https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5143 2026-04-11T14:18:16Z 2026-04-11T14:18:16Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/19055 2017-07-26T08:40:33Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Danza di spade : investigating fencing as a tool for actor training Abstract: This research investigates the practice of fencing by the actor in western theatre and performance, and explores whether fencing can be adapted for use as actor training. The interpretations of the techniques of the sword in the context of the theatre of the West will be discussed to contextualise the different ways fencing has been used in theatre. Attention is given to the pedagogy and training of fencing so that technical differences and similarities to the work of actors can be observed. A discussion of an exercise I designed from fencing supports the analysis. Accordingly, an important aspect of the research is practice-based involving various sessions. Three aspects characterise the research: (1) the elaboration of theoretical parameters which frame the analysis of the sword as actor training, (2) a way of practical work for the actor, and (3) a discussion on the application of this research to the field of performance. Description: M.A.THEATRE STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10571 2018-01-18T02:13:20Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The three Neapolitan ‘sinfonie’ of Dr Paolo Nani : a critical edition and analysis (ACM. Mus. Mss. 1834, 1833, 1835) Abstract: This dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter one includes a brief biography of Dr Paolo Nani, and chapter two provides information about the development of sinfonia writing in Italy and under Paolo Nani’s hand. Chapter three deals with a study of the three works, including analysis of motif, themes, harmony, style, texture and form. This chapter shows how rhetorical figures and overall planning are central to Nani’s three Neapolitan sinfonie. Chapter four presents a Critical Edition of the Sinfonia in Do, Sinfonia in Re, and Sinfonia in Re Magg[iore]. This chapter comprises (i) a General Preface (discussing the editorial method adopted in this edition based on the autograph score and separate parts); (ii) a computerised transcription of the full score; (iii) the Critical Notes, (which examines the autograph scores); and (iv) a Critical Commentary (in which all details of editorial intervention and those including clarification and resolution of problematic issues encountered in the autograph score, are recorded). The aim of this dissertation is to promote a better understanding of Dr Paolo Nani’s life and career towards the middle of the nineteenth century, with special reference to his instrumental works and his studies in Naples. The three sinfonie were composed in Naples under the tuition of Gaetano Donizetti (17971848). The research presented in this dissertation aims to enhance the composer’s standing in the history of Maltese nineteenth century music, and to exhibit his compositional techniques employed for this instrumental genre. Description: B.A.(HONS)MUSIC

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10552 2018-05-04T08:05:38Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Composition, technology and acoustics Abstract: This research studies elemental patterns and processes in compositions of the last few decades that either combine conventional forms, theory and instrumentation with technology, acoustics and electronic instruments, or else are entirely based on electronics and/or electroacoustic principles of musique concrète, elektronische musik and even more recent movements developed by leading theorists and composers of the twentieth and the twenty-first century. The studied theories and aggregated analyses serve as the main source of ideas, material and structure for the completion of a set of compositions. The use of technology and acoustics in several different ways is the principal element that unifies all the contrasting pieces in the portfolio. The research and the portfolio are done in the light, or possibly in the remnant shadows, of decades of experimentation and research in the digital fields of composition and modern technology. On a personal level, the aim of the portfolio is to allow me to get a closer look at the existent relationship between electronics and art music. Locally, the dissertation aspires to further the focus on the significance of electronics and acoustics in the process of composition, particularly in relation to conventional media, while joining the standard studies of electronic music and discussions of post-modern styles in foreign conservatories and universities. The dissertation is divided into three parts. The first part includes four subsections: the literature review, a descriptive list of the compositional tools, an analysis of the compositional process, and a conclusive chapter. The second part incorporates a portfolio of four pieces: a piece for choir, another for chamber instrumentation, a piece for a solo instrument and finally a piece for orchestra. The final section includes the fifth original piece of the portfolio (the electroacoustic work), any digitally recorded material used in all the other pieces, digitally-realised renditions of the works, and any relevant raw material used in the compositional process. The research is carried out and the portfolio is completed in the context of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) dissertation. Description: B.A.(HONS)MUSIC

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/10549 2018-04-30T12:54:47Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A clarinet recital : lyricism and virtuosity in selected early 20th century music Abstract: In the first half of the twentieth century the world witnessed profound changes in many aspects of life, be they social, economic, cultural and political. The main causes of these massive changes were the two world wars - World War I (1914 – 1918) and World War II (1939 – 1945). These changes in so many sectors of society inevitably exerted their influence on the musical movements of the era. Indeed several groups and movements that were formed during this period challenged the ideals and forms used by artists who had been inspired by the Romantic movement. Romanticism is a term that was first used to describe new ideas in literature and painting at the end of the eighteenth century, but later (1850 – 1900) it was also adopted by the musical establishment. Its predominant characteristics are compositions featuring lyrical melodies, and the presence of discords and chromatic harmonies. This was the era where a new style of composition evolved, known as Programme music, which attempted to conjure up images that give an impression of a narrative Romantic composers were inspired by other artistic forms and genres, such as the visual arts. The French composers, Claude-Achille Debussy and Maurice Ravel, are considered two of the pioneers of the Impressionism and Symbolism (Post- Impressionism) movements. Their Impressionist music expresses subtle emotions and evokes an atmosphere, that is redolent of the Romantic Period. These Impressionist composers were heavily influenced by Impressionist paintings that had taken top billing in the 1860 Paris Impressionist exhibition. This movement, which reached its peak around 1875 to 1925, owes its origin to a painting by Claude Monet, Impression Sunrise. As described by Grout and Palisca (2010) the characteristics of Impressionist music are the use of whole-tone scales, dissonant chords and chromaticism. Moreover, symbolisic music is derived from an art movement which originated in the heyday of Romanticism, and flourished towards the end of the nineteenth century in Europe. Description: B.A.(HONS)MUSIC

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z