Musicological Explorations, Vol. 10 (2009)
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This issue was first published online, September 11th, 2009.
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Item Critical cosmopolitans commandeer the Parade(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Fehr, NikolasThis essay considers the ways in which the 1917 Ballets Russes production of Parade functioned as a critical commentary on society and the social order. Rebecca L. Walkowitz's writing on "critical cosmopolitanism" (actions characterized by self reflection, aversion to heroic tones of appropriation and progress, and a suspicion of epistemological privilege) frames the discussion. Popular entertainment and avant-garde art, together with the techniques of vertigo, flânerie, and the representation of exoticism and of identity more generally, reveal that Parade's authors (Cocteau, Massine, Picasso, and Satie) constructed a critically cosmopolitan, modernist entity. This adds a further dimension to the understanding of Parade, a work that also figures prominently in the dawning of realist ballet and that led to the first appearance of the term surrealismItem Biographies(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Fehr, Nikolas; Herdman, Jessica; Horvath, Nina; Kattari, KimItem Building Pan-Latino unity in the United States through music: An exploration of commonalities between salsa and reggaeton(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Kattari, KimIn 2004, reggaeton exploded upon the U.S. popular music market with its danceable rhythms and catchy hooks. It quickly cultivated a significant pan-Latino audience in the United States composed of youth from a variety of Latino backgrounds - Puerto Rican, Mexican, Colombian, Dominican, Venezuelan, and more. But this is the not the first time that popular music has fostered a sense of pan-Latino pride in the States. In this article, I trace some of the ways in which reggaeton shares commonalities with salsa's construction of, and engagement with, a pan-Latino U.S. audience in the 1970s. Drawing on an analysis of music, lyrics, and music videos, I argue that both salsa and reggaeton have been specifically designed to reach the widest possible Latino demographic in two significant ways. First, both genres are influenced and composed of a diverse array of musical styles, allowing people from different Latino backgrounds to relate to, and enjoy, the hybrid musical elements. Secondly, both genres feature lyrics that reference issues faced by different Latino communities and explicitly call for the development of pan-Latino unity. This article touches on the relevant ways in which reggaeton has succeeded in fostering a sense of pan-Latino pride by providing a socio-musical community that Latino youth participate in together, highlighting the similarities, rather than the tensions, between different Latino groups in AmericaItem From the editor(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Smith, AnnaliseItem Zarlinian modality in Claude Le Jeune's Dodecacorde(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Herdman, JessicaBeyond the religious-political discourse of Le Jeune's musical publications, current academics regard his work as a key to elements of sixteenth-century compositional practice in the twelve-mode system. Le Jeune was highly regarded among his contemporaries for his modal compositions – a reputation that he purposefully exploited through the publication of modally-organized works. In the current discourse on the theory and practice of mode during the Renaissance, scholars frequently cite Le Jeune's Dodecacorde as an example of the Zarlinian theoretical-practical mixture of modal theory. An explicit analysis of Le Jeune's application of Zarlinian dodecacordal theory, however, has not yet appeared in the academic literature. A comparison of excerpts from the Dodecacorde with polyphonic examples from Zarlino's Institutione will illustrate the specific ways that Le Jeune adapts these modal practices. In attempting such a study, this paper will not only present a perspective on the concreteness of Zarlino's modal conceits, but it will also clarify the degree to which these regulations were practically (i.e., how or whether they could be applied to contemporary composition) or speculatively based.While not examining the broader relevance of Le Jeune's application of the Zarlinian system in his psalm-settings, this paper will initiate the theoretical study of modality in the Dodecacorde in relation to Zarlino's practical-speculative theory. This will hopefully allow for more in-depth forays into this area in the future.Item The "theatre of the ear": Analyzing Berio's musical documentary A-Ronne(Musicological Explorations, 2009) Horvath, NinaIn 1963 Luciano Berio (1925-2003) was introduced to the Italian neo-avant-garde poet Edoardo Sanguineti (b. 1930). Berio and Sanguineti's mutual interest in the study of phonology and the possibility of deriving structural form from the transformation of small vocal units led to collaborations on numerous vocal works, including A-Ronne (1974-75).Berio describes A-Ronne as a "documentary on a poem by Edoardo Sanguineti." In this work, Berio dissects and transforms the text, providing an aural analysis of the poetic material. How does one analyze an analysis? This paper develops an analytical approach for A-Ronne by adapting existing models of analysis for contemporary vocal works. The primary model will be Peter Stacey's doctoral dissertation, Contemporary Tendencies in the Relationship of Music and Text with Special Reference to Pli selon Pli (Boulez) and Laborintus II (Berio. This analysis will focus on the original poetic material, the techniques used to set the text, and how these techniques generate the overall form of the work.Berio also referred to A-Ronne as a "theatre of the ear." Just as the various elements of a theatrical piece (such as staging, actors, scenery, etc.) are synthesized to generate a total sensory experience, Berio dramatized the disparate vocal and textual elements in A-Ronne to generate recognizable situations that combine into a unified whole. The this article aims to demonstrate how Berio's approach both enhances understanding and appreciation of the original text and produces a new theatrical entity.