3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Strauss and Von Hofmansthal's Elektra: the realisation of myth in music(2011-03-28) Thompson, Allan CampbellItem Composition in crisis: case studies in South African art music, 1980 - 2006(2009-09-01T09:43:19Z) Pooley, Thomas, MathewThis dissertation explores a crisis in South African composition through an analysis of the field of art music in the period 1980-2006. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu (1993) and Thomas Kuhn (1970), I argue that the field of composition shifted from an autonomous to a more heteronomous mode of production during this period, and that this shift was embodied in a change of artistic paradigm. In chapter one I show how an ‘autonomous’ paradigm during the 1980s upheld the Eurocentric outlook and value system of apartheid, and how it was replaced in the early 1990s by a more ‘heteronomous’ or ‘cross-cultural’ paradigm. The composer case studies (chapters two to four) show how Kevin Volans, Peter Klatzow, and Hendrik Hofmeyr contributed to aesthetic and social change in the field, especially with regard to the inclusion of African elements. Chapter five is a critique of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra as a ‘Proudly South African’ post-apartheid institution, showing how its programming policy is detrimental to the interests of composers. The Conclusion reflects on the dominated position of the field of composition relative to economic and political imperatives in the field of power, and considers how a prolonged and continued crisis has challenged the very notions of what constitutes artistic value in the field.Item Mythologising music: identity and culture in the Italian prisoner of war camps of South Africa(2009-05-29T12:06:30Z) Somma, Donato AndrewThis thesis investigates the idea of music-making as mode of cultural expression among Italian prisoners of war imprisoned in South Africa during the Second World War. In addition to readings of some of the music performed, there are accounts of the prominence of music as a theme in the mythology generated by the prisoners. Viewing music as a framing mechanism for the narration of experience is central to understanding the resulting group identity of these prisoners. This in turn leads into an examination of the continuing function of the myths as markers of identity; highlighting cultural production as a defining characteristic of Italian South African identity in the present. Through the investigation of various forms of archive, analyses of a variety of non-musical cultural products are included for their ability to articulate some specific Italian cultural values promoted in the mythology.Item Cultural reporting and the production of cultural reviews in selected South African newspapers : A case study of jazz music and musicians(2008-12-10T12:15:58Z) Rule, DarrylArts reporting in the contemporary South African press seems to be in somewhat of a crisis. Although on the surface the “entertainment” and “lifestyle” supplements of the major newspapers seem to be thriving, on closer inspection, it will be found that the journalism is severely lacking in critical analysis, creativity and useful information. This research report will use the reporting of jazz found in the arts supplements of two major newspapers - THISDAY and Mail&Guardian - to investigate the production of cultural reporting, and to question the kind of messages and representations the print media is sending out to the public concerning arts and culture. The research will show that economic pressures from both media owners and advertisers for profit maximisation are having a detrimental effect, and that the print media is taking a passive role in the production of arts reporting, leading to a media that is formulaic, gossip- and celebrity-news driven, and essentially uncritical.Item Ravel's Miroirs: text and context(2008-04-21T11:25:48Z) Murdoch, Heloise MarieAbstract This research report examines Maurice Ravel’s piano pieces, Miroirs (1905), as texts. These five piano pieces draw on a wide range of sources and conventions across nearly two centuries and yet are utterly integrated in their expression. In the Miroirs, Ravel exhibits a fascinating meshing of historical and contemporary influences that range from Mozart to Chabrier and Fauré. The pieces are also interestingly and very personally related to their cultural and social contexts, in that each individual piece was dedicated to a member of the Apaches, a group of young artists and intellectuals residing in Paris of whom Ravel was himself one. The research examines the significance of the Miroirs both within Ravel’s own and the broader twentieth-century repertoire.Item The effect of music on submaximal cycling(2006-11-01T10:47:46Z) Schie, Nicola AlisonINTRODUCTION: Athletes frequently report training to music yet there have been relatively few studies that have addressed the benefit of exercising with music. PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of popular music on submaximal cycling. METHOD: Volunteer men and women (N=30), aged between 18 and 40 years, underwent an initial familiarisation session. Part of this session involved the measurement of maximal oxygen consumption (V02max). This was then followed by two twenty-minute submaximal cycling sessions, both at 80% of maximal oxygen consumption. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups. Group A cycled without any music and Group B cycled with music for the first submaximal cycling session. A few days later the subjects underwent the same testing procedure, however this time group A cycled to music and group B cycled without music. Subjects served as their own control. During the submaximal procedure heart rate, Borg Scale and lactate responses were assessed. Subjects completed a post-test questionnaire once both submaximal cycling sessions were completed. The differences between the sessions with and without music with respect to heart rate, Borg Scale and change in lactate were analysed using an appropriate analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the two-period crossover design adjusting for relevant baselines. Testing was set at the 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: It was found that listening to music, while cycling, resulted in no significant changes in physiological variables (change in lactate concentration and heart rate). The average, as well as the instantaneous two-minute intervals of the 10-point Borg scale also yielded no significant difference. However, 66.7% of the subjects, according to the post-test questionnaire, perceived the cycling session with music to be easier than the session without music. CONCLUSION: Listening to music, while cycling, may allow individuals to alter their overall, subjective perception of cycling. According to the post-test questionnaire, subjects perceived their overall experience of cycling with music to be easier than cycling without music. This could suggest that cycling to music could act as a positive distracter and motivating force that could thereby increase adherence to training, allowing the cyclist to train longer and harder and thus in the long run perform better in races. However, from a physiological viewpoint, listening to music, while performing submaximal cycling, resulted in no physiological benefit.Item Identifying Musical Worship at The New Harvest Christian Fellowship(2006-04-21) Smith, Christy MirandaCharismatic non-denominational churches draw their members from a variety of religious traditions and cultural backgrounds. Presencing self with God, and community with God, is a central devotional activity in these churches. ‘Worship’ is the name given to this activity and music is one of the most common mediums through which it is expressed. Marshall McCluhan famously stated that ‘the medium is the message’ and music, being the medium in this case, communicates and facilitates many coded messages in the communal setting of a service. However, in a multi- generational, multi-cultural, and multi-denominational setting, the messages are not the same for all people. The histories of the songs mix unevenly with the histories of the individual singers, sparking multiple circuits of meaning amongst the people. The music both foments disagreements over what kind of music should be used to express the various aspects of worship, and unites the community in ecstatic encounters with the divine. Only by closely investigating the histories that constitute the conscious identities of the participant worshippers can one illuminate more clearly the similarities and differences in musical meaning systems that individuals contribute to identifying their community’s worship. The New Harvest Christian Fellowship (NHCF) is a non-denominational church that was established in October 2000 in a fast-developing western suburb of Johannesburg. The church has drawn in people from Methodist, Anglican, Dutch Reformed, Catholic, African Pentecostal, Vineyard, and other independent churches. As these people have gathered together in a warehouse, and later a school hall, to hold their services, many of them have been exposed to new worship sounds and spaces that are gradually redefining their worship experie nces. What constitutes a worship experience? How are worship identities forged and then redefined? How does music feature in both of these questions? These are some of the issues this study explores in order to understand better the role of music in the culturally complex Christian communities that are emerging throughout South Africa.Item Stepan Rak’s “Tracy”(1994): A Transcription and Commentary(2006-03-13) Khota, RezaThe Czech guitarist and composer Stepan Rak (b.1945) has produced major works for the guitar, many of which stretch the boundaries of guitar technique and composition in new directions. This research report provides a musical transcription of one of Rak’s most ambitious pieces, Tracy (1994), based on the cyclone of that name which devastated the town of Darwin, Australia on Christmas Eve 1974. Rak uses rasgueado and tremolo techniques exclusively in Tracy. This report also contextualises the composition in terms of Rak’s life and musical output, and provides a detailed description on the execution of these techniques and a general analysis of the pieces technical, formal and compositional characteristics.