by | June 13, 2013 · 1:00 am

A sea lion in Boogie Wonderland

 

Until now, vocal mimicry—what we might call the ability to sing along—has been held to be necessary for beat matching in non-human animals; but Ronan, a California sea lion, is helping scientists to determine what actually happens when we get our groove on.

In a series of experiments, Ronan learned to bob to the beats of three different pop and rock songs. To make certain the effect was real, a metronome that skipped beats was added. Ronan kept right on going, and proved capable of handling both novel tempos and complex musical stimuli; in other words, capable of flexible entrainment.

The results challenge current paradigms on the roles of vocal mimicry, spontaneity, and social learning in entrainment, and raise the possibility that the ability to learn beat matching may be widespread in the animal kingdom.

This according to “California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) can keep the beat: Motor entrainment to rhythmic auditory stimuli in a non vocal mimic” by Peter F Cook, Andrew Rouse, Margaret L. Wilson, and Colleen Reichmuth (Journal of comparative psychology 1 April 2013, pp. 7–16.

Below, Ronan gets down to Boogie Wonderland and other pop hits.

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by | June 9, 2013 · 1:00 am

Musical geographies of Central Asia

Academy-of-Maqam

For centuries Central Asia has been a crossroads of civilizations, peoples, and societies, a land in between East and West and a territory contested by political powers. Its modern history—from imperial and Soviet domination to the emergence of independent nation-states—has witnessed a profound transformation of its political and social geography, calling for a re-evaluation of Central Asia as a region, not least in terms of its expressive cultures and music.

Musical geographies of Central Asia presents abstracts and podcasts of papers and performances presented at the conference of the same name that was held at the University of London on 16 through 18 May 2012. This free Internet resource is published by the Agha Khan Development Network and sponsored by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture.

Above, a Tajik šašmaķom ensemble; below, an example of Tuvan höömej, often termed “throat singing” in English.

Related article: Two Rivers: A Journey Through Central Asia (newyorker.com)

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by | June 5, 2013 · 1:00 am

Linked sword dances

sword dance

Also known as hilt-and-point or chain sword dances, linked sword dances have been among the most widespread and dramatic traditional dance styles throughout much of Europe since the Middle Ages.

Distinct from the mock-combat type of sword dance, which is found all over the world, the linked type—in which the dancers are connected to each other by swords and perform figures that are often very complex—is a purely European development.

This according to “The historiography of European linked sword dancing” by Stephen D. Corrsin (Dance research journal XXV/1 [spring 1993] pp. 1-12). Above, a depiction of the Traunstein Schwerttanz from 1606 (click to enlarge); below, rapper dancing from Northumbria.

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by | June 3, 2013 · 1:00 am

The Wonder violin

wonder violin

Although the Conn firm is best known as a maker of brass instruments, it produced violins, violas, and violoncellos for 30 years.

In 1897 Charles Gerard Conn engaged the Italian violin maker William V. Pezzoni to manage the new venture, and advertisements for the Wonder violin appeared even before production began.

Over a period of 18 years, more than 1200 Wonder violins were produced. However, when Carl D. Greenleaf bought the firm, he discovered that they were the slowest selling items in stock. By 1927, the obsolete and unprofitable manufacturing process was phased out and the overstock liquidated; advertisements announced that, due to technological advancements, the Wonder violin could now be sold for only $50.

This according to “C.G. Conn’s Wonder violin: The best violin on earth?” by Margaret Downie Banks (America’s Shrine to Music Museum newsletter XXIV/4 [August 1997] pp. 4–5.

Above, an original Wonder violin with its bow and case; below, a Wonder violin transcription.

Related article: The Hill bow

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by | May 29, 2013 · 1:00 am

The riot at the Rite

Le sacre 1913

Historians have based their explanations for the tumultuous 1913 première of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps on the accounts (none published before 1935) of the participants—Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Nijinsky, and Monteux.

Due to these accounts, for years it has been believed that either the choreography or the revolutionary score was the cause of the riot in the audience, and that the uproar was a spontaneous reaction to the performance.

However, an examination of contemporary newspaper and journal reviews and an understanding of the personal and political characteristics of Sergei Diaghilev reveals that the riot was actually anticipated and encouraged by the management of the Ballets Russes. The earliest reviews published in Paris offer a wealth of material relating to cultural values of the age.

This according to “The riot at the Rite: Not so surprising after all” by Truman C. Bullard, an article included in Essays on music for Charles Warren Fox (Rochester: Eastman School of Music, 1979, pp. 206–211).

Today is the 100th anniversary of Le sacre’s premiere! Above, a photograph from the original Ballets Russes production; below, part of the BBC’s dramatization from 2009.

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by | May 24, 2013 · 1:00 am

Thakur and Mussolini

thakur-mussolini

Near the end of his visit to Rome in 1933, the Hindustānī vocalist Omkarnath Thakur (1887–1968) received an invitation to dine with Mussolini; Il Duce had caught wind of Thakur’s theories and experiments regarding the inducement of emotional states by rāga performances, and he wanted a demonstration.

After a specially prepared vegetarian dinner, Thakur began with hindolam, which depicts valor. “When I was soaring in the high notes of the rāga,” he later recalled, “Mussolini suddenly said ‘Stop!’ I opened my eyes and found that he was sweating heavily. His face was pink and his eyes looked like burning coals. A few minutes later his visage gained normalcy and he said ‘A good experiment.’”

After Thakur brought him to tears with rāga chayanat, which is meant to depict pathos, Mussolini said, after taking some time to recover, “Very valuable and enlightening demonstration about the power of Indian music.”

Il Duce then returned the favor: Producing his violin, he treated Thakur to works by Paganini and Mozart. Again, both agreed on the music’s power to evoke emotion.

“I could not sleep at all the entire night,” the vocalist recalled, “wondering whether the meeting had really taken place; I thought it was a part of a dream.” The next day, two letters from Mussolini arrived—one thanking him and one appointing him as director of a newly formed university department to study the effect of music on the mind (an appointment that he was unable to accept).

This according to “Omkarnath Thakur & Benito Mussolini” by B.K.V. Sastry (Sruti 163 [April 1998] pp. 19–21; RILM Abstracts 1999-26342).

Although the exact date of this meeting is not recorded, we know that it took place in May 1933—80 years ago this month! Below, Thakur performs rāga bhairavi.

Related article: Rāgs and recipes

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by | May 22, 2013 · 1:00 am

The Ring recast

Gotterdammerung new3

Gil Kane’s and Roy Thomas’s graphic novel Richard Wagner’s “The ring of the Nibelung”  (New York: DC Comics, 1997) transforms Wagner’s dramma in musica into dramma in pittura.

Kane’s artwork visually follows Wagner’s musical fabric while retaining the means of expression characteristic of the comic-book format. His images do not autonomously narrate the tale; rather, they double the musical narrative form established by Wagner.

For example, the drama of Die Walküre begins not with the curtain opening on the first scene, but with its instrumental Vorspeil, which depicts the storm through which Siegmund is running. In his graphic version of the opera, Kane begins with four pages of pictures without text, depicting visually the action painted by Wagner’s orchestral score.

This according to “Od glazbene do slikovne drame: Roy Thomasov i Gil Kaneov strip Wagnerova Prstena Nibelunga by Zdravko Blažeković (Hrvatsko slovo: Tjednik za kulturu I/18 [25 August 1995] pp. 22–23).

Today is Wagner’s 200th birthday! Above, the immolation scene and finale from Götterdämmerung (click to enlarge); below, Anne Evans’s legendary performance  at Bayreuth in 1992.

Related article: Operas as graphic novels

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by | May 20, 2013 · 1:00 am

Loïe Fuller’s serpentine success

 

Skirt dancing, involving the dancer’s graceful manipulation of a full skirt, was a widely popular genre in the U.S. when Loïe Fuller premiered her Serpentine dance in 1892.

Fuller’s costume for this dance involved so much fabric that—combined with atmospheric lighting—it almost completely obscured her human form. By shifting the focus from the dancer to the costume, she added a new level of abstraction to the skirt dance genre, prefiguring many of the innovations of modern dance.

The dance was a huge success and was much imitated, prompting Fuller to sue for copyright infringement; but the judge ruled against her, stating that a dance depicting no story, character, or emotion could not be considered a “dramatic composition” protected by the copyright act.

This according to “Loïe Fuller’s Serpentine dance: A discussion of its origins in skirt dancing and creative reconstruction” by Jody Sperling (Proceedings of the Society for Dance History Scholars XXII [1999] pp. 53–56). Below, a hand-colored 1895 film of an unnamed dancer by the Lumière brothers suggests what Fuller’s performance was like.

Related article: Tórtola Valencia and Otherness

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by | May 18, 2013 · 1:00 am

Greek and Roman musical studies

greek & roman musical studies

In early 2013 Brill launched Greek and Roman musical studies, the first specialist periodical in the fields of ancient Greek and Roman music.

The journal will publish papers offering cultural, historical, theoretical, archaeological, iconographical, and other perspectives on music in Classical antiquity, and on its reception in later times (especially the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, but also more recent periods).

The Editorial Board will also consider contributions on music elsewhere in the Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia. Cross-disciplinary approaches are particularly appreciated.

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by | May 16, 2013 · 1:00 am

Early lip-synching

Woody_Herman (1)

Sometime in October 1939 Woody Herman and his band traveled to the Vitaphone Studio in Brooklyn to begin work on a ten-minute film short.

Probably within a week or two they returned with their instruments, but not to play them—this time they were there to mime playing as the recordings from their first session were played back! The film was issued with a phonograph record to be played during projection, creating an early example of what is now called lip-synching.

The producers also added some stock clips of an audience whose formal dress and staid demeanor indicate that they were a world away from any jazz performance.

This according to “Celluloid improvisations: Woody Herman and his orchestra” by Mark Cantor (The IAJRC journal XL/1 [February 2007] pp. 22–30).

Today is Herman’s 100th birthday! Above, a still from the second session; below, Herman leads the band in the finale of the Vitaphone film, King Oliver’s Doctor Jazz.

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