（2023年12月）《亚欧音乐研究》英文期刊丨2023年两期（第11、12期）目录

Abstract

The Azerbaijani mugham is a traditional musical form, a pearl of Azerbaijani culture, proclaimed by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2003 and inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. For the Museum of Musical Culture of Azerbaijan, I represent that everything related to mugham (its music and sound recordings, musical instruments, testimonies of mugham performers, and studies of mugham) is of great interest. Of the more than 60,000 items in the museum's collection, the phono archive comprises approximately 3,000 items, of which the earliest audio recordings of mugham from the first decades of the 20th century are an important part. All the witnesses of the mugham’s history are valuable to the public.

Abstract

In course of researching the teaching of European musical instruments used in the Asian context, we need to remember basic issues. Trombone is an instrument that requires precise command of breath control and oral movement. Various methods of improving these key skills for trombonists have been carefully crafted, such as etudes, method books, and exercises, which greatly benefit trombone students. However, these methods are either difficult to acquire or unavailable in Thailand. Most method books are mainly written in English or for-eign languages, creating a language barrier for Thai trombone students who are not well-versed in these foreign languages. Thus, the practice of teaching oral movement to trombone students is still lacking in Thailand. This results in obstacles for Thai trombonists to play certain classic pieces with a wide range, which requires a high level of both breath control and oral movement. This study aims to (a) create exercises to connect all ranges from low to high register in one breath by incorporating the use of Thai vowels to teach breath control and oral movement to music students who major in trombone in their bachelor degree and (b) determine the efficacy of the exercises. The exercises use the selected section of T-Bone Concerto by Johan de Meij as a case study for pre- and post-tests. The exercises prove to be efficient in increasing the students’ performance. Therefore, the exercises would benefit trombonists of all levels. Furthermore, the Thai vowels concept can also be adapted to be used as exercises for trombone students of all levels of experience and for other brass instruments.

Abstract

Colonialization by the Dutch in Java (Indonesia) brought a dream for the natives so that traditional gamelan music could be positioned on par with European classical music. The natives (colonized) view Western classical music as having the highest peak of aesthetic achievement because it is written, formal, successfully formulated, calculated (metronomic), and relies on logic. Meanwhile, gamelan music, on the other hand, develops informally, unwritten, and undefined and depends on the deepest feelings of the musicians. Efforts to equate gamelan with Western music are full of political interests so that Indonesia is not colonized through its culture. The culmination was establishing a formal gamelan school (imitating a similar style of music school in Europe). However, this brought another problem, and the gamelan school resulted in gamelan music having to be written, formulated, calculated, and formalized. This has changed the aesthetics and character of European-style gamelan music, from the felt piece (felt time) to the logical piece (clock time). As a result, in gamelan music, "academic art" was born with a neat, complex impression and supposedly modern characteristics. This study uses a historical approach to read past events as data that are woven and interpreted in the present. This historical approach is combined with an ethnomusicological approach to see how music is contextualized with cultural polemics, political intrigue, and means of resistance to colonialism. The result is that critical notes regarding the efforts to Europeanize gamelan music have left many problems until now.

Abstract

This study focuses on a contemporary art work called Mediasi Ukiran – Tenunan VIII for String Quartet composed by Tazul Izan Tajuddin. The researcher highlights the concept of Islamic art, technique in the content, technique in the form, and the meaning of an ‘arabesque’. Compositional techniques were discussed in terms of: (1) pattern-based technique; (2) weaving as the concept of combining pitch and rhythm; and (3) a non-pitch-based concept of sound. The discussion includes the concept of geometrical design, which is reflected in the compositional structure. The weaving concept used in the music piece regards pitch and rhythm, and the concept of sound integrates pitches and non-pitches in the work. There are two main sources of contemporary art music in this study, which are Indo-Malay in ethnic essence and Islamic architectural and geometrical art. Mediasi Ukiran – Tenunan VIII is written for classical instruments specifically for a string quartet. The work highlights the beauty of sound, composition, organization of musical elements, and the uniqueness of the music structure. Notation are arranged from combinations of Eastern and Western ideas jointly creating a rather rarely appearing effect.

Abstract

In this paper on musical instruments in the cultural life of the Xơ Đăng people in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, the author conducts an in-depth study of musical instruments in the social life of the Cadong people, a sub-ethnic group of the Xơ Đăng, who have long settled in the eastern foothills of the Trường Sơn mountain range in the northwest of Quang Ngai province, Vietnam. The paper will systematically present issues related to the Xơ Đăng’s chordophones, including classification, material, structure, and crafting methods; playing techniques; performance environments and instrument features; and the system of compositions of the Xơ Đăng’s chordophones as well (V'roac, Goong, Kani, and Rauôt). This study was conducted some time ago based on the results of the author's survey and fieldwork in the following Xơ Đăng villages: Sơn Bua, Sơn Tân, Sơn Mua, Sơn Dung (in Sơn Tây district), Tra Kem, and Tra Xinh (in Tây Tra district) of the Quang Ngai province.

Abstract

This study presents a very small community within the Sinhalese context of Sri Lanka in light of academic interest: the Kaffirs. Their communal history reaches far back into colonial times, and they did not distinguish clearly from which territories in Africa these Kaffirs, an expression introduced by Portuguese rulers for slaves and servants brought to Sri Lanka from African shores, came and how they identify. Currently, Kaffirs are seen through the gaze of public writings and common biases. They are believed to have their performance styles and their strong association with the drum, dance, and vocal genres integrated into the canon of Sinhalese traditions. One specific vocal expression is the singing of manja songs, which are introduced and roughly analysed in this short paper. Manja songs are not so widely known to all people living in Sri Lanka. A specific study of these songs has not yet taken place. The main methods used are microanalysis, literature studies, and open interviews with those who are connected to Kaffirs, either as members of the group or as people related to their studies and performing arts. Beyond presenting the exciting text repertoire, it is to connect the musical skills that come with this way of singing with related arts such as dancing and drumming. The Kaffirs’ performance potentials are widely underestimated, as many Kaffirs have integrated, through marriage and social subordination, into the current society. Yet, it is important to focus on the snippets in the history of developing performance skills and their relatedness to another continent in order to help understand global issues and their future.

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to theoretically develop methods of characterisation and attribution of the style of arranging a pop-vocal composition. Based on the task of identifying active means of music expression, the most suitable methods for determining the characteristic features of style were used; the specific features of form, textural, temporithmic, timbre, melodic-thematic, and ladoharmonic organisation of the musical material of arrangement were analysed. As a result, the algorithm of analytical actions in the process of hearing expertise on the specific features of the musical language of arrangement is aimed at identifying the genesis of the stylistic profile of pop-vocal composition, which usually has features of genre-style synthesis of different areas of popular, jazz, folk, or academic music. In this regard, the parameters of temporithm and phonism are defined as basic criteria for recognising the stylistic dominant of the instrumental component of the song genre. The scientific apparatus of stylistic analysis methods, along with conventional musicological research methods, were used, as well as definitions of constant and aconstant types of the sound image of arrangement as operational criteria of stylistic differentiation of recyclic and through-dramaturgical principles of development of the sound idea of pop-vocal composition. During the comparative hearing analysis of the sound recordings of the famous Ukrainian song «I will go to distant mountains» in the original author's performance of Volodymyr Ivasyuk and its cover version performed by Kvitka Cisyk and arranged by Jack Cortner, the method of comparative stylistic characteristics of arrangements was carried out on the principle of contrasting comparisons or comparisons on the similarity of creative methods of instrumentation, formation, tempo-rithmic, melodic-thematic, and ladotonal organisation of musical material of instrumental accompaniments. The result of the study was the systematisation of the procedure of stylistic attribution of cover versions arrangements of works of popular song genres. The conclusions substantiate the need to consider the criteria of musical novelty and aesthetic value in evaluating the results of stylistic rethinking by the arranger of the original song musical text, which in the new version can appear as a unique, individualised concept that has actual artistic importance for modern listening audiences.

Abstract

The enthusiastic and ardent fandom of Korean Pop Music is contagious and at its peak. People all around the world, despite the racial, geographical, and cultural differences, follow the various musical bands, and researchers have recently found fascinating associations between K-Pop Fanship and psychosocial benefits. This quantitative correlational study aims to be topical and intends to explore the relationship of K-Pop Fanship with self-esteem and social connectedness as psychosocial benefits. It was hypothesized that K-Pop Fanship will be positively correlated with self-esteem and social connectedness, and the level of Fanship in 12- to 20-year-old fans will be higher than in 20- to 28+-year-olds. A total of 599 individuals from various continents of the world, through volunteer sampling, participated in and completed a comprehensive online survey that measured the K-Pop Fanship, self-esteem, and social connectedness of each participant. The results indicated weak and insignificant correlations between the variables, and there was no difference found in the level of Fanship among the fans. The negative impact of unrealistic beauty standards, excessive idolization of the artists, and a globally higher ratio of female fans could provide an explanation for the findings. However, a significant positive and moderate association was found between self-esteem and social connectedness. It is plausible that K-Pop Fanship served as a moderating variable in the study between the other two variables. Therefore, the interesting inferences of the study stress the need to conduct further studies, both causal and correlational, to unveil other variables that are either caused by or related to K-Pop Fanship. Limitations, suggestions, and implications are also discussed.

Abstract

Egyptian radio broadcasting has always been strictly controlled by the government since the 1920s. Composed of two sections, this essay aims to explore the multi-dimensional radio soundscape in Egypt and how radio and loudspeakers have been used by the government to serve political goals in both religious and secular activities. The first section centres on Umm Kulthum and how she took advantage of the burgeoning radio to spread her fame and reach out to the mass audience in the Arab world. I also examine how the Egyptian government utilised radio to achieve its political goal of pan-Arabism. The second section discusses the usage of radio and loudspeakers for religious activities, including the Qur’anic recitation and the “call to prayer.” I analyse how governmental control of radio technology affected daily religious events and people’s social identities.

Abstract

This essay reviews Thomas Irvine’s 2021 book “Listening to China: Sound and the Sino-Western Encounter, 1770–1839”. The author highlights the central tenets of Irvine’s work (published by the University of Chicago Press), and considers its implications for histories of Sino-Western cultural exchange more broadly.

Abstract

The second Official Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Global History of Music was held in Palermo, Sicily, from 7 to 9 June 2023, under the title ‘An entire ocean in a drop of water’: Island Musics, Performance Identities, and Sound Archives. More than fifty scholars and researchers from all over the world came together in eleven sessions and three panels to discuss some of the most relevant topics of our time in the field of ethnomusicological studies, such as the function and value of archives, the musical traditions of the diasporas, and the historical dimension of music in prevalent oral tradition and mentality. The three days of the symposium held in Palermo were marked by an in-depth examination of cross-cutting themes, to which scholars from seventeen different countries contributed, including Russia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Argentina, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Ireland, China, the United States, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. Some participants delivered their papers through online presentations, while most of them gathered to share the results of their latest research.

Abstract

The incorporation of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia has given a unique characteristic to the Indonesian cultural reality. Since the Kalinga–Bali Yatra (from 320 BC to the establishment of Kalinga kingdom in Central Java around 500 AD), that is, the yearly ancient naval expedition of sailors from Orissa (Kalinga in India) to the Swarnadwipa Islands (Malacca, Sumatera, Java, Borneo, and Bali), the culture of Hinduism and Buddhism has been slowly introduced and acknowledged by the people of Indonesia. The earliest interaction between Hinduism/Buddhism and the locals could be tracked since the period of Kalinga kingdom in the central part of Java Island. The influence of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesian traditional culture has penetrated to the people’s musical tradition in Java and Bali. On top of that, the story of Ramayana and Mahabharata has been adopted into Wayang Kulit tradition in Java. Among other Hindu–Buddhist influences in Indonesia comprise Indian drama– dance, Rasa esthetic theory, Mahayana Buddhist influence in Bedoyo, Slendro pathet (Javanese gamelan musical organization system), and Hinayana Buddhist concept of removal of nine consciousness of human beings.

Abstract

In contrast to the idea that the modernization of playing styles has unleashed the expressive potential of the pipa, this article suggests, through the individual case study of Wu Man, that traditional styles are essential to the numerous successful premieres of pipa concertos globally. It offers the experiences of diasporic pipa player Wu Man as an insider’s viewpoint, arguing that the demonstration and emphasis of traditional pipa playing techniques and styles are important to a successful contemporary performance. This article is the first to disclose Wu Man’s experience in how she applies traditional pipa music to the numerous successful premieres of pipa concertos, framing the pipa concerto as just one example of a much wider trend in the musical world¾that of the commissioning and performance of new music for cross-cultural instrumental groups. There are two essential elements to the upkeep of traditional pipa playing: one lies with the composer’s understanding of pipa music in their newly composed pieces and the other lies with the pipa player’s abilities (their mastery of playing techniques, broader experience in various traditional music genres, creativity, and taking on a leading role in playing). Thus, in this article, I will analyze these elements to reveal how a globally successful pipa musician has interpreted and translated the traditional aspects of pipa music in a global world.

Abstract

The present review focuses on the vision, philosophy, and methodology of C. de S. Kulatillake’s exemplary contribution to the subject. The methodology of this study is based on a qualitative approach narrative method, and information was collected through interviews, records, autobiographies, and various reports and books written by Kulatillake. Seven in-depth semistructured interviews were carried out at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka, in September and November 2022. The participants were senior academic members and a scientific officer at C. de S. Kulatillake Research Centre. As a sampling method, nonprobability purposive sampling was used. The data were evaluated using content analysis. Kulatillake has always approached folk music from a scientific standpoint, linking it to ethnomusicology. He discovered 36 indigenous singing styles unique to Sri Lanka. According to Kulatillake, the Sri Lankan double-read instrument horanewa is a West Asian migrant. The individuality of Sinhala drum music, its peculiar rhythms that do not match the Indian “tal” systems, and Sinhala drum music is an incredibly remarkable performance style incomplete sentence. He discovered that the strange aspect of the visama nadi (irregular pulse) movement in Sri Lankan drum music is a unique style and should be accepted as a great feature inherited from the folk music of this country. Kulatillake traced cultural identity and pride; documented, taught, and presented it to national and international audiences; and preserved it for future generations, according to the study. A separate study focusing on trailblazers who used music education as a safeguarding measure would be a worthwhile investigation that would both enrich and broaden the findings of this study.

Abstract

This article examines parts of the oral literature and music of Bushehr, a port city in southern Iran. There is a song in Bushehr's music that uses words like helleh (heːlle̞) and heliosa (heːlijosa), that have no meaning for the people of Bushehr. This paper suggests that the origin of these words goes back to Greek mythology and that they are the remains of hymns or spells recited in praise of Helios and other ancient gods. To this end, in addition to qualitative and field research, extensive historical studies were carried out, focusing on the Hellenistic period after the conquest of Iran by Alexander the Great. I suggest that although the evolution of music in Bushehr was influenced by the military domination of Greece through acculturation, the cultural background of Bushehr was not ineffective in accepting this. As a result, assimilation occurred, and some mythical elements of Greece were localised in Bushehr.

Abstract

The research concerns the relationship between Western classical music and Arabian cultures in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as experienced by independent classical chamber musicians. The main research question was: what stories do independent Western classical chamber musicians tell about their lived experiences of practicing and performing Western classical music in the UAE? The real-life problem guiding this research has two parts: i. the problem that Western classical music is not a sustainable profession for performers in the UAE and ii. the gap in the literature on Western classical music in the UAE. The real-life problem the first author experienced in the UAE as a Western musician had the following challenges: practical obstacles related to sourcing fellow musicians who uphold the same standards and music ideals, finding rehearsal venues and creating performance opportunities. These challenges lead to the formation of the research problem.

Abstract

One aspect of the work that the missionaries did in China that has received little attention is the teaching of the blind to read, in particular to read music. Amy Wilkinson is particularly interesting because in 1922, she brought her Chinese Blind Boys Band to England and they toured all over the country giving concerts. The concerts were widely reported in the local press, and so we have quite detailed positive accounts of how well the band played. Any scepticism about what the standard of performance might have been like can be quelled by reading these accounts. What this book attempts to do is understand how these early pioneers developed systems to enable the blind Chinese to read in Chinese, with first the use of embossed letters and then Braille. They then went on to teach music notation with embossed systems and then later Braille music notation. There are considerable technical difficulties for blind people to read Braille music notation, and these must have been made more challenging teaching blind Chinese boys Western instruments and music that required an understanding of Western harmony and rhythm. Amy Wilkinson’s achievements in this field deserve wider recognition than they have so far received.

Abstract

Media has been pivotal in preservation of art for ages. The traditions and cultures have been travelling across generations via media through centuries. And as the media experienced technological advancement, it became more potent and started playing even more crucial role. The ability of the media contents to reach to masses and the preservation of the content has allowed preservation and subsequent promotion of various art forms. This paper concerns with the Indian classical music and the role media played in promoting it. Cinema has been the prime carrier of the art form, but other mediums too have played a significant role. The related literature suggests the same and provides evidence for the same. The literature however mostly relates to art in general with very little reference to Indian Classical Music. The objective of this paper is to study the perceived role of media in promoting Indian Classical Music. The study was conducted using survey method on 246 (N) respondents. The data was analysed using statistical analysis including ANOVA and T-Test to find the difference in opinions of the respondents categorised on various basis. The findings suggest that people strongly believe that media has been instrumental in promoting Indian Classical Music. The feeling however is not the same for all mediums but for some mediums like Radio and Cinema. People also believe that reality shows have brought Indian classical music to the fore though it still has not translated into the creation of greater opportunities leading to more financial freedom amongst the classical musicians.

Abstract

This paper discusses the praxis of music volunteers in ethnomusicology, taking the process of being engaged in the music life of Miao cleaning women working in Shanghai as an example, to reflect on the possibility of engaged practice. The music volunteers’ activities help us to explore the differences between various types of knowledge and follow in search of the liquid knowledge that really emerges in the cultural context and power hierarchy of the city. In this process, we try to build a dynamic cultural space together, breaking the binary boundaries between urban and rural areas as well as insiders and outsiders.

Abstract

This short review essay is dedicated to the 24th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Musical Instruments. This symposium took place from March 29 to April 1, 2023. It was hosted by the Music Faculty of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, in Sri Lanka.

Abstract

This is a review on a fieldwork undertaken among the Nymang ethnic community residing on the legendary Nuba Mountains of southern Kordofan, Sudan, in 2005. It is a result of participatory observation, and the view taken on it is retrospective. The author was able to study the social and cultural life, rituals, taboos, musical traditions, and many more, which are discussed in detail in a later book, thanks to her Sudanese hosts. The description carried out in the writing reflects personal perspectives as a human being, a woman, and a complete stranger entering an unknown and distant world. Indeed, it must have been one of the best experiences the author had in her nearly 3 decades of scholarly experience.