In this thesis I discuss the musical repertoires which Palestinians invoke on the occasion of the violent death of victims of the conflict. My fieldwork centres on the years 2001-2002, a period of time in which there was increased conflict and heightened emotion.Drawing on psychological and anthropological theories of emotion I examine three repertoires which are specific to Palestinian death: nowah (women's laments), hotofat (the slogans of funeral demonstrations) and special programmes of music and film which Bethlehem Television produced when local people were killed. I argue that when studying the dynamic of music and emotion it is not enough to consider musical structures alone; rather, one must look at a diversity of factors that influence how music and emotion intersect. By looking at the circumstances surrounding the Palestinian experience of chronic loss and dispossession, I demonstrate how music and musicmaking became a coping mechanism for those who were suffering. In the case of violent death the traditional repertoire of women's laments which articulate grief and despair - is discouraged, and the focus shifts to the sphere of mass funerals and the reclaiming of public space. In this context, the chanting and . shouting of slogans provides a means of catharsis through the articulation of moral outrage. Within this emotional landscape of grief and grievance, Bethlehem Television's special programmes of film and music functioned as a therapeutic means of narrating the Palestinian experience. This thesis contributes to an understanding of the uses of music in emotion management in the struggle to survive the trauma of loss by Palestinians living under occupation and in long-term conflict.

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The first use of recorded sound in a feature film was in Don Juan (Crosland 1926). From 1933 onwards, rich film scoring and Foley effects were common in many films. In this context, Dracula (Browning 1931)1 belongs to the transitional period between silent and sound films. Dracula’s original soundtrack consists of only a few sonic elements: dialogue and incidental sound effects. Music is used only at the beginning and in the middle (one diegetic scene) of the film; there is no underscoring. The reasons for the ‘emptiness’ of the soundtrack are partly technological, partly cultural. Browning’s film remains a significant filmic event, despite its noisy original soundtrack and the absence of music. In this study Dracula’s original dialogue has been revoiced, and the film has been scored with new sound design and music, becoming part of a larger, contextual composition. This creative practice-based research explores the potential convergence of film sound and music, and the potential for additional meaning to be created by a multi-channel composition outside the dramatic trajectory of Dracula. This research also offers an analysis of how a multi-channel composition may enhance or change the way an audience reads the film. The audiovisual composition is original, but it uses an existing feature film as an element of the new art piece. Browning’s Dracula gains a new interpretation due to the semantic meaning provided by associations with major cataclysmic events of the 20th century, namely the rise of two totalitarian powers in Europe. The new soundtrack includes samples from the original that are modified, synthesised and re-worked: elements of historical speeches; quotes from Stoker’s Dracula; references to the sounds of the time period (Nazi rallies, warfare, Soviet prosecution), and the original recordings of Transylvania (similar to the geographical location and season Stoker describes in Dracula). 1 Dracula (in italics) will refer to Browning’s film (1931) throughout this paper. The soundtrack composition also includes elements of a new, specially composed Requiem, which share the same sonic and musical expression tools: music language, varying sound pitch, time stretch, granular synthesising, and vocal techniques such as singing, speech, whispering, etc.).

The engagement of landed elite women with dance music in the early nineteenth century and the contribution that such music made to the formation of female identity has received limited scholarly attention. While research on social dance has brought to life the cultural complexities of the ballroom, and investigations into the influence of dance on principally canonical repertoire have enriched our understanding of the intersections that occurred between music and dance, the actual collection and domestic performance of dance music itself has largely lain forgotten. The English country house provides a locus through which elite women’s participation in dance and domestic music-making can be conceptualised and reconstructed. Tatton Park, the Cheshire estate of the Egerton family, contains a significant body of music ranging across several generations of women. The dance music belonging to Elizabeth Egerton (1777-1853), her daughter-inlaw, Lady Charlotte Egerton (1811-1878), and Elizabeth’s daughter, Charlotte Egerton (1824-1845), provides the basis for a series of case studies that examine links between the music they collected and the social dance activities with which they were engaged. The conception of elite women’s participation in dance as expressed by contemporary authors, and the performance of dance in other country houses as documented in newspaper and archival sources, proffer a framework through which the case studies can be interpreted and thus how concepts of elite femininity were negotiated through dance music. This study forms part of a burgeoning scholarly interest in domestic music-making in the English country house and complements two recent theses on the Tatton Park collection. What emerges is a sense of the myriad ways in which early nineteenth-century dance music was embedded in the fabric of cultural life for elite women, and how it both affirmed and negated contemporary discourses on appropriate feminine comportment.

This thesis explores anonymity as an aspect of identity construction within electronic dance music (EDM). Its specific focus is on the production and control of image within genres that have arisen since the development and expansion of the club scene in the UK from the latter part of the 20th century and, then situated in visual culture and performance research, its examination of anonymity represents an area that, to date, has been overlooked in EDM. As part of this investigation, the thesis’ chapters notably analyse elements that are external to music recordings including record sleeve design and press interviews: components that are essential elements in the development and distribution of these performative identities. Following Thornton (1995), Rietveld (1998), Hesmondhalgh (1998a) and Gilbert and Pearson (1999), the research critically reviews a range of issues that are determined as associated with these representations – including the influence of technologies, a resistance to mainstream assimilation and the impact of collective ‘scene’ – while explaining some of EDM’s distinctions and hierarchies within a post-subcultural setting. To do this it uses case studies focusing on the approaches of Daft Punk, Burial, Zomby and SBTRKT: examples that are presented as unique demonstrations of image construction within the field. It also places the role of identity within a more expansive history of electronic music by aligning contemporary practice with the earlier presented image of Kraftwerk. Ultimately, and while observing this lineage of often counterintuitive practices, the thesis argues that the EDM producer’s separation from the high visibility ‘star system’ model favoured by pop and rock performers reflects commitment to a marginal status: a commitment also communicated through its visual aesthetics that reinforce an underground cultural context to celebrate the peripheral whilst, simultaneously, highlighting the EDM producer’s perceived condition as that which is inferior to his or her rock counterpart.

This thesis explores the concept and expression of musicality in the absolute visual music film, in which visual presentations are given musical attributes such as rhythmical form, structure and harmony. The role of music has, in general, been neglected when analysing visual music textually and if discussed it has been examined predominantly from the academic vantage points of art and avant-garde film theory. To adequately scrutinise these texts I consider it essential to look at them not only in terms of their existence as moving pictures but also to give equal weight to their aural aspect and to consider them in terms of specifically musical parameters. This thesis therefore seeks to redress previous imbalances by undertaking a close analysis of the expressly musical qualities of these texts. Drawing on the seemingly disparate areas of film theory, art history, music theory and philosophy, it takes an interdisciplinary approach to investigating the measurable influence that wider contextual, philosophical and historical developments and debates in these areas bore on the aesthetics of specific visual music films. By drawing on the analogy of the absolute in music to demonstrate how musical concepts can function across the disciplinary boundaries of music and film, the first half of this thesis illustrates how musical ideas can be applied both formally and conceptually to the moving image in order to elucidate the musical characteristics of the text. Using the notion of the absolute as a conceptual framework allows for a thorough overview of changing trends and aesthetics in music, film and art and the visual music film. The centrality of notions of the absolute to visual music is demonstrated through close analysis of films by Viking Eggeling, Hans Richter, Walter Ruttmann, Norman McLaren, James Whitney and Jordan Belson. The second part of this thesis concentrates less on the philosophical vestiges carried over from musical thought to the visual music film, instead focusing on the variety of techniques and technological developments that evolved in tandem with the visual music film, each simultaneously exerting an influence on one another. It explores the effect that colour processing had on not only the visual but the overall audiovisual structure of the visual music film through a textual analysis of Kreise (1933) by Oskar Fischinger. It also investigates how particular styles of musical composition dictated the development of specific technical processes such as painting directly onto the celluloid strip, in order to capture the syncopated and frenetic musicality of jazz music. The case studies here are Begone Dull Care (1949) by Norman McLaren and A Colour Box (1935) by Len Lye. Further to this, it examines how the technical processes of animated sound emerged in the search for a greater correlation between the visual and sound tracks of the visual music film through close analysis of Synchromy (1971) by Norman McLaren and the optical sound films of Guy Sherwin. Finally, this thesis marries the inquiry into technological innovation of its second half with the historical, aesthetic and philosophical concerns of earlier chapters by considering the work of visual music pioneer John Whitney. Focusing on his digitally produced visual music films, the thesis explores Whitney’s enduring concern with the unification of sound and image through the shared foundation of mathematical harmony.

The musical scores of composer Scott Bradley for the cartoons of the Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer studio form the basis of this dissertation, which uses close observation and analysis to address some of the pertinent technical and cultural issues that have been raised in the literature of musicology and of cartoon studies. Bradley’s collaborations with three sets of directors are discussed separately in order to highlight three academic concerns. An investigation into the various practical necessities and cultural influences on Bradley’s work with directors Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising sets the historical scene at the beginning of the composer’s career. I examine the pervading style of these cartoons and their music in order to reveal some of the personal preoccupations that Bradley’s work would exhibit throughout his life. And I interrogate the general musicological approach to the audiovisual pairing and cartoon scoring practices in order to re-evaluate close synchronization as a variegated technique capable of diverse and nuanced effects. Director Tex Avery and Bradley have independently been considered by various scholars for their adoption of modernist techniques. Their collaboration produced works that challenge the distinction of popular entertainment and modernist art, in a way that is shown to be both multifaceted and difficult to quantify. The position of their cartoons in terms of more frequently recognized modern artforms and its own tradition of slapstick comedy complicate any simple distinction between the two fields. The directorial team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera produced cartoons that amalgamated some of the techniques learned from the other animators in this study. As well as being the most famous of MGM’s cartoon series, their Tom and Jerry cartoons were the most consistent in terms of style. The comic formula of this series is examined from the relatively new academic area of ‘comic timing’. I explore the possible effect of a constant musical presence on the audience perception of pacing and thereby add a new perspective to an aspect of comedy that has not before been considered with reference to music.

Holocaust representation in film has received much academic attention, with a focus on how cinematography and the narrative may assist our memorialisation process. One aspect of film which has received little academic attention, however, is the issue surrounding the musical accompaniments of such films. The musical score often goes unnoticed, but may also contain emotional qualities. It can make an audience laugh, cry or alter their perception of the narrative. The three countries of East, West and reunified Germany have each attempted to engage with the Holocaust, including through the medium of film. They have done so in contrasting ways and to varying degrees of effectiveness. The opposing political, social and cultural environments of East and West Germany outweighed their geographical proximity. Likewise, reunified Germany developed a third, divergent approach to Holocaust engagement. This thesis combines three key existing fields of academia: film music theory, Holocaust representation in film, and German politics, history and culture. Through comparative textual analyses of six film case studies, two each from East, West and reunified Germany, this thesis examines whether there are examples of similarities or inherent, reoccurring musical characteristics which define the Holocaust on screen. Furthermore, the six analyses will be supported by contextual examinations of the respective countries, directors and composers in order to ascertain whether there were political, cultural and/or social considerations which impacted upon the film scores. The original contribution to knowledge to which this thesis lays claim is that it forms the first significant scholarly engagement with not only the film music of German Holocaust cinema specifically, but, on a broader scale, the ongoing theoretical discourse surrounding film music and representation. This new contribution to Holocaust knowledge also extends to a continued development of the understanding of and engagement with the event and its audio-visual representations.