Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemMusic and criticism: a study of some trends during the twentieth century( 1964)To spend time and energy in criticizing music the critic must value music highly. To criticize criticism implies also that one considers criticism of the arts worthwhile. The concert-goer who expects only that he shall enjoy a relaxing evening will probably not bother even to read the notes in his programme, and even if he does so. He will look for no more than a few technical sign posts to lessen his confusion if a work new to him is included in the programme. Such an attitude implies that its possessor dismisses music as an inessential luxury, and that he relegates the composer to the role of entertainer. Plainly, such a concert-goer does not value his music enough to discuss it. Fortunately he is not the only kind of person who listens to music, although he may be monomer than is often realized. His is certainly the easiest attitude to adopt, for to take music and criticism seriously involves much hard thought. The idea that art is a form of human communication is a widely accepted one. Most of the disputes which arise about this notion are concerned with the questions of what and how art communicates rather than whether it does so. Another way of looking at art is as a form of discipline: one cannot create in any artistic form, nor can one fully respond to a work or art, without the exercise of self-discipline, and the study of particular branches of the arts has long been recognized as a way to the achievement of a disciplined mind. The value of art lies in both of these aspects: in what it communicates and in the kind of activity it demands from those who take part in it. These two are inseparable – one cannot discuss the “content” of a work of art without discussing the means by which it is communicated, although, as we shall notice later, one can become involved in an arid discussion of the means alone. A musical work does not concern itself with conceptual thought, as many learned critics have noted. They hold that in this respect it differs from poetry, which can express concepts. They do not seem to have noticed that great poetry does not discuss ideas as philosophy does, but demands an emotional involvement, as painting and music do. All three arts also demand an intellectual involvement, but it is not of the strictly logical or syllogistic kind, even in reputedly “intellectual” poetry. Poetry and painting represent situations known to human beings by experience, in such a way that the expression of experience renders it comprehensible. (From Introduction)
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ItemJean Calvin and the Genevan Psalter: a study of the Calvinist aesthetic and its application in the music of the Psalter( 1969)“Moreover, since the glory of God ought to shine in the several parts of our bodies, it is especially fitting that the tongue has been assigned and destined for this task, through singing and speaking.” Those words of Jean Calvin express his belief in the importance of music in the life of the Christian. It was a conviction which prompted him, as the leader of a new Protestant Church in Geneva, to define precisely the role which music should play in the Church, and it further motivated him to establish a musical repertoire that was in accordance with his beliefs. It is the aim of this thesis to examine his musical ideas, searching for features which are distinctive or unusual, in the context of sixteenth-century musical thought. It is then proposed to examine the application of the ideas in the Genevan Psalter, which, although it is largely forgotten, may still be viewed as a fitting monument of the reformer’s musical insight. Research in this field has not yet advanced to great lengths, but there is a growing awareness among scholars of the historical and musical importance of the psalter. In addition to a small amount of writing on Calvin's musical aesthetic, there are the studies of the psalter, begun in 1878 by Oretin Douen. As yet, these have been largely confined to bibliographical works and to publications of source material. (From Introduction)
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ItemMusic in state-supported education in New South Wales and Victoria, 1848-1920( 1978)This investigation considers the development of class music teaching in New South Wales and Victoria during the first seventy-two years of state-supported primary education. Looking firstly at the English background to this study, the principal music teaching methods (which resulted from the English choral singing movement of the mid-nineteenth century) as well as the subsequent development of music teaching in English elementary schools are discussed. The promotion of school music is then considered on a broadly chronological basis in each state and a number of themes are seen to emerge in relation to developments in school music policy and practice during the period. The major themes include such issues as whether music should be part of the ordinary school curriculum or an extra-curricular subject, whether musical instruction should be given by generalist or specialist teachers, and which method should be employed for teaching children to read music. Other major themes include the controversy between protagonists of the respective staff and tonic sol-fa notations, the issue of teacher training in music for ordinary class teachers, and the relationship of curriculum content to the aims and objectives of school music. In addition comparisons are made, and parallels drawn, between developments in both states and also between the respective states and school music in England. The final chapter demonstrates the relevance of many of the historical themes for music education today. There is a drawing together of the main themes which enables certain trends in school music policy and practice as well as certain problems and deficiencies which emerged during the period 1848-1920 to be clearly identified. These are then considered in relation to the contemporary school music scene. The findings are that certain aspects at present represent a continuation of former policies and practices while other aspects represent a departure from the traditions of the past. For example, the recent introduction of the "new" Kodaly method represents a continuation of the movable doh solmisation system which has in fact been a traditional feature of school music teaching in New South Wales since the nineteenth century. On the other hand, the phasing-out of prescribed music curricula in both states in favour of school-based curriculum planning represents an obvious departure from tradition. In addition there are certain problems and deficiencies in primary music education at present which have either persisted since 1920 or have re-emerged from the past. For example, the low priority afforded to music in the primary curriculum and the lack of musical competence among generalist teachers have become almost traditional features of primary education in both states. There is also a re-emergence of the problem of inadequate musical training for primary teachers in many pre-service teacher training courses at present. The thesis concludes by citing a recurring problem from the past, namely the lack of co-ordination between various aspects of school music policy, as the most serious problem to be overcome if primary school children are to receive effective and worthwhile music education in the future.
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ItemThe operas of G. W. L. Marshall-Hall( 1978)G. W. L. Marshall-Hall, 1862-1915, English-born musician who settled in Australia in 1891, is chiefly remembered as a pioneer teacher and conductor, founder of the Melbourne University Conservatorium and the Melba Memorial Conservatorium, Melbourne, propagator of the first orchestral subscription concerts in Melbourne, and founding Professor of Music at the University of Melbourne. An outspoken Bohemian, his book of poems Hymns ancient and modern (1898) was judged lewd and sacrilegious and led to his severance from the University in 1900. Marshall-Hall was also a composer of over 50 works, including operas, symphonies, overtures, string quartets, and numerous songs. The six extant operas are a representative sample of his creative work, exhibiting strong influence of Wagner and later Puccini, but flawed by the limits of a largely untutored technique. Most interesting is the effect on the composer's creative work of prolonged isolation from and occasional return-visits to Europe.
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ItemInstrumentarium and instrumentation in the north German baroque opera( 1964)The systematic study of orchestral practice and instrumentation in the German Baroque Opera has until now been assigned a relatively insignificant place in biographies of specific composers, or in historical studies of particular centres. Many of these works, while presenting a valuable compilation of the instrumental methode of a particular composer, or of the adoption of his style to meet the conditions of performance which prevailed from one centre to another, do not however supply their readers with a chronogically exhaustive investigation of the role of the orchestra in the baroque theatre, nor of the contribution made by theatre orchestration of the general artistic development of orchestral music as a whole.