A Multi-Layered Monolith : Beyond the Surface of Loudness in Galina Ustvolskaya's Sixth Piano Sonata

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-165
Author(s):  
Elias Van Dyck

The forbidding harshness of Galina Ustvolskaya's Sixth Piano Sonata can easily be associated with the spiritual and reductively statuesque imagery associated with this composer. Adapting and expanding an initial classification by Andreas Holzer and Tatiana Marković, this article proposes an in-depth analysis of loudness in Ustvolskaya's final piano composition. A detailed overview shows how she uses expanding cluster types, accentuation, and rising intensity to create prolonged dynamic arcs where at first glance dynamic progression appears to be largely flat. I go on to identify three moments of musical climax, all of which seem to articulate the golden ratio for an important subsection of the sonata. Based on these observations, I formulate two contrasting interpretations, one teleologically orientated, the other symmetrical, which show that the Sonata is governed by the tension between two distinct types of formal logic. My analysis uncovers a surprisingly multi-faceted structure, one that belies the austere image of "the composer with the hammer."

Author(s):  
Steven J. R. Ellis

This chapter introduces the topic of retailing in the Roman world and outlines some of the important developments in its study. It establishes why the focus of the book zooms in from retailing in general to the retailing of food and drink in particular; thus from shops to bars. Another aim is to demonstrate the scope of the study, which is an in-depth analysis of specific shops and bars at Pompeii on the one hand, and on the other a broader survey of the retail landscapes of cities throughout the Roman world. Essentially this chapter provides the theoretical and methodological framework for the book, while also arguing for the value of it in the first place.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Michael ◽  
David Luke ◽  
Oliver Robinson

Introduction: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in conscious experience. Increasing trends in its use, as well as new trials administering DMT to patients, indicate the growing importance of a thorough elucidation of the phenomenology the drug may occasion. This is particularly in light of the hyper-real, otherworldly, and often ontologically challenging yet potentially transformative, nature of the experience, not least encounters with apparently non-self social agents. Laboratory studies have been limited by clinical setting and lacking qualitative analyses, while online surveys’ limitations lie in retrospective design, recreational use, and both of which not guaranteeing ‘breakthrough’ experiences. Methods: We report on the first naturalistic field study of DMT use including its qualitative analysis. Screened, healthy, anonymised and experienced DMT users (40-75mg inhaled) were observed during their non-clinical use of the drug at home. Semi-structured interviews using the micro-phenomenological technique were employed immediately after their experience. This paper reports on the thematic analysis of one major domain of the breakthrough experiences elicited; the ‘other’. Thirty-six post-DMT experience interviews with mostly Caucasian (83%) males (8 female) of average 37 years were predominantly inductively coded. Results: Invariably, profound and highly intense experiences occurred. The main overarching category comprised the encounter with other ‘beings’ (94% of reports), with further subordinate themes including the entities’ role, appearance, demeanour, communication and interaction; while the other over-arching category comprised experiences of emerging into other ‘worlds’ (100% of reports), in turn consisting of the scene, the content and quality of the immersive spaces. Discussion: The present study provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of the features of the otherworldly encounter within the breakthrough DMT experience, as well as elaborating on the resonances with both previous DMT studies and other types of extraordinary experiences which also entail entity encounters. These include the alien abduction, folkloric, shamanic and near-death experience. Putative neural mechanisms of these features of the DMT experience and its promise as a psychotherapeutic agent are discussed in light of such findings.


Author(s):  
Jonathan O. Chimakonam

The chapter aims to do two things: 1) a rigorous presentation of philosophy of African logic and 2) to do this from the perspective of Ezumezu (an African) logic. The chapter will proceed by defining the three aspects of Ezumezu logic namely: 1) as a formal system, 2) as methodology, and 3) as a philosophy of African logic. My inquiry in this work primarily is with the philosophy of African logic but it will also cut across formal logic and methodology in addition. In the first section, I will attempt to show how the cultural influence behind the formulation of the principles of African logic justifies such a system as relative on the one hand, and how the cross-cultural applications justify it as universal on the other. I believe that this is where African philosophical assessment of African logic ought to begin because most critics of the idea of African logic agitate that an African system of logic, if it is ever possible, must necessarily lack the tincture of universal applicability. Afterwards, I will narrow my inquiry down to the African philosophy appraisal of African logic with an example of Ezumezu system. This focus is especially critical because it purveys a demonstration of a prototype system of an African logic. In the section on some principles of Ezumezu logic, I will attempt to accomplish the set goal of this chapter by presenting and discussing some principles of Ezumezu logic which I had formulated in earlier works in addition to formulating a few additional ones. The interesting thing to note here is that these principles are/will all (be) articulated from the African background ontology. I will conclude by throwing further light on the merits, nature and promises of an African logic tradition.


1968 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ch. Perelman

That the question what is legal logic should still arise today appears paradoxical, for law is after all one of the oldest of human disciplines and logic has in the twentieth century become one of the most developed of the disciplines of contemporary philosophy. Yet comparison of a number of recent works dealing with the subject, all of which, not being without merit, have enjoyed a measure of success, is enough to show that the problem exists and is even strongly disputed.Of four such works, two—those by E. Levi and K. Engisch—do not use the word “logic” in their titles, though they deal with legal reasoning and legal thought. The other two, on the contrary, expressly purport to deal with legal logic. Strangely enough, however, their authors explicitly deny the specific existence of such a discipline, whereas Levi and Engisch underscore, without any hesitation, the specific nature of legal reasoning and the existence of a particular logic, legal logic.Thus in the first paragraph of his work, where Klug attempts to define the concept of legal logic, he states that it comprises the study of the rules of formal logic as used in the judicial application of rules of law (p. 6); that legal logic is therefore practical logic, consisting of the application to law of the rules of pure or theoretical logic which is general logic (p. 7).


2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Vesterinen

AbstractThe present paper analyses the meaning of Spanish mood in factive contexts from a Cognitive Grammar perspective. It is argued that terms like assertion and presupposition do not explain the semantics of the subjunctive. Rather, they constitute an initial classification for finding a conceptually grounded explanation of it. The hypothesis is put forward that mood choice in factive contexts can be explained by the elaboration of Maldonado's (1995) notions of dominion and control. On the one hand, the conceptualizer has a low degree of effective control over the described event in presupposed contexts where the subjunctive mood occurs. On the other hand, presupposed contexts with the verb in the indicative mood equates with epistemic control over the described event. Thus, it is argued that the meaning of the subjunctive mood is related to the conceptualizer's epistemic dominion, and to the dominion of effective control. An additional analysis of the subjunctive mood in volitional, causative and perceptual contexts corroborates the initial claim.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAIN STANNARD

AbstractThe terms ‘arrest’ and ‘movement’, deployed by Tippett in his Third Symphony (1970–2) as part of what Kemp defines as a ‘dialectic of strong contrasts’, were in fact significant at an earlier stage of the composer’s output. Some ten years previously Arrest and Movement appears as a possible title for his Second Piano Sonata in the pencil manuscript of the work. Tippett’s notebooks further reveal how these two categories determined the formation of two distinct types of temporality in the piece: one halting or stuttering, the other flowing. Art critic Henriette Groenewegen-Frankfort’s book Arrest and Movement: an Essay on Space and Time in the Representational Art of the Ancient Near East, which was published in 1951 and which Tippett is known to have read, uses these terms to explore the relationship between spatial and temporal representation. This prompts investigation of the arrest–movement dialectic in Tippett’s Sonata along analogous lines, analysing structure, balance, and use of quasi-spatial proportions. The two threads converge by means of the criterion of ‘monumentality’, a term Groenewegen-Frankfort uses to describe works of particularly effective balance. While critical evaluation of the Sonata might suggest that this work itself falls short of ‘monumental’ stature, it is arguable that Tippett was able to carry forward lessons learned to works of his later œuvre (such as his Fourth Symphony), which do indeed approach this status.


1955 ◽  
Vol 87 (9) ◽  
pp. 380-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Salt

The application of lethal agents of any kind in entomological research is usually aimed at the determination of mortality as related to such factors as dosage, temperature, and time. Mortality is the yard-stick and survivors merely the fraction that did not die. After an arbitrarily selected interval the experimental material is categorized as dead or alive, with sometimes an intermediate group such as “subnormal” inserted. This third class is often essential, for its members do not properly qualify as dead or alive, terms that imply totality. It is also a nuisance, for several reasons: (1) it blends gradually into the other two categories so that classification itself is subject to errors of judgment; (2) its numerical uncertainty affects the other categories not only at the time of initial classification but also later by the death or total recovery of some of its members; (3) as long as any treatment-effect persists, the situation remains quantitatively incomplete.


2011 ◽  
Vol 361-363 ◽  
pp. 1222-1229
Author(s):  
Wei Mo ◽  
Na Na Wang
Keyword(s):  

This paper attempts to have a in-depth analysis of the characteristics of modern architectural works of the Arata Endo in Changchun which will make a comparison with the other creative architects in China in the same period, in order to excavated the creating new ideas in China and make a comprehensive definition.


Author(s):  
Martin Laliberté

After some in-depth analysis, for instance, of the first Ballade in G minor (1836), Frédéric Chopin’s music reveals itself as a striking case of a musical equilibrium between two major musical tendencies. On the one hand, his music brings the reaching towards an idealised voice to a full and very convincing development. His musical themes sing most of the time while all the main characteristics of his writing explore continuous spaces, to the extent the piano can achieve. He uses many melodic chromaticisms and broad gestures, very voice-like phrasings ranging from the most delicate pianissimi to the extremely dramatic fortissimo, and other vocal features. On the other hand, his music is unavoidably written for a percussion instrument (the piano), makes much use of rhythms and often dances as well, while his accompaniments are thick with vertical features, accents and other percussive traits. In reality, Chopin’s music is in a striking state of equilibrium between the vocal and the percussive and constitutes a rich case of a mixed status between the two poles. Perhaps for one of the last times in Western music, Chopin is precisely at the point of equilibrium, before the rise of the percussive that gave birth to much of the twentieth century’s music. Chopin’s music will remain a true and much beloved monument of equilibrium.


Author(s):  
Aliyu Barau ◽  
Aliyu Sani Wada

AbstractThe urban poor in developing countries is hit hardest by climate-related extreme events such as flooding. Also, informal settlements lacking municipal support and immediate public response to flooding incur losses and thus exacerbate their sufferings. Left out or left alone, the vulnerable people from some parts of the ancient city of Kano develop their own efforts to protect themselves against the recurrent flood events. Hence, this chapter examines the nature of community-driven do-it-yourself (DIY) adaptation The data was collected through field-based surveys, interviews, and questionnaires to enable in-depth analysis of the problem from socioecological point of view. The results identified flood drivers to include the nature of surface topography, torrential rainfalls, lapses, and inadequacies in the availability of drainage infrastructure and human behavioral lapses in drainage management. On the other hand, the DIY adaptation manifests in the use of sandbags, de-siltation of drainage, construction of fences, and drainage diversions. It is important to highlight that DIY adaptation is a good strategy; however, municipal authorities must come to the aid of such communities and revisit the absence of urban planning by supporting them through capacity building to find more effective solutions to the challenges of the changing climate and environment.


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