Reading the Romancero: A journey from the score to the sound with a non-professional choir

This case study focuses on the processes involved in co-constructing an interpretation of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano with a non-professional choir. Rehearsals began in April 2018 and culminated with a performance in June 2018. In order to develop an understanding of the individual and collective processes involved, data were generated through autoethnography and journaling. These texts tracked our regular weekly rehearsals, any extra individual practice, and the performance experience. Seven journals were subsequently compiled and analyzed together with my autoethnography. The findings show that the bulk of the writings focused on technical questions like correctly executing the information contained in the score, with significantly fewer references to other aspects of musical interpretation, such as timbre, or personal reflections regarding our perception of the music and our journey in learning and performing the work. Furthermore, the texts reveal a hierarchical structure within the choir, especially related to perceived levels of musical literacy and/or institutionalized knowledge. In this article, I discuss the various experiences relating to the process of co-constructing a musical interpretation, together with the potential of journaling to develop reflexive, conscious, and inclusive processes of collective musical development within the context of a non-professional choir.

INTERPRETATION OF CHORAL WORK AS A CREATIVE COMPONENT IN THE SYSTEM OF FACTORS OF PERFORMANCE SKILLS OF THE FUTURE TEACHER - MUSICIAN

The article considers the issues of training a future music teacher, substantiates the importance of musical performance in his professional development. The views of scientists on the interpretation of the concepts of "performance", "performing skills" are analyzed. The components that determine the performance skills are highlighted. The meaning of the concepts "creation" and "creativity" is specified, their differences are defined. The phenomenon of interpretation as a type of creative activity is analyzed. Different approaches of music teachers and scholars to the interpretation of the term "interpretive skills", which are manifested in analytical work with musical text, technical and performing skills, artistic taste, the performer's own attitude to the figurative content of a musical work and reflect the level of his creative abilities. The key provisions of the theory and practice of interpretive activity of the future music teacher are indicated. The stages of creation of interpretation of a choral work are singled out and the range of tasks of each stage is defined. Analysis of a musical work is considered as one of the components of interpretation. The focus is on the formation of interpretation skills during individual lessons in the class of choral conducting. Methods and forms of work are proposed to activate the creative thinking of students to expand the musical horizons. It was found that the state of creative search deepens the performer's knowledge of the musical image, forms the skills and abilities of full-fledged work on interpretation. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of reading the musical text, on the development of skills and abilities in the independent analysis of a musical work. The role of personal qualities of the student and own experience in creative process is defined. The peculiarities of the formation of interpretive abilities are characterized, in particular, the sketch study of works as one of the forms of analytical-synthetic activity of the student is singled out. It was found that musical interpretation is a key aspect of the performing activity of a future musician teacher.

Pedagogical and Performing Activities of R. P. Papkova in the Axiological Aspect

The purpose of the paper is to determine aspects of pedagogical and performing activity of R. P. Papkova, which testify to the uniqueness and significance of her creative practice. The methodology. The article uses fundamental, general scientific methods and principles of scientific knowledge, in particular, dialectical, culturological ones, as well as methods of objectivity, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, methods of systemic analysis. The results. The article continues the series of publications (within the framework of the long­term study of the pianistic culture of Kharkiv in the 40­80’s of the XX century), dedicated to the coverage of the creative activity of famous representatives of Kharkiv piano school. The source base of the article was the funds of the State Archives of Kharkiv region, memories of students and followers of R. P. Papkova, as well as personal impressions of the author from communication with the pianist. Based on the study of the creative path of R. P. Papkova the main aspects of her extraordinary pedagogical and performing talent were identified. It is documented that the performing and pedagogical abilities of R. P. Papkova were revealed during her studies at Kharkiv State Conservatory. It was determined that R. P. Papkova was an excellent performer, had an elegant musical taste and high culture of sound, that her playing was striking with special emotionality, depth of immersion in the figurative content of the work, the accuracy of displaying the stylistic features of music, graceful nuances and phrasing. The main aspects of extraordinary pedagogical talent of R. P. Papkova were determined, namely: individual approach to each student; abilities of a psychologist; talent of persuasion; demanding; meticulous attitude to the author’s text, sound quality, accuracy of strokes, pedaling; commitment to the deductive method of working on the work; the ability to have a holistic vision of the performance plan of the work, the desire to fully reveal the idea of the composer. It is proved that the uniqueness of the pianist’s pedagogy influenced the number of her followers who represent Kharkiv Piano School around the world. The topicality. The materials, highlighted in the article, from the funds of the State archive of the Kharkiv region allowed to reveal the unknown facts from the biography of R. P. Popkova. The practical significance. The information contained in the article can be used in lessons of piano, as well as in courses of lectures “History of Music” and “Musical Interpretation”, “History of piano performance”.

In Prototypical Autism, the Genetic Ability to Learn Language Is Triggered by Structured Information, Not Only by Exposure to Oral Language

What does the way that autistic individuals bypass, learn, and eventually master language tell us about humans’ genetically encoded linguistic ability? In this theoretical review, we argue that autistic non-social acquisition of language and autistic savant abilities provide a strong argument for an innate, human-specific orientation towards (and mastery of) complex embedded structures. Autistic non-social language learning may represent a widening of the material processed during development beyond oral language. The structure detection and manipulation and generative production of non-linguistic embedded and chained material (savant abilities in calendar calculation, musical composition, musical interpretation, and three-dimensional drawing) may thus represent an application of such innate mechanisms to non-standard materials. Typical language learning through exposure to the child’s mother tongue may represent but one of many possible achievements of the same capacity. The deviation from typical language development in autism may ultimately allow access to oral language, sometimes in its most elaborate forms, and also explain the possibility of the absence of its development when applied exclusively to non-linguistic structured material. Such an extension of human capacities beyond or in parallel to their usual limits call into question what we consider to be specific or expected in humans and therefore does not necessarily represent a genetic “error”. Regardless of the adaptive success or failure of non-social language learning, it is the duty of science and ethical principles to strive to maintain autism as a human potentiality to further foster our vision of a plural society.

New Dimensions of Musicology of the 21st Century: the Experience in Modelling the Interpretative Theory of Musical Communication

Relevance of the study. The relevance of the topic is associated with the formulation of the basic principles of the theory of musical interpretation in its interpretative dimension. Novelty. The novelty of the research lies in the understanding of musical communication as an interpretative phenomenon. The purpose of the research is to propose a model of the interpretative theory of musical communication for the development of the existing concepts. Methodology. Based on the research in modern humanities (M. Bakhtin, J. Habermas, H. Gumbrecht, S. Zizek, M. McLuhan, E. Levinas, J. Austin, D. Sperber, U. Eco), the theory of musical communication (E. Turner, A. Yakupov, V. Medushevsky, B. Syuta) and the theory of musical interpretation (Jean-Jacques Nathiez, T. Adorno, J. Brele, H. Danuzer, E. Gurenko, N. Korikhalova, V. Medushevsky, V. Moskalenko, L. Shapovalova, A. Samoilenko) a new look at the artistic processes of the 20th and early 21st centuries has been proposed. The main is the modeling method. Results and conclusions. For the development of the classical and relevant theories of communication (the main difference of the first is the recognition as the central element of the system the composition as a code, the essence of the second — the existence as the central element of a “musical-communicative event” and attention to the intentions of the communicants, the context of events, which determines their adequate understanding), the model of the interpretative theory of musical communication, in which both approaches are combined, has been introduced. We have introduced into the conceptual apparatus of musical science the type of Homo Interpretatus, which is the creator of a new modern musical reality and can be designated as a summary image of a person who, in the process of musical activity, manifests the dominance of interpreting thinking (in the unity and variety of the functions “composer — performer — listener — researcher”). The concept of “communication strategy” has been proposed, which is understood as the conscious action of the communicant (the intention directed at the Other in the process of creative communication). The typology of communication strategies has been presented: taking into account the type of creative activity (composing, performing, researching, listening) and based on their different forms of working with the material / text, as well as the focus on perception (in particular, idioethnic, modelling, actualizing, integrating, the strategy of style divergence / convergence, active, passive, total randomness, etc.). Significance. The significance of the results lies in the systematic presentation of the positions of the interpretive theory of musical communication, which opens up prospects for further research on the interpretive processes of the 21st century.

The Process of Musical Interpretation and the Play-Element in Music

The article is devoted to examination of such phenomenon as musical interpretation, which incorporates various aspects of composer’s and performer’s creativity, listener’s perception, different styles of musical art, creative communication in music. The attempt to find the traits of the play-element in the process of musical interpretation may help to define the mechanisms, through which “play” activity in music in general is realized. Systematic approaches of scholars of the play-element and theorists of artistic interpretation present great possibilities to conduct such a research. Examination of theoretical points of view on beforementioned problems allowed to reach a conclusion that the play-element is inherent to the music and is expressed in the process of interpretation. This happens in the framework of the system “composer – performer – sound director – listener”, in which artistic interpretation plays a significant role.

Musical Nuances and the Aesthetic Experience of Popular Music Hooks: Theoretical Considerations and Analytical Approaches

This article discusses the concept of musical nuances from a process-oriented perspective, with a particular emphasis on the aesthetic experience of hooks in Western popular music. First, the text elaborates on the particularities of nuances from the perspective of cognitive psychology. Second, it highlights their importance for musical interpretation, characterization, memorization, and valuation. Third, it critically reflects on analytical approaches to rhythmic and melodic nuances and gets into alternative methods to analyze such microscopic subtleties in the context of musical hooks. Fourth, analytical examples examine nuance-related intricacies in song phrases as processes regarding the aesthetic experience of increasing and decreasing intensity, tension, and motion. Finally, the findings and theoretical considerations are discussed in the broader context of mainstream popular music analysis.