This thesis explores how urban night spaces have been, and how they are currently produced, imagined, experienced, and narrated among the Cabo Verdean migrant community in Rotterdam. The common... Show moreThis thesis explores how urban night spaces have been, and how they are currently produced, imagined, experienced, and narrated among the Cabo Verdean migrant community in Rotterdam. The common thread that runs through this research is music, which is analysed through lyrics, performances, and as an integral part of nightlife. The Netherlands and Rotterdam are sung about or mentioned in many songs by Cabo Verdean artists from different generations. Cabo Verdean music about Rotterdam is distinctive in that it contributes significantly to processes of place-making as it reflects on and generates representations of specific places which were important during the times in which that music was written. It traces places and routes through the city and uncovers daily and nocturnal rhythms, echoing a particular atmosphere. Simultaneously, night spaces were used to mobilize the community politically in times of the independence struggle against Portugal and are still essential in generating a collective sense of self. With Rotterdam continuously developing, the histories of particular Cabo Verdean night spaces are appropriated in contemporary nightlife, as organisers draw on collective memories of historical nightlife events. As such, cultural texts and events not only shape Cabo Verdean life in the city, but they also facilitate the re-memorisation and re-experiencing of diasporic lives in current events and cultural productions. Show less
This doctoral dissertation explores classical music performance from a curatorial perspective, reflecting upon and challenging the traditional configuration of performance environments. Beginning... Show moreThis doctoral dissertation explores classical music performance from a curatorial perspective, reflecting upon and challenging the traditional configuration of performance environments. Beginning with a consideration for the historical origins of absorbed attention and silence as the dominant mode of performing and hearing classical music, the subsequent chapters of this dissertation investigate alternatives to this mode by exploring artistic creations developed during this research. Informed by my combined experience as a curator and performer in the contemporary music field, these artistic creations use what I call ‘metaxical amplification’: the amplification of environmental sounds that are generally considered noise in the context of classical music performances, and that are therefore rarely considered in relation to the artistic experiences generated by these performances. Metaxical amplification proposes a reconfiguration of the performance environment and the ways in which attention unfolds within it. It also challenges a work-centred performance culture, since the performance mode emerging from this form of amplification is oriented towards the sonic exploration of musical environments through these works. More broadly, it propels the development of a practice in which musical interpretation, improvisation, and curatorial thinking are tightly interwoven. Findings are discussed in close dialogue with literature from various fields including sociology, philosophy, media theory, as well as through related examples from the fields of music, theatre, and the visual arts. Show less
Music beats spoken language in identifying individuals uniquely in two disparate communities. In addition to their given names, which conform to the conventions of their languages, speakers of the... Show moreMusic beats spoken language in identifying individuals uniquely in two disparate communities. In addition to their given names, which conform to the conventions of their languages, speakers of the Oyda (Omotic; SW Ethiopia) and Yopno (Finisterre-Huon; NE Papua New Guinea) languages have “name tunes,” short 1–4 s melodies that can be sung or whistled to hail or to identify for other purposes. Linguistic given names, for both communities, are often non-unique: people may be named after ancestors or contemporaries, or bear given names common to multiple individuals. But for both communities, name tunes are generally non-compositional and unique to individuals. This means that each new generation is likely to bring thousands of new name tunes into existence. In both communities, name tunes are produced in a range of contexts, from quotidian summoning and mid-range communication, to ceremonial occasions. In their use of melodies to directly represent individual people, the Oyda and Yopno name tune systems differ from surrogate speech systems elsewhere that either: (a) mimic linguistic forms, or (b) use music to represent a relatively small set of messages. Also, unlike some other musical surrogate speech traditions, the Oyda and Yopno name tune systems continue to be used productively, despite societal changes that have led to declining use in some domains. Show less
Before 1936, musical practices in Palestine relied heavily on colloquial poetry, especially in rural communities, which constituted most of the population. During the first half of the twentieth... Show moreBefore 1936, musical practices in Palestine relied heavily on colloquial poetry, especially in rural communities, which constituted most of the population. During the first half of the twentieth century, Palestinian music evolved as a reflection of the social, cultural, and political evolution of Palestinians. Palestinian music-making evolved exponentially resulting in the expansion of various folk tunes into shaʿbī songs, the creation of the Palestinian qaṣīda song genre, new compositions of instrumental music for traditional and Western music formations, the establishment of choirs and children music programing, and active engagement in composing in the styles of the dominant Egyptian genres of the time as well as muwashshaḥāt.In 1948, the vast majority of Palestinians were displaced, and musicians found themselves at the frontier of implementing new political and cultural visions in the countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Therefore, the continuation of the musical narrative in the West Bank did not seem attainable. By the early 1950s, Palestinian musicians and intellectuals developed a vocabulary that reflected the topography, scenery, culture, dialects, and history of al-Mashriq, one that is independent of Egypt’s. Their input, intuition, experience, and convictions of various Palestinian musicians helped to make the music scene in Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan what they are today. Show less
- Het onderwerp van dit proefschrift is Dans- en Muziekgeneeskunde (Performing Arts Medicine). De nadruk ligt op "relevé": het op de tenen (niet op “spitzen”) staan bij dansers. 30% van de... Show more- Het onderwerp van dit proefschrift is Dans- en Muziekgeneeskunde (Performing Arts Medicine). De nadruk ligt op "relevé": het op de tenen (niet op “spitzen”) staan bij dansers. 30% van de dansers heeft symptomatische hyperpronatie (inrollen van de voeten), die goed reageert op behandeling met harde, orthopaedische steunzolen. In een literatuuronderzoek bleek operatieve behandeling van een pijnlijk en beperkt relevé door inklemming van een stukje bot aan de achterzijde van de enkel (“dansers-hiel”), vaak gecombineerd met een peesontsteking van de buigpees naar de grote teen (“dansers-tendinitis”), effectief en veilig bij dansers. Dit gold zowel voor de open operatie als behandeling via een kijkoperatie. De operatieve behandeling van dansers-hiel en dansers-tendinitis in het Medisch Centrum voor Dansers en Musici (MCDM) via de open techniek gaf in 91% van de gevallen een (veel) beter resultaat. Het direct postoperatieve herstel na een kijkoperatie bleek minder gunstig. De open techniek is dus de gouden standaard. Relevé bij dansers kan ook pijnlijk en beperkt zijn door een doorbloedingsstoornis van het kopje van het tweede middenvoetsbeentje, of een aangeboren, abnormale verbinding tussen twee voetwortelbeentjes, of een extra botje aan de binnenzijde van de voetboog. Alle drie zijn bij adequate behandeling geen reden om te stoppen met dansen. Show less
Calypso, Identity and Social Influence, The Trinidadian Experience seeks to establish links between calypso music and the construction and maintenance of identities, and to locate the genre... Show more Calypso, Identity and Social Influence, The Trinidadian Experience seeks to establish links between calypso music and the construction and maintenance of identities, and to locate the genre as a mechanism or as part of a mechanism that has exerted on-going social influence within Trinidadian society. It chronicles the evolution of calypso music from its emergence in Trinidad, and highlights contingent institutions, peculiar traditions, and salient events that have shaped the socio-political and cultural landscape there during the Colonial and Post-Colonial periods. The study is descriptive and explorative, and follows an interdisciplinary route that integrates historical fact, socio-anthropological philosophy, psychological, musicological, and ethnomusicological thought, and notes from my own ethnographic research. It analyses a large corpus of written material, and audio/visual recordings of music performance and participation in calypso and carnival-related events by practitioners and audiences alike. Show less
Language is a uniquely human trait. All animals have ways to communicate, but these systems do not bear the same complexity as human language. However, this does not mean that all aspects of human... Show moreLanguage is a uniquely human trait. All animals have ways to communicate, but these systems do not bear the same complexity as human language. However, this does not mean that all aspects of human language are specifically human. By studying the language perception abilities of other species, we can discover which parts of language are shared. It are these parts that might have been at the roots of our language evolution. In this thesis I have studied language and music perception in two bird species, zebra finches and budgerigars. For example, zebra finches can perceive the prosodic (intonation) patterns of human language. The budgerigars can learn to discriminate between different abstract (grammar) patterns and generalize these patterns to new sounds. These and other results give us insight in the cognitive abilities that might have been at the very basis of the evolution of human language. Show less
Gheerkin de Hondt may be classified as a fine representative of the large network of singers and composers contributing to one of the most significant periods in the history of music in the Low... Show moreGheerkin de Hondt may be classified as a fine representative of the large network of singers and composers contributing to one of the most significant periods in the history of music in the Low Countries. In this book Véronique Roelvink describes the career of this zangmeeester and composer, who was born in Bruges, probably around 1495. Based on a large number of archival sources, a reconstruction is made of Gheerkin’s daily activities in churches in Delft, Bruges and ’s-Hertogenbosch between 1521 and 1547 and of the status he achieved. The second part of this book provides the first examination of Gheerkin’s Masses, motets, chansons and lied, which proves that he was widely acquainted with the works of his contemporaries, and that he developed his own unique style, making a clear musical setting of texts his own personal trademark. Show less
Pauwels, E.K.J.; Volterrani, D.; Mariani, G.; Kostkiewics, M. 2014
This dissertation examines what network in the human brain is involved in the perception of prosody and whether activity within this network is modulated by the personality trait alexithymia. The... Show moreThis dissertation examines what network in the human brain is involved in the perception of prosody and whether activity within this network is modulated by the personality trait alexithymia. The first four chapters of this dissertation reveal that a bihemispheric network consisting of Heschl__s gyrus, the middle superior temporal gyrus, the posterior superior temporal gyrus and the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus is involved in the perception of emotional prosody. Furthermore, relative right hemispheric specialization for emotional prosody perception can be demonstrated but no hemispheric specialization can be found for linguistic prosody perception. Moreover, hemispheric specialization for emotional prosody perception seems to be driven by hemispheric specialization for non-prosody-specific acoustic dimensions of the speech signal, and not for abstract emotional processing. Additionally, automaticity of processing can be demonstrated for emotional prosody, particularly for anger, but not for emotional music. Last, alexithymia can indeed be demonstrated to modulate activity within the emotional prosody perception network, particularly at relatively early components of the emotional prosody perception pathway. This dissertation is of interest to neurolinguists, (neuro-)phoneticians, psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, comparative biologists and neurologists specialized in aphasia Show less
So-called "extended techniques" have suffered a consistent lack of understanding from a theoretical, historical and practical point of view. Although most of them __ e.g. playing directly on the... Show moreSo-called "extended techniques" have suffered a consistent lack of understanding from a theoretical, historical and practical point of view. Although most of them __ e.g. playing directly on the strings, cluster- and glissando-techniques __ exist in a substantial part of the repertoire for the piano and have done so for more than a couple of centuries now, the use of the techniques on stage still sparks off negative reactions by audiences, composers, performers and tuners as well as owners of pianos. Any one-sided approach towards appreciation has proven to be inadequate: academic analyses do not succeed in handling the matter satisfactorily, endeavors by musicians to teach and advise on the "proper" use of the techniques have come short of applying an in-depth and a historically informed perspective. A comprehensive and exhaustive survey of the extended techniques as a whole can serve to alleviate the risk that the relevant repertoire sinks into oblivion, contributing to a reassessment of the subject, in turn benefitting contemporary professional performance practice, concert programming, composers__ interest and musical as well as music-historical education. The subject and its related terminology are scrutinized and (re)defined where necessary. The acoustical properties of the techniques are explained from the perspective of the performer to ensure proper insight in the way they produce sound. Over 16.000 compositions have been considered to write the history of improper piano playing, comparing manuscripts with first and subsequent editions of solo as well as chamber and concerto music, original compositions as well as transcriptions, from the "classical" as well as the "entertainment" sector. Original preparations collected by John Cage were tracked down and described in minute detail so that alternatives can be considered on the basis of professional information. Historical recordings as well as personal experiences and interviews with composers are used to pinpoint historical performance practices. To help the pianist prepare for concerts with the relevant repertoire, measurements of the internal layout of the most common grand pianos are listed in order to anticipate possible problems in advance. Show less
