The purpose of this dissertation is to introduce Violin Concerto No. 2, "Scherben der Stille" (2021) by Unsuk Chin (b. 1961), a South Korean composer based in Berlin. This violin concerto creates a sonic drama. The sound material of this work resembles a "shard," as the subtitle of the work suggests: Shards of Silence. Through this work, Chin shows how music can deliver her dreams and fantasies through unconventional use of instruments and sounds. The dissertation includes a brief biography, observations on the composer's significant works and compositional style, and an overview and analysis of the work. Despite the increasing popularity of Violin Concerto No. 2, the piece has never gained scholarly attention. This writing should also contribute to the available sources about the composer Unsuk Chin and to the study of complex contemporary music that may seem resistant to formal analysis by analyzing its constituent fragments.

Este trabalho busca apresentar uma análise focada na interpretação de cinco obras sacras para coro à cappella do compositor Ernani Aguiar. As obras são: Três Motetinos n° 1 (1975-1978), Três Motetinos n° 2 (1982), Três Motetinos n° 3 (1980-1986), Três Motetinos n° 4 e Três Motetinos n° 5 (1992). A metodologia de análise musical está sustentada a partir do Referencial Silva Ramos de Análise de Obras Corais, respondendo as questões pertinentes e depois transformando-as em texto corrido. Apresentamos um pequeno texto sobre sua trajetória de vida, mostrando sucintamente a atividade de Ernani Aguiar como compositor, regente e professor. Em seguida elencamos o conjunto de sua obra coral sacra para coro à cappella, apresentando informações como data de composição, texto utilizado, estreias e gravações das mesmas. Ainda, apresentamos a fundo outros detalhes sobre as composições das cinco obras estudadas. Na continuidade, apresentamos as análises de cada uma das cinco obras e discutimos pontos que ocorreram durante nosso processo de chegada a uma concepção para performance das mesmas. E é na esteira desse trabalho que abordamos as constâncias composicionais de Aguiar, seu modo de escrita e algumas de suas escolhas estéticas, concluindo assim esta dissertação. / This study aims to present an analysis focused on the interpretation of five sacred works for choir a cappella from the composer Ernani Aguiar. The works are: Três Motetinos No. 1 (1975-1978), Três Motetinos No. 2 (1982), Três Motetinos No. 3 (1980-1986), Três Motetinos No. 4 and Três Motetinos No. 5 (1992). The methodology of the musical analysis is sustained from the Silva Ramos Reference of Coral Work Analysis, answering the relevant questions and then turning them into plain text. We present a small text about his life story, succinctly showing Ernani Aguiar\'s activity as a composer, conductor and teacher. Then we list his sacred choral work\'s ensemble to the a cappella choir, presenting information, such as composition date, text used, premieres and its recordings. We also thoroughly present other details about the compositions of the five studied works. Continuing, we present the analysis of each of the five works and we discuss points which occurred during our process of arriving at a guideline for its performance. And it is in the wake of this work that we approach the compositional constancies of Aguiar, his writing mode and some of its aesthetic choices, thus concluding this dissertation.

Este trabalho busca apresentar uma análise focada na interpretação de cinco obras sacras para coro à cappella do compositor Ernani Aguiar. As obras são: Três Motetinos n° 1 (1975-1978), Três Motetinos n° 2 (1982), Três Motetinos n° 3 (1980-1986), Três Motetinos n° 4 e Três Motetinos n° 5 (1992). A metodologia de análise musical está sustentada a partir do Referencial Silva Ramos de Análise de Obras Corais, respondendo as questões pertinentes e depois transformando-as em texto corrido. Apresentamos um pequeno texto sobre sua trajetória de vida, mostrando sucintamente a atividade de Ernani Aguiar como compositor, regente e professor. Em seguida elencamos o conjunto de sua obra coral sacra para coro à cappella, apresentando informações como data de composição, texto utilizado, estreias e gravações das mesmas. Ainda, apresentamos a fundo outros detalhes sobre as composições das cinco obras estudadas. Na continuidade, apresentamos as análises de cada uma das cinco obras e discutimos pontos que ocorreram durante nosso processo de chegada a uma concepção para performance das mesmas. E é na esteira desse trabalho que abordamos as constâncias composicionais de Aguiar, seu modo de escrita e algumas de suas escolhas estéticas, concluindo assim esta dissertação. / This study aims to present an analysis focused on the interpretation of five sacred works for choir a cappella from the composer Ernani Aguiar. The works are: Três Motetinos No. 1 (1975-1978), Três Motetinos No. 2 (1982), Três Motetinos No. 3 (1980-1986), Três Motetinos No. 4 and Três Motetinos No. 5 (1992). The methodology of the musical analysis is sustained from the Silva Ramos Reference of Coral Work Analysis, answering the relevant questions and then turning them into plain text. We present a small text about his life story, succinctly showing Ernani Aguiar\'s activity as a composer, conductor and teacher. Then we list his sacred choral work\'s ensemble to the a cappella choir, presenting information, such as composition date, text used, premieres and its recordings. We also thoroughly present other details about the compositions of the five studied works. Continuing, we present the analysis of each of the five works and we discuss points which occurred during our process of arriving at a guideline for its performance. And it is in the wake of this work that we approach the compositional constancies of Aguiar, his writing mode and some of its aesthetic choices, thus concluding this dissertation.

Cette thèse décrit et analyse les caractéristiques ethnologiques, musicales et acoustiques de la lyre bagana des Amhara d’Ethiopie. L’étude des données ethnologiques montre que le bagana incarne de nombreuses valeurs de la société traditionnelle amhara. Instrument considéré comme un don de Dieu et qui fut joué par des rois, le bagana est sacré. C’est un instrument intime, dont le jeu (toujours en solo ou accompagné seulement de la voix) est considéré comme un acte de prière ou une méditation à caractère religieux. Le musicien ne se donne pas à voir, ni par une dimension spectaculaire de sa performance, ni par une dimension phatique.<p>L’analyse des accords utilisés dans le répertoire du bagana montre que cet instrument est essentiellement accordé selon deux échelles modales pentatoniques, tezeta et anchihoye. L’organisation temporelle des chants de bagana est fondée sur des pulsations discrètes très rapides. La pulsation apparente se compose d’un multiple de cette pulsation discrète qui change en fonction du motif joué, ce qui crée une sensation de rythme libre ou de rubato. Les chants de bagana sont fondés au niveau mélodique sur des unités qui se composent de paires de notes. <p>L’analyse musicale du répertoire du bagana montre que celui-ci est fondé sur la répétition variée d’un ostinato musical assez court couplé à des paroles qui changent sans se répéter (à l’exception du refrain) selon les lois de la poésie amharique orale traditionnelle. Les procédés de variations mis en œuvre sont en général assez subtils car ils doivent préserver la sensation de répétition tout en apportant des éléments nouveaux. <p>L’étude des propriétés acoustiques du bagana permet de déterminer que celle-ci produit des sons très graves (jusqu’au sol 1). Le dispositif chevalet large-obstacles modifie tous les paramètres du son. L’analyse de la facture traditionnelle montre que l’instrument est conçu pour produire un son grésillant, long et intense sans avoir recours à une caisse de résonance volumineuse. <p>Le bagana est un instrument puissant, qui permet l’établissement d’une relation directe avec des entités surnaturelles via une transe légère. La voix et l’instrument sont dans un rapport de fusion et de renforcement mutuel. Les modes phonatoires utilisés sont « breathy » et « harsh ». La présence de la voix agit comme un guide perceptif, qui intervertit le rapport fond-forme dans la perception de l’instrument. <p> / Doctorat en philosophie et lettres, Orientation histoire de l'art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Although the current, exhaustive studies of Brahms' works have covered many aspects of the composer's art, it is still surprising that his large-scale, five-movement Piano Sonata No.3 has in many ways been insufficiently studied by scholars who have emphasized the genre of the piano sonata and the aspect of performance practice over the work's more diverse features. Another reason that this early work has been understudied could in fact be that his later compositions in other genres, such as his symphonies, chamber music or choral music, have been perceived by scholars to represent best his most mature, comprehensive style. This dissertation will therefore examine the orchestral underpinnings of this monumental work which owes most often its already mature artistic essence to Brahms' multi-instrumental approach.

Max Reger was a prolific composer on the threshold of modernism. The style of his extensive musical output was polarizing among his contemporaries. A criticism of Reger's music is its complex and dense musical structure. Despite writing tonal music, Reger often pushes the boundaries of tonality so far that all sense of formal organization is seemingly imperceptible. In this dissertation, I offer what I observed to be a new way of discerning Reger's motivic relationships and formal structures within and between movements. There are three primary tools and methods I incorporated to make these observations: Schoenberg's developing variation; melodic contour analysis as discussed by Elizabeth West-Marvin and Diana Deutsch; and Janet Schmalfeldt's motivic cyclicism stemming from internal themes. In this dissertation I examine five different musical works by Reger: D minor Piano Quartet, Clarinet Quintet, Piano Concerto, String Quartet, op. 121 and E minor Piano Trio, op. 102. My analysis shows how Reger relies on melodic contours of his motives to connect musical moments across entire movements and entire works with multiple movements. These motives are developed and often mark structurally significant moments providing the organization often perceived as missing in Reger's music.

The Grundgestalt (Ger: 'basic shape') is a term coined by Arnold Schoenberg to describe the basis for coherence within a musical composition. Although neither precisely defined, nor adequately supported by examples from his literature, the Grundgestalt remains an important facet of Schoenbergian theory. Composed of several gestalten that occur repeatedly, Schoenberg's Grundgestalt functions as a germinating factor within a piece that allows its motivic, thematic, and rhythmic information to become more accessible through their frequent repetition and diverse presentation. In addition to Schoenberg's definition, the first part of this dissertation discusses the individual findings of Schoenberg's pupils Josef Rufer and Rudolf Réti. Subsequently developed by the contributions of David Epstein, Walter Frisch, Patricia Carpenter, Michael Schiano, and Brent Auerbach, their combined efforts then attempt to illustrate the organicism of the Grundgestalt, to clarify its terminology, and to refine the framework of its analysis. Based upon the framework described in the previous chapter, the second half of this dissertation presents the criteria for the determination of the Grundgestalt. Beginning with a derivation of Brent Auerbach's proto-Grundgestalt analysis that catalogs the various voice-leading strands of a given composition into a summary chart that tracks the frequency of each motive's occurrence within its underlying musical segments, the analysis then evaluates the basis for each motive's hierarchy through a relative valuation according to the principles of cardinality and individuality. Following a subsequent expansion of the rules governing the organic map that Auerbach proposed to provide a visual representation of the hierarchy described in the proto-Grundgestalt analysis, summary chart, and relative valuation, Part III this dissertation uses that data to specify the location of the Grundgestalt in Johannes Brahms' Trio, Op. 114. A subsequent analysis of Brahms' Quintet, Op. 115 then provides the information necessary to qualify the Trio as emergent Grundgestalt archetype, and the Quintet as a cyclic Grundgestalt archetype.

Lionel Daunais was an eminent and beloved 20th-century Québécois musician who contributed greatly to the performing arts in Canada. Through his work with the Trio Lyrique, Les Variétés Lyriques, and his numerous compositions, he wielded a potent sphere of influence on the Canadian musical landscape. Lionel Daunais's compositions constitute a significant oeuvre, comprising solo vocal works, song cycles, folksong arrangements, individual choral works, and multi-movement choral works. Marked by irresistible wit, the melodicism of French mélodie, and the absolute eminence of the text, Figures de danse is his most well-known multi-movement choral work. Daunais penned the earliest extant version of Figures de danse in 1947, however, the work emerged into Québec's choral scene in the mid-1970s via the establishment of the Alliance des Chorales du Québec. This set of tragicomic caricatures, which sets beautiful choral and piano writing to clever—and sometimes hilariously nonsensical—texts by Daunais himself, is accessible for performance by youth choirs, community choirs, university choirs, and professional choirs alike. Unfortunately, various factors (e.g. the separation of the choral and piano scores, local references, and score errors) often stymie its performance. The purpose of this dissertation is to ameliorate these challenges via a conductor's guide and to advocate for the performance of Daunais's chef-d'oeuvre.

Thesis / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to contribute to the investigation of the methods in which serial technique expresses meaning in the first movement of Arnold Schoenberg's Third Quartet, Op.30. It aims to add to the debate concerning Schoenberg's use of conventional formsparticularly sonata form-in his serial music, by investigating how he manipulates the row to playa narrative function, seemingly in opposition to its homogeneous nature. The analytical section consists of a semiotic analysis based on the work of Jean- Jacques Nattiez. It incorporates a narratological analysis which infers from the semiotic data that Schoenberg's "idea", which is associated with notions of unity, is brought towards fulfilment through his narrativization of the row in the context of sonata form. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om by te dra tot die ondersoek na die metodes met behulp waarvan seriële tegniek "betekenis" tot uitdrukking bring in Arnold Schoenberg se derde strykkwartet, op. 30. Dit poog om 'n bydrae te lewer tot die debat oor Schoenberg se gebruik van konvensionele vorms-in besonder sonatevorm-in sy seriële musiek te ondersoek, deur middel van manipulasies van die reeks in diens van 'n narratiewe funksie, oënskynlik in teenstelling met die homogene aard van die reeks. Die analitiese gedeelte van die studie bestaan uit 'n semiotiese analise gebaseer op die werk van Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Hierby word ingesluit 'n narratologiese analise waarin vanuit die semiotiese data afgelei word dat Schoenberg se "idee", wat geassosieer word met opvattings van eenheid, tot 'n slotsom gebring word deur middel van sy narrativering van die reeks in die konteks van sonatevorm.

Den här uppsatsen handlar om det som inom västerländsk konstmusik benämns interpretation eller tolkning, d.v.s. den process som börjar med artistens studium av musikverkets noterade förlaga och slutar med det klingande resultatet. Uppsatsens fokus är det sistnämnda – artistens musikaliska gestaltning av ett verk. Syftet är att studera det estetiska spänningsfält som finns inom interpretationskonsten: å ena sidan hyllas det personliga och unika; å andra sidan finns konventioner om vad som är rätt och fel i en tolkning. Materialet för uppsatsens undersökning är fyra världspianisters inspelningar av Frédéric Chopins postuma Nocturne KK IVa Nr.16 i ciss-moll. Pianisterna är Wladyslaw Szpilman, Claudio Arrau, Roland Pöntinen och Garrick Ohlsson. Undersökningen är komparativ; de fyra pianisternas inspelningar jämförs utifrån ett antal förutbestämda variabler med målsättningen att dels få grepp om den personliga dimensionen i deras interpretationer, dels fastställa eventuella gemensamheter i desamma. Det sistnämnda skulle då kunna betraktas som exempel på interpretationskonventioner, vilka sätter gränser för det personliga i en tolkning. Den musikanalytiska metod som används är den auditiva musikanalysen, d.v.s. analysen utgår från ett aktivt lyssnande på musikens förlopp. Chopins noterade förlaga utgör dock en viktig referens. Resultatet av interpretationsanalyserna visar att de fyra pianisterna gör fyra olika, personligt färgade tolkningar av Chopins komposition. Men de visar samtidigt att mycket av det ”personliga” sker inom ramar för musikaliska ställningstaganden som verkar vara gemensamma för de fyra. Här är det motiverat att tala om interpretationskonventioner i frågan om Chopins pianomusik. Men då inspelningarna är hämtade från en tidsperiod på närmare 60 år vore begreppet interpretationstradition lika korrekt. Slutsatsen blir att de fyra pianisternas personligt färgade tolkningar är resultatet av individuella förhållningssätt till såväl det noterade som till icke-noterade interpretationstraditioner. Uppsatsen visar också att konstmusikens ”notbundenhet” ändå öppnar för stor personlig variation, liksom att det inom genren existerar ”gehörstraditioner” där var och en sätter sin prägel utifrån det som han eller hon har hört andra göra. / This paper deals with what we in Western Art music call interpretation or practice, that is, the process that begins with the artists’ study of the notated model of the musical piece and ends with the sounding result. The focus of the paper is the latter - the artists’ musical performance of a piece. The purpose is to study the aesthetical divergence that is contained within the art of interpretation: on one hand the personal and unique is celebrated; on the other hand there are conventions about what is considered right and wrong in an interpretation. The material that is used in the study is four recordings by world-class pianists of Frédéric Chopin’s posthumous Nocturne KK IVa Nr.16 in C sharp minor. The pianists are Wladyslaw Szpilman, Claudio Arrau, Roland Pöntinen and Garrick Ohlsson. The investigation is comparative; the recordings of the four pianists are compared from several predetermined variables with the goal on one hand being to understand the personal dimension of their interpretations and on the other hand, to define possible commonalities of the same. Thus, the latter could be regarded as an example of conventions of interpretation, which define the boundaries regarding the personal dimension of an interpretation. The method of musical analysis that is used is the auditive musical analysis, that is, the analysis is based upon an active listening to the sequence of the music. However, Chopin’s notated model makes for an important reference. The result of the interpretation analyses indicates that the four pianists make four different, individual interpretations of Chopin’s composition. At the same time, however, they demonstrate that the personal dimension in an interpretation takes place within the boundaries regarding musical standpoints that the four pianists seem to have in common. Here, it is justified to talk about conventions of interpretation regarding the piano music of Chopin. However, because the recordings are collected from a period of almost 60 years, it would also be sufficient to talk about tradition of interpretation. The conclusion is that the individual interpretations of the four pianists are the results of individual approaches to the notated as well as non-notated traditions of interpretation. The paper also shows that the constraints of notation within art music still leave room for great individual variation, and that “by ear- traditions” exist within the genre, in which everyone personalizes the piece based upon what he or she has heard others do.