Glocken Requiem XXI на Йоханес Валман като еманация на неговите интегрални принципи

Author(s): Maria Ruseva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 8/2013

The paper follows the major “pre-modern” theoretical formulations, developed by German composer Johannes Wallmann in his book “Integrale Moderne – Vision und Philosophie der Zukunft”. On this ground and owing to a view of the composer’s oeuvre, the author presents one of his most popular works, Glocken Requiem XXI as a synthesizing musical implementation of these ideas. Quoting Jürgen Habermas, Reinhart Koselleck, Aleida Assmann, Philippe Ariès, the paper shows new interpretational lines as regards requiem immanence in the twentieth and twentieth-first century, when interest in non-canonical texts was piqued and a number of these were related to the idea of war. Requiems for wars show general trends, which, if followed, could shed light on the changes in the genre as a natural consequence of contemporary man’s changed attitudes towards death and thence towards life. At the same time a detailed analysis of the compositional techniques used by Wallmann, which enhance the effect of his conceptuality such as multilingualism, returning to early polychoral practices, campanology as semantics, continuity, determinacy is made.

Is There a Theory of Musical Criticism?

Author(s): Cristina Berengea-Suteu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Alan Walker contends that criticism has always have been faced with controversies on which, due to the esoteric nature of music and to the diversity of answers, no consensus has been reached yet. Questions like: “Are there standards in criticism?”, “Can they be defined?”, “Are they objective or subjective?”, “How can their authenticity be verified?” – reveal a philosophical side of criticism. If the pragmatism of music criticism resided only in expressing judgments of value, then a theory of criticism would imply their explanation. The assertion that a work is a masterpiece and another one is mediocre has no validity without an answer to the question: why...? Hence it results that behind the judgments of value there is a process based on which conclusions are drawn. This article presents, in chronological order of publication, the perspectives of five personalities who have expressed their doubts or convictions, principles or opinions, subjectivity or objectivity, in the field of musical criticism.

The Musical Syntactic Categories and the Idea of “Primordial Substances“ - The Archetype as a Linking Factor Between Different Levels of Artistic Com

Author(s): Dan-Georgescu Corneliu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

The notion of musical archetype seems to be discredited due to overuse and often confused interpretation. Based on an extension of C. G. Jung's theory, I have tried to show, in a series of studies, the advantages it offers to musical analysis on the level of music psychology. Other Romanian contributions belong to Octavian Nemescu and Dan Dediu. The archetypes of the essential points of a musical form, like those of the Beginning and of the End (of ”Birth” and ”Death”), can serve as a basis of relationship between internal levels of music as well as in syncretic contexts. If there is a common element between such different levels in a film or in an opera (music, image, text), it should be first sought on a psychological level, as their common level. But not only is the congruence of these levels significant: their incongruity may play an equally important role and bring new tensions to the overall image. Some analytical levels allow pairs of opposite archetypes (e.g. Incipit/Finis), just as certain musical structures are "scalar" (e.g. pitch, duration, dynamics can be measured and classified according to a simple criterion: frequency, time units, and decibels). Not the same can be said about musical timbre, an area in which the mixture of different parameters is too complex to allow a simple classification. But the problem of systematization of musical colours is not restricted to timbre itself: heterogeneous elements like density and the character of sounds also play an important role in the definition of musical objects. A possible model is suggested by the four primary elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, considered symbolic and named, according to Jung, Terra-Aeter-Aqua-Ignis. There is a parallel with the four categories of musical syntax as defined by Ştefan Niculescu: homophony, polyphony, monody, heterophony. Symbolic associations like homophony-Terra, monody-Aeter and, perhaps less, polyphony/heterophony-Aqua/Ignis, may help define conceptually solid, ethereal, formless and elusive musical substances. Just like the four syntactic categories, the four types of substance can be recognized not only in music. The manner of application of this idea requires a good understanding and acceptance of symbolic thinking.

Considerations about the Two Beginnings of the European Musical Culture. the Idea of “Europeanity” Between Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Author(s): Garaz Oleg / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

In total opposition with the image of a linear and progressive evolution of European music, which has long acquired referential status in the context of (primary, secondary and higher) musical education, the central idea of our study reveals at least two of its beginnings – the classical Greek antiquity and the early Middle Ages (barbarian and Christian). The first argument in favour of the latter is the process of dialectical interaction of the signs of the two cultures, as well as their mutual strengthening – (a) the numerical-cosmical, mystical “genome” of Pythagoras and (b) the discursive-conceptual, rational-philosophical “genome” of Plato. These two “genomes”, as distinct, “uniform” and “stationary” signs of the ancient culture (Guizot), are potentiated by another pair of “genomes”, this time belonging to the Middle Ages, namely (a) a sum of characteristics of the nomadic mentality and imaginary (barbarian – Crocker, Guizot) – dynamism, individualism, freedom and independence, and (b) the centripetal and all-encompassing energy of the Christian religion, with its central idea of tolerance. The second argument aims at redefining the image of progress, because each stylistic period after the Middle Ages – from the Renaissance up to Modernism, is nothing but an increasingly weaker and “cooled” form (Guénon and Martynov) of the primal (barbarian) evolutionary energy. This progress was in reality a progress of dissipation, stemming from the clash between the two ancient “genomes” – the Pythagorean ontologism and the Platonic hermeneutics, both re-signified in terms of a continental-Christian, imperial culture, until the Renaissance, when preference was shifted to the weaker, Platonic option, with predictable consequences for the entire subsequent evolution not only of musical culture, but of European thinking in general. Progress in musical thinking and practices stemmed from the preference for an ever stronger discretionary individualism and conceptual complexity, to compensate for the (also progressive) dissipation of the spiritual “temperature”. Musical postmodernism, viewed as a time of chaos, dissemination, fragmentation, deviation, loss and denial of all the strong cultural truths, is but a logical consequence of this spiral evolution, though not in the sense of the Hegelian spiral, but in that of the human DNA, with the two strands – ancient and barbarian, each with two constituents, advancing towards progressive dispersion.

Considerations on the Concept of Musical Genre. Subjective Perception and Analytical Objectivity

Author(s): Tatiana Oltean / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

As a consequence of the technical development and growing importance of musical instruments, Baroque music displays, for the first time in musical thinking, a keen interest in the concept of genre, in its suitability to the various functions of music and in the standardisation of certain architectural typologies. After this age of frantic instrumental composition and continuous search for patterns for ordering the different discursive modes, the constant emergence of new musical genres proved to be the consequence of the development, throughout the centuries, of new types of musical architectures, tailored to the new forms of language, aesthetics, cultural environment etc. Assuming that the musical genre is a kind of “contract” between author and public (audience, musicians, analysts etc.), or a convention (sometimes even a mere pretext), the paper discusses the relationship between genre and form, genre and era (cultural environment), genre and musical language.

1912-2012, Music Life AND Musical Education in the 100 Years of Liberated Thessaloniki

Author(s): Anna-Maria Rentzeperi-Tsonou / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

This paper presents the history of musical life in Thessaloniki during the 20th century, after the liberation of the city from Ottoman rule in 1912. In the early 20th century, musical life in Thessaloniki was rather scarce, despite the artistic societies and associations that existed in the city (most with philharmonic orchestra, chorus and orchestra of mandolins), or the opera performances presented by various touring Greek or foreign melodramatic companies. With the liberation of the city, the musical activity intensified following the establishment of numerous orchestras, choirs and musical ensembles, cultural societies, concert halls and cultural institutions. Many musical education institutions were also established which had a substantial contribution to the development of musical education in Greece and of musical life in Thessaloniki.

Musical Theory and Practice in South-Eastern Europe and Mesopotamia, in the Light of the Ancient Culture and Folklore. A Comparative Study

Author(s): Ghircoiasiu Romeo / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

One of the most ancient elements of the theoretical thought in South-Eastern Europe is related to the kithara, which, according to Nichomakos, until the time of Orpheus had four strings, tuned D – G – A – D. The tuning system of the ancient guitar was of a tritonic type, this being the second stage in the history of melody. This tonal frame represented an important moment in the evolution of the future principal system of ancient Greece. Apart from this system, musical practice imposed the introduction of a new system in the theory, based on the complexity of melodies and of their modulations. This new system was the Systema elatton. The procedure of passing from one system to another is based on a metabole, i.e. the changing of H with B. The paper provides a detailed presentation of these aspects for the purpose of a comparative study between the South-Eastern European and the Mesopotamian musical cultures, and is illustrated with examples from different geographical areas and historical periods. It is concluded that there are a great deal of relations between Europe and Asia, in both directions. Although certain Mesopotamian elements have been identified in the Greek theory, we cannot neglect the great, complex and logical construction of this latter musical thought.

The Cluster Effect – Connotations of Performance and Musical Notation

Author(s): Nedelcut Nelida,Violeta Dinescu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

The term cluster is an English word used in music to describe a complex of sounds played simultaneously. Micro- and macro-systemic approaches within varied fields of activity have caused the exploration of clustering techniques in relationship to variables specific to each area of research. This study undertakes to point out a few particular approaches of clusters in contemporary Romanian piano works, highlighting distinctive notational solutions which have generated various performances of the same sound effect: the cluster. The piano works of composer Violeta Dinescu offer this study analytical highlights, focusing, by means of concrete musical examples, on the trichotomic relationship which measures the connections between sign-object-sonorous output. The explanation of the phenomenon by analogy to Ch. S. Peirce’s theory of the ternary structure of the sign is meant to establish an analytical borderline on both micro- and macro-structural level. The compositional approach of the cluster on the two levels is also highlighted in the pieces Cluster-Melodia and Improvvisazione of the cycle Jocuri pianistice/Piano games by Eduárd Terényi, where the second piece draws the graphic contour of the previous one within hourly durations and a determined sound density. The research study proves that sound innovations gained by the piano in Modernism, Postmodernism, and contemporary music are correspondingly reflected in the field of graphical notation. The cluster, by means of the composers’ utterly personal graphical expression, which generates both varied interpretations and an individualized perception of the effect, opens up new perspectives in terms of the phenomenon’s analysis and hierarchy.

Veils of Transcendence in the Musical Discourse

Author(s): Dediu Dan / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

Starting from the question “what are the specific musical means of representing the idea of transcendence in the musical discourse?”, the study reflects upon the philosophical meaning and features of this idea under the inspiration of two German contemporary thinkers – Peter Sloterdijk and Heiner Mühlmann. The author analyzes and adapts to the musical environment seven different possibilities of capturing the idea of transcendence in music and of understanding it in a specific and veiled musical way. These seven possibilities would be: slowness, violence, silence, caress, height, darkness, and explosion.

Bartók és a nemzetközi etnomuzikológia

Author(s): Péter Laki / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 08/2006

Hiteles népzene

Author(s): Bálint Sárosi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 08/2006

Zenei életmű-összkiadások (À propos Bartók)

Author(s): László Somfai / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 08/2006

Varafolkloorsetelt vokaalzhanridelt lauluni

Author(s): Ingrid Rüütel / Language(s): Estonian Issue: 08/1998

The Estonian folk song is usually divided into two main historical-stylistical strata: the runo songs (songs in runo verse form, also called Kalevala-metre songs, alliterative songs etc.) and the newer songs with an end-rhyme and strophic form. Both are characterised by a special musical style. The first one belongs to the old Balto-Finnic culture and derives probably from the last millennium B.C., the latter one is related to the European traditional songlore of the last centuries. Besides runo songs (which are represented in the Estonian tradition first of all by lyrical songs and by working songs, ritual songs, game songs, etc., less by the narrative ones) there exist a number of ancient non-runo genres which are characterised by a special intonation mode depending on the contents and function and which do not denote music in the accustomed meaning. Ancient non-runo vocal genres. Here belong: 1. Cries, shouts, calls with the function to signal, communicate or co-ordinate rhythm (herding and hunting calls, signals for co-ordinating working processes, ritual calls, etc.) 2. Imitations of natural sounds: either natural or artificial. The first have generally practical, utilitarian function (they are used by hunters for alluring birds or animals even today); the others might have had primarily magic significance and were later used for amusement (e.g. the so called birds' songs containing a poetic text whereas the respective bird sounds are imitated both as phonic compositions and by intonation). Here belong also "conversations" of animals, birds, as well as spinning wheels, carts, church bells etc. The significant expressive means alongside with imitation is the tonal and temporal contrasting of certain phrases or words (high - low, fast - slow). 3. Incantations and spells used for influencing and inducing natural forces, animals or human beings, for inciting the working process, for healing, sauna charms, etc. which occur as verse incantations in Estonia. While in Finland and Karelia they are predominantly in the Kalevala metre, then in Estonia a large part of them are either in the accentual metre or in the heterosyllabic free verse. These were performed either as a half-whispering mutter, a recital with free rhythm (half-singing, half-speaking), as a monotonous scansion with fixed measure, or while shouting. 4. Laments (death dirges, wedding laments, later also lamentations for recruits and for other occasions). In Estonia they preserved longer mostly in Setu 1986). Death dirges are noted also in other parts of East Estonia. Laments were known also by the Karelians, Vepsians, Votians, Izhorians and other Finno-Ugrians. 5. Songs in fairy tales. Besides explicit songs which are dissimilar in verse metre and musical characteristics, there occur also recitative monologues and dialogues which hardly differ from the rest of the text (as is the case with tales and shamanistic performance of Siberian peoples).

Marss

Author(s): Andres Piirimäe / Language(s): Estonian Issue: 08/1998

A song "Marss" and comments by Andres Piirimäe.

Philosophy, Literature and (A)Tonal Music as Ingredients of Spectral Music. When the Hills are tossing black Shadows

Author(s): Laurenţiu Beldean / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

Encountering the deciphering function of the imaginary in some cultural/musical paradigms - which should create an unpredictable link between signified and significant - refers to theatrical distance (Brecht), to super-signs, to the density surplus of contents. I refer to a possible translation of this function in the act of creation, to closeness to the composition project When the Hills are Tossing Black Shadows (its original title is Stets wenn die Hügel werfen schwarze Schatten) signed by this study’s author. Appealing (during this project) to spiritual sources with a generalreflective consistency aimed at suggesting a finding - the vocation of human existence in the specifically musical expression. However, a real penetration into the semantic space of the work’s expression is not possible if the conditions, intention types are neglected, through which questions are asked (answers given), so that meaning cannot be stopped. I think that this is the paraphrase of the generic title of my analysis, but it also mirrors the composition’s generative reason: an open opus - the hyper-statement in which the receiver turns to a collaborator to the text’s polysemous life.

Docimologic Issues in Evaluating the Theoretical Works in Music Education

Author(s): Petre Marcel Vârlan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

The paper will specially focus on some docimologic aspects in the evaluation of the theoretical works specialised on the theory of music, which can be found in any theoretical subject of the musical educational system, both at highschool level and at university level. These refer to the multitude of factors which are part of the assessment criteria, as well as the number of items, their individual score and their correlation with the marking schemes of performance. The author of the present paper shows how the table like calculation sheet of Excel, Microsoft Office can facilitate the marking of the candidates’ answers, independently of the complexity of the assessment or of the number of candidates.

The Interactive Methods and Techniques Stimulating Creativity - Crucial Components of the Didactic Strategies

Author(s): S.T. Boghici,Constantina Boghici / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

The history of pedagogy and psychology has gone through important changes that have led to the delineation of a pedagogical trend known as modernist education. According to this theory, the teachinglearning- evaluation act constitutes a guided, programmed activity, taking place in a stimulating atmosphere, lacking any constraints, by means of an inter-human relation of collaboration, cooperation, communication, evaluation and self-evaluation. The teacher’s role in this approach shall be one of coordinator, helping in the birth of ideas. The didactic methods and techniques – components of the didactic strategies – were classified by different authors as follows: teaching-learning – evaluation methods and techniques; knowledge consolidation, systematization and evaluation methods and techniques; problem solving and creativity stimulating methods and techniques; group research methods and techniques. We have chosen to present the creativity stimulating methods and techniques, which can be used in the didactic process of music educations.

Felicia Donceanu - The Poetic Universe of her Vocal and Chamber Works

Author(s): Gabriela Ionescu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

The affinity for vocal and chamber contemporary music is a topic that has wide audience among Romanian composers. Among them there is Felicia Donceanu, a creative representative from the gallery of Romanian creative women, starting with Ioana Ghica Comanesti, continuing with C.P. Basacopol, M. Marbé, I. Odăgescu, M. Ciobanu and more. In her music, Felicia Donceanu offers us an impressive creative variety of works, from extensive vocal-symphonic works to stage music, vocal (voice and piano), choir, children's music, instrumental theater, soundtracks and entertainment music and especially vocal and instrumental chamber music and instrumental music. Therefore it is an extensive creation, atypical, fluid, in a wide stylistic range, not only on the horizontal line of improvement of componistic elements but also on the personal level, specific to her extra musical personality.

The Spiritual Coordinate in Aurel Stroe’s “Melodramas on Job’s Book”

Author(s): Petruţa Maria Coroiu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

The musical art was never for the use of the ears, but for the soul and for the spirit. This is the credo of master Aurel Stroe in one’s of his most unknown works of his career, Melodramas in Job’s Book (from the Old Testament). The example of Job is so relevant in the context of the cultural movement of Antim Monastery from Bucharest in 1950-1960 periods, so it deserves a special study on this theme.

Fr. Geminiani –“ Sonata op. 1 no. 5 in b flat major for Violin”

Author(s): Petra Cristina Vârlan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

Sonata op. 1 No. 5 in B flat Major for violin and chipher bass (bass continuo) was composed by the Italian composer Francesco Geminiani in his first period in London (1714-1733). The composer is one of the worthy musicians of the Baroque age Italian composers. In London, Geminiani enjoyed a great success among the aristocracy and even at the Royal Court, where he played the violin to King George I, being accompanied by Georg Friedrich Haendel.