https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/62979 2026-04-11T11:25:58Z 2026-04-11T11:25:58Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/115889 2023-11-23T13:08:12Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Acoustics at the Manoel Theatre : music performance, listening, and ambiences Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the behaviour of sound within the Manoel Theatre. The study aims at providing an evaluation mainly from the performers’ perspective. This research delves into diverse methods of inquiry, mainly by researching theories from the mathematical and architectural sciences, literature, and informal conversations with experts from their respective fields. The experiment involves an onsite fieldwork which will include, data collection through the use of specific equipment, such as, the use of a reference microphone in order to obtain scientific data from the programme ‘WaveLab’, and conversations with experts in the field of architecture, archaeology, and sound engineering. Questionnaires, together with the experiment proposed, hopes to shed light on the general acoustic ambience of the Theatre through the performers’ ears. Description: B.Mus.(Hons)(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/94493 2025-12-12T06:57:54Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The aulos in classical and late antiquity : acculturation, diffusion, and syncretism in socio-musical processes of the Mediterranean Abstract: This thesis concerns the aulos, that is, an extinct wind musical instrument consisting of a cylindrical-bore pipe with finger-holes and, probably, a double reed for a mouthpiece. The aulos was popular during antiquity particularly in the regions of the Mediterranean and the Near East. This research presents a holistic view of this musical instrument, its past and consequential history, with a focus on how it was transformed from classical antiquity (c.1000 BC-AD 395) to late antiquity (c.395-600 AD). This process involved an analysis of written, iconographic, and archaeological sources from both ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern societies. The research tackles issues related to the origin of the musical instrument, its use in both Greek and Roman societies and its eventual disappearance from the music scene. This is placed within a historical framework in which social processes such as acculturation, diffusion, and syncretism influence cultural aspects of society, including practices related to music and thus the aulos. This research includes fieldwork in Sardinia and Egypt. The Sardinian launeddas and the Egyptian arghul were compared and contrasted with the ancient aulos. Parallels between the past and the present suggest possible scenarios of continuity of musical practices from the past. It should be noted that the launeddas, the arghul and the aulos were contemporary instruments, part of a large family of pipe instruments, of which it was only the aulos that disappeared. To a large extent, the factors that contributed to its disappearance had to do with the eradication of the Greco-Roman customs, with which it was intrinsically associated, and the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Western World. The aulos probably survived until the advent of Islam, a religion which similarly associated it with pagan customs and therefore prohibited its use. Description: PH.D.MUSIC

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/64751 2020-11-29T06:14:49Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A composition portfolio from inspiration to transcendence : creating descriptive sacred music Abstract: The portfolio of compositions and accompanying document in this dissertation present an introspective reflection and critical research on the genesis of my musical idiom and what shapes it. My life is characterised by the importance of faith, Catholic liturgy, and meditational contemplative prayer. Consequently, as a musician, sacred music is my main source of inspiration and the most transcendental of experiences, both as a performer and composer. The works presented in this document have a common goal: communicating my personal transcendental experiences with other performers and audiences through descriptive sacred music. By communicating transcendence my artistic expression offers the possibility to transform the receptive action of the listeners in a personal transcending experience. The portfolio contains three sacred works written between the years 2018 and 2020, as follows: Processional and Recessional, Hodigitria and Passio Regis. The last work was composed along the three years, whilst the first and the second were composed in 2019, in this order. The commonality of spiritual transcendence in these works is produced with a diversity of musical elements which mirror my life and form my musical language. The importance of liturgy as inspiration is reflected in the two organ pieces Processional and Recessional. The first is a contemporary intertwining of symbolism and programmatic representation of a procession which begins a mass or a liturgical service according to the Roman Catholic rites, with melodic material based on Maltese liturgical introits. The second organ piece, a four-voice fugue based on the Gregorian chant Ite Missa Est of the concluding rite of Mass VIII De Angelis, is an homage to the baroque masters who contributed so much to the sacred music tradition. The second work in this portfolio is a meditational journey in the spiritual life of Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God, composed for SATB choir, soprano saxophone, and warm pad. The three main spiritual events in the life of the Mother of God are narrated via the choral settings of the texts of ‘Tota Pulchra Es Maria’, ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Stabat Mater’, with the interpolations of the saxophone that metaphorically represents the soul transcending in prayer and the meditational soft drones of the warm pad which represent Christ’s omni-presence in the on-going journey. The theological basis of this musical journey is inspired by the icon of the Hodigitria, the Mother of God that shows the way to Christ her Son. The last work is an oratorio that narrates the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. John. The work strikes a balance between the meditational and the dramatic levels infusing in the musical setting, with the sole intent of transcending the grief and the tragedy of the Passion narrative. This is in line with St. John’ Christological portrayal and theological message of the majesty of Christ the King. The focus of the author and consequently of the composer points to and repeatedly highlights the courage, self-control and determination of Christ the Redeemer King. The five movements of the oratorio, symbolising the five wounds of Jesus, contain all the musical ingredients that transmit emotional drama and deep meditation, both contributing to the creation of a transcendental state and maximising engagement by the listeners. Apart from the active listening disposition normally expected during a performance, the audience is required to actively participate in spoken or sung salient points related to the Crowd in the narration. The Passio Regis is demarcated with traditional sacred musical genres like stylised Gregorian chant and polyphony, contemporary idioms, vocal and instrumental extended techniques, powerful peaks and introspective lows and the use of silence as a transcendental intensifier within the musical narration. This oratorio is my personal vision and meditation of Christ’s tormented but salvific Passion. The compositions presented in this document are a musical journey in the subject’s own transcendental experiences, reflections, and meditations. Their aim is to communicate transcendence firstly to the performers, and ultimately to the audience, and create a spiritual space where a connection with the Divine presence can be experienced. Description: M.MUSIC

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/64457 2020-11-29T06:08:59Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Dramaturgy between science and politics : development in Western Europe from Brecht to the present day Abstract: This dissertation focuses on the relationship between scientific ideas and politics in certain examples of twentieth-century Western European theatre. The twentieth century was a period of important changes in the arts, touching multiple disciplines such as: architecture, music, painting, and including theatre. The changes that occurred during the century, are to be explained due to a radical change in the conception of the arts thanks to Modernism. science and its ideas have acquired greater importance within the theatrical sphere, allowing theatre to establish new ties with them while strengthening the old ones within the political dimension, which has always been an object of investigation in theatre. Through the plays of playwrights such as Jean Paul Sartre, Alfonso Sastre, José Saramago, and Michael Frayn, this dissertation tries to demonstrate how the relationship between scientific ideas and politics contributed to understand the condition of twentieth-century man, including his role and responsibilities towards society. Description: M.A.THEATRE STUD.

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z