Introduction
My name is
Maria Palapanidou and I am a second-year PhD student in Instrumental/Vocal Music
Composition. My research is about structuring music in a three-dimensional
environment with the help of specific software. I draw various curved surfaces,
colourful shapes, and rectangular planes on a virtual three-dimensional space
to visualise musical parameters, such as which instrument will play first,
second etc. or how loud or soft the dynamics will be. This aggregate ‘3D image’
of the shapes and planes is then used as a compositional tool to translate this
image into a traditional musical score.
In Depth…
For me, doing a PhD in Music is a dream come true. I
have always wanted to continue my Music studies to a postgraduate level. In
order to do so, I did a Bachelors Degree in Piano Performance at the University
of Macedonia in Greece, and I completed a Masters Degree in Instrumental/Vocal Music
Composition at the University of Manchester. As my research is led by my own
practice, it is ultimately important to myself as a developing composer and
musician. It focuses on the way I understand time, space, shapes and their
connection, and how I translate them into a piece of music.
However, this 3D tool I am using can have further
applications in education and musical analysis. Three-dimensional
visualisations can be a very helpful when explaining or describing musical terms
such as register (high or low pitches), tempo (how fast or how slow) and form
(the number of different sections and their order). In addition, I am currently
searching how this ‘3D image’ can be used to help people with hearing loss
understand what a piece of music ‘looks like’ without needing to detect
vibrations.
'In this piece, the
performers 'walk' inside a virtual maze and improvise on their instruments
according to the shapes and colours they see on the walls'
Most of my time, as a full-time student, includes
composing music, listening to other composers’ pieces, reading articles
relevant to my research, attending composition workshops and research forums,
and collaborating with other musicians to organise concerts and rehearsals of
my pieces. Being aware of current trends in composition, new instrumental
techniques and new technology, as well as, receiving feedback from the players
are a very important part of a composer’s life.
What is more, as a pianist, I work with other
composers by performing their pieces and giving them feedback on notation and
pianistic techniques. This double identity (composer-performer) allows me to
understand both sides of musical creation, and helps me realise how to use
notation to communicate a complicated thought through the musical symbols with
precision.
'Sketching the four
sections of a string quartet piece (two Violins, one Viola, and one
Violoncello) in three dimensions'
Going Further
My research has a connection to architectonic features
(space, height, structure, surface, material and colours). One of the most important
musicians to establish this field was a Greek composer named Iannis Xenakis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iannis_Xenakis). He worked a lot with computer based music, as well
as literally translating an architectonic sketch into music. Some of his very
characteristic works are:
Introduction
My name is Hannah Burton and I’m currently studying for a
PhD in theology and music. As an undergraduate I studied Music at the
University of Liverpool, and then moved back to Manchester where I completed a
Masters in Religions and Theology. I enjoy the diversity of this subject –
especially in a city such as Manchester where a people from a wide variety of
religious backgrounds live, work, and have an impact upon the city’s culture.
I’m particularly interested in the ways in which people feel they experience
religion, or God, in their lives, and my research tries to understand how music
can enable this experience for individuals.
In Depth
Music plays a prominent and important role in many religions
as part of prayer and worship, and so it seems reasonable to explore how it
might create an experience of and a direct connection with something
transcendent, or God. To do this, it is useful to have a case study of
attitudes toward both religion and music, and examine the similarities and
differences therein. Therefore, my research analyses the writings of several
early nineteenth-century scholars from the fields of theology, philosophy, and
music criticism. Most prominent are FDE Schleiermacher and ETA Hoffmann.
Schleiermacher was a theologian writing at the turn of the
nineteenth century. His ideas about religion were radically new at that time –
he encouraged his readers to concentrate less on religion’s rituals and
doctrine (the in-depth beliefs and ‘rules’ of religion) and to focus instead on
having a religious intuition and feeling. He rejected the idea that having a
great knowledge of religion was key, and argued, on the other hand, that the
essence of religion is being able to perceive, recognise, and feel and presence
of the transcendent (or God) in the world around us. However, because the
transcendent is not of our world, we can never fully reach or understand it.
Nevertheless, Schleiermacher maintains that we must continue to strive to
intuit and feel transcendence by engaging closely with everyday objects and
experience in our lives.
ETA Hoffmann was a theatre director, composer, and music
critic writing at around the same time as Schleiermacher. Some of his
best-known writing about music includes interesting ideas about how music
reveals an ‘unknown realm’ of ‘spirits’ that is outside of our world. Though
music creates a glimpse of this realm, Hoffmann claims that it does not reveal
it completely, and so music’s listeners often feel a sense of ‘yearning’ for
what Hoffmann notably calls ‘transcendence.’
So there are certainly parallels between these two theories
of religion and music! I hope to be able to show, through my research and by
looking at some musical examples, that there are particular features in music
that enable us to experience, intuit, feel, and yearn from, transcendence. I
also hope that this case study might shed some light on how music might
continue to evoke an experience of God and transcendence today, particularly
across different genres and contexts.
Going Further
Some faith communities and organisations blog about their
perspective on the place of music within religion and theology, such as these
examples:
https://www.rca.org/resources/theology-and-place-music-worship
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/theology-of-music-part-one/
To find out more about how music affects us, have a look at
this blog post written by a neuroscientist: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-graziano/why-is-mozart-a-religious_b_875352.html
If you want to know more about studying Religions and
Theology at the University of Manchester, have a look at our department’s
webpage: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/religionstheology
by YPU Admin on September 17, 2015,
. Tags:
Alberto Ginastera, Amadeo Roldán, Astor Piazzolla, audience perception, Bartók, Berio, Birtwistle, composition, culture, dance, Debussy, Dominican Republic, folk music, fusion, history, Humanities, Julio Alberto Hernandez, Latin America, Leo Brouwer, Ligeti, Manchester Camerata, merengue, music, poetry, Psappha, Quatuor Danel, Religion, Research, rhythmic language, salsa, Stravinsky, structure, Tania León, and The Fourth Wall Ensemble
Introduction
My name is José Guillermo Puello.
I grew up in the Dominican Republic where I went to a French school. When I
finished school I came to the UK to study music at university. I recently
graduated with a PhD in Composition from the University of Manchester. My
research focused on the integration of Dominican music and culture with
European contemporary concert music. My thesis consisted of seven original
pieces of music, including works for orchestra, for small chamber ensemble, duets
and trios. I decided to pursue this area because I wanted my music to reflect
my background. As the research progressed, I became interested in how the
audience perceived the music and how I could integrate extra-musical elements
into my music.
When I started my undergraduate
degree, I never thought I was going to do a Master’s degree, let alone a PhD.
It was towards the end of my second year that I started to integrate Dominican
dance music (i.e. merengue) into my compositions. I continued to develop this
throughout my third year and my Master’s. As a result, my style became clearer
and my Masters supervisor suggested that I do the doctorate. These past four
years doing the PhD provided the opportunity to better define what I want my
music to be.
In depth
My doctoral research focused on
integrating Dominican cultural elements into my music, building strong musical
structures and developing my rhythmic language. To this effect, I researched
the music of other Latin American composers, such as Astor Piazzolla, Amadeo
Roldán, Tania León, Julio Alberto Hernandez, Alberto Ginastera and Leo Brouwer,
to evaluate how they incorporated Latin American elements into their music. I
also researched the music of other composers, such as Stravinsky, Birtwistle, Debussy,
Bartók, Berio and Ligeti, to understand how other composers dealt with rhythm,
folk music and the articulation of musical structures.
The act of composing is not just
writing notes on the page but also of listening, studying and problem-solving.
I don’t think I know of any composer that just sits down to write the music in
their head. I always compare composing to an architect designing a building. It
very often starts with a concept/idea that the composer/architect tries to
realise using the techniques they have developed and borrowing/adapting the
ideas and techniques of others.
During my PhD, my research into
Dominican culture mainly influenced the concept of the piece that I was
composing. For example, I wrote an orchestral piece based on a religious ritual
and another based on a Dominican poem. As I read about the Dominican Republic
and its history I realised that the fusion I was creating in my music could be
compared to the melting pot of cultures that shaped Dominican history. The
music, whilst taking inspiration in Dominican music, is closer in style to the
music of European composers (i.e. contemporary classical music) than to
merengue or salsa songs.
One of the most gratifying
aspects of being a composer is writing for and collaborating with other
talented musicians. I have been fortunate enough to have my music performed by
a number of professional and amateur ensembles, including Manchester Camerata,
Psappha, The Fourth Wall Ensemble and Quatuor Danel, in the UK, Europe, Canada,
USA and the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, each new piece brings its own
challenges, which provides the opportunity to keep learning and to keep
imagining new musical possibilities.
Going further
If you would like to know more
about the University of Manchester Music Department and the very active
Manchester University Music Society, you can visit the following websites:
-
http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/music/
-
http://www.mumusicsociety.co.uk
You can visit my website: www.joseguillermopuello.com or listen to my music on soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/jgpuello
Below are some links to pieces
that I have listened to and studied as part of my PhD.
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
The video has a five-minute
introduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq1q6u3mLSM
Piazzolla’s Adios Nonino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTPec8z5vdY
Ligeti’s Trio for Violin, French
Horn and Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQTNEx4P3qU
Juan Luis Guerra Todo tiene su
hora (merengue song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4s_5gfCNhY
Berio’s Sequenza III (for
voice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGovCafPQAE
Birtwistle’s Ritual Fragment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAIKZiXPDRA
Messiaen’s Et exspecto
resurrectionem mortuorum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f4qdJHatNM
Debussy’s La mer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlR9rDJMEiQ
Varèse’s Ionisation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wClwaBuFOJA
Brouwer’s El decameron negro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbcW8X73MBI
by YPU Admin on March 19, 2015,
. Tags:
art, Chile, cinema, Cornerhouse, culture, film, history, Humanities, languages, latin-american, literature, manchester, music, Religion, Research, salsa, Spain, and spanish
Introduction
My name is Nicola and
I’m in the third year of a PhD in Latin American Cultural Studies. I did
A-levels in Spanish, English Literature and History and went on to study
Spanish at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, spending my year abroad in
the north of Chile. After returning to Chile for another year to teach English,
and then doing a Masters in Latin American Cultural Studies at the University
of Manchester, I began my PhD which looks at how members of the British public
engage with Latin American culture in the city of Manchester.
In Depth
The first thing to
point out about studying Spanish (or any language) at university level is that
it’s not just about the language! While your language skills are obviously
important and will be developed, you will also spend lots of time studying
foreign cultures and how other people around the world live and express
themselves. This can involve studying literature, film, music, art, history,
religion and indigenous cultures. And, in the case of Spanish, you don’t just
study Spain, but also Latin America!
After doing my
undergraduate degree and Masters, and living in Chile, I found myself
particularly interested in how Latin America is perceived in Britain. Latin
American culture, such as salsa classes, music, food and films have become
popular in this country over the past couple of decades, yet Latin Americans are
a relatively small immigrant population in the UK and not many people travel
there, although both have started to increase in recent years. My research
therefore investigates how Latin American culture is produced in the city of
Manchester and how members of the public consume it.
My research focuses in
particular on the annual ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival at the
Cornerhouse cinema. I analyse how the film festival is produced, the reasons
why they choose some films over others, why they choose particular images to
publicise the festival. By interviewing members of the audience, I can find out
whether these choices influence the way members of the audience envisage Latin
America, or if there are other factors to be considered, such as how the media
portrays Latin America. My research also investigates what attracts British
people to Latin American culture, especially whether it stems from a
cosmopolitan concern to understand others around the world, something
particular to Latin American culture and/or disenchantment with contemporary
British culture and society.
Going Further
See what you think of the ¡Viva! film festival at
their website: http://www.cornerhouse.org/viva2014?no-redir
For information on studying Spanish, Portuguese and
Latin American Studies at the University of Manchester: http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/splas
For more information on Latin Americans in the UK,
you might like to read this report on the Latin American community in London: http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/docs/research/latinamerican/48637.pdf