This study focuses on three albums of original music performed and recorded by the author as the leader of the Haftor Medbøe Group and released variously by Linn Records and Fabrikant Records between 2006 and 2010. Through the prisms of historiography, community and boundary, cultural migration, and collaboration, the thesis explores creative identity and practice as formatively and summatively applied in the realisation of the published works. The thesis employs personal reflection on the composition and performance of the published works to present an account of evolving engagement with current and historical thinking on narrative, trope and identity in jazz music and its communities. The discussion will challenge accepted constructions of linear, canonical history in jazz, offering instead a pluralist understanding of its stylistic and aesthetic development over the past century. The assumptive and selective modalities through which jazz histories and practices are collectively constructed will be viewed in parallel with the author's retrospective understanding of personal creative history and cumulative identity. The imagining of global, national and local communities of jazz production and reception will be examined in relation to their influence on the cultural positioning of the author as a jazz composer and performer. In looking beyond historical perceptions of jazz as an instrument of American cultural diplomacy and dominance, it will be shown that the European adoption of the musical language of jazz has, using the example of Nordic Tone, given rise to discrete reinterpretations and divergences from the genre's ethnic roots. The role of national identity in non-American conceptions of jazz is consequently examined in the context of the author's experience of creative and collaborative practice through the published works. It will be argued that in spite of being culturally rooted in early 20th Century America, jazz has become a ‘glocally'-informed music, with locally and individually framed values of genre authenticity and guardianship extant alongside traditionalist claims to heritable lineage. Through considering and reflecting on cultural and national identities and communities, the thesis will demonstrate that musical practice and collaboration are informed and affected by complex conscious and subconscious relationships with these themes, that are ultimately synthesised in the published works.

For almost three centuries, the sacred villancico was the primary vernacular musical form of Spain and its New World colonies. Consisting of a through-composed estribillo, or refrain, and a set of strophic coplas, or verses, these ‘devout and honest songs’ (as they were styled by the Third Mexican Provincial Council of 1585) featured in the Matins services of the cathedrals and convents of Mexico throughout the colonial period. This thesis traces the morphology, development and significance of the villancico in New Spain during the one hundred year period from 1650 to 1750, examining the musical development of the genre within the institutional contexts of cathedral, convent and girls’ school. The biographies and villancico oeuvres of the composers Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Antonio de Salazar, Manuel de Sumaya, and others who moved in their orbits are reconsidered in light of new music and documentation, while the supposed New World phenomenon of the villancico de negros, or African dialect villancico, receives fresh attention. In separate chapters, the feminine side of genre is examined. The musical aspects of the life of the Hieronymite nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz are considered from the viewpoint of the music historian, while the practice of the villancico in the feminine institutions of New Spain is explored. Focussing on period documents as a means of enriching the historical narrative, the thesis is intended as an interpretation of the villancico genre for the English-speaking reader.

In 2004, US Time magazine named Glasgow Europe’s ‘capital of rock music’ and likened it to Detroit in its Motown heyday (Porter, 2004). In 2008 UNESCO awarded Glasgow the title of ‘City of Music’ and the application dossier submitted in support of this title noted the importance of rock and pop for the city’s musical reputation. Since the late 1970s a large number of bands have emerged from (or been associated with) the city, yet little academic research has been carried out to determine the factors behind this phenomenon. This thesis, then, aims to address this deficiency. To do so, it questions the notion of the meaning of the term ‘scene' and highlights the changing importance, between 1979 and 2009, of different components within Glasgow’s music scene. In doing this, the thesis examines the importance and role of different ‘foci’ for sustaining popular music production at a grassroots level. These foci (where local music makers meet, socialise, and develop lasting connections) include record shops, studios (rehearsal and recording), live performance venues, and virtual social spaces of the Internet. In foregrounding music making as a social practice, involving interactions between individuals in a wide variety of roles (rather than only between music makers), the study employs network theory as a means of exploring these connections. The resultant analysis highlights the importance of different forms of capital for cultural production. In particular, it argues that from the 1990s onwards, social capital played an increasing role in the development of Glasgow’s music scene. Expressed in terms of high levels of trust and reciprocity between scene participants, the accumulation of social capital has influenced Glasgow music makers to cultivate a distinct ‘indie’ approach to music making. This approach is manifested, not in one particular style of music, but in a plethora of cross- collaborations and a desire on the part of scene participants to create music across different art forms and media.

This is a commentary on seven pieces I have created to explore the idea of music as the social activity of performance – including the rituals around it – instead of as abstract works. The pieces explore the relationship between performers and audience and the effects performance space has on that relationship, by addressing the function of the fourth wall as part of musical performance. Focusing on the inherent theatricality of musical performance, the pieces were created by experimenting with the non-sonic constituents of performance – i.e. the space that hosts performance and the rules that govern it, the distance between performers and audience and their behaviour towards each other. In short, my intention was to challenge performance conventions found in the performing tradition of Classical music by composing new music with an emphasis on the non-sonic constituents of performance. The commentary investigates various concepts about musical performance, which provided the ideas behind the pieces in my portfolio. The portfolio of pieces includes video documentation, descriptions of the pieces, scores and programme notes on each of the pieces. The videos and programme notes can be found in the accompanying DVD and in the following website: http://artefactsofperformance.blogspot.co.uk.

Alfred Cortot and Franz Schubert are two names that are rarely mentioned in the same context. Although Cortot was a renowned pianist and pedagogue of the first half of the twentieth century, his work on Schubert has remained obscure. This can be explained by the fact that his recordings of, and writings on, Schubert’s works comprise only a small sample of his affinity with this repertoire, in comparison to his affiliation to the work of other composers, such as Chopin. This degree of obscurity is also increased by the fact that, to a certain extent, Schubert’s works for piano remained neglected until early in the twentieth century, in contrast to his great reputation as a composer of Lieder. However, the study of Cortot’s recordings and commentary editions of Schubert’s piano music reveals that Cortot can potentially be a relevant source for the performance of this repertoire. Due to his educational background and the roots of his performance style, he can be a link to performance traditions of the late nineteenth century, which comprise important sources for the performance of Schubert’s work, especially given the notable lack of primary evidence specific to this music. Cortot’s editions discuss issues, which are still current regarding the performance of Schubert’s works, and provide answers, which are comparable with modern and updated approaches. On the other hand, Cortot’s editions and recordings of Schubert’s music cover a range of time within the twentieth century (1920-1960) that encompassed some of the greatest changes in performance styles that have ever been documented in writing and in sound. His work therefore also becomes a valuable source for the study of this evolution and the way it might have been realized and influenced by leading artists of the twentieth century. This thesis aims to present Cortot’s work as an inspiring source for the interpretation of Schubert’s music today, and as an important testimony to the history of performance practice.

Stefans Grové (1922-2014) is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most distinguished composers of art music. He was one of the most prolific contributors to the country’s piano literature, having written large-scale cycles as well as several miniatures for the instrument. This thesis engages with his more widely-performed oeuvre, as well as earlier works that are forgotten or not currently in the public domain. A number of his piano works composed towards the end of his life are discussed here for the first time in an academic context. The two main premises explored in this thesis are the composer’s stylistic development and his approach to elements of piano technique and performance. His pianistic oeuvre is divided into style periods, and the seminal structural tools that recur throughout his creative career are evaluated. A study of the composer’s engagement with indigenous Southern African musical and cultural elements forms a substantial part of the second and fourth chapters of this thesis. The realisation of technical elements in Grové’s piano music for concert performers as well as less advanced players is discussed in the third chapter, with reference to the formulations on the didactics of piano playing by pedagogues such as Heinrich Neuhaus, Béla Bartók, József Gát and Geőrgy Sándor. Aspects of finger technique, articulation and pedalling are the main points of investigation. In the outer chapters, Grové is placed within the historical context of piano tuition in South Africa and his position within the national canon of art music is considered and contextualised.

Glasgow International Jazz Festival first took place in 1987 and has run every year since, making it the city's longest-running cultural event. One of the company's stated aims at its inception was to 'establish [Glasgow] as a major European jazz centre' (Williams, 1986b). Through a single, historical case study, the thesis attempts first to ascertain the extent to which this aim has been achieved, and second to determine the enabling and limiting factors acting upon the Festival in its attempts to effect change in its host city. The thesis finds that urban music festivals can, under the right circumstances, contribute to positive and lasting changes to the environment in which they exist. In the case of Glasgow Jazz Festival, this is evident in terms of both the physical infrastructure and educational opportunities which would be unlikely to exist today had the Festival not been their champion. A festival's ability to effect such change, however, can be severely curtailed by fluctuating levels of commitment from local and national authorities.

Kind of Blue remains one of the most influential and successful jazz albums ever recorded, yet we know surprisingly few details concerning how it was written and the creative roles played by its participants. Previous studies in the literature emphasise modal and blues content within the album, overlooking the creative principle that underpins Kind of Blue – repetition and variation. Davis composed his album by Signifyin(g), transforming and recombining musical items of interest adopted from recent recordings of the period. This thesis employs an interdisciplinary framework that combines note-based observations with intertextual theory. It maps out the intertextual associations of each piece on Kind of Blue, illuminating Davis’s creative practice and more generally, Signifyin(g) in jazz. The study presents a more rounded account of the trumpeter, identifying Significations that possess a transformative power indicative of his idiosyncratic voice. This derives from the trumpeter’s skill in recognising the musical potential implicit in each borrowed item. Davis employed varied modes of revision in response to each insight, which nevertheless exhibit common traits – simplicity/neatness of approach, economical use of materials and revisional instinct. The study catches Davis in the act of revising musical tradition, as the trumpeter renegotiates African-American traditional forms using contemporary jazz devices. Some tracks exhibit “indirection” by saying one thing but meaning another. Thus, while the bluesy vamps of “All Blues” appear to affirm the blues tradition, a series of intertextual readings reveal a hidden dialogue concerning the mutability of style, as musical items traverse stylistic boundaries with ease courtesy of Davis’s Signifyin(g) voice.

The Algerian diaspora in London has grown exponentially in recent years, initially as a result of Algeria’s civil conflict and subsequently for economic and educational reasons. The local Algerian population has found itself dispersed across the city and its surrounding areas, with no focal point around which to develop a sense community. This has produced feelings of individual and collective cultural disconnection, which are particularly pronounced given the strong discourse of nationalism that has shaped Algerian politics since the country’s independence in 1962. At the same time, on a local level Algerians have been faced by both widespread public ignorance of their culture, and enduringly negative representations within the British media that associates Algerians with acts of terrorism. In such circumstances, music has become important to Algerians in the city for a number of reasons. It offers, in a range of traditional and contemporary forms, a positive public display of Algerian culture for Algerian and non-Algerian audiences alike. Musical events also facilitate social interaction amongst the local diaspora, providing occasions in which Algerians from across the city can gather and collectively celebrate their culture. Whilst such moments of musicmaking provide entertainment and an expression of national pride, they also offer an opportunity for the negotiation of ‘London Algerianness’, a collective cultural identity that is shaped by, but uniquely different from, the Algerian cultures of France and the homeland. This thesis focuses upon this notion of London Algerianness, examining the important role that music plays in constructing and mediating a shared, localised sense of collective cultural identity. Algerian music in London, it is argued, maintains connections with a transnational diaspora, but is also at the heart of a strong local identity, which is formed by the experiences of Algerians in early twenty-first century London.

This submission investigates computer-aided performances in which musicians receive auditory information via earphones. The interaction between audio-scores (musical material sent through earpieces to performers) and visual input (musical notation) changes the traditional relationship between composer, conductor, performer and listener. Audio-scores intend to complement and transform the printed score. They enhance the accuracy of execution of difficult rhythmic or pitch relationships, increase the specificity of instructions given to the performer (for example, in the domain of timbre), and may elicit original and spontaneous responses from the performer in real-time. The present research is inspired by, and positions itself within traditional European notational practices. Through a reflection on the nature and function of notation in a variety of repertoires, this study examines how my own compositional research – and its reliance on audio-scores— relates to and differs from the models considered. Following the realisation of pieces investigating complex rhythms and the use of recorded samples as borrowed/found material, results have proven to be highly effective with a group of vocalists, with works in which audio-scores facilitated the precise realisation of microtonal material. Audio-scores also proved particularly useful in sitespecific ‘immersive’ concerts/installations. In these settings, audio-scores mitigate challenges associated with placing musicians at an unusual distances from one another, e.g. around the audience. This submission constitutes an original contribution to knowledge in the field of computer-aided performance in that it demonstrates how musical notation and current ubiquitous audio technologies may be used in tandem in the conception and performance of new works. Recent findings include a Web application currently being developed at IRCAM. The application is based on a local server and allows the synchronous delivery of audio/screen-scores via the browser of the performers’ smartphones, tablets, or computers. Keywords: audio-score, click track, composition, computeraided performance, earpiece, microtonality, music, notation, performance, screen-score, server, voice.