Cette thèse est consacrée à l’exploration des enjeux philosophiques, religieux et littéraires d’un motif qui apparaît dans trois œuvres majeures de la latinité : celui de la révélation finale. Le dernier livre du De republica de Cicéron avec le « Songe de Scipion », le dernier livre des Métamorphoses d’Ovide avec le discours de Pythagore, et le dernier livre XI des Métamorphoses d’Apulée avec le dévoilement d’Isis, présentent en effet tous trois la particularité de mettre en scène une expérience de révélation. Il s’agit alors non seulement d’étudier la façon dont Cicéron, Ovide et Apulée élaborent une écriture de la révélation à partir de matériaux philosophiques et religieux qu’on aura préalablement replacés dans leur contexte historique ainsi que dans l’économie générale des œuvres et des interrogations respectives de ces trois auteurs, mais aussi de déterminer les effets produits par la place de ces révélations en ce lieu traditionnel de polarisation du sens qu’est la fin d’une œuvre : quel dialogue ces trois révélations entretiennent-elles avec la structure qui les précède ? dans quelle mesure ces révélations finales dans les textes sont-elles aussi des révélations finales des textes eux-mêmes, auxquels elles apportent une élucidation rétrospective ? et quelle Weltanschauung, quelle conception de la quête de la vérité cette dynamique traduit-elle dans chacun des cas ? Cette enquête sera précédée d’un chapitre préliminaire où l’on établira les outils conceptuels nécessaires à l’étude de ce motif et où l’on analysera les antécédents grecs de celui-ci, à savoir le deus ex machina dans la tragédie et le mythe eschatologique final chez Platon. / This doctoral thesis is devoted to the investigation of the philosophical, religious, and formal aspects of a motif which appears in three major works of Latin literature : that of final revelation. The last book of Cicero’s De republica with its “Dream of Scipio”, the last book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses with its discourse of Pythagoras, and the last book of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses with its unveiling of Isis, all share, indeed, the specificity of representing a revelatory experience. The aim of this research is then : on the one hand, to study the way Cicero, Ovid and Apuleius dream up a pattern of revelation on the basis of philosophical and religious material that we shall first replace in each case in its historical context and in the frame of the respective literary output and pervasive themes of thinking of our three writers ; on the other hand, to determine the effects given off by the setting of these revelations at the place that traditionally focuses meaning, the ending of the work : what kind of dialogue is set up between these three revelations and the preceding structure ? to what extent do those final revelations in the texts function at the same time as final revelations of the texts themselves, on which they cast retrospective lighting ? and what worldview, what conception of the search for truth does this dynamics convey in the three cases ? This investigation will be preceded by a preliminary chapter where we shall establish the conceptual tools required for the study of this motif and analyze its Greek antecedents, i.e. the deus ex machina in tragedy and the final eschatological myth in Plato.

Dans cette thèse nous voudrions mener une étude approfondie sur le Songe du Vieil Pelerin (1389) de Philippe de Mézières concernant la structure complexe de ce voyage allégorique-didactique, ses facteurs de cohérence et cohésion qui font son principe d’unité, l’utilisation de certaines sources ainsi que sa réception auprès du public. Notre but est de mieux éclairer le procès de construction de ce texte, la posture de l’auteur et la place du Songe dans le contexte littéraire de la fin du XIVème siècle. Notre étude commence par une analyse détaillée du prologue. C’est là que Philippe de Mézières fournit les clés de lecture de son œuvre et qu’il met en place la réflexion sur le problème de la vérité: vérité spirituelle, morale ou encore verbale, et donc liée à un modèle rhétorique précis, enfin vérité de l’œuvre, de contenus qui y sont véhiculés et authenticité de l’écriture. Ce problème constitue un fil rouge qui traverse tout l’itinéraire accompli par le pèlerin, dans le récit, ainsi que les parenthèses didactiques ou digressives qui le parsèment, comme nous essayons de montrer dans la partie centrale de notre étude.Enfin, nous choisissons deux canaux langagiers bien définis et privilégiés dans le tissu discursif et narratif du Songe, la polémique et la pénitence, pour analyser plus en détail comment le modèle rhétorique proposé par l’auteur peut être le premier pas vers la voie d’un renouvellement social et spirituel. / This research presents a thorough study on the Songe du Vieil Pelerin focused on four aspects: the complex structure of the allegorical-didactic journey described by Philippe de Mezieres; the internal coherence and cohesion that contribute to the unity of the text; the use of sources and the critical reception by Mezieres' contemporaries. From a general standpoint, the main goal of this research is to clarify the inner workings of Mezieres' creative endeavour, in order to better understand the place of the Songe in the literary context of the late fourteenth century. The research begins with a detailed analysis of the prologue, where Mezieres provides the keys to understand his work and organizes its reasoning on the problem of truth, distinguishing between a spiritual, moral, and verbal truth. This analysis marks the way of the pilgrim – the Songe main character – throughout Mezieres' work, both in the story and in the frequent didactical digressions. When the pilgrim's path ends, the rethorical model that underlies the entire work is explained with the help of the concepts of polémique and pénitence, to show how Mezieres conceives his work as a first step in the way of a social and spiritual renewal.

Since the development of interactive music software in the 1980s, a new genre of works for clarinet and computer has emerged. The rapid proliferation of interactive music resulted in a great deal of experimentation, creating a lack of standardization in both the composition and performance of this repertoire. In addition, many performers are reluctant to approach these works due to unfamiliarity with the genre and its technical and musical considerations. Performance practice commonly refers to interpretation of a written score, but the technology involved in interactive music requires a broader definition of performance practice; one that also addresses computer software, coordination between the performer and computer system, and technology such as microphones and pedals. The problems and potential solutions of interactive music performance practice are explored in this paper through review of the relevant published literature, interviews with experts in the field, and examination of musical examples from works for clarinet and computer by Lippe, May, Pinkston, Rowe, and Welch. Performance practice considerations of interactive music fall into the categories of notation, technology, collaboration, interpretation, and rehearsal. From the interviews and the literature, it is clear that the performance of interactive music requires specific knowledge and skills that performers may not encounter in other genres of contemporary music, including microphone technique, spatialization, sound processing, and improvisation. Performance practice issues are often mediated by close collaboration between performers and composers, but they can inhibit the accessibility of these works to new performers, and may be detrimental to the long-term viability of interactive music. Recommendations for resolving these issues are directed at both composers and performers of interactive music. A listing of over one hundred interactive works for clarinet and computer is also included.

The purpose of this research is to analyze representations of Queen Elizabeth I of England in nineteenth-century Franco-Italian opera, and the relationship of these representations to contemporaneous singing style and the historical background. The basis for this analysis is three arias: "Quant'é grato all'alma mia" from Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (1815) by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), "Sì, vuol di Francia il rege...Ah! quando all'ara scorgemi...Ah! dal ciel discenda un raggio" from Maria Stuarda (1835) by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), and "Malgré l'éclat qui m'environne" from Le songe d'une nuit d'été (1850) by Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896). This research is divided into two main sections: the historical background of Italy and France in the nineteenth century, especially in the contemporaneous vocal style and fashions of literature; and a discussion of the composers' musical and dramatic choices for Queen Elizabeth I in the three selected arias. Chapter 2 is a brief introduction to the early nineteenth-century Franco-Italian historical background, vocal style, and popular literature. Chapter 3 presents an analysis of the three arias. The last chapter summarizes the representations of Elizabeth I in nineteenth-century politics, literature, and vocal style.