A Composition for Piano and Chamber Ensemble (Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Violins, Viola, Cello)

Joel Sachs; Henry Cowell; Yvar Mikhashoff

doi:10.2307/941286

Five Poems of Marilyn Hacker, Soprano and Chamber Ensemble [Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Harpsichord, Percussion, Violin, Viola, Violoncello] (1986)

Notes ◽

10.2307/941847 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 304

Author(s):

John Carbon ◽

Dennis Riley ◽

Marilyn Hacker

Keyword(s):

Chamber Ensemble

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Compositional Process and Technique in Happy Rain on a Spring Night (2004)

Music Theory Online ◽

10.30535/mto.26.3.10 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Chen Yi

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Chamber Ensemble ◽

Musical Training ◽

Golden Section ◽

Compositional Style ◽

Formal Structure ◽

Columbia University ◽

Compositional Process ◽

Musical Heritage

The composer discusses her musical training at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and at Columbia University in New York, and the effect of that musical heritage on her compositional style. She describes the techniques she uses in her chamber ensemble Happy Rain on a Spring Night (2004), including the use of speech tones for the development of her pitch material, and the Golden section for proportional relationships in the formal structure of the work.

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Manchester University: Psappha in Klas Torstensson's Violin Concerto

Tempo ◽

10.1017/s0040298213000545 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 67 (265) ◽

pp. 80-81

Author(s):

Tim Mottershead

Keyword(s):

Chamber Ensemble ◽

Violin Concerto ◽

The Arts ◽

Paul Griffiths

You're probably wondering why a violin concerto was given its UK première by the chamber ensemble Psappha? An informative programme note by Paul Griffiths for the 15 February concert revealed that Swedish composer Klas Torstensson (b. 1951) had in fact written a much longer, though still compactly scored, work in 2010 and had ‘squashed it down’ in length and further reduced the number of players. The work's full title is Pocket Size Violin Concerto – scored for soloist with unconducted accompaniment from piano, flute, and cello. Whilst compression of this kind is not uncommon in other branches of the arts, and concision is a noble artistic aim, one's fear was that such drastic pruning might have short-circuited the music's arguments. Happily this proved unfounded; and whilst the original half-hour's duration might have been pushing it a bit, the modified version (at a whisker under 17 minutes) seemed just about right.

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Symphonies Reframed

10.22501/nmh-ar.481294 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Gjertrud Pedersen

Keyword(s):

Chamber Music ◽

String Quartet ◽

Chamber Ensemble ◽

Educational Value ◽

Chamber Ensembles ◽

String Trio ◽

Original Works ◽

The Difference ◽

Core Questions ◽

First Time

Symphonies Reframed recreates symphonies as chamber music. The project aims to capture the features that are unique for chamber music, at the juncture between the “soloistic small” and the “orchestral large”. A new ensemble model, the “triharmonic ensemble” with 7-9 musicians, has been created to serve this purpose. By choosing this size range, we are looking to facilitate group interplay without the need of a conductor. We also want to facilitate a richness of sound colours by involving piano, strings and winds. The exact combination of instruments is chosen in accordance with the features of the original score. The ensemble setup may take two forms: nonet with piano, wind quartet and string quartet (with double bass) or septet with piano, wind trio and string trio. As a group, these instruments have a rich tonal range with continuous and partly overlapping registers. This paper will illuminate three core questions: What artistic features emerge when changing from large orchestral structures to mid-sized chamber groups? How do the performers reflect on their musical roles in the chamber ensemble? What educational value might the reframing unfold? Since its inception in 2014, the project has evolved to include works with vocal, choral and soloistic parts, as well as sonata literature. Ensembles of students and professors have rehearsed, interpreted and performed our transcriptions of works by Brahms, Schumann and Mozart. We have also carried out interviews and critical discussions with the students, on their experiences of the concrete projects and on their reflections on own learning processes in general. Chamber ensembles and orchestras are exponents of different original repertoire. The difference in artistic output thus hinges upon both ensemble structure and the composition at hand. Symphonies Reframed seeks to enable an assessment of the qualities that are specific to the performing corpus and not beholden to any particular piece of music. Our transcriptions have enabled comparisons and reflections, using original compositions as a reference point. Some of our ensemble musicians have had first-hand experience with performing the original works as well. Others have encountered the works for the first time through our productions. This has enabled a multi-angled approach to the three central themes of our research. This text is produced in 2018.

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The Effect of Register, Direction, and Magnitude on Musicians’ Evaluations of Chamber Ensemble Intonation: A Within-Study Comparison for Analysis of Repeated Measures

Journal of Research in Music Education ◽

10.1177/00224294211060457 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002242942110604

Author(s):

David S. Miller

Keyword(s):

Music Education ◽

String Quartet ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Chamber Ensemble ◽

Random Order ◽

Item Order ◽

Evaluation Task ◽

Repeated Measures Analysis ◽

Methodological Considerations

This study had two primary purposes: (1) to investigate the effect of register, direction, and magnitude on musicians’ evaluation of chamber ensemble intonation, and (2) determine whether a novel nonparametric technique, ordinal pattern analysis (OPA), was a viable alternative to repeated-measures analysis of variance (rANOVA). I digitally mastered a recording of a string quartet performing a phrase from Capriol Suite by altering the intonation of the violin or cello voice ±20 and 30 cents sharp and flat. Participants ( N = 72) completed a discrimination task and an evaluation task with the recordings, with task order, and within-task item order presented in a random order. Analysis using rANOVA revealed significant differences due to register, direction, and magnitude: Excerpts with cello errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with violin errors; excerpts with flat errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with sharp errors, and excerpts with 20-cent magnitude errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with 30-cent magnitude errors. OPA results were consistent with rANOVA results. Substantive implications for music teaching and learning are discussed alongside methodological considerations and implications for music education research using repeated-measures designs.

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