Selected Texts by Bruno Ruviaro.
***Texts at different degrees of completeness. Read at your own risk***
Musical Borrowing, Donatoni, Pousseur (2007)
Originally written as a 24-hour doctoral exam, in the format of questions and answers. Still needs some revision in order to become a “standalone” text.
Analysis of Electroacoustic Works with Music and Language Intersections (2005)
Co-author: Rodrigo Segnini. This paper proposes a theoretical model for the analysis of music and language intersections in contemporary music. The model is tested on a repertoire of electroacoustic and acoustic pieces, providing examples of blurred boundaries between music and speech. Two axes represent possible dimensions of this relationship: intelligibility and music/speech qualities. The resulting sonic space provides a visual account that can serve as a “travel guide” in the music-speech continuum. The model may be useful in the fields of composition, musicology, and cognitive studies.
Music and Language Intersections in 20th Century Post-Tonal Music: Overlooked Opportunities for Research in Cognitive Neuroscience (2005)
Co-author: Rodrigo Segnini. Summarized version of the paper above in a large poster format.
Ustvolskaya’s 6th piano sonata (2005)
Short analysis of Galina Ustvolskaya’s sixth piano sonata.
Barraqué and Zimmerman (2005)
Also in a Q&A format, this text was originally written as part of a qualification exam. It still needs revision in order to become a “standalone” text.
Kindertotenlieder No. 4 (2005)
A closer look at the fourth piece of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder.
Più gravi sospiri (2004)
Comparison of two madrigals using the same text (Zefiro torna), one by Marenzio, the other by Monteverdi.
Ventanias (2004)
Two versions of one same poem.
The Spell of Speech (2004)
Written concomitantly with the piece of same name, this essay discusses issues related to speech, language and music composition.
Music and Language: theories of common origins and related experimental data (2003)
This paper briefly summarizes basic premises of evolutionary theories of music as well as describes the musilanguage model — a theory that suggests a common ancestor for music and language. Further comparisons between the two domains are examined under a cognitive perspective, and recent experimental data on the inter-relation of music and language (more specifically, speech) are reviewed.
Book review (2003)
Review of the book “The Music of American Composer Lejaren Hiller and an Examination of His Early Works Involving Technology”, by James Matthew Bohn (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004).
Elegia Violeta para Monsenhor Romero (2003)
Text in Portuguese. Not available in PDF. Analysis of the orchestral piece Elegia Violeta para Monsenhor Romero, by Jorge Antunes. Published as a chapter in the book Uma Poética Musical Brasileira e Revolucionária (pp. 317-350), various authors, Brasilia (Brazil), Sistrum, 2002
Indeterminação e improvisação na música contemporânea brasileira (2001)
by Bruno Ruviaro and Leonardo Aldrovandi. [Text in Portuguese]
Survey of indeterminacy and improvisation in Brazilian contemporary music, including discussion of our own practice of improvisation with the duo “Noise o Caldo”. The document includes interviews with Brazilian musicians Paulo Álvares, Ignacio de Campos, Silvio Ferraz, and Sérgio Villafranca.
Epitaph für Aikichi Kuboyama (Eimert): the use of text in electro-acoustic music (2000)
Text in Portuguese. Not available in PDF. Analysis of the electroacoustic piece by Herbert Eimert.
Boletim Música Nova (1997-1999)
Text in Portuguese. Publication dedicated to the promotion of new music, aimed at young music students and concert-goers. Published by the Música Nova group in Campinas, SP (Brazil) between 1997 and 1999.