La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU) / Utiliser les caractéristiques du langage musical folklorique d’Europe de l’Est, principalement de la Hongrie, la Serbie et la Bulgarie, comme source d’inspiration à mon propre langage. / Integrating language features of folk music of Eastern Europe, mainly from Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria, as a source of inspiration in my own language.

Réalisé au sein de l'IRCAM, en cotutelle avec Philippe Leroux. La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal. / « Vers une musique autogérée », est un regard sur mes œuvres des trois dernières années : un quatuor à cordes, un quatuor pour flûte basse, saxophone baryton, percussion et piano, une pièce pour voix de femme et douze musiciens et une pièce pour silent piano et dispositif électronique, qui sera le chapitre le plus exhaustif. Tout au long de cette étude, on examinera les notions qui m’inspirent, les points de départ de chaque pièce ainsi que les moyens employés pour arriver au bout de chaque idée. On parlera du tandem « intuition – processus » et comment il s’exprime chaque fois de façon différente, des réseaux qui se créent dans la musique, on abordera le concept omniprésent de l’incompatibilité et les relations que cela autorise, et on suivra l’évolution progressive de l’écriture vers une musique qui se veut « autogérée », en examinant comment ce terme se manifeste, selon les différents contextes. / « Towards an autoregulated music » is a look on my works of the past three years: a string quartet, a quartet for bass flute, baritone saxophone, percussion and piano, a work for female voice and twelve musicians and a piece for silent piano and real time electronics, the most thorough chapter. Throughout this study, we’ll examine the notions that inspire me, every piece’s starting points and the means applied to take every idea to its full potential. We’ll talk about the tandem « intuition – process » and how it’s expressed every time in a different way, the networks that exist in the music, we’ll approach the ever-present concept of incompatibility and the relations it allows, and we’ll follow the gradual evolution of the writing towards a music that calls itself « autoregulated », considering how this term is expressed, in different contexts.

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Ce mémoire porte sur l’improvisation libre, pratique musicale apparue au cours de la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle en musique savante occidentale et en parallèle avec le courant du free jazz. Évoquée fréquemment par l’emploi du terme de « musiques improvisées », dans un premier temps, nous abordons le rapport entre cette appellation et la musique qui s’y rattache à travers son emploi chez certains auteurs en musicologie dans l’optique d’en montrer les différentes acceptions. Dans un second temps, nous réfléchissons sur la dualité des origines de la pratique d’improvisation libre afin d’expliquer en quoi celle-ci peut causer une certaine confusion lorsqu’elle est abordée en musicologie. Cette étude se concentre ensuite sur les aspects de pluralisme esthétique et de multiculturalisme qu’on peut rencontrer en improvisation libre. Nous explorons plusieurs explications quant aux fondements de la pratique musicale à partir d’une analyse de ses origines culturelles et historiques. Suite à cela est abordée la question de transculturation, un concept qui a été évoqué à plusieurs reprises ces quinze dernières années concernant les musiques improvisées, sans jamais avoir été appliqué de façon très spécifique à ces dernières. Le mémoire est complété par une analyse de l’improvisation The Usual Turmoil (1997) du tromboniste George E. Lewis et de la kotoïste Myia Masaoka, qui a pour objectif de mettre en application certains éléments de la réflexion théorique précédemment élaborée et de trouver les prémisses d’une méthode propre à l’analyse de l’improvisation libre. / This memoire treat about a specific musical practice which is free improvisation, and which appeared during the second half of the twentieth century in western art music and with the free jazz wave/trend. Frequently referred by the term « improvised music », we will first go through some definitions from authors in musicology to show the different underlying problematic of the term. We will return to the duality of the origins of free improvisation practice in order to explain why such duality caused confusion in musicology studies. We will then look at some specific aspects concerning multicultural and esthetic pluralism in free improvisation. We will try to bring forth some explanations from our analysis of the cultural roots of free improvisation. Furthermore, we will address the question of transculturation, a recent concept frequently used during the last fifteen years in improvised music studies and which had never been deeply studied. Finally, with the analysis of The Usual turmoil, a duet improvisation by the trombonist George E. Lewis and koto player Miya Masaoka, we will be able to consider free improvisation from an analytic point of view.

Les fichiers qui accompagnent mon document on été réalisés avec les logiciels Microsoft Word et Finale. / When We Were Very Young est un recueil de poèmes écrit par A. A. Milne, que j’ai adapté en un cycle de chansons de styles diversifiés, pour le registre de la voix d'un enfant. Mon choix se justifie, d’une part, par le fait que ces poèmes n’ont jamais été adaptés dans leur intégralité et, d’autre part, par ma volonté de redonner à la génération d’aujourd’hui un héritage littéraire mis en une musique nouvelle. En travaillant les divers pastiches stylistiques, j’ai tenté d’élargir mes horizons musicaux, afin de trouver éventuellement ma propre voie. Ma musique est écrite pour être écoutée par un auditoire non averti, tout en visant le raffinement propre à une musique dite savante. La technique d’écriture employée se limite aux langages tonal et modal, de sorte à ne pas trop s’aventurer dans un discours harmonique trop complexe ou d’avant-garde. Par contre, là où je vois place à l’innovation, c’est sur le plan de la forme et de la texture. Tout en gardant un discours harmonique clair, ma démarche de compositeur cherche à briser le cadre rigide d’une forme de chanson à couplets et refrains, et de céder la place à une forme flexible, destinée à soutenir le détail de la prosodie, ainsi que les subtilités littéraires. De nos jours, la musique pour enfants se doit d’être presque simpliste, adaptée à un public estimé non intéressé par des sonorités plus riches et diversifiées. Bien que je conçoive que certains langages musicaux d’avant-garde sont effectivement trop complexes pour une oreille non entraînée, je crois tout de même possible de viser un niveau de composition qui, sans négliger l’auditoire, proposera à celui-ci des couleurs musicales nouvelles et intéressantes. / When We Were Very Young is a collection of poems by A.A. Milne that I have adapted to a stylistically diversified children's songbook. This choice was made for many reasons: first, this cycle has never been put to music in it's entirety; second, to bring our generation a literary heritage in song form. By working on different pastiches, I have attempted to broad my musical horizons, in order to eventually find my own voice. My music is designed to be enjoyed by a musically untrained audience, while aiming for refinement in texture and harmony. Therefore, the composition techniques used are bound to be limited to tonal or modal harmonies, to avoid overly complex progressions and find an innovative approach to texture and form. While keeping a clear harmonic language, my approach as a composer is to break the rigid form of a verse-chorus-verse type song and become more attentive to the prosody and the linguistic subtleties. Today, children's music is considered simple and adapted to a public deemed uninterested by rich and diversified textures. While I understand that many contemporary languages are too complex for an average listener, I believe it is still possible to aim at a compositional level that offers to its audience new and interesting colors.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank C. Tracz / This document is comprised of research and analysis of the comprehensive examination of the graduate conducting recital of Luke D. Johnson. This recital was performed by the Lansing High School Wind Ensemble on February 24, 2008 at McCain Auditorium in Manhattan, KS, and again on February 25, 2008 at Lansing High School in Lansing, KS. The examined repertoire for these recitals includes Mother Earth by David Maslanka, English Folk Song Suite by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Symphony #1 In Memoriam Dresden – 1945 by Daniel Bukvich, and Concertino for Solo Clarinet with Band Accompaniment by Carl Maria Von Weber, OP. 26. This document contains theoretical and historical analysis and outlines the methods of planning and preparing a graduate conducting recital according to the Blocher/Miles and Tracz formats.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank Tracz / The following report provides a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one small chamber work for woodwind octet: Night Dances for Wind Ensemble by Bruce Yurko, Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 103 by Ludwig van Beethoven, and Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs by Frank Ticheli. This analysis provides information necessary for a conductor’s rehearsal preparation. Included is biographical information about the composer and a historical perspective of the composition itself. Highlighted are the technical difficulties, stylistic concerns, musical elements, and form and structure of each composition. As the researcher, my music education mission statement and perspective on quality literature selection are also included. Suggested listening, seating charts, acoustical justifications, and rehearsal plans with researcher evaluations are provided. The compilation of this information will allow conductors to make more informed musical decisions during their preparation and performances of the works.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Reginald Pittman / This Master’s Report contains extended program notes on the works performed on a graduate rectial of music for a Baritone. The text includes biographical information on each composer and an analysis of each piece performed. Text translations are included in the body of the discussions. The pieces discussed are Handel’s “See The Raging Flames Arise,” from Joshua, Poulenc’s Le Bestiaire, Strauss’s Zueignung, Nichts and Cäcilie, Puccini’s “Questo amor, vergogna mia,” from Edgar, Jason Robert Brown’s Moving Too Fast, The Next Ten Minutes, The River Won’t Flow and She Cries and lastly Jonathon Reid Gealt’s September of ’92. The graduate recital was given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree in vocal performance on April 7, 2014. It was performed in All Faiths Chapel at Kansas State University. It featured the piano talents of Amanda Arrington, Paul Meissbach and Norma Roozeboom, the vocal talents of Reginald Pittman, Elise Poehling and Patricia Thompson, and the insrumental talents of Nolan Groff and Craig Archer.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Phillip D. Payne / The purpose of this study was to determine if music educators who have had experiences with informal music are more likely to employ informal learning within their classroom. Secondary research objectives included a comparison of survey results against specific demographics of the survey participants, an examination of the types of informal learning that the participants experienced and facilitated, and a look at the perceived barriers and benefits of informal music learning from the viewpoints of the participants. Participants (N=25) were practicing music educators pursuing graduate music studies. The participants were enrolled in a summer Master of Music program at a university in the Midwest. Data was collected by employing a pen and paper survey that provided a demographic description and informal music learning questionnaire. The participants were asked to indicate the frequency of participation in informal music activities prior to becoming a music educator. They further reported what informal music learning activities they facilitate within their school music curriculum. Finally, the participants responded to two short answer questions where they identified barriers and benefits they perceive with the implementation of informal music practices within their music programs. Results from a Pearson correlation showed a moderately strong relationship (p = 0.43) between participants who had informal music experiences (E) and who employed informal music learning within their music curriculum (C). There were no significant differences observed in the results between participants of different gender or school division. Of the short answer responses cataloged, participants cited a lack of experience with informal music and difficulty of connecting informal music learning to the formal music curriculum as the barriers to employing informal music learning in the classroom. The participants discussed the increase in student motivation, expanding musicality, and real-world relevance as the benefits of informal music learning. Knowledge gained from this study may be useful to individuals facilitating informal music learning within music education programs at the primary, secondary, or collegiate levels.

No description available.

R. Murray Schafer (b. 1933, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada) is a seminal voice in Canadian music, due not only to the often controversial, but widespread international reception of his extensive spectrum of works, but also, due to his distinct approach to composition. Schafer’s Patria cycle (1966- ) employs unorthodox performance locales and contexts, a confluence of art forms and sensory experiences, and demands active audience participation, defining Patria as one of the most ambitious stage works. In this dissertation I explore two essential frameworks that are seminal in the discussion of Patria; firstly Schafer’s compositional processes, broadly defined, that come into play in Patria, and secondly, the performative and theatrical aspects in Patria. Through four ethnographic case studies, I suggest that the use of alternative performance spaces, participatory performance, and ritual performance foster an artistic and social environment that has the potential, if participants choose to fully engage in the experience, to alter participants’ perception of the importance of the environment, community, spirituality, and artistic and sensorial experience in contemporary society. In Chapter 1 I provide a discussion of Schafer’s concepts of soundscape and the theatre of confluence and how they are applied in Patria, and outline my research methodology, including my fieldwork experiences from working onsite during Patria productions from 2003 through 2007. In Chapter 2 I examine and contextualize four aspects of performance that reoccur throughout Patria and are specifically detailed in my four case studies: alternative performance space, participatory experience, and ritual performance. My four case studies, Chapter 3 The Princes of the Stars, Chapter 4 Asterion, Chapter 5 The Enchanted Forest, and Chapter 6 And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon, argue that my participatory approach to Patria comprehensively illustrates how site, work, environment, and community interact, forming a distinctive performance experience.