G. Ph. Telemann’s Concertos for Four Violins withoutbassocontinuoin the aspect of onomatopoeic and figurative rhetoric

Statement of the problem. In musicology there has long been a tacit belief that Baroque music is the music of rhetoric, rhetorical figures and affects. In Baroque aesthetics, rhetoric, which is an important element of Baroque poetics, is perceived as an integral part of the content of a musical piece that together with form, harmony, counterpoint and musical expression form its integral substance. The study of Baroque music from the perspective of the rhetorical aspect gives a clearer comprehension of the work, understanding the context, and the competent interpretation of the composer’s idea. Analysis of recent research and publication. The theoretical assumptions of this article are based both on historical treatises (M. Praetorius, Ch. Bernhard, J. Mattheson) and authoritative works of researchers who studied theoretical issues of historically informed performance of the late XX – early XXI century (D. Bartel, L. Dreyfus), including relatively new works (M. Zgółka, P. Zawistowski, A. Mocek). M. Zgółka (2016) adopts a rather traditional approach to rhetoric, which operates with rhetorical figures and affects, and at the same time offers an innovative division of rhetoric into three varieties. Referring to the most important treatises L. Dreyfus (2004) makes us think about the relevance of making parallels between oratory and musical rhetoric highlighting common features and differences. A. Mocek’s (2019) view on musical rhetoric and on the studies devoted to it is quite critical. The main objective of the study is to examine G. Ph. Telemann’s Concertos for Four Violins without basso continuo from the perspective of figurative and onomatopoeic rhetoric. The scientific novelty. In this research for the first time, Telemann’s Concertos were analyzed from the perspective of onomatopoeic and figurative rhetoric. The concept of division of rhetoric into three categories (onomatopoeic, figurative, symbolically mystical) was proposed by the Polish violinist and theorist M. Zgółka (2016). The author uses the following methods in this research: historical, typological, comparative and structural-functional analysis. Results. The analysis of four concertos demonstrates that G. Ph. Telemann uses not only figurative type of rhetoric but also onomatopoeic, successfully combining these two categories. In comparison with, for example, A. Vivaldi or H. I. F. von Biber, the palette of sound imitative techniques in the concertos of G. Ph. Telemann is not so diverse and comprehensive, however, elements of onomatopoeic rhetoric can be found both in fast and slow movements: sound of organ or bells as well as sound images of nature. The composer does not refuse from the elements of figurative rhetoric. Like in his duo sonatas, these are mainly represented by figures that describe a melodic motion. Such techniques are often found in polyphonic quick movements. In the lyrical slow movements, similarly to the duo sonatas, harmony, polyphony and intervals are brought to the fore. Conclusions. G. Ph. Telemann’s cycle of Concertos for Four Violins without continuo is an interesting example of chamber music not only in terms of composition but also from the view point of the usage and combination of various types of musical rhetoric. Knowledge of the rhetorical component brings researchers and performers to a new, more comprehensive level of understanding of the composer’s music, allowing us to consider the emotional content not only of the work as a whole, but also of each single intonation.

Folding Mitochondrial-Mediated Cytosolic Proteostasis Into the Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response

Several studies reported that mitochondrial stress induces cytosolic proteostasis. How mitochondrial stress activates proteostasis in the cytosol remains unclear. However, the cross-talk between the mitochondria and cytosolic proteostasis has far reaching implications for treatment of proteopathies including neurodegenerative diseases. This possibility appears within reach since selected drugs have begun to emerge as being able to stimulate mitochondrial-mediated cytosolic proteostasis. In this review, we focus on studies describing how mitochondrial stress activates proteostasis in the cytosol across multiple model organisms. A model is proposed linking mitochondrial-mediated regulation of cytosolic translation, folding capacity, ubiquitination, and proteasome degradation and autophagy as a multi layered control of cytosolic proteostasis that overlaps with the integrated stress response (ISR) and the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt). By analogy to the conductor in an orchestra managing multiple instrumental sections into a dynamically integrated musical piece, the cross-talk between these signaling cascades places the mitochondria as a major conductor of cellular integrity.

Audience facial expressions detected by automated face analysis software reflect emotions in music

An abundance of studies on emotional experiences in response to music have been published over the past decades, however, most have been carried out in controlled laboratory settings and rely on subjective reports. Facial expressions have been occasionally assessed but measured using intrusive methods such as facial electromyography (fEMG). The present study investigated emotional experiences of fifty participants in a live concert. Our aims were to explore whether automated face analysis could detect facial expressions of emotion in a group of people in an ecologically valid listening context, to determine whether emotions expressed by the music predicted specific facial expressions and examine whether facial expressions of emotion could be used to predict subjective ratings of pleasantness and activation. During the concert, participants were filmed and facial expressions were subsequently analyzed with automated face analysis software. Self-report on participants’ subjective experience of pleasantness and activation were collected after the concert for all pieces (two happy, two sad). Our results show that the pieces that expressed sadness resulted in more facial expressions of sadness (compared to happiness), whereas the pieces that expressed happiness resulted in more facial expressions of happiness (compared to sadness). Differences for other facial expression categories (anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and neutral) were not found. Independent of the musical piece or emotion expressed in the music facial expressions of happiness predicted ratings of subjectively felt pleasantness, whilst facial expressions of sadness and disgust predicted low and high ratings of subjectively felt activation, respectively. Together, our results show that non-invasive measurements of audience facial expressions in a naturalistic concert setting are indicative of emotions expressed by the music, and the subjective experiences of the audience members themselves.

Project Metamorphosis: Designing a Dynamic Framework for Converting Musical Compositions into Paintings

The authors present an automated, rule-based system to convert piano compositions into paintings. Using a color-note association scale presented by Edward Maryon in his book Marcotone (1919), which correlates 12-tone scale with 12 hues of the color circle, the authors present a simple approach for extracting colors associated with each note played in a piano composition. The authors also describe the color extraction and art generation process in detail, as well as the process to create ‘moving art,’ which imitates the progression of a musical piece in real time. They share and discuss artworks generated for four famous piano compositions.

Professional training of pianists in Chinese colleges: the specifics of work on a musical piece

The article reveals the methodological features of professional training of pianists in music colleges in China and identifies the specifics of the work of teachers and students on a musical piece. Work on a piece of music is associated with certain difficulties and involves several stages – from reciting from paper to completion in the form of an exam or a concert performance. The final stage can be considered endless; there are no limits to perfection especially when it comes to the learning process. In Chinese music colleges, great attention is paid to students’ mastery of not only rich basic knowledge about music but also solid musical performance skills in accordance with the practice-oriented approach. Work on a musical piece is necessarily divided into several stages at each of which the process of musical training is focused on the repetition of technical exercises and rote memorization. From the point of Western pedagogs, such an approach to training is considered unproductive. However, it corresponds to such national character traits of Chinese people as diligence, hard work, and perseverance. The article explores the effective methods of training ensuring high results in the professional training of pianists in Chinese colleges.

Musical note onset detection based on a spectral sparsity measure

If music is the language of the universe, musical note onsets may be the syllables for this language. Not only do note onsets define the temporal pattern of a musical piece, but their time-frequency characteristics also contain rich information about the identity of the musical instrument producing the notes. Note onset detection (NOD) is the basic component for many music information retrieval tasks and has attracted significant interest in audio signal processing research. In this paper, we propose an NOD method based on a novel feature coined as Normalized Identification of Note Onset based on Spectral Sparsity (NINOS2). The NINOS2 feature can be thought of as a spectral sparsity measure, aiming to exploit the difference in spectral sparsity between the different parts of a musical note. This spectral structure is revealed when focusing on low-magnitude spectral components that are traditionally filtered out when computing note onset features. We present an extensive set of NOD simulation results covering a wide range of instruments, playing styles, and mixing options. The proposed algorithm consistently outperforms the baseline Logarithmic Spectral Flux (LSF) feature for the most difficult group of instruments which are the sustained-strings instruments. It also shows better performance for challenging scenarios including polyphonic music and vibrato performances.

Actualization of song and poetic text features in the texts of “rock” and “pop” genres.

In this article a song, or more specifically, a song-and-poetry text, is presented as a literary musical piece of art displaying a number of distinctive text features. The authors define criteria for distinguishing various text manifestations. As the criteria of the text as a verbal speech product, the authors consider such main features of the text as its semiotic, structural, semantic, functional and communicative characteristics. Song-and-poetry texts of various genres, such as “rock” and “pop” are discussed in the article. They are analyzed in accord with the main features of the text. In the process of analysis, both general and distinctive features of texts of contrasting genres are revealed. By analyzing the samples of the texts belonging to rock and pop, the authors claim that while determining the text type or genre, one criterion is not enough, owing to the versatility of a text. The authors conclude that it is the combination of features of song-and-poetry texts revealed in the analysis of the aspects considered in the article that can serve the instrument for differentiating between song-and-poetry texts of various genres.

Development of Skills of Work on Musical Work at Students-Domrists

Work on a musical piece is associated with certain difficulties and takes place in several stages, from reading from score to completing in the form of an exam or concert performance. The final stage, in principle, can be considered infinite, since there is no limit to perfection in the performing arts, and even more so if we are talking about the educational process. The form of the work, its structure, the character of the themes, identification of the figurative nature of music are directly related to the choice of technical and artistic means of expressiveness. The skills of this work are developed in the class of folk instruments in each lesson, since each work requires an individual approach to its mastery and a unique style of interpretation. An article is devoted to the process of mastering these skills, which gradually describes work on the musical work of students-domrists of music universities.

Cognitive-Emotional Music Listening Paradigm in Professional Music Education

Music education is an important factor of students’ development. The positive effect of music training is evident in all areas, from the intellectual, psychomotor to social and emotional ones, and therefore music classes in the music school should focus both on music making and on experience, understanding and evaluating music, as well as on expressing one’s own ideas, feelings and thoughts. In ear training classes it can be achieved through the area of music listening. Didactical initiatives of the 19th and 20th century contributed to the recognition of the advantages of the auditory approach, while technological innovations allowed the practical application of music listening. Although there are examples that point to fostering the emotional experience in music classes, music listening is still focused on giving assignments of cognitive type and learning about music components. Some exceptions pertain to the application of multimodality in music teaching using both musical and extra-musical areas. The paper is aimed at pointing to the value of the cognitive-emotional music listening and to the possibilities it opens in ear training classes. The cognitive-emotional music listening focuses on experiencing, understanding and appreciation of classical music aimed at shaping students’ worldview and improving their music competences. It can be achieved by the multimodal and interdisciplinary approach to a musical piece. Students learn about the musical-historical context of the emergence of a piece in a given time and circumstances, about the composing approach and the theoretical and harmony features of the work, they develop their musical and critical thinking, make music, and evaluate both music and their own achievements. Repeated listening to a musical piece or excerpts from it, observing and familiarizing with the piece from different perspectives and discussion about the piece and experience after listening make it possible to better understand the piece and its specifics, as well as to discover and improve one’s own self and accept others and the different.

“PAMETHUK PARI” EKSPRESI MUSIKAL RITUAL PETHIK PARI DI DESA SUMBER ASRI KECAMATAN PURWOHARJO KABUPATEN BANYUWANGI JAWA TIMUR

Pamethuk Pari, a Musical Expression of the Pethik Pari Ritual, is a form of music based on the ethnic Banyuwangi music using Angklung Paglak as a performance art. Interest in the existence of this ritual is becoming unknown in society. The phenomenon that occurs in the Pethik Pari ritual is rarely done in Banyuwangi Regency. The concept of art used is a symbolic concept with an arrangement concept that emphasizes new music with Banyuwangi ethnic music media. The initial steps in the process of creating a musical work Pamethuk Pari include 1) observation to determine the possible limitations to be packaged in a musical piece. Observations were made by looking for information that reviewed the Pethik Pari ritual, 2) Search for materials looking for instruments whose sound characters could represent rural nuances, 3) Collection of Materials, 4) Methods and Stages of Material Processing so that the links between the musical instruments could complement one another 5) Technical arrangement of materials by means of instrument exploration. The philosophy of the musical Pamethuk Pari contains guidelines for community life that teach mutual respect, togetherness, and gratitude to God Almighty.