Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemA critical edition and exploration of Percy Grainger's The warriors - music to an imaginary ballet( 1996-10)Commissioned by Sir Thomas Beecham for the Ballets Russes, during their London season, but ultimately completed and premiered in the United States, The Warriors - Music to an Imaginary Ballet is Grainger’s most ambitious and experimental orchestral composition. Written in a traditional full score format, by the time it was published ten years later, The Warriors had been altered to conform to Grainger’s unique compressed score layout. The concessions and omissions needed for such a drastic alteration were not true to the composer’s ideas. Along with a comprehensive historical introduction to the work, the notion of the compressed score is placed into the context of Grainger’s own scoring methods, as well as the greater context of avant-garde score layout in the twentieth century. A detailed chronology of The Warriors autograph and printed sources provides a working model of how a ms. study of Grainger’s music may be undertaken. 2 vols. xi +124 pp., 5 illustrations, 45 examples, bibliography, discography, appendices. Full orchestral score and critical commentary, 125pp. (A3), with additional programme note, composer’s analysis, notes to conductors, list of instrumentation and CD recording of edition’s premiere performance.
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ItemFritz Bennicke Hart: an introduction to his life and music( 1993)This thesis presents a broad study of the life, times and creative output of the English born Australian composer Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874-1949) concentrating on the formative period of Australian cultural history in which he lived and contributed. It examines and evaluates Hart's particular personal achievements, relationships with his contemporaries, and his work for various Melbourne and Hawaiian musical institutions. It argues that the creative output of Hart, particularly that associated with the Celtic revival, reveals much about contemporary perceptions of Australian identity and culture. The thesis includes an introductory contextual examination of Hart's music. A comprehensive cross-referenced catalogue of all known manuscript sources of Hart's music, including a detailed description of the manuscript sources of his operas, is included as an Appendix.
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ItemThe title Toward the shining light as an influencing factor on the basic form and structural components in Broadstock's first symphony( 1994)A study of Broadstock's first symphony, Toward the Shining Light directed from an analytical perspective. The composer is greatly inspired by the use of evocative titles, which provide him with images and symbols that can be translated into musical terms. Believing that his music must reflect his own personal social concerns, Broadstock entrusts expression of the most pressing of these to the symphonic genre; a genre he considers profound, and wanting to make some sort of statement. Toward the Shining Light relates both autobiographically and biographically to the birth of his son Matthew in 1983, and the gradual realisation of the severity of the child's handicap. The work is deeply personal and powerfully communicative, reflecting Broadstock's concern for the injustice of human inequality, and his struggle to accept, if not understand his son's condition. Evidence is drawn from the score in support of the contention that Broadstock used the title, together with its extra-musical significance, to influence his choice of basic form; and that this in turn affected the nature of the thematic material employed and associated structural components (namely treatment of large-scale harmonic structure, texture - orchestration and density -, dynamics, tempi, general rhythmic activity, and tessitura).
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ItemThe influences of Alfred Cortot on the performance, teaching and research-editing of piano music from the Romantic era( 1989)Now that Alfred Cortot has been dead for more than a quarter of a century, one may ask: “Wherein lies the justification in studying the work of yet another dead concert pianist?” Many pianists these days dismiss Cortot as having been inaccurate in his later performances, considering him unworthy of serious appraisal in today’s musical climate of so-called ‘technical perfection.’ This dissertation aims to show that Cortot was more than a fine virtuoso pianist who led his audiences into the sublime with his elucidating interpretations. His contributions to music are felt still today, not only within the ‘milieu’ of French piano playing, but widely across the sphere of western music. There is no doubt that people who heard Cortot perform retain special memories of his playing. Those who studied with him retain a great admiration for his work and continue to spread his ideas through their own students. His recordings and publications are still treasured. But what was it that made him so special? We shall, in the course of this dissertation, examine in his piano playing the tonal qualities and colours, the rubato and characteristic rhythmic figurations which singled him out from others. Throughout all his work, however, one of the very significant features was concerned with the balance between intuitive sensitivity and musicality, that is, the emotional content of the art, and a deep intellectual approach not only to the music, but also to the associated cultural, stylistic, historical and technical backgrounds. This was unusual in musicians of his era. These are qualities which are still relevant today. Cortot remained a student all his life, and much of what he discovered is still being passed on. Certainly he is one of the more controversial musicians this century has seen. Revered by some for the uncanny beauty of his piano playing, for his importance as a recording artist, chamber musician, conductor, teacher, collector of music manuscripts, writer of books and articles on music, editor of working editions for piano students, founder of the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris and reformer of the French music education system, he has been otherwise held in notoriety for his alleged collaboration with the Nazi regime in occupied France during the last world war, for artistic licence in his pianistic interpretations, these days deemed by some to be excessive or unstylistic, and for the abundance of technical errors in some of the performances from the later part of his life. The wealth of material concerning Cortot (his recordings, his writings, his collecting and editing activities, the numerous articles, books, references in books and radio programmes concerning him, as well as the wide dissemination of his teaching activities and conducting), justifies an examination of him as a major force in music this century, independent of personal opinion. An indication of his stature is reflected in the fact that, upon the occasion of his death in Lausanne on 15 June 1962 (at the age of 84), extensive obituaries appeared in both The Times and The New York Times, as well as minor reports in other publications such as Newsweeek. The object of this dissertation is not to undertake an exhaustive biographical study of Cortot, since this has already been done in varying detail by several writers (notably his late personal friend and biographer, Bernard Gavoty), but rather, to examine in pianistic terms his contribution in three areas: i) as a performer and interpreter; ii) as a teacher; and iii) as a researcher and editor. Nevertheless, it will be expedient to present in the Introduction a brief overview of Cortot’s life and activities, before considering pianistic details.
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ItemThe first sixty years of music at St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, c. 1887-1947( 1983)The choral foundation of St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne is unique in Australia and one of very few outside the British Isles. The tradition of the Daily Office sung by a professional choir of boys and men has long existed in English cathedrals and collegiate chapels, but the transference of the tradition, even to British colonies in the nineteenth century, was anything but automatic. The revival of English choral music which had followed in the wake of the Oxford Movement earlier in the century must have provided considerable impetus at the time, but musical foundations were less easily set up in new places than maintained in the old ones. St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne was opened for worship on January 22, 1891 with a new organ partly installed, an organist newly arrived from England, and a surpliced choir seated in the chancel. The choral foundation had been conceived as an integral part of the cathedral from the start, for it was the wish of the Chapter that the cathedral use "conform as far as possible to what is understood as cathedral use in England". It is a mark of the confidence of early Melbourne that, before the building was finished, an organist could be appointed and a choir formed, the revenue for which would have to come from general funds not yet available. There were no endowed canonries and no endowments for a choir school. There was also no resident cathedral community, no residential canons, in fact no one who lived on the site at all. The Bishop's palace and the deanery were both some distance away, the precentor lived away and, since the school was not a boarding school, there were no masters living in the close. All of these things were to make the daily choral worship more difficult than in a traditionally appointed cathedral with close and canons houses, deanery and palace and perhaps even accommodation for the lay clerks. Such difficulties were the price to be paid for a new cathedral on a central site in a city area already established. The object of this study is to examine the background to, and early development of, the musical foundation of St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne up to the end of Dr.A.E.Floyd's time there as organist in 1947. The study is based largely on accounts in The Church of England Messenger, a limited number of cathedral records, and two A.B.C. radio broadcasts on A.E.Floyd. These have been supplemented to a small extent with conversations with surviving musical associates of Floyd. A fuller account must await less restricted access to the cathedral records and the availability of Dr. Floyd's papers and library which have recently passed into the hands of his son, Dr. John Floyd, of Mornington. (From Introduction)
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ItemOrchestral, chamber, electronic and visual compositions( 1999)This folio of orchestral, chamber, electronic and visual compositions collectively document a research period based on experiences with performance, free and structured improvisations, technology and visual art practices. The technical and aesthetic diversity of the material arises from opportunities and resources afforded by the research program. Of the many ideas traversed in these works, the principle focus has been towards the use of extended techniques for wind instruments and experiences from live performances. In pursuing these objectives, this research charts multiple performance practices, and diverse compositional techniques through traditional acoustic music to studio electronic soundscapes. Although the ordering of the compositions in this folio suggest that the acoustic works were completed first, many of the electronic compositions were produced in between. Consequently, compositional processes tended to inform each other in complex and often subtle ways. The two orchestral works and the quintet represent instances where extended clarinet techniques have been reconceptulized and orchestrated for larger ensembles. These techniques have also found a place together with traditional styles and intuitive performance experience in the suite for clarinet and piano, the trio and the guitar solo work. The five remaining electroacoustic works represent a rethinking of acoustic sound and performance practices not found in the approaches taken with the traditional acoustic compositions. The studio enabled a focus on issues such as context and space that do not have pre-eminence in the composition phase of traditional instrumental music. This is evident in the fact that the sounds, existing as recordings, could be subject to processing and arrangements in ways that are physically impossible through traditional musical world. The sounds in the computer based context assert a need for a different compositional outlook to that presented in the previous compositions. Finally the inclusion of visual imagery is intended to convey another creative input into the process of each musical work.
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ItemThe Castilian composer Antonio José Martínez Palacios (1902-1936): a biographical study with a catalogue of works( 1995)A study of the Spanish composer Antonio Jose Martinez Palacios (1902-1936), one of the most promising composers, conductors and folklorists of his generation, who was assassinated in Burgos at the outset of the Spanish Civil War. Extensive use of the city's two most important newspapers of the period, the Diario de Burgos and El Castellano, has been made and has provided many new biographical and bibliographical details. These, together with the incorporation of material from unpublished and autobiographical manuscripts, have revealed the extent and significance of Antonio Jose's critical and musicological activity for the first time. Each of the four main periods of Antonio Jose's life is presented in a new light: from his childhood in Burgos and studies in Madrid, to his four-year term as a music teacher in Malaga and his return to Burgos in 1929 to conduct the Orfe6n Burgales. These four periods are discussed in the four sections of the main body of the thesis. Possible reasons for his death, which is now known to have taken place on 8 October, three days earlier than has previously been thought, are explored in the conclusion. A compilation of his writings and interviews, as well as an extensive catalogue of works, complements these findings. 2 volumes, vii + 134, 336pp, bibliography, discography, catalogue of works, collection of texts.
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ItemTeaching the flute to young children using an approach based on the music educational principles of Zoltán Kodály( 1986)Recent developments in flute design have made it possible for children to begin tuition on the flute at the age of six or seven, some three or four years earlier than was previously possible. An examination of the flute teaching methods currently being used in Australia reveals however that existing methods of teaching do not adequately fulfil the musical and psychological needs of such young children. This dissertation sets out to demonstrate that the music educational principles of Hungarian composer, scholar and teacher, Zoltán Kodály, provide an excellent starting point for the development of a method designed specifically to meet the needs of young children. The bulk of this study is an examination of areas of importance to those teaching the flute to young children, and in the penultimate chapter, a Kodály-based flute method is outlined to demonstrate in practical terms how such a method may be structured.
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ItemMusic and physiotherapy: evaluation of a program developed for caregivers of infants and toddlers with cystic fibrosis( 1998)Cystic fibrosis is an inherited pathological condition which can be treated but not cured and is ultimately life threatening. Those affected by cystic fibrosis require daily treatment to minimize the symptoms of the illness and retard the progression of pulmonary deterioration. An important component of the prophylactic therapy regime is chest physiotherapy which enhances the clearance of lung secretions. However, chest physiotherapy is time consuming and not always enjoyable, particularly for infants and toddlers. This study utilized an independent and repeated measures design to evaluate the effect of recorded music as an adjunct to daily routine chest physiotherapy on children's enjoyment, caregivers' enjoyment and caregivers' perception of time taken to complete the routine. Participants were caregivers of one or more children with cystic fibrosis who were aged between 4½ months and 24 months at the commencement of the clinical trial and required chest physiotherapy on a daily basis. The children's cystic fibrosis care was managed by the Department of Thoracic Medicine at the Royal Children's Hospital in Victoria. Participants were randomly allocated into treatment and control groups and were involved in the study for 12 weeks. Participants in the treatment group were given the treatment tape: a specifically compiled music tape consisting of instrumental music and children's songs, newly composed for use as an adjunct to chest physiotherapy. Participants in the control group received no tape for the first 6 weeks, then received their choice from two commercially available, children's audiocassettes) both of which were familiar to the participants. Enjoyment and perception of time were assessed at the commencement of the trial and then twice more at 6-week intervals. After 6 weeks of using the treatment tape, children's and caregivers' enjoyment of chest physiotherapy increased significantly compared to no music. There was no change in perception of time taken to complete the chest physiotherapy after using the treatment tape. Use of the familiar music tape was not associated with significant increases in enjoyment for children or caregivers. Familiar music did not alter the perception of time taken to complete the routine. The results suggest that recorded music is an effective adjunct to daily chest physiotherapy which enhances caregivers' and children's enjoyment, particularly when that music is specifically compiled for use with the physiotherapy.
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ItemPatriotic and nationalistic song in Australia to 1919: a study of the popular sheet music genre( 1988)Since European settlement of Australia, patriotic and nationalistic songs have provided entertainment and given an emotional outlet to the people of Australia. Due to their largely printed form, a significant proportion of these songs is still extant. The songs form a distinct subset of the larger popular song tradition. This thesis documents and analyses all known patriotic and nationalistic songs written and published in sheet music form to the close of World War One. This end date has been determined because it represents a peak in this genre and also signals a radical shift in direction for popular songs with the advent of widespread music recording and broadcasting. Distinct historical events (e.g. the Sudan conflict, Boer War, and First World War) or themes (e.g. military threats, the rising nationalism leading to Federation of Australian colonies) which influenced or inspired songs in this genre will be discussed. Songs are grouped in distinct chronological or thematic samples. The songs are analysed in this thematic context and then treated using more conventional musicological techniques. The often conflicting ideals of patriotism and nationalism are discussed using the songs as a reflection of contemporary opinion.