http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/203 2013-05-23T06:36:28Z 2013-05-23T06:36:28Z Walters, Keith John http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7411 2013-04-29T13:35:06Z 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Aspects of style and design in the Missa L'homme Armé tradition c. 1450-c. 1500 Authors: Walters, Keith John Abstract: This dissertation examines L 'homme armé Masses written during c. 1450-c. 1500, focusing on two aspects, the use of phrases 3 and 4 of the melody and the choice of pitch for the deployment of the respective cantus firmi. Altogether 34 Masses are considered. Chapter 1 reviews current information about the 1'homme armé melody itself with evidence given for the different endings to phrases 3 and 4 in the sources Mellon and Casanatense. Part I examines the deployment of the two key phrases in six contexts, Chapter 2 showing how large-scale structures are erected on them, and the next revealing a consistent pattern for using phrase 4 imitatively. Sounding of the two phrases simultaneously (and at times one of the outer portions of the ternary melody against the central one) is explored in Chapter 4. The influence of the motivic make-up of the polyphony on the choice of phrase is investigated in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 deals with their manipulation for a musical portrayal of the Mass text. Part I concludes by reviewing where cadential contexts and the desire for full sonorities governs the choice of either phrase 3 or 4. Part ii examines the question of the pitch levels upon which different Masses deliver the source melody, starting with the G Mixolydian mode of the original. Settings presenting the song on G (either Mixolydian or transposedD orian) are considered the norm and are not reviewed. The exceptions are the six Naples Masses -a case is presented as to why not one Mass is in this mode. Completely canonic L'homme armé Masses are scrutinised, showing how composers avoided a problem encountered in anonymous Naples VI, where the comes at the subdiapente dictated the mode of the Mass. Josquin's F Ionian setting is investigated, then Compere's and Obrecht's E Phrygian readings and finally the D Dorian deliveries of Regis, Pipelare and La Rue. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Ferreira de Mendonça, Guilherme Abel http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7331 2013-03-25T14:22:22Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Acting theory as poetic of drama: A study of the emergence of the concept of 'motivated action' in playwriting theory Authors: Ferreira de Mendonça, Guilherme Abel Abstract: Playwriting theory has, from its beginning, been concerned with the search for the essential nature of dramatic writing. Early playwriting treatises (poetics) defined the essential aspects of drama as being the plot (creation of sequences of fictional events), the moral character of its heroes, the idea of enactment, or the rhetorical and lyrical qualities of the text. These categories were kept through later treatises with different emphasis being put on each category. An understanding of drama as a sequence of fictional events (plot) has been central in acting theory. Modern theories and techniques centred on Stanislavsky’s ideas rely heavily on rehearsal methods that carefully establish the sequence of actions of the characters in a play as a result of psychological motivations. This method was described by Stanislavsky in An Actor’s Work on a Role, published in 1938, and is known as the Method of Physical Actions. This thesis reassesses the definition of playwriting as consisting essentially in the creation of a plot populated by suitable characters. Rather than discussing playwriting theory in isolation it attempts a bridge between acting theory and playwriting theory by using the Method of Physical Actions as an equivalent to plot. Acting theory is thus considered as a theoretical justification for the centrality of plot. The method used is hermeneutic — a systematic interpretation of poetics, unveiling in almost an archaeological manner the relevance of the essential definitions of drama, such as character, source, genre, and language to the concept of plot. The chronological path of development of dramatic theories is shown to be gradual: from the strict obedience to the narrative line imposed by the mythic sources, in classical treatises; through to an interest in the lyrical expression of the predicament of specific characters, in neoclassical theory; to an awareness of specific social types in the eighteenth century; and, finally, to the conception of the plot as a product of the mental life of individual characters in modern theory. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z McColl, Jennifer http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7264 2013-03-01T09:14:18Z 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Bodies and labour: industrialisation, dance and performance Authors: McColl, Jennifer Abstract: This thesis presents an interdisciplinary analysis of ideas regarding the introduction of technologies in the field of dance and performance since the industrial era. The first two chapters analyse different historical periods, thus creating a parallel between the establishment of work-science, and emerging methods and styles within performing arts that utilise technology as a core element for its creation. The historical examination of the field of work-science studies allows the sketching of a variety of relationships between labour and technical developments, focusing especially on the systematisation of productive processes, the integration of new technical developments and the measurements of body’s rhythms and capacities. Therefore, rather than presenting a full historical study of industrialisation and technological performance, this research proposes a segmented analysis of two different periods: firstly, a parallel between Taylorism and Electric Dance since the late nineteenth century; and secondly, some relevant notions of Fordism, Mass Ornament and film studies from the 1920s. In the last part of this thesis, I present some general ideas on post-Fordism and digital performance that will serve as a base for future research development. This investigation is rooted in the field of performing arts, introducing ideas and concepts from labour studies and generating a critical approach to the integration of technologies within performing arts and its aesthetical, methodological and creative outcomes. The research encompasses a wide range of perspectives, from early photographic experiments, film studies, entertainment culture, video games, and digital technologies, formulating a general approach to technological transformations since the late nineteenth century. The key question throughout this research is precisely a double-sided adaptation between movement style and technical development: a process of intermedial configurations based on technological progress, analysed from a labour-science perspective, and then applied to performance art and entertainment culture. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University

2013-01-01T00:00:00Z Campbell, A http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6603 2012-08-23T11:34:36Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Adapting musicology's use of affect theories to contemporary theatre making: directing Martin Crimp's Attempts on Her Life Authors: Campbell, A Abstract: Adopting and adapting musicology's use of affect theories, specifically Jeremy Gilbert's idea of an 'affective analysis' and David Epstein's idea of 'shaping affect', this article looks at Martin Crimp's Attempts on Her Life from a practitioner's perspective. It investigates the challenges and benefits of adopting an 'affective approach' to directing recent theatre texts that stress the musicality and corporeality of language along with, and at times above, its signifying roles. Rather than locating Aristotelian dramatic climaxes based on narratological or characterological progression, an affective approach seeks to identify moments of affective intensity, which produce a different sort of impact by working on a 'body-first' methodology, rather than the directly cerebral. That this embodied impact is not ultimately meaningless is one of affect theory's most vital assertions. This approach has resonance in terms of how directors, performers and critics/theorists approach work of this type. Description: Copyright @ Intellect 2011

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z