Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemMusic and the ordinary listener: music appreciation and the media in England, 1918-1939( 2000)This study examines the nature and impact of the music appreciation movement in England between 1918 and 1939. Protagonists of this movement, notably Percy Scholes and Sir Walford Davies, sought to foster a love of "good" music amongst the listening public, through written and verbal expositions of composers, works and music history. This thesis draws on hitherto untapped archival resources of the British Broadcasting Corporation, Oxford University Press and Percy Scholes' own papers (held in the National Library of Canada). It contextualises the movement both musically and socially, examining diverse efforts to inculcate musical taste. Inexpensive music appreciation books such as Dent's Master Musicians series and Kegan Paul's The Music-Lover’s Library were immensely popular. A case study of the contribution to music appreciation of Oxford University Press, with its Musical Pilgrim series, is followed by an exploration of Percy Scholes' contribution to the popular literature on music. Scholes' Oxford Companion to Music crowned his association with the Press. The public-service policies and programming of the British Broadcasting Company (established in 1923) were of profound importance in the development of music education for the mass public. Programming of the long-running Foundations of Music series is assessed to determine the content of the music appreciation "canon" of works, and BBC publications which supported such programmes are also examined. Percy Scholes and Walford Davies were prominent BBC figures who broadcast to the "ordinary listener" on a regular basis throughout the inter-war period. The nature and impact of educational gramophone records and, perhaps the most striking medium of music appreciation, annotated player piano rolls produced by the Aeolian Company, are similarly explored in detail. Throughout this study, documentary evidence - particularly that of letters from individual listeners - of the reception of these various music appreciation endeavours is incorporated. This facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the place of serious music in the lives of English people during the 1920s and 1930s, restoring the balance in a field of scholarship hitherto focussed narrowly on the achievements of composers during the English Musical Renaissance.
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ItemLineages of Garcia-Marchesi and other traditional Italian vocal pedagogy in Australia, 1850-1950( 2002-09)Operatic and vocal history in Australia has received, since the 1960s, increasing attention from a body of researchers who have documented Australian performance traditions. Pedagogical traditions in Australia have been largely neglected however, and it is hoped that this thesis will contribute to ongoing studies in this area of Australian musical scholarship. Vocal pedagogy in Australia is largely derived from European models, yet many vocal teachers in Australia of the present day have little or no idea of the origins of their technique. After mapping pedagogical lineages of vocal teachers throughout Australia from 1850 to 1950, an attempt has been made to document and analyse the history of vocal pedagogy in Australia, particularly the influence of the vocal technique originating from the teaching of Manuel Garcia and his pupil Mathilde Marchesi, and other teachers trained in traditional Italian vocal technique. The thesis demonstrates that pedagogical lineages have special meaning and relevance in the historical study of vocal pedagogy and performance practice. Although the research maintains as its primary focus, the dissemination and influence of the traditional Italian and Garcia-Marchesi technique in vocal pedagogy in Australia, considerable effort has been undertaken to allow as complex as possible an understanding of the broader vocal pedagogical climate in musical centres of Australia.
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ItemWhere heaven and earth meet : the buklog of the Subanen in Zamboanga Peninsula, Western Mindanao, the Philippines( 2004-02)This thesis examines the music of the Subanen people of the Zamboanga Peninsula in western Mindanao, the Philippines through an investigation of their most important ceremony, the Buklog. Esteemed as the most elaborate and expensive socio-religious festival of the Subanen, the Buklog derives its name from a wooden structure holding the dancing platform called buklog. The Buklog is generally celebrated to propitiate the gods in some specific event in which the entire Subanen community participates. The occasion may be a thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, for healing, or for prestige for a new leader or a home comer. A Buklog may also be held as a memorial for the recent dead to reinstate their souls to heaven or as a fulfilment of a ritual vow or debt to restore order and salvation to creation after natural disasters, calamities and epidemics. The thesis is based on a detailed analysis of a Buklog celebration held in Dampalan, Pagadian City in May 2002. It describes the social life and cosmological ordering principles of Subanen society in general, identifies the common principles underlying the Buklog ritual and the myth expressly associated with it, and relates the sound and social structures and organisation found in the special performative and musical processes in the whole Buklog complex. This study of the Buklog begins by presenting the context of Subanen society. Contained in Chapters 1, 2 and 3, this background bears upon understanding of the Buklog as the aural embodiment of Subanen social and cosmological organisation. Chapter 1 describes the specific concepts that are central to Subanen cosmological system and worldview. Chapter 2 charts the organising principles related to the domains that are considered more practical, real and concrete in Subanen social life and organisation. Chapter 3 explores the relationship between the natural, social and mythical worlds of the Subanen through the general coherence of the symbols and meanings depicted in the Buklog myths and rituals. The analysis that occupies Chapters 4, 5 and 6 elucidates the connections between the structural features of Subanen social and cosmological systems and the contextual-performative framework of the Buklog in which meaningful and material processes are ordered. Chapter 4 focuses on the preparation of the Buklog's sacred implements and ritual space. Chapter 5 illustrates the customary characteristics and the practical sequences of the attendant rituals, and the intentions, effects or transformations for performing them. Chapter 6 analyses the three special performative processes of the Buklog: the Giloy (vocal genre), Gbat (dance), and Guni Gusharan (instrumental genre) and shows the common underlying principles between these genres and Subanen cosmological and social life. Together, the three chapters describe the total performance contexts of an actual Buklog that I witnessed in Dampalan in 2002 by examining the different symbolism and meanings of the various ritual paraphernalia, actions, sounds, visions and use of music in the preparation and performance of these rituals. The final chapter provides the summary and conclusion.
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ItemUnveiling the melodic interval: a phenomenology of the musical element in human consciousness( 2005)This phenomenology begins with an observation of a musical instrument, the piano. The piano is surrounded by an aura of lifelessness, for its sound world is dominated by tone-decay and a calcified intonation system. Therefore, a physically seamless legato rendering of melody is impossible for pianists, and the inflexible symmetry of given intervallic relations enforces a loss of tonal centre when a composer ventures into the intrinsically asymmetrical domain of chromaticism. However, the melodic interval - the element lying between the acoustically sounding pitches - is in essence always inaudible, whatever the instrument. Through the development of listening capacities directed specifically toward unveiling the non-positive musical element in its origin, namely, within human consciousness, it is possible to overcome external instrumental limitations. Human being’s intrinsic musicality is revealed through phenomenological observation of consciousness in its qualitatively differentiated, ordinarily related, temporally unfolding nature. External limitations can have no hold over living melodic expression when the essence of the melodic interval is discovered self-sufficiently within the non-positive dimension of human onticity, that is, within a consciousness in which the potential for clear spiritual cognition lies dormant. ‘Tonicness’ is discovered ultimately to be an inner awareness of self-voicefulness, independent from instrumental and linguistic contingencies; and the piano reveals an historical mission to awaken - from ‘death’ - new cognitive listening faculties. This research employs the spiritual-scientific method of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy, or wisdom of the human being, which involves meditation and the cultivation of sense-independent logic as well as of lucid feeling (as distinct from blinding emotion).
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ItemPercy Grainger's promotion of early music to Australian audiences in 1934: a critical evaluation( 2003)This thesis examines the argument made by Roger Covell in his 1967 Australia's Music in which he stated that Grainger's promotion of unfamiliar music, including early music to the Australian audiences in his 1934 Australian tour had been ineffective. Covell's argument was that Australia, at that time, was a conservative musical society 'that had barely considered the possibility of merit in any music outside the standard European classics' (p. 99). This thesis argues that Grainger's promotion of early music had not been ineffective but had an impact on the Australian audiences. This conclusion is reached after examining the press reception of Grainger's inclusion of early music in his lecture-recitals and orchestral concerts.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2012)The selection of works presented here represents an attempt to refine and give direction to my artistic aesthetic through the exploration and synthesis of some ideas and approaches that have interested me for some years. The works consist of a set of three sonatas and two orchestral movements. (From introduction)
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ItemDe-trivialising music torture as torture-lite( 2012)Music torture is an important interdisciplinary issue in need of great research, particularly in the wake of the events of 11 September 2001. It is an issue that ties into the broader context of torture, a topic of heated debate in the US-led “War on Terror”. Arising from this debate is the concept of “torture-lite”, a term that has emerged within political, social and academic discourse. Although using music as torture is not a new phenomenon, its importance as a research topic is heightened within the current political and social climate sensitive to the ethics of torture. Such sensitivities have resulted in certain interrogation methods, one of which is music torture, being loosely categorised as torture-lite. However, this categorisation is fraught with misconceived ideas on the relationship between sound and body, and mitigates the destructive potential of music torture. Thus, I am arguing that music torture is not torture-lite, as the term “torture-lite” trivialises the severity of music torture and favours the continuation of its use.
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ItemHurdy-gurdy: contemporary destinations( 2012)The aim of this dissertation is to bring the fact of presence of a relatively unknown musical instrument – the hurdy-gurdy – to reader’s attention while focusing on the musicality of the instrument and its constant evolution throughout the history to modern times. The hurdy-gurdy is often considered a musical oddity – a novelty – often misunderstood due to its inaccurate etymology and – oddly enough – suffering a stigma of marginalisation which originated from outdated social class divisions throughout our history of culture. Those who decided to uncover the true past of the instrument often had to confront problems of a logistic or economic nature – e.g. the hurdy-gurdy is not easy to acquire, to build or to purchase. Those conditions though lead to the creation of a special bond with the instrument, which I as a composer, researcher and hurdy-gurdy player, find unique and very rewarding; a bond which I could not successfully form with any popular and widely available musical instrument. While enthusiasm and dedication is necessary to become a competent player, the appreciation of the past of the hurdy-gurdy is very satisfying and inspirational adventure taking aspiring players through the sounds and musical idioms which are not easily found in popular streams originating from past three centuries of popularized tradition. By presenting the current status quo of this instrument, I am aiming at delivering an accessible compendium of information and insight into the plethora of potential musical application for the hurdy-gurdy, – with respect to currently available instruments, performed and recorded music and areas for further experimentation and development. In doing so, I decided to utilise descriptive analyses of samples of existing music representing different artistic approach to the instrument; interviews with selected players and makers and my own personal experience with technical aspects of the hurdy-gurdy. Knowing the instrument without hearing its traditional oeuvre and playing it for the first time without knowing ‘what to play’ is probably one of the most important moments in one’s own discovery of a new world of sounds. While the chronological brief included in this work addresses a wide historical scope, the main objective is to present the hurdy-gurdy as an able and adequate instrument for music students today, amateur and professional performers and enthusiasts alike, as well as for musicologists. The chapters discussing technical solutions allowing the hurdy-gurdy to be adequately incorporated into contemporary styles of music and its idioms require an intermediate level of understanding of musical terminology and physical aspects of sound-production, conductivity of the sound waves and a basic level of knowledge on instrument maintenance and handling. A certain level of knowledge on electrification, amplification, recording and MIDI equipment is advised yet not critical for an understanding of this dissertation. The existing knowledge about the instrument suffers from inadequacies in its scope – historical treaties are lacking musical application for contemporary player and many modern-day enthusiasts of the instrument are often limited in perceiving their instrument as a passable tool for contemporary improvisation and musical experiments. I therefore believe that this dissertation will encapsulate the majority of the aspects of the instrument and shed a wider light on its presence in musical culture.
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ItemIdeals and realities: a study of the life of Franklin Peterson( 2009)The purpose of this thesis is to examine the career of the second Ormond Professor of Music in the University of Melbourne, Franklin Peterson (1861-1914, Professor 1901-1914), to reassess his achievements in light of a fuller knowledge of his career, and to assert his place in the development of music as a professionally-oriented discipline at the University. Peterson is a relatively unknown figure in the history of the University of Melbourne, and perceptions of him have been filtered through the prism of the scandal that accompanied the ejection of his predecessor, George W.L. Marshall-Hall, from the Ormond Chair in 1900. Peterson has been characterised as a conservative and reactionary figure, yet his principal achievement was the introduction of performance studies into the music degree, which was taught through the Conservatorium structure established by the University in 1895. Peterson's career prior to the Ormond Chair has never been adequately investigated, and this thesis clarifies his work at the University of Melbourne in light of a fuller knowledge of his writings, associations and activities during the 1880s and 1890s. Peterson's work at the University of Melbourne has implications for the wider history of the professionalization of musicians because he implemented reforms that made the University one of the first such institutions in the British Empire, if not the world, to offer music degrees that included a test of performance ability in the graduation requirements. This investigation follows a methodology based on Magali Sarfatti Larson's sociological analysis of profession. The key concept in this analysis is ‘cognitive exclusiveness,’ which for the purposes of this thesis consists of four interdependent factors: the definition and organization of a body of specialized knowledge, implementation of structures for transmitting and testing the acquisition of this body of specialized knowledge, participation in professional activities and discourse, and the use of knowledge as a tool of market control. Peterson's formation was cosmopolitan, with studies undertaken in his native Scotland, in Germany, and at the University of Oxford. Peterson's earliest activities show an interest in educational work, commencing with his role as organist at Palmerston Place Church, Edinburgh, and as a founder of the Edinburgh Bach Society. Prior to his appointment in Melbourne, Peterson's writings included a large number of articles for the Monthly Musical Record and publication of textbooks. Peterson's reforms to the structure and content of the music courses at the University of Melbourne reflected his writings and activities during the 1890s. This thesis advances a new interpretation of Peterson's establishment of the Conservatorium Examinations Board, showing how it resulted in the erosion of influence of other bodies of professional authority, including the Musical Society of Victoria and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Peterson's work at the University of Melbourne established a model for music degrees that remains normative in Australia, and was copied by McGill University in Canada in 1910. His achievement in establishing a performance-based music degree, which was adopted throughout Australia, makes him one of the most influential music pedagogues this country has known.
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ItemSilent Spring: eight original music compositions by Mark Clement Pollard( 2012)This folio contains the following eight original music compositions: The Flames, The Tears, The Stones, for percussion duo; Under Simple Stars, for alto flute and electronics; Dusting off Roses for guitar duo; All Fired Up for brass and percussion; Colouring in the Sky, for bass clarinet and orchestra; Beating the Rusty Nail for violin and piano; The Forty-seventh Theorem for piano solo and Silent Spring for full orchestra. These works are a sample of the author’s creative output between 1987 and 2012 and are indicative of the author’s stylistic changes and artistic influences. They are evidence of an eclectic compositional style and representative of works for solo, duo, large ensemble and orchestra. Notably, The Flames, The Tears, The stones (1987) explores the timbre of metal and is based on long serially derived note patterns that move in large cycles. Under Simple Stars (1989) is a free atonal work exploring electronic audio enhancement, the ritual of performance and the nature of melody as pitch and timbre. Dusting off Roses (1995) is based on the cyclic and interlocking processes of Javanese Gamelan and realised within a diatonic environment. All Fired Up (2000) incorporates aspects of the big band sound and the process of firing up a groove. Colouring in the Sky (2003) is influenced by the transforming dot painting process of the indigenous people of the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. The Forty-seventh Theorem (2005) deconstructs aspects of Chopin’s piano Sonata Op 35 (no.2) and rebuilds them through a series, textural, timbral, rhythmic, harmonic and melodic development processes. Beating the Rusty Nail (2006) blends Taiko drumming rhythms and basic funk patterns. Silent Spring (2012) is written to fulfil the Doctor of Music requirement for a new major work. It is inspired by the Rachel Carson book of the same name and is a collection of environmental sound images using five approaches to diatonicism. The folio works have a total duration of approximately 152 minutes and are submitted in three volumes both as notated scores and audio recordings.