George Enescu (1881-1955) is the best-known Romanian composer and has been widely lauded for his folk- inspired compositions. While folk music was an important influence in Enescu’s music, it was always balanced by his passion for and intimate understanding of late Romantic compositional techniques. The extent to which he was influenced by the folk music of his homeland is a point of contention amongst some of the leading Enescu scholars. The English-speaking representative, Noel Malcolm believes that the influences in Enescu´s musical language were more diverse than scholars have suggested prior to the 1989 revolution. He believes that the depiction of Enescu as a folkloristic composer has contributed to his marginalisation and relative obscurity. By contrast, scholars such as Boris Kotlyarov and Grigore Constantinescu give greater weight to national characteristics in Enescu’s music. Enescu conceded that some of his early works made direct quotation of Romanian folk melodies, and that such an approach was limited in its possibilities. The composer’s more mature works employ characteristics of folk music and its performance traditions without the use of direct quotation. This critical commentary will observe and comment on the folk influences in Enescu’s compositions as well as noting the influence of Western traditions and techniques. Due reference will be given to the work of Bartók, whose incisive study of Romanian folk music remains one of the most substantial and detailed primary sources today. In order to highlight specific examples of folk influence, as well as other techniques, three of Enescu’s works are targeted for specific study, namely the Romanian Rhapsody, op. 11 no. 1, Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 25 no. 3 and his Impressions D’Enfance for violin and piano, op. 28. Each work exhibits a tie with the composer’s Romanian origins, but also with 19th and early 20thC composers such as Brahms, Wagner, Debussy and Fauré. This critical commentary highlights the fact that Enescu’s works display folk idioms and techniques developed using late-Romantic techniques.

Influenced by the ideological trend of nationalism, Béla Bartók (1881-1945), an important Hungarian composer in the 20th century, dedicated himself to compositions with native culture. His piano solo work, Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op.20 (1920), is made of traditional Hungarian peasant music. In addition to its melody, mode scale, and the unique rhythm derive from the peasant music, this arrangement is created by using 20th-century compositional technique. Bartók had once claimed that this music piece is the most mature and integrated one among all his transcriptions of folk music. The first chapter of the paper introduces the Béla Bartók¡¦s journey of collecting the folk materials and the musical characteristics of Hungarian folk music, showing its thorough impact on his works. The second chapter discusses the classification of Bartók¡¦s different methods to compose transcriptions of folk music. The third chapter focuses on finding the distinguishing features of Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op.20. The compositional methods about how Bartók made use of the folk music are analyzed from aspects of melodic structure, rhythmic application, and mode scale.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 22, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-125).

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka Hälsinge låtverkstad, dess förutsättningar, pedagogiska metoder och på vilket sätt dessa metoder kan bidra till att öka motivationen hos unga att fortsätta spela. Hälsinge låtverkstad har anammat flera olika aspekter som verkar motiverande för spelintresset, och därför ligger tre kvalitativa intervjuer med ledare för denna verksamhet till grund för studien. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten är det sociokulturella perspektivet. Den sociala gemenskapen är viktig i Hälsinge låtverkstad. Ungdomarna är i olika åldrar och alla slags instrumentalister får vara med på olika tekniska nivåer. I Hälsinge låtverkstad jobbar spel-, sång-, dans- och berättarverkstan tätt tillsammans fem kurshelger under ett år och de avslutar med en föreställning. Resultatet visar att det täta samarbetet mellan verkstäderna och olika minnesvärda ögonblick bidrar till ökad motivation. Upplägget med kurshelger som fylls med gemenskap och lek, inspirerande lärare och ett sammanhang att musicera tillsammans med andra, motiverar deltagarna att fortsätta spela. Tillfredsställda fysiologiska behov är en grundförutsättning för att motivation ska uppstå. Det är även avgörande för att deltagarna ska trivas, orka vara aktiva och koncentrerade under kurshelgerna. Hälsinge låtverkstad ordnar med mat och logi så att deltagarna känner sig trygga och välkomna. Deltagarna blir sedda utifrån där de är och pedagogerna anpassar arrangemang och skapar den slutgiltiga föreställningen efter deltagarnas olika nivåer och instrument. Hälsinge låtverkstads tydligaste målsättning är den årliga slutproduktionen. Samtliga respondenter upplever emellertid själva arbetsprocessen, ”vägen dit”, som huvudmålet med verksamheten. / The purpose of the study is to explore Hälsinge låtverkstad and its pedagogical approaches and what motivates students to continue playing. Hälsinge låtverkstad has embraced several different aspects that seem motivating young people to continue to play. Three qualitative interviews with instructors at Hälsinge låtverkstad were the basis for the study. The theoretical starting point for the study has been the socio-cultural perspective. The results show that Hälsinge låtverkstad contains several aspects that motivate young people to continue to play. The social community is important, where different ages mix and a variety of musical instruments are used with different levels of skills. At Hälsinge låtverkstad the participants in the workshops that include playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and storytelling work closely together for five weekends throughout a year finishing with a big show. The framework containing weekend courses, building a sense of community, a platform where to make music and inspiring teachers who meet every student at his or her level are motivating factors for the students to continue. Close cooperation between the workshops and especially memorable moments also contribute to an increased motivation. Hälsinge låtverkstad adequately meets the safe and welcoming basic needs of the boarders during the five weekends, creating strong fellowship bonds. They will all come to know their abilities and how they master their performances. The teachers adapt and adjust the arrangements and the final show according to the different levels and musical instruments of the ensemble. Hälsinge låtverkstads most obvious target is the annual final production. All respondents perceive the work process, "way there", as the main goal of the work.

Comrades was inspired by Milan Kundera’s first novel, The Joke. The music initially set out to depict four characters from The Joke and their distinct personalities, with each movement individually depicting a specific character. As the piece was being composed, it gradually began to distance itself form the novel, and in its final state, exists independently of any association with the novel, instead depicting four unspecified characters from an unwritten story who relate in non-programmatic ways. Regardless of its removed association with Milan Kundera’s novel, the orchestration of Comrades was chosen based on a Moravian folk music ensemble in which the characters within the novel performed. In an effort to remain loyal to its conception, the piece attempts to use European folk influence to generate much of its musical material. / text

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Lyric Possession: A Dramatization of Italian Tarantism in Song is a one-act creative project informed by research exploring the formation and evolution of Mediterranean musical, religious, and cultural identity through the practice of the tarantella. The tarantella is a musical form woven into the very fabric of the Mediterranean cultural landscape, in song, dance and folkloric history. The transformation of scholarly perspectives into dramatic format, recalling traditional Italian folk drama, illuminates the history and cultural relevance of the tarantella through the lives and songs of its practitioners. In the Salentine peninsula where magic and religion collide, the ritualistic healing practice of the tarantella has served as a musical mechanism for dealing with reactions to socio-cultural issues such as repression of sexual identity, disenfranchisement, poverty and powerlessness experienced by Southern Italian women for centuries. Believed to have been a reaction to the venom of the indigenous Italian tarantula or wolf spider, peasant women in the Salentine peninsula exhibited poisoning-like symptoms and possession by spider spirits cured only through the performance of the tarantella and through the intercession of St. Paul, the patron saint of those who perform the tarantella, the tarantists. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to examine the musical manifestations of the Tarantella as informed by its folkloric history, particularly in consideration of gender marginalization and female power. Second, to create a musical drama that portrays the music of the tarantella in a dramatic context that will reflect its folkloric history, scholarship by the anthropological, ethnomusicological and psychological communities in the form of the ritual itself. The project proposes that the complex, multifaceted history of the tarantella may best be captured and expressed through practice via a recreation of the ritual in the form of a musical drama.

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This ethnographic study of a Scottish singing family, the Fishers of Glasgow, is based largely on fieldwork conducted over a period of three years. The Fishers were chosen because of their early involvement in, and their enormous influence on, the Scottish folk revival, which dates from the 1950s. Three members of the Fisher Family, Archie, Ray, and Cilia, sing professionally, and perform both traditional folksongs and contemporary material. This study focuses on them, although commentary about and from other family members is also included. In Chapter 2, I present a biography of the family, which is a patchwork of oral accounts by family members. Their biography leads us back to the islands of Vatersay and Barra, and the island traditions have obviously shaped the family ethos, even though they are an urban family. Chapter 3 is in part an oral history of the folk revival in Scotland, and the emergence of Archie and Ray Fisher as performers in the revival, as well as an analysis of important musical personalities and currents which had an impact on the revival, and particularly on Archie and Ray Fisher. Chapter 4 examines the professional careers of Archie, Ray, and Cilia, as well as the involvement of sisters Joyce, Cindy, and Audrey in the revival. The repertoire of the Fishers is examined in Chapter 5, with reference to the patterns of repertoire in the Scottish folk revival, and traditional sources. The way in which Archie, Ray, and Cilia categorize their songs is considered. Their categories, such as "heavy songs" and "light songs" tend to reflect the emotive impact of a song in performance, rather than structure. The problem of song "ownership" and repertoire within a family is also dealt with here. Chapter 6 focuses on the "aesthetic systems" of Archie, Ray, and Cilia, considering the following components: attraction to and selection of songs for learning; relative importance of tune and text; preferred song content; degree of emotional identification with songs; suitability of voice for a particular song; singing style; vocal range; the choice to accompany or not; the desired impact of the singer on the audience; the performing venue; and self-imposed expectations. The Fishers' aesthetic systems are also compared with those of other singers, both traditional and revival. In Chapter 7, I discuss the functions of songs in the Fishers' public performances, and analyse transcribed performance extracts of Archie, Ray, and Cilia (performing with her husband Artie). The spoken portion of the performances is seen as a significant and integral part of the performance as a communicative event. Analysis focuses on the structure of the performance, how the performance reflects the individual aesthetic system, and what levels of meaning may be derived from the performance. In Chapter 8, I conclude with a brief summary, and assess the place of the Fishers in the Scottish folk revival. Other data on the Fisher family, such as repertoire lists, a discography, and transcribed performance extracts may be found in the Appendices.