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The topic of this artistic research project is the musical performance method where a solo singer conducts an orchestra while singing. The aim is to shine a light on the effect this performance practice has on the quality of the performance; if it hampers the singer’s ability to interpret the lyrics and make theatrical gestures or if the musical performance can possibly benefit from having one person singing and conducting. The core of the project is a concert in Reykjavík organised by this author where she performed as solo soprano and conductor with a chamber orchestra. The research was made from her personal perspective, while the views of instrumentalists also played a significant role. The author observed the internationally renowned soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan as she rehearsed and performed a concert with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (ISO) at the Reykjavík Arts Festival. For this project the writer enjoyed the cooperation of three composers whom she commissioned to write pieces especially for her to sing and conduct, and together with Zerbinetta's grand aria by Richard Strauss this music was premiered by her and a chamber orchestra at her concert in Eldborg, Harpa at the Reykjavík Opera Days on November 5th, 2022. / <p>Soprano takes the baton!</p><p>In Eldborg, Harpa on November 5th, 2022 at the Reykjavík Opera Days festival finale.</p><p>Ragnheiður Ingunn Jóhannsdóttir, soprano and conductor.</p><p>Program:</p><p>Jóhann G. Jóhannsson: Be not afeard – Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (2022), premiere </p><p>Lyrics: William Shakespeare (Caliban’s Speech from The Tempest)</p><p>I: Be not afeard - lyrics: William Shakespeare</p><p>II: Ekkert að hræðast - translation: Helgi Hálfdanarson</p><p>III: Var icke rädd - translation: Carl August Hagberg</p><p>—</p><p>Ingibjörg Ýr Skarphéðinsdóttir: Fasaskipti (2022), premiere</p><p>Poem: Þórdís Helgadóttir</p><p>—</p><p>María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir: Djúpalón (2022), premiere</p><p>Poem: Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir</p><p>—</p><p>Richard Strauss: Großmächtige Prinzessin (1912), Zerbinetta’s aria from Ariadne auf Naxos</p><p>Lyrics: Hugo von Hofmannsthal</p><p></p><p>Chamber orchestra:</p><p>Rannveig Marta Sarc (violin), Gunnhildur Daðadóttir (violin), Anna Elísabet Sigurðardóttir (viola), Guðný Jónasdóttir (cello), Xun Yang (double bass), Kristín Ýr Jónsdóttir (flute), Julia Hantschel (oboe), Birkir Örn Hafsteinsson ((clarinet), Bryndís Þórsdóttir (bassoon), Stefán Jón Bernharðsson (horn), Helga Bryndís Magnúsdóttir (piano) &amp; Helgi Þorleiksson (percussion)</p><p>Recording: Stúdíó Sýrland </p><p></p><p>The concert was sponsored by:</p><p>Óperudagar – The Reykjavík Opera Days.</p><p>Tónlistarsjóður – “Music Fund” (Iceland Ministry of Culture).</p><p>Hljóðritasjóður – “Music Recording Fund” (Iceland Ministry of Culture).</p><p>Tónskáldasjóður RÚV og STEFs – “Composers’ Fund” </p>

Die Pedalharfe ist ein vergleichsweise junges Instrument. Vom Anfang des 18. bis zum Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts fiel ihre bau- und spieltechnische Entwicklung nicht nur zeitlich, sondern oft auch räumlich mit der Geschichte des Cembalos und des Klaviers zusammen. Das neue Instrument war zunächst vor allem in Paris und dann in London erfolgreich. Dieser Beitrag will die Diskussion um einen weniger untersuchten Repertoireausschnitt der Harfen-, Klavier- und Geigenliteratur von den 1780er Jahren bis zur Zeit von Berlioz anregen, sowie bekannte Stilmittel unter einem neuen Blickwinkel zeigen. / The pedal harp is a relatively young instrument. From the beginning of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, its technical and musical development coincided not only temporally but often also spatially with the history of the harpsichord and the piano. The new instrument was originally most successful in Paris and then in London. This article is intended to stimulate a discussion on the less-studied repertory for harp, piano and violin from the 1780s until the time of Berlioz, as well as to offer a new perspective on better-known stylistic elements.

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Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) captivated Argentine and international audiences with his innovative works in a nuevo tango style and his bandoneón performances. Piazzolla?s success culminated during the 1980s with his second Quinteto, which performed remarkable concerts in venues such as the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Central Park Bandshell in New York, in addition to the performances at the Montreal and Montreux Jazz Festivals. His music also grew popular with a plethora of internationally acclaimed classical and jazz artists as well as with Argentine musicians themselves. However, Piazzolla?s music poses a challenge today, because nuevo tango represents a synthesis of the composer?s musical and cultural backgrounds, conjoining the tango legacy of Buenos Aires, the jazz idioms that he absorbed in New York, and the international traditions of classical music. Many musicians, specifically those from the United States, perform and study nuevo tango without having sufficient prerequisite knowledge of these practices, causing the genre to lose its cultural substance. By considering the fusion of tango, jazz, and classical genres and incorporating a cross-cultural analysis, this thesis aims to illuminate the basis of Piazzolla?s performance practices. It seeks to identify the yeites (tango instrumental techniques) that define nuevo tango and to suggest ways that the modern performer can incorporate these stylistic features to produce culturally informed interpretations of Piazzolla?s works. This study focuses on the practices of Piazzolla?s second Quinteto, at the pinnacle of his career, and emphasizes a gestural analysis of the yeites to produce a well-grounded concept of nuevo tango sound. This study concludes that, even though Piazzolla?s compositions represented a fusion of genres, the performance practices (and specifically the gestures) of the second Quinteto are primarily associated with the tango traditions of previous eras. Such gestures embody Piazzolla?s music and thus allow contemporary performers to recreate the evocative and persuasive characteristics of nuevo tango practices today.

This study examines how gender influences the performance practice of calypso, soca, steel band music, and other related musical genres in contemporary Trinidad. I address the history of these musical genres in this nation, and how they developed into their present form. My study of women in contemporary Trinidadian music examines how popular musicians bring together personal opinion, public persona, and musical structure, to create commentaries upon the contemporary moment (instrumental political agency) as well as emotional bonds with their intended audiences and show that an alternate way of organizing gender representations and inter-gender relations is possible (constitutive political agency). I use a performance based approach to studying various aspects of musical practice within Trinidad, and how this enhances women's agency within the public sphere of popular music, creating new kinds of cultural capital for previously underrepresented members of the population. Many different aspects of Trinidad’s expressive culture are discussed and related to the musical genres discussed therein. Trinidad Carnival, its history and aesthetics, receives particular attention. Performance practice within the musical genres of calypso and soca and the music of the steel orchestra are discussed in detail. Within Trinidad, expressive culture, including popular music, is a strong forum for communicating possible inter-personal and inter-gender relations. Thus, music in the Trinidadian context takes an important place alongside larger political projects and concerns. / text

In this study, historically informed performance practice (HIP) is investigated as an approach to the performance or vocal ornamentation, with special emphasis on the operas of George Frideric Handel. The study aims to use information about this approach to performance practice in order to show forth its significant role in the performance of Handel arias. Through musicological viewpoints that have arisen out of the historical performance debate since the late 20th century, the study investigates the development and attributes of the HIP movement in order to identify its essential characteristics. Following this process, the author is able to define the HIP approach subjectively. Once a clearer knowledge of HIP is obtained, its influence on the performance of ornamentation is studied. Because Handel's operas were composed in the Italian style, the Italian vocal method is explored. Historical information is gathered through the use of an aria, embellished by Handel, Affanni del pensier, from his opera Ottone. With this information, the author attempts to freely embellish an aria, Da tempeste if legno infranto, from Handel's opera, Giulio Cesare. This example of the performance style is practised with the historical information in mind, without inhibiting the creativity of the author. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

In this study, historically informed performance practice (HIP) is investigated as an approach to the performance or vocal ornamentation, with special emphasis on the operas of George Frideric Handel. The study aims to use information about this approach to performance practice in order to show forth its significant role in the performance of Handel arias. Through musicological viewpoints that have arisen out of the historical performance debate since the late 20th century, the study investigates the development and attributes of the HIP movement in order to identify its essential characteristics. Following this process, the author is able to define the HIP approach subjectively. Once a clearer knowledge of HIP is obtained, its influence on the performance of ornamentation is studied. Because Handel's operas were composed in the Italian style, the Italian vocal method is explored. Historical information is gathered through the use of an aria, embellished by Handel, Affanni del pensier, from his opera Ottone. With this information, the author attempts to freely embellish an aria, Da tempeste if legno infranto, from Handel's opera, Giulio Cesare. This example of the performance style is practised with the historical information in mind, without inhibiting the creativity of the author. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.