultimately shed light on how best to implement Differentiated Instruction to the STLS. The study draws on the experience of three adult drum students under the instruction of the author. The students were provided with the STLS and left to proceed with it on their own. They were asked to keep a record of their progress in the form of a learning journal. These learning journals were used, in conjunction with transcribed interviews and learner profiles, as data for this study and as such were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The study recognizes three factors which affect the student’s successful progression through the STLS: readiness, interest and meaning. Each factor is discussed in relation to literature on differentiated Instruction. Recommendations are made regarding the implementation of Differentiated Instruction to the STLS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Religious musical performance as an articulation of transformation : a study of how the Tsonga Presbyterians of the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique negotiate their indigenous Tsonga and Swiss reformed church heritages
- Authors: Germiquet, Nicole Madeleine
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique , Sacred music -- Mozambique , Church music -- Mozambique , Church music -- Presbyterian , Tsonga (African people) -- Mozambique -- Music , Ethnomusicology , Church music -- Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2699 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020836
- Description: The Presbyterian Church of Mozambique (IPM) has its origins in the Swiss Mission and the European Reformed Church. An ethnomusicological study was conducted on the music of the IPM in order to uncover its musical influences. The musical influences were found to pertain to an indigenous Tsonga musical character, as well as to a Reformed Church musical tradition. By situating the discussion in this thesis within the perspective that music may reflect that which is not explicitly spoken about in words, the music of the IPM was shown to reflect the dual-heritage of the members of the IPM. Thus, this thesis attempts to answer the questions: how is the music of the IPM a reflection of the Tsonga Presbyterians’ dual-heritage?; and how do the Tsonga Presbyterians negotiate their dual-heritage? It was found that the Tsonga Presbyterians negotiate their dual-heritage by blending a Reformed Church performance style with a Tsonga one. For example, the music in the form of hymns and church songs, performed by church choirs, is shown to be didactic in nature where the lyrics are the most important aspect of the music. The didactic nature of the music is a principle of the Reformation carried forth in the music of the IPM. Although music serves to transmit the Christian message and is used as a means of praising the Christian God in the IPM, it also exists on the level in which the indigenous Tsonga heritage may be incorporated into the Christian lives of the members of the IPM without having an impact on the Reformed Church belief system. This is where the members have the freedom to blend their musical heritages. Music, in this instance, is shown to be a powerful tool by which the importance of an indigenous, and an appropriated, heritage may be garnered and observed.Looking to the historical aspects of the IPM, the music and language literacy education, provided by Swiss missionaries on the mission stations, was shown to have had an influence on Tsonga hymn composition. Along with the mobile phone, the observed decrease in music literacy at Antioka was situated within a discussion that looked at the influence of these aspects on the transmission, conservation and continuation of music in the IPM. Throughout the thesis, social transformation is referred to and the manner in which the music of the IPM is conserved or continued is an indication of how musical transformation may reflect social transformation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Germiquet, Nicole Madeleine
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique , Sacred music -- Mozambique , Church music -- Mozambique , Church music -- Presbyterian , Tsonga (African people) -- Mozambique -- Music , Ethnomusicology , Church music -- Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2699 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020836
- Description: The Presbyterian Church of Mozambique (IPM) has its origins in the Swiss Mission and the European Reformed Church. An ethnomusicological study was conducted on the music of the IPM in order to uncover its musical influences. The musical influences were found to pertain to an indigenous Tsonga musical character, as well as to a Reformed Church musical tradition. By situating the discussion in this thesis within the perspective that music may reflect that which is not explicitly spoken about in words, the music of the IPM was shown to reflect the dual-heritage of the members of the IPM. Thus, this thesis attempts to answer the questions: how is the music of the IPM a reflection of the Tsonga Presbyterians’ dual-heritage?; and how do the Tsonga Presbyterians negotiate their dual-heritage? It was found that the Tsonga Presbyterians negotiate their dual-heritage by blending a Reformed Church performance style with a Tsonga one. For example, the music in the form of hymns and church songs, performed by church choirs, is shown to be didactic in nature where the lyrics are the most important aspect of the music. The didactic nature of the music is a principle of the Reformation carried forth in the music of the IPM. Although music serves to transmit the Christian message and is used as a means of praising the Christian God in the IPM, it also exists on the level in which the indigenous Tsonga heritage may be incorporated into the Christian lives of the members of the IPM without having an impact on the Reformed Church belief system. This is where the members have the freedom to blend their musical heritages. Music, in this instance, is shown to be a powerful tool by which the importance of an indigenous, and an appropriated, heritage may be garnered and observed.Looking to the historical aspects of the IPM, the music and language literacy education, provided by Swiss missionaries on the mission stations, was shown to have had an influence on Tsonga hymn composition. Along with the mobile phone, the observed decrease in music literacy at Antioka was situated within a discussion that looked at the influence of these aspects on the transmission, conservation and continuation of music in the IPM. Throughout the thesis, social transformation is referred to and the manner in which the music of the IPM is conserved or continued is an indication of how musical transformation may reflect social transformation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Haul Music : transnationalism and musical performance in the Saharaui refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria
- Authors: Gimenez Amoros, Luis
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Bedouins -- Music -- Research Sahrawi (African people) -- Migrations Social change -- Arab countries Arab countries -- Social life and customs Civilization, Arab
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2637 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002302
- Description: The thesis presents ethnographic data and musical analysis (in the form of transcriptions) of Haul music which is the music style performed by Bedouin societies in Trab el Bidan region (Mauritania, Western Sahara, northern Mali, southern Algeria and northern Morocco). It is based on field research undertaken in Algeria in 2004-05 in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria, where Saharaui people (a Bedouin society)live in exile. This research is unique and original as Haul has not, until now, been explored in depth by any scholar. My research on Haul reveals that the changes in Saharaui music in the refugee camps of Tindouf reflect changes in the musical traditions of Bedouin societies as whole; changes that can be traced to the revolution which occurred in Western Sahara in 1975, and changes that are a result of the migrations and life in exile that followed. I argue that these changes occurred due to the transnational experiences undergone by Saharaui people in their forced exile (caused by the Moroccan state) from their homeland in Western Sahara to Algeria. Further, I assert that the invocation of memory in Bedouin musical styles is evidence of past musical practices being retained in contemporary Haul performance, although other musical changes are similarly in progress.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Gimenez Amoros, Luis
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Bedouins -- Music -- Research Sahrawi (African people) -- Migrations Social change -- Arab countries Arab countries -- Social life and customs Civilization, Arab
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2637 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002302
- Description: The thesis presents ethnographic data and musical analysis (in the form of transcriptions) of Haul music which is the music style performed by Bedouin societies in Trab el Bidan region (Mauritania, Western Sahara, northern Mali, southern Algeria and northern Morocco). It is based on field research undertaken in Algeria in 2004-05 in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria, where Saharaui people (a Bedouin society)live in exile. This research is unique and original as Haul has not, until now, been explored in depth by any scholar. My research on Haul reveals that the changes in Saharaui music in the refugee camps of Tindouf reflect changes in the musical traditions of Bedouin societies as whole; changes that can be traced to the revolution which occurred in Western Sahara in 1975, and changes that are a result of the migrations and life in exile that followed. I argue that these changes occurred due to the transnational experiences undergone by Saharaui people in their forced exile (caused by the Moroccan state) from their homeland in Western Sahara to Algeria. Further, I assert that the invocation of memory in Bedouin musical styles is evidence of past musical practices being retained in contemporary Haul performance, although other musical changes are similarly in progress.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An investigation into the preservation and development of the human voice with special reference to children and adolescents
- Authors: Gruber, I M S
- Date: 1967
- Subjects: Voice Voice culture -- Exercises Voice -- Care and hygiene Singing -- Studies & exercises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2681 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012103
- Description: The voice is the only natural and, when properly trained, also the most perfect instrument. Any other instrument, be it string, wind or percussion, is a separate entity, an object devised by man, and over the years altered, improved and perfected. None of those, from primitive pipes to the most intricate electronic apparatus can produce a single sound without human aid. It needs someone to play it manually and/or orally. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1967
- Authors: Gruber, I M S
- Date: 1967
- Subjects: Voice Voice culture -- Exercises Voice -- Care and hygiene Singing -- Studies & exercises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2681 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012103
- Description: The voice is the only natural and, when properly trained, also the most perfect instrument. Any other instrument, be it string, wind or percussion, is a separate entity, an object devised by man, and over the years altered, improved and perfected. None of those, from primitive pipes to the most intricate electronic apparatus can produce a single sound without human aid. It needs someone to play it manually and/or orally. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1967
Understanding form and technique : Andrew Tracey's contribution to knowledge of lamellophone (mbira) music of Southern Africa
- Authors: Gumboreshumba, Laina
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Tracey, Andrew T N Ethnomusicology -- Africa Mbira Mbira music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002303
- Description: This thesis interrogates Andrew Tracey’s career as an ethnomusicologist and the significance of his research and publications on lamellophone (mbira) music of the Shona/Sena in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to subsequent scholarship of lamellophones throughout southern Africa. Through a survey of authors who have cited Tracey’s publications, this study assess how his use of the pulse notation transcription method and his theory of form and harmonic structure in mbira music, which he terms ‘the system of the mbira’ (A. Tracey, 1989) have influenced and contributed to the work of ethnomusicologists, musicologists and composers. Further this research evaluates the impact on subsequent publications by other scholars of Tracey's technical analysis of mbira music. Organizing and indexing Andrew Tracey's field collection in the ILAM archive gave direct knowledge of the scope of his work. The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter contains a general introduction to the thesis and outlines the goals of the research. Chapter Two presents a biographical sketch of Andrew Tracey. A general introduction to the lamellophone (mbira) family of musical instruments in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa is presented in Chapter Three, which also addresses the social function of lamellophone music. Chapter Four gives a summary of Andrew Tracey’s research on the Shona mbira (his publications, recordings, films etc), and it analyzes his theory - “The system of the mbira” - in which he defines the form and structure of mbira music. Chapter Five examines the impact of Andrew Tracey’s research and publications on mbira music to subsequent scholarship and makes an analysis and evaluation of the significance of his contribution to the body of knowledge of the instrument and its music. In addition I relate my personal experiences with mbira music as a Shona person and mbira player and give my opinions on Tracey’s and subsequent scholars’ theories on mbira music. Chapter Six concludes with a summary of outcomes of this research. Basing on the analyses of presented data, it is deduced that, despite a few shortcomings, Andrew Tracey’s research on mbira music is crucial for it laid the groundwork for subsequent mbira scholarship.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Gumboreshumba, Laina
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Tracey, Andrew T N Ethnomusicology -- Africa Mbira Mbira music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2638 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002303
- Description: This thesis interrogates Andrew Tracey’s career as an ethnomusicologist and the significance of his research and publications on lamellophone (mbira) music of the Shona/Sena in Zimbabwe and Mozambique to subsequent scholarship of lamellophones throughout southern Africa. Through a survey of authors who have cited Tracey’s publications, this study assess how his use of the pulse notation transcription method and his theory of form and harmonic structure in mbira music, which he terms ‘the system of the mbira’ (A. Tracey, 1989) have influenced and contributed to the work of ethnomusicologists, musicologists and composers. Further this research evaluates the impact on subsequent publications by other scholars of Tracey's technical analysis of mbira music. Organizing and indexing Andrew Tracey's field collection in the ILAM archive gave direct knowledge of the scope of his work. The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter contains a general introduction to the thesis and outlines the goals of the research. Chapter Two presents a biographical sketch of Andrew Tracey. A general introduction to the lamellophone (mbira) family of musical instruments in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Africa is presented in Chapter Three, which also addresses the social function of lamellophone music. Chapter Four gives a summary of Andrew Tracey’s research on the Shona mbira (his publications, recordings, films etc), and it analyzes his theory - “The system of the mbira” - in which he defines the form and structure of mbira music. Chapter Five examines the impact of Andrew Tracey’s research and publications on mbira music to subsequent scholarship and makes an analysis and evaluation of the significance of his contribution to the body of knowledge of the instrument and its music. In addition I relate my personal experiences with mbira music as a Shona person and mbira player and give my opinions on Tracey’s and subsequent scholars’ theories on mbira music. Chapter Six concludes with a summary of outcomes of this research. Basing on the analyses of presented data, it is deduced that, despite a few shortcomings, Andrew Tracey’s research on mbira music is crucial for it laid the groundwork for subsequent mbira scholarship.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
The life and work of Benjamin Tyamzashe: a contemporary Xhosa composer
- Authors: Hansen, Deirdre Doris
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Tyamzashe, Benjamin, 1890 -- Criticism and interpretation Xhosa (African people) -- Music Hymns, Xhosa Composers, Black -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2639 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002304
- Description: In this study I have tried to show what Tyamzashe has achieved without the solid musical training any composer worthy of the name should undergo. I have also tried to show the forming of his own musical style under the impact of outside influences. This study is therefore not to teach one anything new, but simply to communicate the results of three years research. In it I have attempted to set the scene in which Tyamzashe's life unfolded itself under the influences of people and circumstances. In doing so I have tried to bear in mind the main theme - Tyamzashe himself. My problem was not so much what to include but what to leave out; thus I have not provided the scene with a detailed background. The section on missionary contact is necessary for an understanding of the great changes brought about by culture contact, as well as for putting Tyamzashe into his historical background. I have also stressed Lovedale because musical change as exemplified in the music of early Bantu converts was centralized there. Finally, the thesis of this study is: despite the changes introduced into Bantu music by culture contact, one perceives, in the works of Tyamzashe, the beginnings of a new pattern of integration. p. 2-3.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968
- Authors: Hansen, Deirdre Doris
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Tyamzashe, Benjamin, 1890 -- Criticism and interpretation Xhosa (African people) -- Music Hymns, Xhosa Composers, Black -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2639 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002304
- Description: In this study I have tried to show what Tyamzashe has achieved without the solid musical training any composer worthy of the name should undergo. I have also tried to show the forming of his own musical style under the impact of outside influences. This study is therefore not to teach one anything new, but simply to communicate the results of three years research. In it I have attempted to set the scene in which Tyamzashe's life unfolded itself under the influences of people and circumstances. In doing so I have tried to bear in mind the main theme - Tyamzashe himself. My problem was not so much what to include but what to leave out; thus I have not provided the scene with a detailed background. The section on missionary contact is necessary for an understanding of the great changes brought about by culture contact, as well as for putting Tyamzashe into his historical background. I have also stressed Lovedale because musical change as exemplified in the music of early Bantu converts was centralized there. Finally, the thesis of this study is: despite the changes introduced into Bantu music by culture contact, one perceives, in the works of Tyamzashe, the beginnings of a new pattern of integration. p. 2-3.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968
An investigation into twentieth century flute trios with special reference to representative works by Goossens, Sil'vansky, Raphael, Damase, Marx and Crumb
- Authors: Heunis, Daniela
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Goossens, Eugene, 1893-1962 Silʹvanskíí, Nikolǎi Iosifovich, 1915-1985 Raphael, Günter, 1903-1960 Damase, Jean-Michel, 1928- Crumb, George Woodwind trios (Flutes (3))
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2641 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002306
- Description: This thesis ventures into the world of twentieth century chamber music, specifically the trios written for flute, cello and piano. The first chapter discusses the history of the trio, tracing its development from the trio sonata of the Baroque Period to the accompanied sonatas and specifically the sonatas with flute and cello obbligato. Following the unpopularity of the genre throughout the Romantic period, its greater prominence in the Twentieth century is discussed, mentioning specific groups through whom the repertoire has been extended. Forty trios are grouped according to compositional styles. Six trios, each representing an example of a specific style period, have been selected for more detailed discussion, with particular reference to the various ways in which a sense of unity is achieved in each trio. The English composer Eugene Goossens uses impressionistic images, whole tone and chromatic scale patterns and other motifs to unify his trio: "Five Impressions of a Holiday". Nikolay Iosifovich Sil'vansky's "The Hedgehog and the Nightingale" is based on a Russian tale by Juri Jarmicha and uses a narrator. The three characters are represented by specific motivic and / or thematic material which is used throughout the trio. Günter Raphael's Trio-Suite op 44 is the only cyclic work unifying the two outer movements, without repeating any additional motivic material. Jean-Michel Damase condenses some of the material introduced in the opening Prelude in both the two Largo's and the two Arias in his "Sonate en Concert" of 1950. Karl Julius Marx builds his entire "Trio op 61" on a flexible six-note motif. Various movements in the trio" Vox Ba1aenae" by the American George Crumb are 1inked through the use of motives and characteristic instrumental colour. A comprehensive list of 180 twentieth century trios has been compiled, including details of dedications, commissions and first performances. 163 composers from twenty countries, are represented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Heunis, Daniela
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Goossens, Eugene, 1893-1962 Silʹvanskíí, Nikolǎi Iosifovich, 1915-1985 Raphael, Günter, 1903-1960 Damase, Jean-Michel, 1928- Crumb, George Woodwind trios (Flutes (3))
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2641 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002306
- Description: This thesis ventures into the world of twentieth century chamber music, specifically the trios written for flute, cello and piano. The first chapter discusses the history of the trio, tracing its development from the trio sonata of the Baroque Period to the accompanied sonatas and specifically the sonatas with flute and cello obbligato. Following the unpopularity of the genre throughout the Romantic period, its greater prominence in the Twentieth century is discussed, mentioning specific groups through whom the repertoire has been extended. Forty trios are grouped according to compositional styles. Six trios, each representing an example of a specific style period, have been selected for more detailed discussion, with particular reference to the various ways in which a sense of unity is achieved in each trio. The English composer Eugene Goossens uses impressionistic images, whole tone and chromatic scale patterns and other motifs to unify his trio: "Five Impressions of a Holiday". Nikolay Iosifovich Sil'vansky's "The Hedgehog and the Nightingale" is based on a Russian tale by Juri Jarmicha and uses a narrator. The three characters are represented by specific motivic and / or thematic material which is used throughout the trio. Günter Raphael's Trio-Suite op 44 is the only cyclic work unifying the two outer movements, without repeating any additional motivic material. Jean-Michel Damase condenses some of the material introduced in the opening Prelude in both the two Largo's and the two Arias in his "Sonate en Concert" of 1950. Karl Julius Marx builds his entire "Trio op 61" on a flexible six-note motif. Various movements in the trio" Vox Ba1aenae" by the American George Crumb are 1inked through the use of motives and characteristic instrumental colour. A comprehensive list of 180 twentieth century trios has been compiled, including details of dedications, commissions and first performances. 163 composers from twenty countries, are represented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Contributions to the development of the piano sonata : the sonatas of W.F. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and G. Benda
- Authors: Heuschneider, Karin
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann, 1710-1784 Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 1714-1788 Benda, Georg, 1722-1795 Sonatas (Piano)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2683 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012263
- Description: This investigation deals with three leading representatives of the North German Pre-Clasaical School. The sonatas of W.F. Bach and G. Benda have as yet received little attention. E .Bach, on the other hand, was always regarded as the most influential composer in the early history of the German piano sonata. Nevertheless, the existing literature on C.P.E. Bach is concerned with certain aspects or his works only or is devoted to introductory discussions. The aims of this research is to trace the development of the piano sonata and in particular the evolution of the 'sonata form' within the German Pre-Classical School. The works of W.F. Bach present the earliest stage in this development, which reaches its culmination with C.P.E. Bach. The final consolidation of the sonata form is then achieved in the piano sonatas of G. Benda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968
- Authors: Heuschneider, Karin
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann, 1710-1784 Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 1714-1788 Benda, Georg, 1722-1795 Sonatas (Piano)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2683 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012263
- Description: This investigation deals with three leading representatives of the North German Pre-Clasaical School. The sonatas of W.F. Bach and G. Benda have as yet received little attention. E .Bach, on the other hand, was always regarded as the most influential composer in the early history of the German piano sonata. Nevertheless, the existing literature on C.P.E. Bach is concerned with certain aspects or his works only or is devoted to introductory discussions. The aims of this research is to trace the development of the piano sonata and in particular the evolution of the 'sonata form' within the German Pre-Classical School. The works of W.F. Bach present the earliest stage in this development, which reaches its culmination with C.P.E. Bach. The final consolidation of the sonata form is then achieved in the piano sonatas of G. Benda.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968
Analysis of selected choral works by John Tavener with particular reference to the post-1977 works
- Authors: Imrie, Sally
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Tavener, John Choral music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2642 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002307
- Description: This thesis deals with sacred choral music written by John Tavener, a British composer born in 1944. It touches briefly on the background of Tavener and his early works (i.e. from about 1960-1976) - two works from that period have been selected for analysis, Celtic Requiem and Nomine Jesu. The main body of the thesis is concerned with those works composed,.after 1977, which show the influence of the Orthodox Church and Byzantine hymnography on Tavener's stylistic development. The selected works from this period to be analysed are: Ode of St Andrew of Crete, Two Hymns to the Mother of God, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, The Uncreated Eros, Eonia and We Shall See Him As Heis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Imrie, Sally
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Tavener, John Choral music
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2642 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002307
- Description: This thesis deals with sacred choral music written by John Tavener, a British composer born in 1944. It touches briefly on the background of Tavener and his early works (i.e. from about 1960-1976) - two works from that period have been selected for analysis, Celtic Requiem and Nomine Jesu. The main body of the thesis is concerned with those works composed,.after 1977, which show the influence of the Orthodox Church and Byzantine hymnography on Tavener's stylistic development. The selected works from this period to be analysed are: Ode of St Andrew of Crete, Two Hymns to the Mother of God, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, The Uncreated Eros, Eonia and We Shall See Him As Heis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
Conversations between trip hop and jazz
- Authors: Lang, Jared Anthony
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Trip hop (Music) , Jazz
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5009 , vital:20752
- Description: Restricted access-thesis available at the Music Library
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Lang, Jared Anthony
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Trip hop (Music) , Jazz
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/5009 , vital:20752
- Description: Restricted access-thesis available at the Music Library
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2017
A critical analysis of selected piano works by Hubert du Plessis
- Authors: Lee, Margaret Jackson
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Du Plessis, Hubert Composers -- South Africa Piano music -- Analysis, appreciation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2645 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002310
- Description: This study concentrates on the piano music of Hubert du Plessis, a South African composer who, apart from some years spent studying in England, has lived and worked in this country. He was born in 1922 on a farm in the Malmesbury district. After completing his schooling, he studied at the University of Stellenbosch , gaining a B A degree. Later, he continued his studies at Rhodes University, obtaining a B Mus degree. The Performing Right Society's scholarship gave him the opportunity of studying in London for three years (1951-1953). After his return, he became involved in the academic sphere, and lectured simultaneously at U C T and Stellenbosch, and then later just at Stellenbosch until his retirement in 1982. A number of his compositions for piano are as yet unpublished. This thesis has been limited to the published works for solo piano . The works studied are: Four Piano Pieces (Op. 1 ), Six Miniatures (Op. 3 ), Sonata No . 1 (Op. 8 ), Seven Preludes (Op. 18), Toe ek 'n kind was (Op. 33). Some biographical details have been given - in most cases to provide the background for the writing of each work - but the main thrust of this study has been towards a detailed structural analysis of each work. In my analysis, I have favoured the type of "Formal analysis" defined by Groves¹ in the article on analysis. In other words, I have used the traditional structural patterns i.e. Binary and Ternary form , Sonata form etc. insofar as it applied to the music under discussion. However, I felt that this was not sufficient for a study in depth of the music, as I had envisaged. Like Beethoven, du Plessis is a meticulous craftsman, who constructs and re- constructs , revises and rethinks. This means that the fullest attention is given to every detail of composition. Hence, like Tovey in his analysis of Beethoven sonatas, I have tended towards a bar-by-bar approach which, I hope, will reveal not only the structural detail, but also the relationships between phrases and motifs, where this is relevant. I felt that it was imperative to take this down to the real fundamentals, for without that basic approach, certain compositional techniques might be overlooked. Hence, I then hoped to draw some general conclusions about du Plessis' work. Groves¹ says of Tovey's method that it " represents the tradition of analysis and descriptive criticism in Britain as a whole . " However , despite this rather dry and academic approach there are times when, like Tovey, my analysis contains metaphor, or personification of the music. I have chosen what may be criticised as a rather old-fashioned approach to the analysis because of the basic intention behind this piece of research. As a school teacher I am aware of the pitiful paucity of source material on the music of the South African composers, which are set for study by Matriculation candidates. By this work, I had hoped to shed some light on at least one corner of this section of the syllabus, for both teacher and pupils. Hence, I did not attempt a distributional analysis or a category analysis , coded by computer and shown in graphical form. I chose a straightforward linear and logical progression through the pieces which, even with the limited musical vocabulary of the average school pupil, should be easily comprehensible. ] have also attempted to draw attention to interrelationships between movements or sets of pieces, and to see each work as a unit. In a study limited, by necessity, in its subject matter, as this is, it would be presumptuous to draw conclusions about du Plessis' work in general. This would necessitate an indepth survey of his other genres, especially his vocal works, which are so important an area of his creativity. However, it is possible, even in so limited a study, to gain an appreciation of Hubert du Plessis' meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail that must gain him his rightful place among the South African musical "greats " of this century.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
- Authors: Lee, Margaret Jackson
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Du Plessis, Hubert Composers -- South Africa Piano music -- Analysis, appreciation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: vital:2645 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002310
- Description: This study concentrates on the piano music of Hubert du Plessis, a South African composer who, apart from some years spent studying in England, has lived and worked in this country. He was born in 1922 on a farm in the Malmesbury district. After completing his schooling, he studied at the University of Stellenbosch , gaining a B A degree. Later, he continued his studies at Rhodes University, obtaining a B Mus degree. The Performing Right Society's scholarship gave him the opportunity of studying in London for three years (1951-1953). After his return, he became involved in the academic sphere, and lectured simultaneously at U C T and Stellenbosch, and then later just at Stellenbosch until his retirement in 1982. A number of his compositions for piano are as yet unpublished. This thesis has been limited to the published works for solo piano . The works studied are: Four Piano Pieces (Op. 1 ), Six Miniatures (Op. 3 ), Sonata No . 1 (Op. 8 ), Seven Preludes (Op. 18), Toe ek 'n kind was (Op. 33). Some biographical details have been given - in most cases to provide the background for the writing of each work - but the main thrust of this study has been towards a detailed structural analysis of each work. In my analysis, I have favoured the type of "Formal analysis" defined by Groves¹ in the article on analysis. In other words, I have used the traditional structural patterns i.e. Binary and Ternary form , Sonata form etc. insofar as it applied to the music under discussion. However, I felt that this was not sufficient for a study in depth of the music, as I had envisaged. Like Beethoven, du Plessis is a meticulous craftsman, who constructs and re- constructs , revises and rethinks. This means that the fullest attention is given to every detail of composition. Hence, like Tovey in his analysis of Beethoven sonatas, I have tended towards a bar-by-bar approach which, I hope, will reveal not only the structural detail, but also the relationships between phrases and motifs, where this is relevant. I felt that it was imperative to take this down to the real fundamentals, for without that basic approach, certain compositional techniques might be overlooked. Hence, I then hoped to draw some general conclusions about du Plessis' work. Groves¹ says of Tovey's method that it " represents the tradition of analysis and descriptive criticism in Britain as a whole . " However , despite this rather dry and academic approach there are times when, like Tovey, my analysis contains metaphor, or personification of the music. I have chosen what may be criticised as a rather old-fashioned approach to the analysis because of the basic intention behind this piece of research. As a school teacher I am aware of the pitiful paucity of source material on the music of the South African composers, which are set for study by Matriculation candidates. By this work, I had hoped to shed some light on at least one corner of this section of the syllabus, for both teacher and pupils. Hence, I did not attempt a distributional analysis or a category analysis , coded by computer and shown in graphical form. I chose a straightforward linear and logical progression through the pieces which, even with the limited musical vocabulary of the average school pupil, should be easily comprehensible. ] have also attempted to draw attention to interrelationships between movements or sets of pieces, and to see each work as a unit. In a study limited, by necessity, in its subject matter, as this is, it would be presumptuous to draw conclusions about du Plessis' work in general. This would necessitate an indepth survey of his other genres, especially his vocal works, which are so important an area of his creativity. However, it is possible, even in so limited a study, to gain an appreciation of Hubert du Plessis' meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail that must gain him his rightful place among the South African musical "greats " of this century.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
Repatriating Xhosa music recordings archived at the International Library of African Music (ILAM) and reviving interest in traditional Xhosa music among the youth in Grahamstown
- Authors: Madiba, Elijah Moleseng
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: International Library of African Music , Xhosa (African people) -- Music , Sound recordings in ethnomusicology -- South Africa , Ethnomusicology -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Cultural property -- Repatriation -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rap musicians -- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76599 , vital:30611
- Description: This research looks at the feasibility of using repatriation as a tool for the revitalisation of indigenous music within a contemporary South African musical context. Using tracks from the International Library of African Music (ILAM), this investigation presents isiXhosa traditional and indigenous music to a group of musicians from a hip-hop background that would never have had access to this type of music before. The thesis then traces their creative use of the music within their own genres. Speaking to the legacy of the Hugh Tracey collection at ILAM and criticisms that have surfaced, this research also attempts to validate the efforts made by Hugh Tracey in collecting and documenting African music. Themes ranging from understanding the term “tradition” are addressed, as well as other technical terms in the vernacular while also exploring and analysing the results of the repatriation project. Practical issues regarding the sampling of indigenous music were interrogated carefully due to the fact that the complexity of African music was foreign to most of the participants. Their familiarity with the music, or lack thereof, either motivated or ended the musicians’ participation in the research project. An in-depth analysis of the results of the musicians’ interaction with the music is presented where this study finds, at the heart of this research, that the musicians performed as agents who easily took to revitalising the music.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Madiba, Elijah Moleseng
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: International Library of African Music , Xhosa (African people) -- Music , Sound recordings in ethnomusicology -- South Africa , Ethnomusicology -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Cultural property -- Repatriation -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rap musicians -- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MMus
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76599 , vital:30611
- Description: This research looks at the feasibility of using repatriation as a tool for the revitalisation of indigenous music within a contemporary South African musical context. Using tracks from the International Library of African Music (ILAM), this investigation presents isiXhosa traditional and indigenous music to a group of musicians from a hip-hop background that would never have had access to this type of music before. The thesis then traces their creative use of the music within their own genres. Speaking to the legacy of the Hugh Tracey collection at ILAM and criticisms that have surfaced, this research also attempts to validate the efforts made by Hugh Tracey in collecting and documenting African music. Themes ranging from understanding the term “tradition” are addressed, as well as other technical terms in the vernacular while also exploring and analysing the results of the repatriation project. Practical issues regarding the sampling of indigenous music were interrogated carefully due to the fact that the complexity of African music was foreign to most of the participants. Their familiarity with the music, or lack thereof, either motivated or ended the musicians’ participation in the research project. An in-depth analysis of the results of the musicians’ interaction with the music is presented where this study finds, at the heart of this research, that the musicians performed as agents who easily took to revitalising the music.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019