The Sound of the Big Band: Between evolution and continuity
(2017)
author(s): Claudio jr de Rosa
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Claudio Jr De Rosa
Main Subject: Jazz Saxophone
Research Supervisor: Patrick Schenkius
Title of Research: The Sound of the Big Band: Between evolution and continuity
Research Question:
How can I define the essential characteristics of the voicings in the writing of Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, and Maria Schneider? How can I internalize them and make them part of my arranging vocabulary?
Summary of Results:
The main goal of this thesis is outlining the fundamental elements of the style of three jazz masters of Big Band arranging: Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, and Maria Schneider, focusing on their voicings through a deep analysis of some of their works.
The second part, however, is intended to be more practical and personal. Knowing
the elements that characterize the style of these writers, I will show some components that stood out in the previous analysis included in some of the 13 arrangements I did during my Master.
Biography:
Saxophonist, composer, arranger, award winner, Claudio Jr De Rosa is a rising personality in the European Jazz scene. After a Master in Classical Saxophone, he is concluding the Master in Jazz under the guidance of J. Ruocco, H. Huizinga, and P. Schenkius. He recorded jazz CDs with his trio Zadeno Trio and with the CJDR Jazz 4et, and toured extensively in Europe and Asia. As an arranger, he wrote for the NSJO, KC Big Band, CvA Big Band, and CJDR Jazz Ensemble. He won the “Louis van Dick Arranging Jazz Award 2016” and his music was performed by the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.
The influence of some characteristics of Romanian folk music on the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu – An arrangement for 2 pianos
(2014)
author(s): Andrea Vasi
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Andrea Vasi
Main Subject: Piano
Research Coach: Theo Verbey
Title of Research: The influence of some characteristics of Romanian folk music on the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu – An arrangement for 2 pianos
Research Question:
What is the nicest way to make an arrangement for 2 pianos of the first Romanian Rhapsody opus 11 no. 1 by George Enescu, and how has this piece been influenced by Romanian folk music?
Research Process:
My (Romanian) father, who is also a professional musician, helped me in the sense that he told me his views on what Romanian folk music was, which I took as a starting point. Throughout my childhood, I listened to Romanian folk music a lot (every week, we went to a café in The Hague where Romanians would play their music), so I have quite much personal experience with it as well (I sometimes played along, and had my own ‘gypsy’ ensemble). Only one valuable book on Enescu has been published in the west, in 1990, namely ‘George Enescu: His Life and Music’ by N. Malcolm. A lot of biographical and musicological information on Enescu I could find in here, but I really needed my father to translate the Romanian sources I had collected. I had the chance to quote Enescu himself, because he did some extensive interviews with B. Gavoty. As for the arrangement, I am a pianist myself, and played and studied a lot two piano-pieces in the past. With the help of my coach, composer Theo Verbey, I made my own arrangement for two pianos of Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11.
Summary of Results:
First of all, one can find the arrangement I made of the Romanian Rhapsody no. 1 opus 11 by George Enescu in the Appendix. I make clear how I made this arrangement for two pianos, and why I made it like this. The main goals were to keep the material as much intact as possible, but while doing this, I wanted to make sure both piano parts were very ‘playable’, very ‘pianistic’. Secondly, I wanted to know how this piece has been influenced by Romanian folk music. In order to be able to do this, I had to determine what ‘Romanian folk music’ actually is. So I tried to narrow it down to the most distinct and prominent characteristics. I did this in chapter three, in which I started by quoting Enescu himself on the subject. According to him, the music of his country is full of ‘dor’ (‘Sehnsucht’), and there is ‘sadness even in the midst of happiness’. Shifting between major and minor also occurs frequently, I noticed. When I started analyzing songs I knew from my childhood, and started looking for characteristics on the internet, in chapter four, I deminstrated that there are some elements which appear in most of Romania’s folk music, concerning instruments, scales and modes, meter and rhythm, ornamentation, ‘doina’ and gypsies.