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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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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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.
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ItemReconstructing clients self-narrative: the role of metaphor and imagery in guided imagery and music( 2013)This study examined the trajectory of therapeutic change over a course of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) sessions. The underlying assumption is that people’s self-narrative becomes embodied during infancy and the developmental years within the context of family and culture, and hence is unconscious. Conceptual metaphor develops as a parallel process as language and thought develop. GIM provides people with a multi-sensorial experience in which programmed classical music acts as the primary catalyst for change. The aim of the study is to evaluate the role that metaphor and imagery play in the process of change as it occurs over a course of 6-8 one and a half hour GIM sessions. Four Caucasian women of middle age, from diverse backgrounds participated. One participant reflected on the role of women in her family of origin, another developed a healthier perception of her body. The third woman used the process to cope with stress and come to terms with the implications of a potentially life-threatening illness, and the fourth participant came to terms with change in her relationship with her adult son. All four participants received 6-8 GIM sessions over a four-month period. Their mental health was examined at the outset to exclude anyone suffering severe emotional distress using the Mental State Examination and Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale. Suitability for GIM was ascertained using the GIM Responsiveness Scale. Written transcripts were taken of each session and the sessions were all recorded. Mandalas, drawn at the end of each GIM session were assessed based on the work of Art Therapist Joan Kellogg. The women were interviewed about their experience at the end of the study timeframe by an independent researcher. The author/clinician was also interviewed at that time. A Qualitative Case Study method was used and participant’s verbal data was coded using the Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS) taken from the Narrative Therapy literature. This allowed the author/clinician to analyse themes and changes in themes as they occurred over the course of the women’s GIM sessions. Key imagery occurring during the music listening phase of the GIM process coincided with changes in participant’s themes. Verbal data was also examined for evidence of participant’s conceptual metaphor and how that related to the process. The results concur with previous GIM studies on the role of metaphor and narrative in the therapeutic process and the function of metaphors of the self in the configuration of a coherent narrative. Client’s use of conceptual metaphor provides insight into their way of being in the world and can assist GIM therapists attain better outcomes. Tracking verbal data using the IMCS provided evidence of unique outcomes in each woman’s self-narrative.
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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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ItemDon Giovanni's avenging women( 2013)A common misconception surrounds the role of the female characters in the opera Don Giovanni, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787 to a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Today’s performance practice often excludes the duet “Per queste tue manine,” between Leporello and Zerlina. This thesis explores the implications of reinstating this important duet and its associated scene as both highlight a significant transfer of dominance from male to female. Its reinclusion sheds new light on the strength of the female characters in Don Giovanni. Issues of domestic violence (Zerlina and Masetto), abandonment (Elvira) and passionate revenge (Anna) are analysed to expose the shortcomings of productions that omit “Per queste tue manine” with its transfer of power from men to the women. These women are not neurotic, forgettable, or dependant. Rather, all possess a strong sense of self and like Giovanni are ambitious. Peter Sellars’s and Jose Montes-Basquer’s productions (both from 1991) offer contrasting dramatic interpretations of femininity in Don Giovanni, and are analysed to propound feminist viewpoints on characterisation. Dramatic intention is discussed as a necessary performance tool which, when applied, aids the understanding of characterisation for an audience. Theatre-great Konstantin Stanislavski’s techniques provide scope for the exploration of feminist characterisation in performance. The words of Aristotle, Sylvia Plath, and Sophocles offer literary connections between powerful femininity, abandonment, and the art of tragedy, which align with the feminist conclusions that are drawn here. The viewpoint of powerful femininity with which this thesis is aligned is that of Susan Gilbert and Sandra Gubar, as outlined in their feminist literary criticism The Mad Woman in the Attic (1979). Gilbert and Gubar advocate that readers and audiences be clearly presented with the influential attitudes of fictional women in literature; a concept that is brought to light in this thesis through an exploration of Elvira’s, Zerlina’s, and Anna’s attitudes and behaviours. Giovanni’s three women creates an immensely powerful feminine unit, which is exhaustively explored throughout the four chapters that comprise the thesis. Through an examination of the musical score, recordings, DVD performances, program notes, and musical and non-musical literature, all supporting the author’s personal engagement with the music of Zerlina, this thesis uncovers the powerful femininity often hidden within the characterisations of Mozart’s operatic creations. In Hebrew, the name Zerlina means ‘beautiful dawn’; Don Giovanni, guided by Zerlina, and when interpreted in the manner suggested, may too head towards its own innovative and beautiful dawn.