Looking Beyond Facile Understandings of ‘Literalness’ in Music–Dance Collaborations: Mark Morris's All Fours

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-146
Author(s):  
Hamish J. Robb
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
The Other ◽  
Compositional Techniques ◽  
Dance Music ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Opposing View ◽  
The One

Notions of ‘visualisation’ or ‘literalness’ in discussions of dance-music collaborations mistakenly imply that dance is able to map completely onto music, and that such dancing says nothing new. Given the complexities involved in meaning formation through gesture, there is an endless number of ways to sympathetically choreograph the same musical phrase, just as there are numerous ways to interpret a single physical gesture. Through an analysis of Mark Morris's All Fours, a choreography set to Bartók's Fourth String Quartet, I offer an opposing view to those detractors of Morris who claim that his work is ‘overly literal’. I argue that Morris's sensitive choreography provides us with the missing link between the characters and emotions projected through Bartók's music on the one hand, and the very precise and less audible compositional techniques on the other. Furthermore, I demonstrate how Morris's carefully planned choreographic choices, repetitive mappings, and gestural tropes (the juxtaposition of two seemingly contradictory gestures) provide the means for highly imaginative and complex narratives, one of which I offer here. Thus, I illustrate how dance gestures that may initially seem to simply ‘mimic’ the music actually perform larger roles in the formation of networks of meaning.

scholarly journals Manchester, RNCM: Robin Holloway's String Quartet, op. 97

Tempo ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (228) ◽  
pp. 64-66
Author(s):  
Edward Venn
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
The Other ◽  
60Th Birthday ◽  
The World ◽  
Initial Inability ◽  
The One ◽  
World Premiere

The world première of Robin Holloway's String Quartet, given by the Endellion Quartet at the RNCM on 13 October 2003, came in the midst of a number of concerts around the country marking the composer's 60th birthday. (Let us not forget, too, Claridge Press's publication of Holloway's writings, also coinciding with this anniversary.) Clever programming between Haydn's quartet op. 76 no. 4 and Brahms's op. 51 no. 2, enabled one to appreciate Holloway's first essay in this genre in the context (on the one hand) of a composer for whom the string quartet was seemingly an effortless medium, and (on the other) of a composer on whom the quartet tradition weighed heavily. For Holloway too, the string quartet proved problematic, and almost unassailable – his highly biographical programme-note revealed an initial inability to engage with ‘this most hallowed of the classic media, with its incomparably rich literature’. This inhibition threatened to stifle work altogether, for it was only a final attempt in August 2003, after three ‘sterile years’ of trying, that Holloway found a way through the problems the string quartet posed him.

scholarly journals The “spirit” of the old communion chants

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Adrian Sîrbu
Keyword(s):  
Reference Point ◽  
The Other ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Compositional Techniques ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Old Masters ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The One ◽  
Spiritual Legacy

Abstract Byzantine music is the chanted prayer of the Orthodox Church left to us as a spiritual legacy by the holy masters of hymnography and hymnology ever since the early centuries. This music serves a precise purpose, i.e. to enhance the mood of prayer and to lift man closer to God. The Holy Liturgy, the mystical centre and the reference point of a man’s entire existence, represents man’s private meeting and communion with Christ, and the moment of this meeting is steeped in an atmosphere of meditation and inwardness created by a series of ample, slow, and vocalization-rich chants, called koinonika. It is a moment of ultimate inner appeasement and preparation. Early composers managed to capture this meditation effect in their koinonika, both through their compositional techniques and, especially, through an inner state of grace. However, in the 19th century, two phenomena became apparent: on the one hand, some of the new composers no longer succeeded in attaining the same ethos as the old masters, and, on the other hand (particularly from Ioan Popescu-Pasărea on), the music tastes of the time caused these ample chants to be replaced with simpler melodies, which, often, were even harmonized. This study has a threefold aim: first, it reasserts the fundamental role played by the koinonikon in the Holy Liturgy, by arguments that underline the ancientness of this practice as well as its survival in other Orthodox areas (such as Mount Athos and Greece). Second, the paper signals the publication, next year, of the first Romanian collection of koinonika signed by Byzantine and post-Byzantine composers (13th-19th centuries). Third, our study aims to show that these ancient chants have a special ethos, representing melodic as well as aesthetic archetypes and, par excellence, the true Classicism of Byzantine melos.

scholarly journals Geographizität des Rechts – ein <i>missing link</i> in der geographischen Theoriebildung?

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-361
Author(s):  
Mathis Stock
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
The Other ◽  
Spatial Turn ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Theory Formation ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Abstract. Law is on the one hand indispensable for the constitution of space, and, on the other, legal orders emerge or develop in specific local situations. Does the question of the law exist in geographical theories and how has it been received? The article raises the issue of a missing link in geographical theorisation: Are the legal dimensions of social spatialities sufficiently considered? This text aims at enriching geographical theory formation through legal dimensions, especially by translating legal studies’ contributions into geographical questions who experience a specific spatial turn. On the one hand, the concept “geographicity of Law” is being developed for this purpose. On the other hand, two examples will be used to illustrate how geographical theory can benefit from legal dimensions: the right to public space and the issue of urbanness.

scholarly journals Cultural Imperialism in Capcom’s Mega Man Series

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-45
Author(s):  
Andrew Schartmann
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Compositional Techniques ◽  
Japanese History ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
The One ◽  
Sound Chip

With its diverse “orchestral” palette and complex forms, the Nintendo NES repertoire stands as a monument to innovation—a creative outpouring driven by a compositional challenge inherent to the NES medium: how to create music that repeats extensively without drawing attention to the fact that it is repeating. In response to this challenge, composers developed ways to create the illusion of variety. On the one hand, they pushed the limits of the 2A03 sound chip by crafting timbral and textural effects to deepen its well of possibilities. On the other hand, they employed modular and layered compositional techniques to simultaneously maximize and disguise repetition. Innovative as they are, these methods capture only a portion of the NES repertoire’s sophisticated makeup. This article moves beyond the details of technique and form to examine NES music from a new angle, one that centers on the impressive network of cultural meanings with which it engages. By treating deviations from normative musical traits as hermeneutic windows, my work draws on Japanese cultural studies, postwar Japanese history, and anime to interpret Capcom’s Mega Man series, and in particular Mega Man 2 (1989), as an allegory of cultural imperialism.

The Quest for an Internal Jus Ad Bellum: International Law’s Missing Link, Mere Distraction, or Pandora’s Box?

2020 ◽  
pp. 169-220
Author(s):  
Tom Ruys
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Other ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Armed Resistance ◽  
The One

In recent years, international law’s supposed “neutrality” toward rebellion has been challenged by authors who have argued for an ad bellum ban on the first resort to hostilities or, conversely, for an exceptional and conditional right of organized armed resistance for non-state actors only. This chapter revisits the proposed “internal jus ad bellum” models. The first section examines whether an additional ad bellum layer is needed in order to restrain government recourse to force against rebels and shares some thoughts as to whether adding an ad bellum prohibition on government recourse to force against rebels is moreover feasible. The second section deals with internal use of force against the state and scrutinizes the proposal to create a broader right of organized armed resistance at the ad bellum level. The concluding section explores the links between the proposed internal jus ad bellum, on the one hand, and the concept of recognition of belligerency and third-state intervention in non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), on the other hand.

scholarly journals How seriously is it with the today's "serious music"?

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-196
Author(s):  
Volker Kalisch
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Compositional Techniques ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
The Core ◽  
New Material ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Relationship

Relevance of the study. Discussion, classification and evaluation of the new in music are still firmly anchored in a centrally work-oriented, historically reflected approach to music. The new «material» qualities brought to bear in the work and are appreciated, on the one hand, and the applied compositional techniques are acknowledged in their distinctiveness and novelty, on the other hand. In fact, such a view stems mainly from the 19th century, and an aesthetic orientation aimed at «autonomy». Although it has repeatedly been questioned, although it has often proved to be unsuitable for dealing with music not oriented to work, it has been maintained and maintained as a “material aesthetic” until the recent past. Main objective of the study. The discussion of the material-aesthetic orientation here, once from a producer (composer), then music-philosophical (Т. Adorno) and recipient (listener) perspective, attempts to point out an alternative by placing the question of «meaning» at the center of attention. The scientific novelty and main findings It not only implements the relationship between means and purpose, but also reverts the intentions of speech realized in music to its own right, but also shifts the compositional use of funds under the «progress aspect» to the level of statement-understandable appropriateness. The research methodology. The essay proceeds with music-historical, aesthetic, sociological and discourse-analytic arguments in the core of a still ongoing musicological discourse, taking into account therefor relevant literature.

scholarly journals Decolonising Terminology – Dance-Music Unity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Egil Bakka
Keyword(s):  
Academic Work ◽  
International Communication ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dance Music ◽  
World Language ◽  
European Languages ◽  
The World ◽  
Concrete Problem ◽  
The One

English has become the world language, which on the one side is a blessing for international communication. On the other side, its dominance tends to make large parts of the world rely on only one language for academic work. This impoverishes the conceptual, expressive and epistemological richness available in all the other languages and makes believe that a translation can bring every concept from one language to another. My aim here is to discuss one concrete problem with a missing concept in English; dance and music as a unity. I will test epistemological arguments; why should we keep dance and music apart and why should we unite them under a new term. I then ask why we do not see concepts from other languages as a resource to improve academic terminology in English and other European languages.

scholarly journals Fair-minded critical thinking: Towards a reconciliation of the self and the other

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-61
Author(s):  
M. Adeyinka Akapo ◽  
◽  
J. Tunde Akande ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Man And Nature ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meaningful Measure

This work examines the role which fair-minded critical thinking can play in the attempt to reconcile the self with the other. It argues that much of the problems encountered in human relations arise from either uncritical thinking or unfair-minded critical thinking. This happens as a result of the enthronement of both the individual and social ego, on account of the weakening of the fair-minded critical thinking faculty on the one hand, and the strengthening of that of the unfair-minded critical thinking, on the other. The overall result of this is the lack of peace and cooperation among men as well as between man and nature. This work, therefore, identifies fair-minded critical thinking as a missing link in previous attempts to reconcile the self with the other and recommends its cultivation as a veritable tool for the achievement of any meaningful measure of success in such attempts at reconciliation. It also shows how much humanity stands to benefit from the conscious and deliberate cultivation of the principles of fair-mindedness in all relations between the self and the other. The work adopts critical analysis in its discourse.

Note on Selection of Coordinate Systems for Geodynamics

1975 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 395-407
Author(s):  
S. Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
The Other ◽  
Coordinate Systems ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The One ◽  
Static Systems ◽  
Selection Of

The first question to be answered, in seeking coordinate systems for geodynamics, is: what is geodynamics? The answer is, of course, that geodynamics is that part of geophysics which is concerned with movements of the Earth, as opposed to geostatics which is the physics of the stationary Earth. But as far as we know, there is no stationary Earth – epur sic monere. So geodynamics is actually coextensive with geophysics, and coordinate systems suitable for the one should be suitable for the other. At the present time, there are not many coordinate systems, if any, that can be identified with a static Earth. Certainly the only coordinate of aeronomic (atmospheric) interest is the height, and this is usually either as geodynamic height or as pressure. In oceanology, the most important coordinate is depth, and this, like heights in the atmosphere, is expressed as metric depth from mean sea level, as geodynamic depth, or as pressure. Only for the earth do we find “static” systems in use, ana even here there is real question as to whether the systems are dynamic or static. So it would seem that our answer to the question, of what kind, of coordinate systems are we seeking, must be that we are looking for the same systems as are used in geophysics, and these systems are dynamic in nature already – that is, their definition involvestime.

Stories and the Self

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Markus Appel
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lower Degree ◽  
Contrast Effects ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Abstract. Two experiments examined the influence of stories on recipients’ self-perceptions. Extending prior theory and research, our focus was on assimilation effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in line with a protagonist’s traits) as well as on contrast effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in contrast to a protagonist’s traits). In Experiment 1 ( N = 113), implicit and explicit conscientiousness were assessed after participants read a story about either a diligent or a negligent student. Moderation analyses showed that highly transported participants and participants with lower counterarguing scores assimilate the depicted traits of a story protagonist, as indicated by explicit, self-reported conscientiousness ratings. Participants, who were more critical toward a story (i.e., higher counterarguing) and with a lower degree of transportation, showed contrast effects. In Experiment 2 ( N = 103), we manipulated transportation and counterarguing, but we could not identify an effect on participants’ self-ascribed level of conscientiousness. A mini meta-analysis across both experiments revealed significant positive overall associations between transportation and counterarguing on the one hand and story-consistent self-reported conscientiousness on the other hand.

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