Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology
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The History and Possibilities of Distributing Music in the 21st Century
Full text linkThe goal of the present article is to observe the evolution of streaming services, this being one of many prospects for the distribution of alternative music. It would be unrealistic to compare the first of them, which arose at the end of the 1990s, to today’s methods, which provide multiple ways and techniques to support the artists and simultaneously satisfy the hunger for new sounds in audiences. Discussing it from the scientific perspective of studies regarding the legality of musical distribution, in conjunction with the development of the underground music scene, the author – as a musician himself – attempts to introduce the functionality of sound-streaming media as an area for shaping the musical taste of individual listeners, an artistic activity firmly reliant on the cooperation of the artists and their audiences. The article is based on studies conducted by the author in 2021–2023
Foucauldian Theoretical Power Relations in Alban Berg’s Operas
Full text linkThe narratives of Alban Berg’s two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu, have often been analyzed for their socio-cultural symbolisms as reflections of the artistic movements in which they were composed. However, the operas also display a myriad of complex interpersonal relationships between the characters that bear explicit associations with themes of power. Michel Foucault famously devised several theories on power, through which this article aims to filter Berg’s operatic narratives in order to draw unique parallels between social theory and artistic expression. What emerges is an interdisciplinary study that expands the understanding of these works through this unique juxtaposition, yielding new interpretations of these characters’ interactions through the applicable theories of Foucault’s force relations.The narratives of Alban Berg’s two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu, have often been analyzed for their socio-cultural symbolisms as reflections of the artistic movements in which they were composed. However, the operas also display a myriad of complex interpersonal relationships between the characters that bear explicit associations with themes of power. Michel Foucault famously devised several theories on power, through which this article aims to filter Berg’s operatic narratives in order to draw unique parallels between social theory and artistic expression. What emerges is an interdisciplinary study that expands the understanding of these works through this unique juxtaposition, yielding new interpretations of these characters’ interactions through the applicable theories of Foucault’s force relations
The librettos of Moniuszko’s operas and the European literary tradition: a comparative perspective on the opposition between serious drama and comedy
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to indicate several features of serious drama and comedy proper to Moniuszko’s operatic output and to describe them within the context of European points of reference (Pierre de Beaumarchais, Alfred de Musset, Jane Austen, Italian librettists). The network of generic and intertextual relationships shows that an important feature of Moniuszko librettos is not their supposed closure within the circle of national inspiration, but on the contrary – a seemingly insatiable openness to the most valuable areas of foreign legacies. The consistent comparison of comic and serious works in a single study also reveals an affinity between the issues at the heart of Moniuszko’s musical dramas, regardless of the tone of particular works. Moniuszko’s oeuvre, both in its comical and serious aspects, reflects, in different ways, one of the themes that has recurred in Europe after cataclysms, such as the holy wars of the Renaissance, the French Revolution (or the Partitions of Poland during the same period) and the conflicts of the twentieth century. One issue at the core of Polish opera turns out to be the disintegration of the social order and the transition to its opposite – the sudden or gradual, but ineluctable movement from harmony to confusion and violence-filled chaos. Halka and The Pariahforge models of a community based on the exploitation of the weak by the strong. Highlighted are instances of individuals refusing to conform to the anti-order. In the comic variant of Moniuszko’s output, meanwhile (The Haunted Manor, The Countess), the relationship between the order and its contradiction takes on the form of an unjustified renouncing of communal values. At the same time, the comparison between serious and comical works refutes the thesis that Moniuszko was an unequivocal eulogist of an ethics based on the unconditional belonging to a national community
Transcriptions, paraphrases and modern arrangements of vocal works by Stanisław Moniuszko: an outline of the issues and methodology of research
Full text linkThe well-known practice of transcribing the most famous works by outstanding composers, especially for the piano, was one of the most widely used methods of popularising music in the 19th century. One can say that it had a similar function to literary translation – just as different language versions and adaptations prove the popularity of literary masterpieces, the fact that transcriptions (for piano, other instrument, or a different ensemble) were created was evidence of the particular interest of the audience. Apart from the composer himself, transcriptions and paraphrases of vocal works by Moniuszko were made by Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński, Władysław Krogulski, Zygmunt Noskowski, Ignaz Friedman, Maurice Dietrich, and others. Nowadays, the role the piano used to perform in a house has largely been replaced by the recording industry and modern media and access to music is unlimited in most countries. This situation significantly reduces the demand for creating “usable” versions of works by famous composers. So is there room for new arrangements of Moniuszko’s works on the modern music market? Jazz productions by Bogdan Halicki and the latest proposal from Włodek Pawlik prove that the problem of promoting music by this Polish composer remains valid – and as time goes by, there is a growing need to adjust these compositions to the tastes of modern audiences. The aim of this article is to characterise transcriptions and arrangements of vocal works by Stanisław Moniuszko and to show different transformations of the original pieces depending on their functions and potential listeners by analogy with literary translation.The well-known practice of transcribing the most famous works by outstanding composers, especially for the piano, was one of the most widely used methods of popularising music in the 19th century. One can say that it had a similar function to literary translation – just as different language versions and adaptations prove the popularity of literary masterpieces, the fact that transcriptions (for piano, other instrument, or a different ensemble) were created was evidence of the particular interest of the audience. Apart from the composer himself, transcriptions and paraphrases of vocal works by Moniuszko were made by Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński, Władysław Krogulski, Zygmunt Noskowski, Ignaz Friedman, Maurice Dietrich, and others. Nowadays, the role the piano used to perform in a house has largely been replaced by the recording industry and modern media and access to music is unlimited in most countries. This situation significantly reduces the demand for creating “usable” versions of works by famous composers. So is there room for new arrangements of Moniuszko’s works on the modern music market? Jazz productions by Bogdan Halicki and the latest proposal from Włodek Pawlik prove that the problem of promoting music by this Polish composer remains valid – and as time goes by, there is a growing need to adjust these compositions to the tastes of modern audiences. The aim of this article is to characterise transcriptions and arrangements of vocal works by Stanisław Moniuszko and to show different transformations of the original pieces depending on their functions and potential listeners by analogy with literary translation
The Church music of Stanisław Moniuszko: Genre, Typology, Function, Axiology
Full text linkWorks of church music symbolically open and close Moniuszko’s creative path. Yet this species of music – by no means marginal, present during all the decades of compositional work (1839–1872) – is the least researched and not precisely ordered. This article represents the continuation of the author’s research interest in Moniuszko’s church music and covers the methodological issues relating to the genre. The four components listed in the title form the key generic ordo. Together they make up a thematically coherent complex, not previously dealt with in Polish scholarship. The aim of this article is to precisely order the composer’s church music in a scientific way. Since church music of this period is characterised by numerous literary (poetic) connections, which also applies to Moniuszko\u27s work, scholars’ statements concerning religious themes in Polish literature and Romantic music have also been taken into account. The most general ordering of Moniuszko’s works of church music is made possible by a sort of standard musical typology (employed for music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries), with scoring as a chief criterion. Axiology – the question of value – is the most difficult aspect of research into creative work, and it is of fundamental importance. Not all scholars take account of the philosophy of value. In the article, axiological issues are only signalled. Given the important connections between music and literature during the Romantic era (including in Moniuszko’s works of church music), the general theory of the axiology of the literary work is taken into account. The value of a work cannot be determined solely by its axiology in reception. Seen from the perspective of a ‘spiritual diary’, and also of a liturgical typology, the strands and types of piety, and literary connections, Moniuszko’s church music can be understood as ‘music of confidence and trust’, in the broader sense referring not only to individual experience, but also to collective, national experience.Works of church music symbolically open and close Moniuszko’s creative path. Yet this species of music – by no means marginal, present during all the decades of compositional work (1839–1872) – is the least researched and not precisely ordered. This article represents the continuation of the author’s research interest in Moniuszko’s church music and covers the methodological issues relating to the genre. The four components listed in the title form the key generic ordo. Together they make up a thematically coherent complex, not previously dealt with in Polish scholarship. The aim of this article is to precisely order the composer’s church music in a scientific way. Since church music of this period is characterised by numerous literary (poetic) connections, which also applies to Moniuszko\u27s work, scholars’ statements concerning religious themes in Polish literature and Romantic music have also been taken into account. The most general ordering of Moniuszko’s works of church music is made possible by a sort of standard musical typology (employed for music of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries), with scoring as a chief criterion. Axiology – the question of value – is the most difficult aspect of research into creative work, and it is of fundamental importance. Not all scholars take account of the philosophy of value. In the article, axiological issues are only signalled. Given the important connections between music and literature during the Romantic era (including in Moniuszko’s works of church music), the general theory of the axiology of the literary work is taken into account. The value of a work cannot be determined solely by its axiology in reception. Seen from the perspective of a ‘spiritual diary’, and also of a liturgical typology, the strands and types of piety, and literary connections, Moniuszko’s church music can be understood as ‘music of confidence and trust’, in the broader sense referring not only to individual experience, but also to collective, national experience
Moniuszko and Nowowiejski: analogies, contexts and inspirations
Full text linkThe music of Stanisław Moniuszko and Feliks Nowowiejski constitutes a crucial element in Polish musical culture. The two composers forged their image on work focussed on national ideas, particularly in their stage works and songs. An important factor shaping their attitudes was the multi-cultural society in which they were raised and their awareness of national identity. Also presented in this article are Nowowiejski’s attitude to Moniuszko’s music and his presence in the latter’s works.The music of Stanisław Moniuszko and Feliks Nowowiejski constitutes a crucial element in Polish musical culture. The two composers forged their image on work focussed on national ideas, particularly in their stage works and songs. An important factor shaping their attitudes was the multi-cultural society in which they were raised and their awareness of national identity. Also presented in this article are Nowowiejski’s attitude to Moniuszko’s music and his presence in the latter’s works
Contemporary Summer Village Assemblies in Central Serbia and (Generational) Performative Practices of Older and Newer Rural Vocal Layers
Full text linkFor the present day middle-aged and older village singers in the Šumadija region in central Serbia rural singing festivals are quite popular events: these are occasions for local communities to share their enthusiasm and to communicate through songs, sharing the elements of tradition they all consider theirs, inventing new lyrics to well-known traditional melodies (’standards’), socializing, and confirming their friendships based on pure satisfaction in common singing. On such occasions there appears an opposition in relation to Serbian old and new traditional vocal rural layers (see more for ex. Petrović and Jovanović, 2003, Golemović, 2016). Namely, for village middle-aged and older singers, the main common means of expression are recent or newer rural singing with structural elements closer to the European ones. Old-time rural singing, with its second chords in two-part texture, non-tempered scales, more hermetic in character, shows differences between regional local traditions, and hence has not been regarded as a common way of musical communication for village singers. On the other hand, younger neotraditional singers, in professional or amateur ensembles mostly from towns and mostly conducted by ethnomusicologists, have been devotees of old-time singing as a strong endemic musical device, rich in musical, ethical, and expressive sense. At the festivals they sing such songs to awaken and demonstrate their value in the settings where they are already lost from living practice. This paper is based on the principles of applied ethnomusicology, on long-term fieldwork and on scholarly researches in Šumadija, as well as on personal performing and teaching experiences.For the present day middle-aged and older village singers in the Šumadija region in central Serbia rural singing festivals are quite popular events: these are occasions for local communities to share their enthusiasm and to communicate through songs, sharing the elements of tradition they all consider theirs, inventing new lyrics to well-known traditional melodies (’standards’), socializing, and confirming their friendships based on pure satisfaction in common singing. On such occasions there appears an opposition in relation to Serbian old and new traditional vocal rural layers (see more for ex. Petrović and Jovanović, 2003, Golemović, 2016). Namely, for village middle-aged and older singers, the main common means of expression are recent or newer rural singing with structural elements closer to the European ones. Old-time rural singing, with its second chords in two-part texture, non-tempered scales, more hermetic in character, shows differences between regional local traditions, and hence has not been regarded as a common way of musical communication for village singers. On the other hand, younger neotraditional singers, in professional or amateur ensembles mostly from towns and mostly conducted by ethnomusicologists, have been devotees of old-time singing as a strong endemic musical device, rich in musical, ethical, and expressive sense. At the festivals they sing such songs to awaken and demonstrate their value in the settings where they are already lost from living practice. This paper is based on the principles of applied ethnomusicology, on long-term fieldwork and on scholarly researches in Šumadija, as well as on personal performing and teaching experiences
Slovenian Traditional Music and the Media: A Study of Early Gramophone Records
Full text linkThe article focuses on early commercial recorded music on gramophone records and analyses the beginnings of commercialisation and popularisation of Slovenian traditional music through new technical advances and the emergence of the gramophone industry. It is based on an analysis of a large amount of material, collected in the Digital Collection of Gramophone Records at the Institute of Ethnomusicology ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as well as on various written sources and metadata. Slovenian material on early gramophone records, known predominantly as 78 rpm records or shellac records, was being recorded for a good fifty years, from the very first recordings in the early 20th century to the end of the era of these gramophone records in the mid-1950s. Due to the characteristics of the mass medium, the traditional music, which can frequently be found on the early Slovenian gramophone recordings, moved outside its traditional and local bounds and becoming part of the culture industry and marketing. The article presents the characteristics of this medium and the recordings made on it, and shows how such recordings can help to shed new light on various aspects of traditional music. It reveals that folk tradition was adapted, popularised and transmitted for different types of audiences and raises the question of commercialism and its influence on the further development of traditional musical creativity, popularisation and contribution to the development of new popular-music genres.The article focuses on early commercial recorded music on gramophone records and analyses the beginnings of commercialisation and popularisation of Slovenian traditional music through new technical advances and the emergence of the gramophone industry. It is based on an analysis of a large amount of material, collected in the Digital Collection of Gramophone Records at the Institute of Ethnomusicology ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as well as on various written sources and metadata. Slovenian material on early gramophone records, known predominantly as 78 rpm records or shellac records, was being recorded for a good fifty years, from the very first recordings in the early 20th century to the end of the era of these gramophone records in the mid-1950s. Due to the characteristics of the mass medium, the traditional music, which can frequently be found on the early Slovenian gramophone recordings, moved outside its traditional and local bounds and becoming part of the culture industry and marketing. The article presents the characteristics of this medium and the recordings made on it, and shows how such recordings can help to shed new light on various aspects of traditional music. It reveals that folk tradition was adapted, popularised and transmitted for different types of audiences and raises the question of commercialism and its influence on the further development of traditional musical creativity, popularisation and contribution to the development of new popular-music genres
Constructing Musical Heritage in Action: The Case of Wilamowice
Full text linkWilamowice, a small town in southwest Poland, is unique in many ways. It was settled in the 13th century by German tribes, and it preserved its distinct culture for a long time. The inhabitants of Wilamowice spoke their own language, wore original costumes, and observed local customs. Due to their merchants’ skills, they were gradually becoming a wealthy community, which resulted in the most prosperous years of the town and its culture starting from the beginning of the 19th century. The situation changed in the middle of the 20th century. As a result of the dramatic war and post-war circumstances, the culture of Wilamowice began to disappear. Nowadays, thanks to the work of local activists and scholars, intensive revitalisation of the Vilamovian language and costumes has begun. This process had already been described in various writings (Król, 2016, Wicherkiewicz, 2003), but Vilamovian music culture remained almost completely unexplored. I decided to fill in this blind spot, and in 2016 began my fieldwork research on traditional music and dances in Wilamowice. At the beginning of my research, I realised that the task wasn’t easy, as there remained only a few archive materials concerning Vilamovian music (Horak, 1960, Horak, 1981). Thus, the primary materials I could use in my research were ethnographic interviews and observations. On this basis, I aimed to reconstruct the forgotten soundscape of Wilamowice. But, what was more important for me, I tried to describe modern contexts in which music is used by the local community as a part of the process of constructing their identity and heritage. The essential question of my text is: ‘What kind of music can be called Vilamovian, how do modern people use it and what for?’.Wilamowice, a small town in southwest Poland, is unique in many ways. It was settled in the 13th century by German tribes, and it preserved its distinct culture for a long time. The inhabitants of Wilamowice spoke their own language, wore original costumes, and observed local customs. Due to their merchants’ skills, they were gradually becoming a wealthy community, which resulted in the most prosperous years of the town and its culture starting from the beginning of the 19th century. The situation changed in the middle of the 20th century. As a result of the dramatic war and post-war circumstances, the culture of Wilamowice began to disappear. Nowadays, thanks to the work of local activists and scholars, intensive revitalisation of the Vilamovian language and costumes has begun. This process had already been described in various writings (Król, 2016, Wicherkiewicz, 2003), but Vilamovian music culture remained almost completely unexplored. I decided to fill in this blind spot, and in 2016 began my fieldwork research on traditional music and dances in Wilamowice. At the beginning of my research, I realised that the task wasn’t easy, as there remained only a few archive materials concerning Vilamovian music (Horak, 1960, Horak, 1981). Thus, the primary materials I could use in my research were ethnographic interviews and observations. On this basis, I aimed to reconstruct the forgotten soundscape of Wilamowice. But, what was more important for me, I tried to describe modern contexts in which music is used by the local community as a part of the process of constructing their identity and heritage. The essential question of my text is: ‘What kind of music can be called Vilamovian, how do modern people use it and what for?’
Revitalisation and Revival of Traditional Musical Instruments in Poland in the Context of Music Contests
Full text linkThis article is devoted to the issue of revitalisation and revival of traditional musi- cal instruments in Poland in the context of music competitions. Research on revival activities in Poland is rare, as is research on the phenomenon of traditional music competitions. Meanwhile, over the last nine decades, traditional music competitions have become the main environment for the public presentation of traditional music and stimulating the revival and revitalisation of indi- vidual musical phenomena. In this area, I have been conducting my own participant observations and archival research for over two decades. I understand the revival phenomenon itself and the activities that constitute it after Caroline Bithell and Juniper Hill (2013). The distinction between the terms revitalisation and revival is based on that made by Ingrid Åkesson (2006) and Ulrich Morgenstern (2019). In the text I discuss the issue of revitalisation of the Podhale bagpipes and the revival of the hurdy-gurdy. I also show that the phenomenon of the revival of musical tradi- tion is accompanied by processes of depreciation of the role, importance or presence of other instruments, such as the accordion or clarinet. I also show the important role of the activism of leading figures among both researchers and lovers of traditional music, as well as musicians and instrument builders.This article is devoted to the issue of revitalisation and revival of traditional musical instruments in Poland in the context of music competitions. Research on revival activities in Poland is rare, as is research on the phenomenon of traditional music competitions. Meanwhile, over the last nine decades, traditional music competitions have become the main environment for the public presentation of traditional music and stimulating the revival and revitalisation of individual musical phenomena. In this area, I have been conducting my own participant observations and archival research for over two decades. I understand the revival phenomenon itself and the activities that constitute it after Caroline Bithell and Juniper Hill (2013). The distinction between the terms revitalisation and revival is based on that made by Ingrid Åkesson (2006) and Ulrich Morgenstern (2019). In the text I discuss the issue of revitalisation of the Podhale bagpipes and the revival of the hurdy-gurdy. I also show that the phenomenon of the revival of musical tradition is accompanied by processes of depreciation of the role, importance or presence of other instruments, such as the accordion or clarinet. I also show the important role of the activism of leading figures among both researchers and lovers of traditional music, as well as musicians and instrument builders