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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>

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This document accompanies and explains the concepts used in the development of the composition, East is East, and West is West, (and Never the Twain Shall Meet). The process for generation and development of much of the musical content of the composition East is East, and West is West, (and Never the Twain Shall Meet) is the use of quoted musical materials. The second process, but equally as important, for development of the composition relies heavily on the idea of parallel development of modular ensembles and how the interactions created between them by sharing instrumentation can be a tool for development, as well as a challenge to the development of each module. Each module has an influence on at least one other module and is also influenced by at least one other module, creating a puzzle of interactions that must be navigated carefully when generating each individually. Both quotation and modularity are concepts employed by other composers, so this document also briefly explains how other composers have approached these concepts in their works in order to establish a historical relationship within the canon of western classical music to East is East, and West is West, (and Never the Twain Shall Meet).

Polymetric writing is an integral technique in contemporary compositional practice. Dan Welcher and Yo Goto are principal employers of this practice in the wind band medium. Their methods endure even the results of modern scholarship showing limited human perception of polyrhythmic events. This dissertation provides a comprehensive metric analysis of excerpts from the music of Welcher and Goto. Five examples are explored from major band works of each of the two composers. The analytical process in the study utilizes the metrical concept set forth by Maury Yeston, so that a comparison can be made between the rhythmic components of the competing meters. The results of the study show that both Welcher and Goto, in all ten excerpts, create polymetric sections containing elements that surpass the aural limits proposed by modern scholarship. Additionally, through identification of the misaligned metric layers causing each polymeter, pedagogical considerations are offered to aid performance of each identified excerpt.

The portfolio of compositions comprises six pieces: a chamber opera, an orchestral piece and four shorter chamber works. These pieces are diverse and distinct from one another but collectively explore aesthetic tensions relating to tonality, aura and ontology. The largest piece is a chamber opera setting Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, which has been flexibly scored as a series of fragments in order to reflect the quality of her text. The remaining pieces draw influence from poetry, landscape and the environment. They all encompass a series of material contrasts but attempt to simply contain these tensions in some way, leaving them partially unresolved. The thesis is a re-assessment of the music of the Ukrainian composer, Valentin Silvestrov, in particular, his 'metamusic' approach to composition that treats pre-existing styles as a form of musical metaphor. Through a series of comparisons with landscape and photography, I offer new vantage points for approaching the aesthetic issues present in his work, relating to aura, imitation and historical reference. The metaphors of landscape and photography might appear far removed from his work, but mediated by the work of the artist Gerhard Richter, offer a basis for critically analysing Silvestrov's approach. Furthermore, by drawing upon the theories of Walter Benjamin, Roland Barthes and the geographer, Stephan Harrison, I demonstrate how concepts from other disciplines can be recast in order to be effective for approaching both Silvestrov and Richter. As a form of conclusion, I consider the role of photography in the production of CD covers and how this relates to the reception of Silvestrov's metamusic in a commercial setting.

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