14 research outputs found
Fortune and desire in Guillaume de Machaut
Get PDFThere is a pervasive tendency, in Machaut scholarship, to read his poetry as having
value only insofar as it speaks to our postmodern age: either it is fragmented and
riven with ambiguities, or it celebrates eroticism and the things of this world for their
own sake; in any case, it resists religious and moral orthodoxy. Such readings, while
often valuable in themselves, fail to take sufficient account of the influence which
Boethian and Neoplatonic ideas had upon Machaut, and thus misunderstand his work
on a fundamental level. By paying attention to the Boethian content in the narrative
dits, and by analysing Machaut's verse more thoroughly than has been done before,
my thesis demonstrates not only this author's moral orthodoxy, but also his extremely
sophisticated didactic methods. I begin with the Confort d'ami, Machaut's most
overtly moral work. The Confort engages with the supposed 'worldly' perspective of
its imprisoned addressee, adapting biblical and classical exempla in order to coax
Charles of Navarre towards a deeper understanding of worldly fortune. In Chapter 2 I
show how, in the Prologue and the Dit du vergier, the ambiguity so beloved of critics
can serve as a moral commentary on the carnality and self-absorption of the erotic
and artistic points of view. Having established, in the preceding chapters, that this
author's approach to his subject is ambiguous and critical, in Chapter 3 I explore the
extremes of his pessimism, and show how his love poetry can incorporate
sophisticated philosophical ideas, through my analysis of the Jugement du roy de
Behaigne. The thesis culminates in a detailed reading of the Remede de Fortune.
Through his deliberately idealised statements about education, through his application
of these views to the art of courtly love, through his composition (and setting to
music) of a sequence of virtuoso lyrics, and through his explicit invocations of and
borrowings from Boethius, Machaut develops an empathic but ultimately, as I argue,
deeply sceptical vision of earthly love
The aesthetics of Pierre Boulez
Get PDFTo enable the reader to find references as quickly and easily as possible, I have grouped all references together in the bibliography in alphabetical order. Texts by the same author are distinguished first by year and second, if there are several texts from the same year, by letter. Interviews and writing collaborations (including published correspondence) involving Boulez are also ordered alphabetically. The year given at the beginning of each bibliographical entry is, in the majority of cases, the year in which the text was first published (not necessarily the year of the edition cited). For all writings written by Boulez, I have provided the original title under which the text in question was first published (usually in French). Many articles have subsequently been translated into English and therefore I have decided to provide page references for both versions. For all texts by writers other than Boulez, I have cited the version of the text I have used. Wherever possible, I have cited the existing English translations of texts originally written in French. However, on many occasions I have considered it necessary to make alterations to the published translations. This is particularly applicable to Boulez on Music Today (1971) and Orientations (1986), both of which display an often heavy-handed and rather inaccurate approach to the task of translating specific concepts employed by Boulez. In contrast. Stocktakings of an Apprenticeship (1991) has required only occasional minor amendments. All changes to the published English translations are acknowledged in the corresponding footnote. None of the material m this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree in this or any other University. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without prior written consent and information from it should be acknowledged. I have received permission to exceed the word limit from the Graduate School Committee at the University of Durham
La migration numérique d’une oeuvre pionnière avec live electronics. Mesa (1966) de Gordon Mumma
No full textCet article résume les retombées d’un projet de reconstruction d’une oeuvre
pionnière de live electronics, à savoir Mesa (1966) du compositeur
étatsunien Gordon Mumma (né en 1935). Une reconstruction de cette oeuvre a été présentée
dans le cadre du festival Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques le 27 février 2017 par l’auteur et les
collaborateurs de cet article : Jonathan Goldman au bandonéon, Francis Lecavalier à la
conception informatique, et Ofer Pelz à l’interprétation de la partie électronique. Au cours
de cette « migration », l’oeuvre, fondamentalement analogique, a été reconçue pour un
équipement numérique contemporain avec le consentement du compositeur. S’inscrivant
nettement dans la lignée de l’École de New York cageienne, Mesa revêt un statut
ontologique curieux : elle est le produit d’une indétermination passablement radicale. Comme
c’est le cas pour l’oeuvre de Cage, Mesa et sa reconstruction numérique nous force
à repenser l’ontologie et l’épistémologie de l’oeuvre musicale.This paper reports on a project to produce a reconstruction of a pioneering work of
live electronics, Mesa (1966) by the U.S. composer Gordon Mumma (b. 1935). A
digital recreation of the work was presented at the Montreal/New Music Festival on
27 February 2017 by the author of this article and his collaborators: Jonathan Goldman
(bandoneon), Francis Lecavalier (programming) and Ofer Pelz (electronic performance). This
migration entailed a digital recreation of the fundamentally analog processes of the
original work, undertaken with the composer’s explicit consent. Emerging from Cagean
aesthetics, Mesa has a curious ontological status, since it is a product of a
fairly radical indetermination. As such, Mesa and its digital reconstruction
require an ontological and epistemological reconsideration of the musical work
Recens fabricatus labor oder Neugebachene Taffel-Schnitz // von mancherley lustigen Rencken und Schwencken // zusammengestickt // mit Noten auszgespickt // und under fröliche Compagnien geschickt // damit ihnen Essen und Trincken // und denen darbey auf warten den Musicanten die Spendage desto besser zu statten Kommen möge. Mit j. 2. 3. Sing-Stimmen // und 2. Violinen welche meistens ad placitum gesetz seyn. Item etliche Stücklein mit unverschiedlichen Instrumenten // insonderheit vor [sic] die Kunst - Pfeiffer // zum Auffwarten bequem. Mit Trompeten // Cornetten, Trombonen und Fagotten, samt einer Party mit 5. Violen, Kurz und leicht in anmuthiger Harmoni, zur zulässigen Ergötzlichkeit herauss gelassen. So dann appendice der lustig - politische Nasen-Krämer 1 voce. 3 viol. Der frantzösiche Author ist sonst in Teutschland wohl bekandt // Asne de Rilpe
No full textComprend : 1 - Ihr Leuthe wer heute (3 v., 2 v.ons ad lib.) - 2 - Drey vexations-Brüder. Im Gang Gesang und Tranck (3 v.) - 3 - Ich will euch werthe Freund (2 v., refrain à 5 v., 1 v.on ad lib.) - 4 - Guter Gesell ist der Weg gut draussen (3 v., 2 v.on ad lib.) - 5 - Es geht der Wind von Schwaben her (1 v., 5 v.on ad lib.) - 6 - Schwäbische Bauren Hochzeit (3 v., 2 V.on) - 7 - Von drey vexations Handwerckern (3 v., 2 v.on ad lib.) - 8 - Mayen und Gukguks Lied (1 v. 3 instr.) - 9 - Des Spiehlen und Buhlens Verwurff (2 v., 3 instr. ad lib.) - 10 - Vom Kartatschen oder Kartetschen. Eine Relation eines Wollen webers (2 v., 3 instr. ad lib.) - 11 - Der Scoptisirer Wiederbezahlung Glöttlins in engere Composition gesetzt [certaines parties portent : Blöttlins] (1 v., 2 v.on ad lib.) - 12 - Glottlins von vertraulicher - 13 - Aufzug à 6 Trompeten (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 14 - Aufzug à 6 Trompeten (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 15 - Sonata à 5, 2 cornetto, 3 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 16 - Sonata à 5? 2 cornett., 3 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 17 - Sonata à 4 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 18 - Sonata à 4, 1 Clarino Cornet. 3 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 19 - Sonata à 4. 1 Cornetto. 3 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 20 - Aria à 3. 2 Viol. 1 Fagotto (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 21 - Gigue à 3. 2 Viol. 1 Fagotto (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 22 - Sonata à 3. 2 Viol. 1 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 23 - Gigue à 3. 2 Viol. 1 Tromb (Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 24 - Sonata à 5 (2 Von, 2 alt., b. ; Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.) - 25 - Der Politische Nasen-Krämer (1 v., 2 v.ons, alt. ; Zusammerkunste in engerer Composition. 1 v., 2 v. orn. ad lib.)Présentation musicale : PartiesAppartient à l’ensemble documentaire : RISMImpAppartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Brossard
Links and ligatures : György Kurtág’s Ligatura-Message to Frances-Marie (The answered unanswered question)
Get PDFInternational audienceThe Ligatura-Messages, op. 31b reveals an important aspect of the fragmentary mode of writing of György Kurtág: the meaning of the message which is to be expressed by music resides within the framework of a fundamental dialogic exchange between the author (the source) and the listener (the recipient) through the mediation of the instrumentalist (here, a violoncellist using two bows simultaneously). The stylistic features (the ligatures, which remind one of the partiality of the composer for Gregorian plaint-chant) are woven into the very fabric of the meaning; this is the way in which Kurtág enhances the value of the fragment, the Ligatura-Message which is also the haunt of memories, a place of remembrance both from the autobiographical viewpoint and the viewpoint of musical historiography. In this particular piece, the music of uncertainty can be perceived through the paradoxical pattern of the answered unanswered question, which may suggest that the piece is an answer to Charles Ives's Unanswered Question. The study of the similarities and differences between the two works tends to underline the dual essence, the open-endedness of the Kurtágian fragment.Le Ligatura-Message to Frances-Marie op. 31/b met au jour un aspect important de l’écriture fragmentaire de György Kurtág : le sens du message, qui doit être exprimé et transmis par la musique, s’inscrit dans le dialogue essentiel entre l’émetteur et le récepteur par le truchement de l’instrumentiste. L’élément stylistique (les ligatures, qui rappellent le goût du compositeur pour le plain-chant grégorien et la musique médiévale) s’associe au contenu signifiant, qui est le mode de valorisation du fragment de Kurtág, le message-lien qui est, en outre, lieu de mémoire et de réminiscence, tant du point de vue autobiographique que du point de vue de l’historiographie musicale. Dans cette pièce se fait entendre une musique de l’incertitude, à travers l’image de l’answered unanswered question, paradoxe et antithèse figurés peut-être par les deux archets du violoncelle. Le réseau intertextuel inclut Ives et Dallapiccola, et surtout des citations et références tirées des œuvres pour piano, pour orgue, ou pour orchestre du compositeur lui-même. Bref, c’est à un véritable éloge de la lenteur, à une méditation sur le fragment et l’instant musical, que nous convie Kurtág
Notas sobre la Opera Edipo y Yocasta
Get PDFComposer Josep Soler offers us an analysis on the textual and musical contents of his opera Oedipus and Jocast, whose first night was on the 30th October 1974 during the Internacional Festival of Barcelona. The text chosen is Seneca's original and raises notable differences with regard to that of Sophocles: the former is a moralist, whereas the latter contains a true psychanalytic reading of the myth. So the composer includes some Sophocles' texts conveying a greater load of tension in the general atmosphere of predestination and fatalism. It is also significant that the author includes Jocast in the title of the opera, in order to show the dialectics between desire and fear, leading to action. The opera was finished on the 24th December 1971 in its version for song and piano, and on the 12th April 1972 for orchestra. It includes 2 acts with one interval. Musical texture is based on the use of one only series: its first position appears in the orchestra and the choir; one second series, deriving from the first one, is embodied by Jocast's part, and an inversion of that by Oedipus'; other series deriving from the first one refer to other characters (Creo, Polybos, Tiresias, the old man from Corinth). The orchestra uses woods by 3 (plus one high saxophone in mi flat), 6 horns and 4 trombones; 2 harps, piano, celesta, organ, hawaiian guitar and an unusual percussion (rattles, castanets, lithophone, chains, eoliphone) in order to avoid analogical recurrences. The use of Latin, in a society as ours, helps to make the myth sacra1 and categoric the cruelty of the message.Le compositeur Josep Soler nous offre une analyse sur le contenu textuel et musical de son opéra Oedipe et Jocaste, dont la première a eu lieu le 30 Octobre 1974 dans le cadre du Festival fnternational de Barcelone. Le texte choisi, celui de Sénèque dans San langue originale, diffère notablement de celui de Sophocle; celui-là est un moraliste, tandis que Sophocle contient une vraie lecture psychanalytique du mythe. C'est pourquoi l'auteur insère quelques textes de l'écrivain grec qui véhiculent une plus forte charge de tension dans l'arnbiance générale de prédestination et fatalisme. L'inclusion de Jocaste dans le titre de la pièce est aussi significative, dans le sens d'exprimer le dialectique entre désir et crainte, qui conduit à l'action. L'opéra fut terminé le 24 Décembre 1971, dans sa version pour chant et piano, et le 12 Avril 1972, pour orchestre.. I1 comprend 2 actes et un entracte. La texture musicale se fonde sur l'utilisation d'une seule série: sa première position apparaît dans l'orchestre et le choeur; une deuxième série, qui se dérive de la première, incarne le rôle de Jocaste, étant celui d'Oedipe une inversion de celle-ci; d'autres séries provenant de la première se rapportent à d'autres personnages (Créon, Phorbas, Tirésias, le vieillard de Corinthe). L'orchestre emploie des bois à 3 (plus un saxophone alto en mi b.), 6 trompes et 4 trombones; 2 harpes, piano, celesta, orgue, guitare hawaiienne et une percussion inhabituelle (crécelles, castagnettes, lithophone, chaînes, éoliphone), afin d'éviter des récurrences analogiques. L'utilisation du latin, dans une société comme la nôtre, aide à sacraliser le mythe et à catégoriser la cruauté du message
