This thesis seeks to contribute towards the emerging discourse in Ravel studies concerning gender, as well as adding to the ongoing work in musical narratology, especially as regards ballet, to which very little narratological attention has been given. Employing a combination of narratological and Schenkerian analysis, this thesis argues that…[Read more]

The interdisciplinary course Pink Noise: Women Making Electronic Music explores the hands-on creation of electronic music through the lens of feminist critical frameworks, activism, and collective action. Techniques and topics include composing with Texts, Activist Sound, Live Sampling and Delay, Turntablism, Soundscape Composition, the Occult…[Read more]

Assembled cigar box fiddle. Fiddlin’ John Hutchison learned to play on a fiddle made from an Old Virginia Cheroots Tobacco box. In a taped interview he calls it a “cigar box.”

The label is under the soundboard. Fiddlin’ John Hutchison learned to play on a fiddle made from an Old Virginia Cheroots Tobacco box. In a taped interview he calls it a “cigar box.”

Fiddlin’ John Hutchison learned to play on a fiddle made from an Old Virginia Cheroots Tobacco box. In a taped interview he calls it a “cigar box.”

In this article I make a case for an analytic of atmospheres as a way to understand the seemingly ineffable yet powerful effects of vocal sound on listeners in an Islamic setting. Focusing on the recitation of devotional poetry in honor of the Prophet Muhammad among Mauritian Muslims, I seek to bring together neo-phenomenological approaches to…[Read more]

This talk presents work from Richard Elliott’s recent book about the late singer, songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone. It focuses on Simone’s reaction to what she saw as the failure of the civil rights movement and how that reaction was played out in her work from the end of the 1960s onwards, blending into a personal but…[Read more]

Although most often remembered as an icon of the civil rights era, Nina Simone enjoyed (and occasionally endured) a long career during which the bulk of the songs she performed dealt with the politics, pains and precariousness of the self. Her work—always suffused with longing, sensuality and the passion of being—took on, in her later career, wha…[Read more]

Whether temporally or spatially focussed, nostalgia results from a division between what is longed for and the moment of longing. This article examines this “nostalgia gap” alongside the analogous gap found in representation. The relationship is highlighted via an analysis of “holiday records”, a genre of recordings that became prevalent in the…[Read more]

Taylor Swift’s songs invite listeners to connect art and life in the tradition, if not always the style, of the ‘confessional’ singer-songwriter. From an early age, Swift has written and sung about ‘big topics’ like time and experience with a remarkable sense of self awareness. Her songs hymn youthful experience to great effect through reference…[Read more]

The beatification of Saint Teresa of Ávila in October 1614 gave rise to widespread celebrations in many of the cities and towns of the Iberian Peninsula. Printed relaciones describing these celebrations, despite their limitations —in terms of political agenda, propaganda, rivalry and literary style— can nevertheless provide information about musi…[Read more]

In late January 2017 conversations began on the Music Library Association (MLA) listserv about data rescue. These conversations were primarily inquiries to see if anyone on the MLA-L was aware of data archiving or rescue efforts underway for vulnerable performing arts and music data on government websites. As a digital scholarship librarian whose…[Read more]

In this presentation, we provide an overview of the contents and development of The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music, a recently-launched open access collection of over 330 tunes and songs. The audio, sheet music, stories, and essays can be viewed and/or listened to on mobile devices, tablets, and computers. Through Omeka and SoundCloud,…[Read more]

This handout was presented as a take away for a workshop at MLA TechCamp 2018. This workshop will provide an overview of fair use as it applies to digital projects. It will particularly benefit anyone planning, attempting to fund (via a grant), or currently managing a digital project that is aimed at providing access to made-digital or…[Read more]

This workshop will provide an overview of fair use as it applies to digital projects. It will particularly benefit anyone planning, attempting to fund (via a grant), or currently managing a digital project that is aimed at providing access to made-digital or born-digital content. It will include suggestions for checklist and analysis tools that…[Read more]

During an interview, Andris Nelsons, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, stated unequivocally that sexual harassment was not a problem in the world of classical music because, “If [people] could realize how important [music and art] are…I believe they would become better human beings.” The interview was in response to the recent sprea…[Read more]

Little can be said about music during the last century without encountering the men and women who supported it financially. Pierre Bourdieu’s impression that the services rendered freely for the good of society reinforce a symbolic debt between giver and recipient complicates motivations behind patronage. Indeed, applying Bourdieu’s theory to alt…[Read more]

In a letter dated to 1960, Harry Partch describes living two lives simultaneously—one in modern America and another in ancient Greece. Furthermore, throughout his life, Partch exhibited striking dualities in both his music and personal life. Partch’s affinity for Greek themes and modalities in his music and musical theory is well known, but les…[Read more]

American musical theater occupies a unique space relative to other popular music genres. This is particularly true with regards to the ways aging performers are valued. Whereas aging or aged voices in popular music are often revered as “authentic,” aging musical theater performers face an industry largely uninvested in positive representations of…[Read more]

“To engage with CocoRosie requires absolute suspension of disbe- lief,” writes The Guardian. This has as much to do with their music as their appearance, for sisterly duo CocoRosie have embraced what they call a “posthuman kind of style” rooted in the dissolution of gender. In an effort to imagine a world beyond human constructions of gender,…[Read more]