Postgraduate Research
Bringing new life to music of a past age is a rewarding experience, especially when a composer, more or less completely forgotten, turns out to be responsible for music of considerable historical value and artistic merit.
Andrea Zani (1695-1757) is certainly not a name on everyone's lips, yet the surviving output of instrumental music by this composer who was born in northern Italy at Caselmaggiore, amply rewards closer examination. His violin sonatas and concertos for solo cello suggest an original mind far from satisfied with following the structures and techniques found in the music of his famed contemporary, Antonio Vivaldi.
Working from a microfilm of the only surviving source of the twelve cello concertos, Jill Ward prepared the first-ever modern performing editions of these works and exposed the quality of the music by having four concertos recorded on CD. Thanks to sponsorship from Christopher Marshall.
Those interested in hearing more of this enterprising piece of post-graduate research, can find the recording at CD 03/40 in the audio collection of the University of Canterbury James Hight Library.
(This recording is not available commercially.)
Post-Graduate Research Supervision
Current Doctoral Dissertations in Historical Musicology
Supervisor: Dr. Brian W. Pritchard
YU LEE AN– Ph.D candidate (commenced 2004)
AWARDED CANTERBURY RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP
MUSIC PUBLISHING IN LONDON from 1780 to 1837 as reflected in the catalogues of representative publishing firms
This study documents and analyses the music selling and publishing industry in London from 1780 to the end of the Georgian period as reflected in publishers’ catalogues. Sales catalogues are one of the richest sources of information in studying music publishing of this period.
Catalogues inform us the activities of music publishers, and the role they played in accommodating, influencing, expanding and educating the contemporary musical taste. In addition, they provide documentary evidence to non-extant music, and to works of lesser known composers. Over 1000 different catalogues issued by London music publishing firms from 1780 to 1837 have been gathered from the British Library, Bodleian, and Cambridge University Libraries. They range from single page catalogues which are printed within music publications to stand-alone catalogues of over 160 pages. These catalogues are classified under several categories – Annual Catalogues, Single Composer, Genres (Flute, Harp, Guitar, Vocal French, Vocal Italian, Piano Forte, and Piano Forte Duets), Continental Music, Thematic Catalogues, and Catalogues for Periodical Publications. The emphasis is given on the structure and the make up of each catalogues, such as the changing proportion of foreign vs. domestic composers, and the rise and the decline of genres as observed in the catalogues. Analysis is also done from composers’ perspectives, for example, outlining publishers a particular composer dealt with, and the composer’s main output as represented in the catalogues. Although many publishing firms of this period appear to be short-lived, analysis of catalogues reveals that there are certain continuities within this precarious and sporadic industry. Close examination and comparison of catalogues provide us with wealth of information not only on the publishing practice but also on musical taste and reception of different genres of the time.
JILL WARD – Ph.D candidate (commenced 2005)
AWARDED CANTERBURY DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIP
ANDREA ZANI (1696-1757): the output and critical assessment of a neglected Baroque composer.
Among the numerous eighteenth-century composers of merit whose music remains virtually unknown and unavailable in modern editions, and whose names are absent from the many items of Baroque literature to date, is Andrea Zani (b. Casalmaggiore, 1696-d. Casalmaggiore, 1757). Yet his skill as violinist saw him ranked as a virtuoso, and his compositions were published in Vienna, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as his native Italy. Despite the fact that most of his output is extant and accessible either in manuscripts or early prints in the archives of Europe, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, no thorough study of these works has been made. The scant biographical information available on Zani lies in a succession of brief and lamentably incomplete accounts, traceable to one early nineteenth-century writing. A comprehensive study of Andrea Zani and his music has yet to be made.
The objectives (and thus the structure) of this dissertation are threefold:
- to present a definitive performing edition of Zani’s entire output;
- to provide a stylistic study of Zani’s music which highlights innovations and developments that place him as a significant figure in the move away from baroque to early classical features in music from the late 1720s into the 1740s;
- to compile a biographical account, which though unlikely to be definitive, will substantially augment and correct much of the biographical information that is available.
All three objectives are interdependent. An intensive study of a composer’s style requires that the output is comprehensively defined and presented in critical editions. An incomplete biography may be expanded and illuminated by information found in music sources. Dates of compositions or dates and places of publications, names of dedicatees (and even of specific occasions) are all indicators of avenues of research, and as this is undertaken, isolated facts gradually turn into a widening and yet increasingly tightly-knit network of detail. On the basis of observations of style, allied with a knowledge of the dissemination of compositions, one is led toward an evaluation of spheres of influence of a composer on his contemporaries.
One further element of this research will be a thematic catalogue of Zani’s works. As a comprehensive description of his output, it will provide a stand-alone reference volume for future studies of the man and/or his compositions. More widely, it will assist with the solution of problems of misattributions of compositions among Zani's contemporaries.
PHILIP JANE – Ph.D candidate (commenced 2006)
An historical survey of the establishment of an orchestral tradition within Christchurch to 1939
It is the intention of this study to explore the detail that makes up the history of an orchestral tradition within Christchurch. It will bring together and document the resources that provide this detail, and provide biographies of a number of important persons involved in fostering an orchestral tradition within a period stretching from the early years of settlement through to 1939 and the appearance of a national orchestra. In addition, a study of the repertoire performed will be undertaken to demonstrate that a growing sophisitication in audience taste comes from regular concert presentations, along with increasing technical proficiency by the performing groups and hence higher standards of performance. An appendix of statistical tables will analyse the number of public orchestral concerts present year by year, the make-up iof concert programmes by compositions and by composers.
FRANCIS YAPP – PHD Candidate (commenced 2007)
The development of a French School of Composition for Violoncello in the Eighteenth Century
This study will document and analyze the quest by composers, including Boismortier, Corrette, Barrière, Giraud, Patouart, Guignon, Masse, and Blainville, to create an idiomatic, and distinctively French, style of composition for solo cello. In particular, it will discuss the ways in which composers drew upon and adapted compositional techniques from the French repertoire for viola da gamba and for violin, and from Italian compositions for cello, many of which were popular in Paris. Attention will also be given to Italian cellists resident in France, and French cellists who studied in Italy. Consideration will also be given to the role of the cello in French concert life, and to the publication in Paris of music for solo cello. The aim of the study is to trace the development of a French national style of cello composition, in particular revealing how compositional techniques used in writing for other solo stringed instruments were adapted and extended to maximise the potential of the violoncello as a solo instrument.
Masters thesis:
JUANITA F.M. WALSH “George Frederick Tendall (1845-1901) – a professional musician in late-Victorian Christchurch.” (completed 2004).
Ethnomusicology
Current Doctoral Dissertations in Ethnomusicology
Supervisor: Elaine Dobson
IN SUK LEE – Ph.D candidate (commenced 1999)
AWARDED: CANTERBURY RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP
AWARDED SECOND PRIZE BY THE KOREAN NATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS in the competition for a scholarly work on Korean Traditional Music Education. Insuk’s paper was titled The Meaning Of The Hand Signs in Kagok Education and the Trials To Encourage Their Use. (2002)
AWARDED NZASIA RESEARCH AWARD (2000)
AWARDED THESIS PRIZE FOR NEW FIGURES IN KOREAN MUSICOLOGY BY THE SOCIETY FOR KORESN HISTORICO-MUSICOLOGY (1997)
ASPECTS OF THE TRADITIONAL, KOREAN, VOCAL FORM KAGOK: female kagok singers and the call for a new integrative kagok notation.
Kagok is a genre of highly refined, traditional, Korean, vocal music, which is now endangered and marginalized in contemporary Korean culture. Female kagok signers (kisaeng) have also been ignored in Korean music society. The aim of this study is to preserve and revitalize kagok, in order to conserve its true nature in a contemporary context, and for the future. This thesis is threefold. The first part shows how the aesthetics of the Choso˜n dynasty are fundamental to kagok's history, and female kagok singers' education. Furthermore, existing kagok scores, written in traditional cho˜gganbo notation or in Western staff notation, are examined in this part, and they reveal the need for the creation of a new kagok notation. The second part of the thesis concerns the creation and testing of the New Integrative Kagok Notation, which combines the essentials of cho˜gganbo and Western staff notation, and provides a more effective vehicle for the transmission, transcription and recording of this art form, particularly for inexperienced, contemporary students. The third part is a score in the New Integrative Notation of the sixteen songs of one suite of kagok.
SUMUDITHA SURAWEERA Ph. D Candidate (Commenced 2006)
AWARDED UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIP (2006)
AWARDED FARINA THOMPSON SCHOLARSHIP (2006)
Supervisor: Elaine Dobson
PERFORMERS DON’T WRITE, WRITERS DON’T PERFORM:A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HIGH AND LOW COUNTRY DRUMMING IN SRI LANKA
The aim of this research is to study the long-honoured traditional teaching systems in Sri Lankan drumming with the view of unveiling its hidden aspects. This will be attained by the close association of authentic practitioners of the field and practically learning the range of traditional percussion instruments. These insights will be examined in the light of other published literature on hidden aspects of traditional musical practices of other cultures (e.g., William Malm, 1986). . Fieldwork research conducted in Sri Lanka in close association with some of the most respected artists in this field will be used as resource material
Drumming lessons from renowned teachers provide an insider’s perspective to the performance practice.
Sri Lanka, being an ancient civilisation, is home to a unique traditional drumming culture. These traditions have been passed down orally for centuries. Over the past few decades, globalisation and its effects, such as the introduction of the Western university system in Sri Lanka, have dramatically transformed the teaching environment of these artforms. Some of the important details of the unspoken aspects of such art forms are lost in written scores, and are steadily declining as more focus is placed on gaining academic qualifications.
There is a noticeable lack of previous research carried out in this particular area of Sri Lankan music. As Sheeran states, “Drumming in Sri Lanka also remains a topic of further research...” Three genres of traditional drumming exist on the island of Sri Lanka and they are identified according to their geographical locations; up-country (kandyan or udarata), low-country (pahatharata) and the mid-country, sabaragamu. Although information on the instruments used are well documented, not much work has been done on the teaching and learning aspects of the drumming art form.
Current Masters of Arts in Music (Ethnomusicology) Dissertations
Supervisor: Elaine Dobson
YOGANDRAN RAJATHURAI - Master of Art in Music Candidate (Commenced 2004)
AN INVESTIGATIVE AND DOCUMENTARY STUDY OF MUSIC IN THE MALAYSIAN THAIPUSAM FESTIVAL
Thaipusam, is an annual festival beginning on a full moon day between January 14 and February 14. This festival is celebrated in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and South Africa. It is celebrated by all Hindu castes, from the highest Brahmin to the lowest Dalit.
An important feature of Thaipsam is the kavadi ritual. This follows the myth of Surapadma, the demon, who eventually became Lord Maruga’s honest devotee, Idumban. This conversion is represented by purification ceremonies, around which the festival focuses, and in which participants enter a state of trance, in order to carry out physically demanding feats. Kavadi originates from a Tamil (South Indian) word, kavati. It describes anything that can be suspended on the body (pole, hooks and chains). Today, it is taken to mean a semi-circular structure that is decorated with flowers, peacock feathers and palm leaves. The kavadi is drawn by devotees who have hooks, attached to their skin, with which to pull along the structure. The Brahmin caste, however hook small pails of milk onto their skin instead. The kavadi usually bears a vel (flesh-piercing implement), which represents Lord Maruga’s lance. Devotees who ‘take kavadi’ do so in a higher state of mind or trance. Chanting, music, especially drumming, and incense are used to induce trance.
Focusing mainly on fieldwork undertaken around Thaipusam in Kuala Lumpur, this thesis examines the background of the ceremony, its Hindu connections and the different music associated with each caste. The different drumming patterns, of each caste in particular, are transcribed, analyzed and compared, together with the melodic music of the nadaswarum, the instrument associated with the Brahmin music.
Current Master of Arts in Music (Music Education) Dissertations
Supervisors Roger Buckton and David Sell
VANESSA TSANG Master of Arts in Music (Music Education) Candidate (Commenced 2006)
AN ITEMISED STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCES IN SELECTED MUSICAL TASKS AS REVEALED IN THE 2000 NEMP SCORES, AND OF MUSICAL ACTIVITIES, BOTH IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL, AS REVEALED IN THE 2000 NEMP SURVEY.
This study tests the hypothesis, that there is a link between children’s musical experiences and attitudes, and the effectiveness of their musical performances and abilities, as revealed in their National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) scores. It involves the analysis of video tapes and survey forms and assessment of the results.
Current Master of Music (Performance) Dissertations
Supervisors: Roger Buckton and Jonathan Le Cocq.
SUSAN DE JONG Master of Music (voice performance ) (2007)
THE ART OF LYRIC IMPROVISATION. AN ANALYSIS OF LYRIC IMPROVISATION ON A JAZZ STANDARD, AND THE RHYTHMIC AND MELODIC DEVICES APPLIED.