Abstract: The musical examples of the anonymous ninth-century treatises Musica enchiriadis and Scolica enchiriadis are, for the most part, presented in the terms and structure of its unique gamut. While highly systematic and self-consistent, it is well known that this gamut proves an imperfect fit for the polyphony described in the same treatises. The authors variously ignore, amend, conceal, explain by way of miracle, or simply omit passages of noncongruence between theory and practice. This paper has two primary aims. First, to address two well-known deficiencies with the enchiriadis gamut that cause the mismatch between theory and practice: the gamut's infamous lack of full octave equivalency and, relatedly, its incomplete accommodation of common pitches in practice. And secondly, to explicate ideas presented in the treatises through modern pitch modeling. Referencing musical examples from both enchiriadis treatises, I will review how organum practice reveals the gamut's limitations. I then present solutions to these limitations by expanding the enchiriadis gamut into a three-dimensional Tonnetz , extrapolating means latent but not fully exploited in the treatises.
Abstract: While analyzing post-tonal music, most scholars treat the twelve chromatic pitches as twelve enharmonic pitch classes, paying less attention to scrutinize why the composer notates his/her pitches in one way but not the other. Recently there has been a growing literature concentrating on the subject of pitch orthography in early twentieth-century music written by the European composers. Expanding this field of study to the 21st-century music, I examine String Quartet with Bass Baritone by the contemporary Chinese composer JIA Daqun. JIA's notations conform to the sonorities drawn from the octatonic collections articulating longer pentatonic lines—that is, JIA draws tertian chords from different octatonic scales, and shifts from one octatonic collection to another are proceeded by root motions within a pentatonic collection. I engage my orthographical analysis with the text setting, discovering that JIA uses pitch orthography as an artistic expression to reflect the sense of time, space, and distance depicted in the poem. While most of the preceding orthographical studies focus on the harmonic organization with a few extending to the analysis of form, my text-music interpretation shows another potential for an analysis sensitive to the orthography, claiming the value of attending to pitch notations can be persuasively argued.
Abstract: Drawing on Theodor W. Adorno's "The Essay as Form," my essay offers an analysis of Alma Mahler-Werfel's "Ich wandle unter Blumen," the fifth of her 5 Lieder published in 1910. My general procedure is adapted from David Lewin's writings on music and text. I propose that the song offers two complementary perspectives: 1) a narrator's perspective (the point of view of the poem's protagonist) and 2) a performers' perspective (the point of view of two hypothetical musicians performing the song). The motivation for my essay stems from my experiences teaching "Ich wandle" to classes of undergraduate and graduate music students, many of whom are frustrated by Mahler-Werfel's harmonic language and the song's fragmentary nature. I interpret their frustration as indicative of a misunderstanding about the nature of music analysis and relate this idea to Adorno's critique of utilitarian philosophical writings.
Abstract: [Content Warning: discussion of sexual abuse, as well as brief mentions of eating disorders and suicidal thoughts] Voice holds psychological power and can express inner feelings to help process trauma. In the singing voice, timbre provides an aural depiction of these feelings. To show how vocal timbre illustrates trauma processing, I demonstrate how it tells a post-traumatic recovery narrative in Kesha's "Praying," which she wrote about traumatic abuse from producer Dr. Luke. Engaging with scholarship in trauma and music theory, I contextualize trauma's effects on the body and inform my vocal analysis. My paper reveals how Kesha's voice—through register, laryngeal position, timbre, and position within the musical environment—portrays improving thought patterns, increasing connection with others, and growing emotional strength and control. In "Praying," Kesha sings from D3–F6. This virtuosic range mirrors vulnerability in her low sounds and her developing strength in her higher register, climaxing with whistle tone. I show how her laryngeal positions (M0–M3) demonstrate vulnerability, strength, timidity, and transcendence. Breathiness, vocal fry, and more illustrate her thought patterns and perceived sense of control. Additionally, I demonstrate that Kesha's vocal position within the song's sonic environment portrays her growing connection to others through the thickening texture. I conclude by discussing the song's impact on listeners, especially trauma survivors, and ways the voice, and music, generally, express emotion. Examining how Kesha's voice portrays her trauma recovery in "Praying," my analysis provides deeper understanding of vocal expression in popular song.
Abstract: This essay analyzes the final song from each part of Chinesepop-artist G.E.M.'s two-part album, Revelation (2022). The songs cap off their respective chapters of the tragedy-to-triumph narrative depicted across the album and use formal features to convey it. In the conclusion to the first part, formal ambiguity and reinterpretations abound, resulting in a depiction of the ruinous state in which the main character finds herself at this point. Conversely, in the conclusion to the second part, the cumulative form and the consistently ascending melody captures the triumphant conclusion of the album.
