Thèse (M.A.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2001. / Includes abstract. "MQ-65215"--Fiche header. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2007. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1441461 ProQuest document ID: 1288663651. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-58)

Shen Congwen [沈从文] (1902 – 1988), the famous Chinese writer most active from the late 1920s to the end of the 1940s, took particular interest in music throughout his literary career. From Shen’s earliest works, folksongs feature in his regional stories about West Hunan, his home region. These songs not only provide the stories with a special local colour, but also indicate Shen’s strong connection with Western anthropology and psychology. From the mid-1930s, Shen developed a passion for Western classical music. He stated on several occasions that he wished he could use the method of musical composition in his writing, even though he never attempted to learn to compose. This thesis will investigate Shen’s insistence on the assumption that the method of musical composition – especially the use of ‘harmony’ – would make literary works more beautiful and infinite. Shen’s discussion of Western classical music also points to the connection between music and abstraction. In Shen’s later career, he seems to be consistently pursuing the beauty of abstraction. At the same time, he writes about ‘soundless music’, which goes beyond concrete music such as folksongs or Western classical music. In the analysis of Shen’s ideas on music, one question remains: what are the possible sources of these ideas? Shen started writing after May Fourth Movement, a movement that massively involved learning from the West. His career thrived while socialising with a group of Chinese writers whose works bear evident marks of Western literature, and some of whom were also the translators of many Western works. Furthermore, Shen’s ideas on music appear to reflect those of Western literature, especially modern literature. This thesis will consider possible influences on Shen, starting with an examination of what Shen might have read or known about Western literary ideas. Finally, according to the evidence uncovered in my research, this thesis will propose a comparative study between possible Western sources of influence and Shen’s ideas on music, focusing on the influence of Western anthropology, psychology, Goethe (1749 – 1832), French Symbolism, Nietzsche (1844 – 1900), and Joyce (1882 – 1941).

This thesis focuses on a relatively under-researched immigrant-descended group: the second-generation Irish in post-war England. Taking popular music as a case study, the thesis examines some of the key ways in which the second-generation Irish have been discursively managed in both academic and journalistic discourses. To this end, the thesis develops a critical dialogue with particular aspects of Irish Studies, British Cultural Studies, and the discourse of popular music journalism. Much of this dialogue is, in turn, refracted through the prism of specific themes and issues, especially those pertaining to assimilation, essentialism, and 'white ethnicity'. In addition to these considerations, the thesis also addresses the question of musical 'routes', examining the variegated aesthetic strategies that have been mobilised by second-generation Irish rock musicians such as John Lydon, Kevin Rowland, Shane MacGowan, Noel Gallagher, and The Smiths. Throughout, the thesis is infonned by a desire to challenge the invisibility of the second-generation Irish in academic and journalistic discourses; to highlight the diversity and complexity of second-generation Irish experience and identity-formation processes; and to point to the productive and diverse ways in which second-generation cultural practitioners have reconfigured popular culture in England.

This thesis presents the author's musical compositions through the elucidation of their source impulse. In order to facilitate the unveiling of the works presented in this thesis I have subdivided it into sections thus: Section 1 - Here I introduce the reader to the motivation behind my music composition work and discuss the elements which inform my cosmology through the elucidation of the concepts and methods used in the realisation of the compositions. Section 2 - An introduction, discussion and conclusion to the series heading of Raza. The compositions and chapters are as follows: Chapter 3, Lucero for charango and tape; Chapter 4, Gato's Raid for marimba and tape; Chapter 6, De Luna a Luna ... for two percussionists and tape. In this section I address that particular musical imagery which is directly related to my cultural roots. Section 3 - An introduction, discussion and conclusion to the series heading of Urbis. The compositions and chapters are as follows: Chapter 9, Urbis #2 'passing moments/riffs & raffs' for bass clarinet and tape; Chapter 10, Urbis #3 'Alter ego' for electric guitar, live electronics and tape; Chapter 11, Urbis #4 for tape. In this section I address the use of modern urban culture symbols in order to create a contemporary mythological canon. Section 4 - A conclusion to this thesis.

All history of the flute in Scotland begins with William Tytler’s 1792 assertion that the flute was unknown in Scotland prior to 1725. Other generally accepted beliefs about the flute in Scotland are that it was only played by wealthy male amateurs and had no role in traditional music. Upon examination, all of these beliefs are false. This thesis explores the role of the flute in eighteenth-century Scottish musical life, including players, repertoire, manuscripts, and instruments. Evidence for ladies having played flute is also examined, as are possible connections between flute playing and bagpipe playing. What emerges is a more complete picture of the flute’s role in eighteenth-century Scottish musical life.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the choral works of Colin Brumby, with a special focus on the musical-textual relationships of selected works from his body of choral compositions, which number more than one hundred and twenty. This investigation includes information gathered in Australia at the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, and the Australian Music Centre, as well as information furnished in a personal interview with the composer in Brisbane, Australia, in June 1994, in addition to an August 1994 telephone interview cnducted with Thomas Shapcott, the Australian poet with whom Brumby collaberated on over twenty choral compositions.

Drawing Sound in Time reflects on how I have attempted, in the music written over the period of my doctoral studies (2004-2010) to use time as a basis for the mapping of sonic activity and how this aesthetical concern has helped me develop a teleological approach to form and structure. The shaping of time in my work often has its origins in the visual, either from my own drawings or from other visual stimuli. As well as considering the visual appearance of my music, I will draw on the correlation of music and art by abstract painters (most notably Paul Klee) alongside composers Iannis Xenakis and John Cage whose philosophy represent for me a way forward, not only aesthetically but also on a technical level. Additionally, the discussion will refer to astronomy as certain aspects of the subject relate to the development of techniques in my compositional language, and furthermore will often draw on the titles of the pieces (stars and constellations) as a basis for generating materials. I will address in particular the use of coding in my music that is an integral part of the way I work. My commentary will examine the main aspects of my musical language using examples from selected works in the accompanying portfolio.

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