The commentary deals with the two principal areas of my compositional work from 1996- 2003: short pieces and modularity. Taking a survey of compositional durations as a starting point, assumptions related to duration are discussed in the context of extremely long and short pieces by Feldman, Jliat, Webern and Werder. The effect of duration on form, structure, listening and the practicalities of performance is considered in relation to memory and our perception of duration, suggesting a range of possible solutions to the problem of composing short pieces. These issues are examined in the context of my own work in composing short pieces (1996-2000), leading to a consideration of an effective performance practice and the transition to the use of short pieces as modules in a larger compositional framework. The consequent development of a fully modular approach to music is contextualised through an examination of modular theory in a manufacturing context, leading to analysis of a range of examples of modular and open form work in literature, visual art and music. Differences between open and closed forms of modularity are explored along with the effect of a modular approach on creative work. These theoretical and practical issues are discussed in relation to my modular composition #[unassigned] (2000- ), surveying its development from groups of short pieces. The compositional method is explained, examining the creation of a modular interface and types of modules and their re-use, through examples of existing versions.

This thesis examines the way in which jazz evolved in Britain beginning with an examination of the cultural and musical antecedents of the genre, including minstrel shows and black musical theatre, within the context of musical life in Britain in the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuries. The processes through which this evolution took place are considered with reference to the ways in which jazz was introduced to Britain through imported revue shows and sheet music, as well as by the visits of American musicians. Finally, the subsequent development of jazz in Britain in the 1920s is analysed with particular consideration of the 'jazz age', modernism and the 'culture industry' as theoretical constructs and detailed study of dance music on the BBC and jazz in the underworld of London. The thesis falls into two parts, the first provides historical and theoretical perspectives on the topic, and the second presents various case studies that examine particular manifestations of the evolving presence of jazz in Britain. The research makes use of a wide variety of primary source material; in addition to recordings (where available), sheet music, and concert programmes, which offer direct information about the music performed; biographies, film, photographs, government, police and court records, newspapers and periodicals provide the necessary context. This thesis presents a new version of the history of jazz in Britain, not only through the factual findings resulting from the consideration of how jazz evolved in Britain, but also through the methodological approach used. The research establishes the parallel worlds of jazz that existed by the end of the 1920s in Britain: the realm of the institutionalised 'culture industry' and the underworld, and shows the importance of image and racial stereotyping in shaping perceptions of jazz in Britain. Most significantly I this study clearly establishes that the evolution of jazz in Britain is unique, rather than an extension or reflection of that in America.

This Thesis proposes three main objectives: (i) to provide the concept of a new generalized non-standard synthesis model that would provide the framework for incorporating other non-standard synthesis approaches; (ii) to explore dynamic sound modeling through the application of new non-standard synthesis techniques and procedures; and (iii) to experiment with dynamic sound synthesis for the creation of novel sound objects. In order to achieve these objectives, this Thesis introduces a new paradigm for non-standard synthesis that is based in the algorithmic assemblage of minute wave segments to form sound waveforms. This paradigm is called Extended Waveform Segment Synthesis (EWSS) and incorporates a hierarchy of algorithmic models for the generation of microsound structures. The concepts of EWSS are illustrated with the development and presentation of a novel non-standard synthesis system, the Dynamic Waveform Segment Synthesis (DWSS). DWSS features and combines a variety of algorithmic models for direct synthesis generation: list generation and permutation, tendency masks, trigonometric functions, stochastic functions, chaotic functions and grammars. The core mechanism of DWSS is based in an extended application of Cellular Automata. The potential of the synthetic capabilities of DWSS is explored in a series of Case Studies where a number of sound object were generated revealing (i) the capabilities of the system to generate sound morphologies belonging to other non-standard synthesis approaches and, (ii) the capabilities of the system of generating novel sound objects with dynamic morphologies. The introduction of EWSS and DWSS is preceded by an extensive and critical overview on the concepts of microsound synthesis, algorithmic composition, the two cultures of computer music, the heretical approach in composition, non- standard synthesis and sonic emergence along with the thorough examination of algorithmic models and their application in sound synthesis and electroacoustic composition. This Thesis also proposes (i) a new definition for “algorithmic composition”, (ii) the term “totalistic algorithmic composition”, and (iii) four discrete aspects of non-standard synthesis.

This thesis explores the role that film genre plays in the construction of, predominantly, Hollywood movie scores. It begins with the simple assumption that each genre has its own set of musical conventions, its signature "paradigm", with the result that Westerns sound different from Horror films, which sound different from Romantic Melodramas and so on. It demonstrates that while this is broadly speaking so, the true picture is more complex, the essentially hybrid nature of most Hollywood films on a narrative level resulting in scores that are similarly hybrid in nature. To begin with, the various functions of film music are described, and that of generic location is isolated as being of key importance. The concept of film genre is then discussed, with particular reference to the notion of hybridity. The substance and sources of the musical paradigms of the Western, Horror film and Romantic Melodrama are described in depth; specific aspects of the War Film, Gangster, Thriller and Action paradigms are addressed more briefly. The thesis concludes with a cue by cue analysis of John Barry's score for Dances with Wolves (1990), demonstrating that while the dominant paradigm the music draws on is indeed that of the Western, the score also incorporates elements from a variety of other generic paradigms, shifts in musical emphasis that are dictated by the changing requirements of the narrative. Film music is shown to be profoundly influenced by film genre, but that the use of generically specific music is as complex and nuanced as cinema's negotiation of genre at narrative level. While genres do indeed have signature musical paradigms, these do not exist discretely, but in constant tension with and relation to one another.

FLOW operates on two levels, firstly as an engaging live performance environment and secondly as a vehicle to discuss a number of philosophical ideas relating to sound as art. As a performance piece FLOW exists to provide an inclusive interactive environment for musicians and casual visitors alike. A series of sensors allow those who enter the arena to make interventions in an immersive soundscape through their movements, opening up possibilities for the exploration of sound and gestural action within the space. The piece challenges the conventional roles of performer and spectator and offers interactive technology as a means of uniting the two. The artist creates a re-imagination of the performance paradigm based on active engagement rather than passive observance through the establishment of a circular discourse between human and computer. The following paper will also examine the nature of sound as art, suggesting that the poststructural ideas of Derrida and Deleuze and Guattari can be used as a conduit to define sonic emergences and morphologies within a Human/computer discourse, both in terms of timbral nature and spatial diffusion. Central to this is the concept that suggests the relationship between man and machine in interactive sonic art is one of energy transfer from organic fluidity to digital regulation and back to energy in the form of processed sound, according to the processes put in place. This leads into a final discussion of the nature of experimental compositional process, the choice between the determinate and the stochastic and the compromises between these that may need to be made to retain artistic coherence.

The focus of this thesis is how the body and its corporeal articulations can be used as a tool for composing for contemporary dance, with the aim of creating music with corporeal qualities that communicates on a physical level. For this purpose the author has collaborated with choreographers in a practice-based approach to examine how the body of the composer can be exploited in composition and performance, and how the voice can be exploited as a mediator between body movement and music. The body and its sensorimotor system is the foundation for our understanding of abstract concepts in music; the immaterial movement of music can serve as a foundation for a deep bodily-sensed understanding of complex concepts. By reversing this process of understanding, or rather by engaging in the action-perception loop of conceptual understanding, this understanding can help encapsulating abstract and complex concepts artistically in music. For this purpose the Feedback Instrument has been created, representing a direct way of engaging the sensorimotor system of the composer, where the intuitive body resonances are engaged in close connection with the sounding music.

My research explores the interrelationship between Norwegian folk music and Norwegian jazz from 1945 to 1995 (with updates to 2002) and assesses the extent to which the results can now be considered as constituting an indigenous art form. A short historical overview of Norwegian geography and history contextualises the development of Norwegian folk music and, in particular, its musical characteristics. It is argued that the geographical remoteness of many Norwegian communities isolated the local culture from the rest of the land's population, a situation which continued until collectors such as Lindeman and Sandvik began their tours of the landlying districts from about 1830 and 1900 respectively, collecting material and comparing it with what was discovered elsewhere. The end of World War II heralded the start of an important phase of development in Swedish jazz, which began to cultivate a Scandinavian style of performance and a Scandinavian repertoire. In Norway, some years later, jazz musicians were influenced by indigenous folk music and the principal folk music types that provided inspiration are scrutinised. I then concentrate on defining a Scandinavian jazz style and a recognisable Norwegian variant. The importance of the Lydian mode in Norwegian music is discussed, and the theories of Geirr Tveitt and George Russell receive critical evaluation in relation to Norwegian jazz. Jan Garbarek's composition Molde Canticle is analysed, as is one of its successors, the album Uncharted Land. The contributions of ECM and Manfred Eicher are evaluated, and I conclude with a survey of the contributions of other central figures in the combined field of Norwegian folk music and jazz.

This study examines the learning of ensemble skills by young musicians in progressive ensembles. Data collection took place in three music centres which form part of an LEA music service's ensemble provision. This study uniquely approaches ensembles as'socio-musical' phenomena. It finds description and explanation in the constantly changing and developing socio-musical interactions that form ensembles. Using an ethnographic approach it examines the practice of ensembles that are part of musical learning pyramids, through the eyes and actions of the ensemble members. There is an examination of ensemble membership and the social structures and interactions that form ensembles. This study explores, and for the first time identifies, a set of ensemble specific skills. These are the skills that a musician uses to negotiate, integrate and cooperate with other participants in the production of ensemble performance. It goes on to examine how ensemble specific skills are acquired and suggests that the learning process is one of serial performative responsibility transfer created within stratified centripetal progression. New, or novice, members of an ensemble start by participating at a peripheral level leaving it to others to take performative responsibility for the production of a negotiated collaborative realization of the musical intentions of the composer. This study has been influenced by the work of Lave and Wenger and social theories of learning. However, it departs from these theories by suggesting that the learning process within an ensemble is responsibility led and stratified.

In den 1990er Jahren äußern sich Akteurinnen der feministischen Bewegung der Riot Grrrls insbesondere über multimedial gestaltete Zines und Flyer. Die 2009 initiierte Fales Riot Grrrl Collection an der New York University, die größtenteils aus persönlichen Archiven von Protagonistinnen der Bewegung besteht, macht die Druckerzeugnisse, die in geringen Auflagen und lokal begrenzt publiziert wurden, erneut zugänglich. Mein Beitrag untersucht anhand der Buchpublikation The Riot Grrrl Collection (2013) und in einem Interview mit der Herausgeberin und Archivarin Lisa Darms das spannungsgeladene Wechselverhältnis zwischen einer explizit für die Gegenwart bestimmten, flüchtigen Produktion und der intensiven Sammeltätigkeit dieser Druckerzeugnisse, auch durch die Produzentinnen selbst. In welchem Zusammenhang steht dies zu Sammelaktivitäten von Fans? Und inwieweit löst die Publikation der Zines genau diese Grenzen zwischen Künstlerinnen und Rezipientinnen / Fans in einer kulturellen Bewegung auf? Wie werden die Druckerzeugnisse in der Riot Grrrl Collection und der Buchpublikation heute kontextualisiert und neu produktiv gemacht?

Die musiktheoretische Analyse setzt die Musik Bartóks mit der Beirachs und Shaws in Beziehung und fragt nach Schnittstellen in der Musik der drei Komponisten.