<p>The music critic is usually portrayed as a lone wolf in the musical world - an independent and mysterious figure slipping silently in and out of concerts, and pronouncing judgement from afar. However, her work cannot occur in isolation, and the interactions of the critic with her publication, her readers, and her subjects create a network of relationships, each with their own dynamic effect on the critic and her writing. These relationships function as an exchange of capital, as described in Bourdieu's Field of Cultural Production. The publication is lent capital by having skilled writers, and the critic is given a powerful position from which to reach her readers. The readers, functioning as an imagined community built around a common subject interest, grant the critic capital, and therefore authority, by being influenced by her work.</p> <p>The two imagined musical communities discussed here - classical and world music -share a position as marginalized musical genres. Their places within western culture could be portrayed as opposites, as classical music maintains a privileged position as a cultural achievement for the west, and world music is both a relatively young genre, and one that is separated and Othered simply from its label as a homogenizing and encompassing genre category. Within each of these genres, the critic is faced with different challenges - navigating the social issues which surround the categories, understanding how best to address their musical communities, and then further, how to write appropriately for the publications which support them. Each publication plays a different role in the discourse surrounding the music, and each also has a different set of requirements and opportunities for the critic.</p> <p>Through a combination of practical work and academic analysis, this thesis seeks to demonstrate some of the challenges facing a young critic in the field, and the dynamic relationships that govern a critic's work and musical world.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to conduct three experiments in order to ascertain a perceptual account of Schenker's analysis of a Handel <em>Aria</em> and to test Lerdahl's premise that listeners experienced in Western tonal music perceive tension globally rather than locally. Data were obtained by recording perceptual judgements of tension, phrase structure, and pitch space at 83 stopping points across the <em>Aria</em> and three Schenkerian levels of analysis (background, middleground, and foreground). Of particular interest is viewing this data in the light of Schenker's <em>organicism</em> philosophy. Listeners in all three experiments are experienced musicians and university music students. In experiment 1, tension ratings correlate among listeners at all levels of analysis and perceived tension varies with stopping point. Thus, the experience of tension and relaxation requires minimal harmonic and melodic information. The phrase structure data obtained from experiment 2 demonstrates that more surface material is required in order to make judgements of phrase structure. Experiment 3, using Krumhansl's probe tone method, shows that even with the minimal information of Schenker's background level, listeners experienced in Western tonal music consistently perceive a hierarchical pitch space similar to Krumhansl's probe tone profile. The application of Lerdahl's <em>Tonal Pitch Space Theory</em> demonstrates a reliance of the experienced listener on local tension rather than on inherited tension in this short, completely diatonic piece.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>In recent years, interest in the indie rock subculture has exploded, both in the popular press and among popular music scholars and culture theorists.</p> <p>This is an ethnographic study of the indie rock scene in Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton represents a microcosm of what is happening in other local indie scenes. The geographical, historical and cultural locality of Hamilton creates a sense of shared identity among individuals connected by the common interest in indie rock.</p> <p>This study focuses on how independent rock's network of social practices and economic institutions works to locate subjects within Hamilton's local network while connecting them to the larger framework of interlocal scenes. Aspects of the local and interlocal are explored through narratives of indie aesthetics, style, fashion, institutions, cultural practices, authenticity and investment. Cultural practices, including the production and consumption of indie rock are examined through the lens of Bourdieu' s concept of cultural capital, which exposes constructions and configurations of class, generation, ethnicity, and gender.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

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The purpose of this study is to examine the presentation of Joan of Arc's life in two lyric works, Jules Barbier and Charles Gounod's Jeanne d'Arc (1873) and Auguste Mermet's Jeanne d'Arc (1876), that premiered in Paris following the upheaval of the Franco-Prussian War and Paris Commune. Relying on Parisian journals of the day, I follow two trends: some critics called for a historically-informed presentation of Joan's life and others appealed to retain certain supernatural elements, specifically the Fairy Tree and the Voices, of Joan's story. In addition to these trends, I consider an article printed shortly before the premiere of Mermet's opera and discuss the political and religious implications of the final scene (Charles VII Coronation in Reims or Joan's execution in Rouen) in these two stage works. After an introductory chapter and a chapter tracing the geneses of the melodrama and the opera, the remaining chapters each deal specifically with one of the three above-mentioned lines of inquiry as they relate to Joan of Arc's story. Chapter III discusses historical characters (Charles, duc d'Orléans, King René, and Agnès Sorel), historical music (minuet and Vexilla regis), and music believed to have been sung in the presence of Joan of Arc (Veni Creator Spiritus and Orate pro ea). Chapter IV addresses the continuing presence of legendary, supernatural elements--specifically the Fairy Tree and the Voices--and how these elements have changed in nineteenth-century stage works about Joan. In Chapter V, the difficulty of adapting Joan's life on the stage is examined. A closer look reveals that differing views existed during the 1870s as to exactly what her mission entailed. The two works reflect the changing attitudes on this topic. As a whole, this dissertation offers an examination of two rarely discussed stage works that reveal the political, religious, and musical climate surrounding the figure of Joan of Arc in the 1870s.

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A presente dissertação expõe uma investigação histórica, conceitual e filosófica a respeito da prática de reelaboração musical. O objetivo desse estudo é revelar diferentes perspectivas através das quais podemos tratar a obra musical nessa atividade. Procuramos discutir o equilíbrio entre a criatividade e a relação de fidelidade/autenticidade estabelecida com o original, considerando a personalidade do intérprete/reelaborador. Para tal, construímos um panorama histórico das práticas de reelaboração: transcrição, orquestração, redução, arranjo, adaptação e paráfrase, e as definimos segundo seus propósitos e o grau de transformação de seus materiais musicais. Por fim, analisamos os conceitos de score compliance, werktreue, obra musical e interpretação, além de estabelecermos um paralelo com a tradução literária, a fim de estimular a crítica e compreender melhor a forma como essa atividade foi exercida ao longo da história e como podemos compreendê-la na atualidade. / This thesis presents a historical, conceptual and philosophical research about the practice of musical reworking. The aim of this study is to reveal different perspectives through which we can treat the musical work in this activity. We seek a balance between creativity and the relationship of fidelity/authenticity established with the original, considering the performer\'s personality. To this purpose, we will build a historical overview of reworking practices: transcription, orchestration, reduction, arrangement, adaptation and paraphrase, and we will define them according to their purpose and the degree of transformation of its musical material. Finally, we will analyze the concepts of score compliance, werktreue, musical work and interpretation. In addition, we will offer a parallel to the literary translation in order to stimulate a critical understand of how this activity was exercised throughout history and how we can understand it today.

A presente dissertação expõe uma investigação histórica, conceitual e filosófica a respeito da prática de reelaboração musical. O objetivo desse estudo é revelar diferentes perspectivas através das quais podemos tratar a obra musical nessa atividade. Procuramos discutir o equilíbrio entre a criatividade e a relação de fidelidade/autenticidade estabelecida com o original, considerando a personalidade do intérprete/reelaborador. Para tal, construímos um panorama histórico das práticas de reelaboração: transcrição, orquestração, redução, arranjo, adaptação e paráfrase, e as definimos segundo seus propósitos e o grau de transformação de seus materiais musicais. Por fim, analisamos os conceitos de score compliance, werktreue, obra musical e interpretação, além de estabelecermos um paralelo com a tradução literária, a fim de estimular a crítica e compreender melhor a forma como essa atividade foi exercida ao longo da história e como podemos compreendê-la na atualidade. / This thesis presents a historical, conceptual and philosophical research about the practice of musical reworking. The aim of this study is to reveal different perspectives through which we can treat the musical work in this activity. We seek a balance between creativity and the relationship of fidelity/authenticity established with the original, considering the performer\'s personality. To this purpose, we will build a historical overview of reworking practices: transcription, orchestration, reduction, arrangement, adaptation and paraphrase, and we will define them according to their purpose and the degree of transformation of its musical material. Finally, we will analyze the concepts of score compliance, werktreue, musical work and interpretation. In addition, we will offer a parallel to the literary translation in order to stimulate a critical understand of how this activity was exercised throughout history and how we can understand it today.

Music travels across the past in the form of composers borrowing from each other. Such musical borrowings and quotations involve not only the use of melodic materials but also musical structures, texts, symbolism and other types of inspiration. The pre-existing musical idea being used is linked to a specific memory of a particular composer and time. The artistic allusions of composers connect the present and the past. Music also travels across the present and into the future. The outcome of contemporary composers borrowing from each other influences the present period and affects later composers' musical inspiration, i.e., it affects future composers, and therefore, the future. Composers frequently refer to melodies or musical idea from contemporaries and reinterpret them in their own compositions. This is largely because composers do not write in isolation and have been inspired and influenced by contemporary musicians and cultural contexts. However, these musical borrowings sometimes raise questions about the composers' creativity and authenticity. This is largely due to the nature of inspiration and imagination, which determines who or what is original. With this in mind, why do composers still borrow musical ideas despite the risks involved? In what ways do they overcome criticism and demonstrate the excellence of their own compositions while referring to the work of others? In what ways do artistic allusions influence new compositions? In this dissertation, I attempt to examine these questions and address the reasons for and the effects of musical quotations and allusions.

No description available.