In an age when consistency between the macro and the micro were believed to indicate sure signs of God1s eternal truth, the anomalies which crop up as soon as a comprehensive, interdependent theory of consonance and harmony is attempted must have been a source of bewilderment and embarrassment,to Renaissance and Baroque theorists and musicians. Composite instruments such as human voices in concert have no difficulty in making pitch adjustments necessary to achieve consonance, but the keyboard with its twelve pre-set notes is inhibited. The history of temperament is an account of the struggle to endow the keyboard with something approaching the versatility of the human voice. German theorists and musicians were leaders in the recognition of the need to compromise between purity of interval and harmonic freedom. Part 1 of the dissertation traces the development of temperament from Schlick to Werckmeister, but concentrates on the seventeenth century. It attempts to show how temperaments became obsolete as musical vocabulary widened, and how, at least in Werckmeister's casey temperaments were assessed not only for their faithfulness to the accepted standards of consonance, but for their ability to give to certain keys certain affective characteristics. The music of several southern and central German composers is considered in varying degrees of detail. The most detailed study is of the music of Froberger, an important predecessor of, and influence upon, J. S. Bach. Almost exclusivelyt Froberger was a composer of keyboard music, and a musician most probably familiar with temperaments used in other musical centres of Europet because he travelled widely as a celebrated keyboard artist. As the research progressed, a need to assess in objective terms the qualities of different temperaments when applied to the keyboard music of the time became increasingly insistent. Part 2 of the dissertation shows a method of solving this problem. The psychological effects of musical sound received by the human ear are considered. By dissecting a piece of music into its smallest interacting parts, i. e. its intervals and their duration, objective comparison can be made between the piece played in one temperament and played in another or other temperaments. The complete process is laborious, but is greatly alleviated by transferring data to a suitably programmed computer, which can then process the data in relation to any temperament applied. Some of the music of Froberger has been examined in this way and conclusions drawn. The final chapter looks back over the ground covered, outlines some issues which still require investigation, and makes suggestions for further research, using the information, arguments and techniques to be found in this dissertation.

Cette étude vise à mettre en lumière les ressorts, pratiques et répertoires propres à l’usage des chants et de la musique au cours des convois et messes funèbres catholiques à Paris sous le régime concordataire (1802-1905). La solennisation cantorale et musicale de, ajoutée à et pendant la messe des morts (plain-chant, faux-bourdon, contre-point, musique figurée) est tout d’abord analysée au prisme de ses cadres d’organisation et de production : d’une part, les textes et rubriques relatifs aux rituels, cérémonies, prières et chants inscrits dans les livres de l’Église, suivant le rite romain ou le rite propre de Paris ; d’autre part, la législation, l’économie et l’administration de la messe funèbre tarifée suivant les barèmes officiels des pompes funèbres et le casuel paroissial, gradués par classes de convois. La fabrique de la pompe musicale extraordinaire est ensuite étudiée à travers l’analyse de quatre cas particuliers : la participation des militaires in et ex ecclesia, par le truchement des honneurs rendus par les troupes et de la mobilisation de musiques militaires ; les convois et célébrations funèbres à caractère officiel et national, de par leur financement, leur dimension symbolique et les lieux qu’elles investissent, voire les répertoires officiels qu’elles convoquent ou commandent ; les deuils de la communauté des gens de musique et de théâtre, impliquant non seulement une mobilisation spontanée et bénévole des musiciens, des choix singuliers quant aux œuvres exécutées, mais aussi un discours funèbre et honorifique produit par la musique même. / This thesis studies the motivations, practices and repertories of chant and music used in catholic funeral ceremonies at Paris under the Concordat (1802-1905). The singing and musical solemnization of, added to and during the Mass of the Dead (plain chant, false bourdon, counterpoint, music) is analyzed for its scopes of organization and production : on the one hand the texts and rubrics of the rituals, ceremonies, prayers and chants of the liturgical books (roman and parisian rites) ; on the other hand the legislation, economy and administration of the funeral mass the official fees regulation of “pompes funèbres” fees and parishes. Then the making of the extraordinary musical “pompe” is studied by means of four particular cases : the involvement of the soldiers in and ex ecclesia (military honours and music) ; official and national funeral ceremonies, with their financing, symbolic system, places and official musical repertories ; the mournings of the musical community, involving not only a voluntary summoning up of musicians, singular choices for the musical program, but also a funeral discourse through music.

In current musicological research, considerable attention is given to the description of melodic structure and pitch organization. But it is problematical that the analytical concepts and terminology of the Common Practice Era are largely inadequate for meaningful description of melody of Asia and medieval Europe. For most traditions of melody in Asia and medieval Europe, there is some sort of developed system of theory, but each system is limited to the repertory it describes. Consequently, the comparative study of melody in these fields has been seriously hampered, and much published research in melody has had to concern itself with the formulation of analytical approaches more than the actual study of melody. This study attempts to resolve this problem by offering for consideration an analytical model, the acoustic melodic formula, that is of use in the comparative study of melodic structures and formulas in Asia and medieval Europe. The acoustic melodic formula is a structural design consisting of three conjunct intervals, namely, a lower perfect fourth, a middle third of varying intonation, and an upper third, also of varying intonation. In addition to identifying the acoustic melodic formula in Japan, Korea, central Asia, and Jewish, Byzantine and Latin chant, this study also investigates how such melodies have additional tones--melodic embellishments--added to them through folk improvisation and artistic elaboration.

The Cape Town Orchestra has exerted a major influence on the development of orchestral music and musical culture not only in Cape Town but throughout South Africa. It was the first professional orchestra in South Africa and came into existence on 28 February 1914. The Orchestra's history has been divided into two main periods. During the first period, from 1914 to 1968, the Orchestra was known as the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra. During the second period, from 1969 until its final performance in 1997, the Orchestra was known as the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra received financial support from the Cape Town Municipality throughout its existence. After receiving its final municipal grant in 1996 the Orchestra could not survive without financial assistance, and merged with the Capab Orchestra to become the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra gave. its inaugural performance on 1 April 1997. / Musicology / M.Mus.

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l'Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Cette étude vise à mettre en lumière le rôle important de la Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, des Événements du Neuf, de l’Ensemble contemporain de Montréal et du Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, quatre organismes qui ont présenté en concert 515 programmes de musique contemporaine au Québec entre 1966 et 2006. Ces sociétés se distinguent en fonction des genres représentés, des générations d’artistes, mais aussi de l’évolution des esthétiques. Toutefois, elles ont en commun le même objectif qui est de faire connaître la musique contemporaine en commandant, créant et diffusant les œuvres incontournables du répertoire contemporain d’ici et d’ailleurs. De plus, ces sociétés servent à la fois de médiateur entre le public et les créateurs et de catalyseur d’événements artistiques marquants, comme la Symphonie du millénaire (SMCQ) ou le Forum international des jeunes compositeurs (NEM). L’étude historique et l’analyse des orientations artistiques et des activités de concerts de la SMCQ, des Événements du Neuf, de l’ECM et du NEM permettront de dévoiler une nouvelle dimension de l’histoire musicale au Québec au cours de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. Une fois posées les balises historiques qui entourent la fondation des sociétés à l’étude, une analyse détaillée de leur programmation met en relief l’appartenance des œuvres des compositeurs les plus connus à des courants esthétiques particuliers. Cette analyse est réalisée à partir de l’inventaire des concerts qui retrace de la façon la plus précise possible les données factuelles les concernant (date, lieu, titre), les noms des compositeurs et les titres des œuvres, l’instrumentation et les interprètes. Au final, l’analyse des concerts met en évidence le développement d’un répertoire de musique contemporaine au Québec à travers de grands axes de programmation. On peut ainsi mieux comprendre en quoi ces sociétés ont joué un rôle essentiel dans le développement des tendances esthétiques variées et en quoi elles ont ainsi modelé le milieu de la création musicale québécoise pendant quarante ans. / This study aims to bring to light the important role of four organizations who presented through concert 515 contemporary music programs in Quebec between 1966 and 2006: Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, Événements du Neuf, Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, and Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. These groups are unique in terms of genre, artist generation, and evolution of esthetics. However, they share the same objective, which is to spread awareness of contemporary music by commissioning, creating, and diffusing inescapable pieces of the contemporary repertoire locally and internationally. Furthermore, these societies serve at once as mediator between the public and the artists, and as catalyst for notable artistic events, as the Symphonie du millénaire (SMCQ), or the Forum international des jeunes compositeurs (NEM). The historical study and the analysis of the artistic directions and of the activities of SMCQ, Événements du Neuf, ECM, and NEM will allow for the unveiling of a new dimension of music history in Quebec during the second half of the 20th century. Once the historical markers that surround the foundation of the societies under consideration have been laid out, a detailed analysis of their programming underlines the particular esthetic trends to which the work of the best-known composers belongs. This analysis is accomplished by taking as precise inventory of the concerts as possible, which retraces the concert data (date, place, title), the composers’ names, the titles of the pieces, the instrumentation, and the interpreters. Finally, the analysis of the concerts displays the main programming principles underlying the development of a contemporary music repertoire. This allows better understanding of how these societies have contributed on varied esthetical tendancies development and how they shaped the milieu of Québécois musical creation during forty years.

The Cape Town Orchestra has exerted a major influence on the development of orchestral music and musical culture not only in Cape Town but throughout South Africa. It was the first professional orchestra in South Africa and came into existence on 28 February 1914. The Orchestra's history has been divided into two main periods. During the first period, from 1914 to 1968, the Orchestra was known as the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra. During the second period, from 1969 until its final performance in 1997, the Orchestra was known as the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra received financial support from the Cape Town Municipality throughout its existence. After receiving its final municipal grant in 1996 the Orchestra could not survive without financial assistance, and merged with the Capab Orchestra to become the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra gave. its inaugural performance on 1 April 1997. / Musicology / M.Mus.