Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemHurdy-gurdy: new articulations( 2016)The purpose of this thesis is to expand existing literature concerning the hurdy-gurdy as a contemporary musical instrument. Notably, it addresses the lack of hurdy-gurdy literature in the context of contemporary composition and performance. Research into this subject has been triggered by the author’s experience as a hurdy-gurdy performer and composer and the importance of investigating and documenting the hurdy-gurdy as an instrument capable of performing well outside the idioms of traditional music. This thesis consists of a collection of new works for hurdy-gurdy and investigation of existing literature including reference to the author’s personal experience as a hurdy-gurdy composer and performer. It will catalogue and systematically document a selection of hurdy-gurdy techniques and extended performance techniques, and demonstrate these within the practical context of new music compositions created by the author. This creative work and technique investigation and documentation is a valuable resource for those seeking deeper practical and academic understanding of the hurdy-gurdy within the context of contemporary music making.
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ItemTape paintings: an exercise in stripes, symmetry and the rules of the game( 2016)This project researched the one hundred year history of geometric abstract painting and its origins in utopian ideas and non-representational object-hood.Employing predetermined rules and working methods, commercial and industrial materials, cloth tape was used to create ‘paintings’ that employed stripes and symmetries. The results of this investigation demonstrate these alternative materials and methods can reconfigure and innovate the geometric abstract tradition and contemporary abstract painting.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2016)A portfolio of six original compositions, with a total duration of 56 minutes. The pieces are: things are become new – for mixed sextet (12’) no walls – for bass flute and five strings (5’) elsewhere; everywhere – for seven spatialised violas (15’) threaded through meridians – for mixed sextet (10’30”) estuaries – for Orchestra (6’) interior cities – for chamber orchestra (8’)
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ItemFolio of Compositions( 2016)Folio of compositions comprising of two orchestral works and three chamber works, composed by Michael Bakrnchev.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2014)A folio of compositions including orchestral, choral and solo instrumental works. The music eschews overtly dramatic structures based on narrative, focusing rather on subtle explorations of colour, harmony and mood, with the concision and detailing of miniature forms as a touchstone.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2015)Elliott Hughes completed this folio of compositions including works for orchestra, large jazz ensemble, trombone choir and instrumental duo. A distinct voice is created through a hybridity of contemporary classical and jazz styles, building small (sometimes borrowed) musical fragments back into multiple larger structures, conceived to affect body and mind.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2015)My thesis consists of a folio six musical compositions and subsequent recordings of those compositions amounting to 55 minutes of music. Across my masters candidature I have been focused on developing musical compositions with cohesive and engaging sound worlds and exploring the musical possibilities inherent in placing limits on the compositional process. The folio includes two orchestral pieces for varying orchestral forces, a work for clarinet quartet, a duet for trumpet and trombone, a duet for cello and piano, and a trio for flute, cor anglais and piano.
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ItemPuppy love: understanding identity and emotion through the dog/human bond( 2015)The central research focus is an exploration of identity, my childhood and my mother, told through the story of Irma-Dream, my dog. It examines the symbiotic relationship between dogs and humans; the banality and comforts of home life; and the ubiquity of amateur aesthetics. The works are informed by photography, with varying manifestations including photographic books, videos and images brought together in installation. The studio practice is contextualised with reference to contemporary artists and contemporary research.
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ItemJan Dismas Zelenka's Missa Sancti Spiritus, ZWV 4: a critical edition and study of the manuscript sources( 2015)The rapidly growing interest from both scholars and performers in the music of Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745), a leading Bohemian composer who worked at the court of Dresden in the late Baroque period, is creating an increasing need for reliable scholarly-critical editions of his music. This thesis presents a critical edition of Zelenka’s Missa Sancti Spiritus (ZWV 4), accompanied by a study of the relevant manuscript sources. Part I offers the full score of ZWV 4 in a critical edition for the first time. Part II opens with background information on the work’s place in Zelenka’s output of mass settings, its performance history and the ensembles active at the court of Dresden during the 1720s. This is followed by a detailed study of the surviving manuscripts pertaining to this work. A close codicological and palaeographic analysis of the autograph manuscript reveals a complex compositional history: approximately six years after the first version of the work was composed, Zelenka expanded it into a missa tota and also made numerous revisions to the already existing sections. The study uncovers striking new evidence in the autograph of extensive recopying, rewriting and reorchestration, highlighting the differences between multiple versions of the work and providing new insight into Zelenka’s working methods. An examination of the non-autograph manuscript copies then follows, showing how the work was transmitted from Dresden to Leipzig and Berlin and presenting intriguing evidence of possible performances in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Drawing on the discoveries presented in Part II, Part III of the thesis outlines the general editorial policy and methods employed in the edition. It also provides a critical commentary detailing all significant variant readings and specific editorial emendations. A visual summary of the dating features found in Zelenka’s autograph manuscript of this work is given in the appendix.
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ItemFolio of compositions( 2015)This folio of original music compositions includes 4 new works for: quintet (clarinet and string quartet); song cycle (soprano and instrumental septet), chamber symphony; and solo cello.