Journal of Fine Arts: Performing Arts and Music
Year:2014 | Volume:18 | Issue:2|Papers Count:7

Although the function of neuro-vocal system of the human body was previously suggested in the second half of the 17th century by the Italian surgeon Antonio Val Sal Va, its use in speech therapy during the past 30 years and its role have not been considered properly for teaching speech method in the schools of dramatic arts. The present study aims to shed some light on the need for paying more attention to this mechanism. This research intends to pave the way for the application of a scientific achievement in teaching artistic tasks. In order to get started in this study, we should take something important into consideration. If we accept this reality that we do not speak merely to project our voices; but we speak to amuse, inform, and also to influence another person’s behavior, we must therefore be aware that each single speech characteristics (including the quality of effectiveness and effectiveness) contain a wide range of components. Consequently these components should be included in our discussions on teaching speech to theatre students. As a matter of fact, Val Sal Va mechanism is activated by physical activities in the scene as well as the emerging emotions and passions. After discussing the specific characteristics of the above-mentioned mechanism and its effectiveness on the final dramatic speech, we will be informed that passion is basically the shared component of speech pathology and elocution, which has unfortunately been neglected in speech exercises. The direct impact of this mechanism on speech aesthetics, both in realistic performing methods and its branches (such as naturalism and impressionism), and antirealisitic and abstract forms is considerable. The process at first seems to expected to carry from the rehearsal period to the final performance on stage. However, this does not happen automatically and both the expected range of our voice and the intended level and quality of emotions and passions would be uncontrollable. Thus, the audience members who are at the end of our communication line would not be able to receive an aesthetically cohesive message. The audience would be able to understand whether Val Sal Va mechanism is formed or not by the external signals we get from the actors’ actions. When an actor is trying to depict a character and his/her emotions under the influence Val Sal Va, the true sense of the characters are not correctly exhibited and thus the portrayals would not believable for the audience members. In order to reach the ultimate goal of presenting a believable performance, an actor must have a defined technique within reach to minimize the drawbacks of Val Sal Va mechanism and make the dramatic situation plausible for the audiences. In this regard, some specific exercises for controlling the emotions and sensations are suggested in the present article. They are to make the actors prepare in the rehearsal periods in such a way to duplicate the final stage situation and help the actors in their realistic performances. In other words, the exercises are to be carried out in a virtual reality as much as possible in order minimize the intrusion of the Val Sal Va mechanism. In addition, the suggested exercises should also be helpful to address speech disorders with mental or physical roots.

In this paper, we take a look at the economy of arts and the relation between the economy and production of theater. The main objective of this study is to study the adverse conditions of Iranian theater and the inferior status of this cultural product in Iran. Economy, in scientific terms, is the budget or capital, converted to products for consumption. Product is something that both meets the needs of people, and is exchanged with other products. Therefore, any product has two properties: 1-It meets the needs of people.2- It is produced and distributed for exchange purposes. Human needs are classified into biological and psychological groups, and the production of goods may either satisfy biological or psychological needs. Theater is considered as a cultural product that meets the psychological needs, and can be consumed like any other product to meet a part of human needs. Just like any other product, theater is subject to three economic elements including production, distribution, and consumption. Therefore, it is required to create a balance between its costs and incomes. In development terms, theater is considered as a valuable product, which should be more consumed by people as the government wishes. Despite such an interest, there are barriers that reduce the share of theater in cultural budgets in such a way that the status of theater in the finance system and cultural budgets of Iran has lowered to its minimum. Moreover, the support and facilities provided to theater is less than the half of those granted to other arts. These barriers can be classified as follows: -Unquantifiable nature of art has made it difficult in general to use quantitative criteria and measuring tools for its recognition. Such a problem makes it also difficult to provide the statistic data and indices that are required for the economic evaluation of an artistic work. -The theater artists and experts have no strong will and interest to generate such indices. As the economic studies of art as a branch of economics has not a broad background, the studies conducted in this field are limited to general issues. In addition, they fail to provide a clear perspective on practical and theoretical solutions. This research shows that theater in Iran has a small share in the households’ consumption baskets and plays an insignificant role in the national economic and development plans. We can therefore conclude that theater has an inferior status in Iran, and such an adverse status in artistic production and culture is undermining both quantitatively and qualitatively. If theater is considered and employed as a profitable and entrepreneur institute in the cultural society and its economic aspects are studied for taking more upturn, the methods of promoting investments and directing proper financial resources are revealed and the most important obstacles to the upturn of theater are removed.

Cinema has traditionally been described as the most realistic art. Nonetheless, the concept of reality in film, as in any other art form, has been defined in various ways. The foremost and most prominent aesthetic and even cognitive question in film studies has been the question of reality and its relation to film. Philosophers of film, from the first ones such as Hugo Munsterberg to the most recent ones such as the cognivist Gregory Currie, have thought about film in terms of either realism or illusionism. Currie’s ideas on film are amongst the most recent theories concerning film and reality in film. As a philosopher, Currie has made room for film in his philosophy, and has attempted, through the use of cognitive science, to solve some of the theoretical problems of film theory. In Currie’s view, the relation between film and reality has been considered from three different standpoints: 1) Transparency, which claims that films, through the use of a photographic method, not only represents the reality but also reproduces it. This view is mostly known by the work of French film theorist Andre Bazin.2) Likeness, which is based on the idea that watching films is almost similar to observing the real world. This view is also attributed to Andre Bazin, in his emphasis on the long take and deep focus filmmaking.3) Illusionism, which claims that film is capable of producing for the spectator an illusion of reality. Most film theorist hold this position regarding the relation between film and reality it depicts on the screen. In his seminal work Image and Mind: Film, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science, Gregory Currie firstly discusses these three standpoints, then rejects both Transparency and Illusionism, and accepts Likeness. He defends the idea of Likeness by arguing that watching films generates a kind of experience which is similar to the normal experience generated in us while perceiving the world. This article firstly tries to introduce briefly the threefold relations among film, reality, and illusion. Secondly, it tries to elaborate on the concept of “likeness” in Currie’s theory. Currie has criticized the two other concepts – transparency and illusionism – which have been put forward by other film theorists regarding the problem of reality in film. Currie himself favours the concept of “likeness” as best explanation for film realism. This article tries to demonstrate some of the shortcomings of Currie’s concept of Likeness, arguing that his theory also fails to answer some of the most important questions regarding the issue of film realism. The article concludes that in the recent years there have been many new technological developments in film production and film reception that have changed the traditional concept of Film. The article argues that due to these radical changes in the concept of “film”, as well as recent technological advances in film production and projection, theories of film realism also need a radical transformation. Such transformations seem necessary if film theories are still in search of new answers to the new questions about film.

The present article aims to address the basic principles of interpretation in the music of the Classical era by drawing upon issues of aesthetics and performance practice in the works of W.A. Mozart. A comparative review of the classic treatises, as well as a thorough survey of the writings of contemporary authors on performance practice, and personal experience as a flautist, has guided the author to introduce a model for the interpretation of the music of Mozart. Important elements that play a key role in understanding the stylistic traits of the Classical period, as well as practical issues that need to be addressed in connection with the preparation and execution of a historically informed performance are introduced in an attempt to allow performers gain a better understanding of the language of Mozart. Considering the emphasis given to the close relationship between rhetoric and musical performance during the Classical period, musical parameters that provide a better understanding of the grammatical structure of compositions are discussed in an attempt to stimulate students to consider not only the formal and structural aspects of a piece but to contemplate on issues pertinent to the expressive layers of performance, issues such as the diversity of accents, meaningful articulation, and appropriate sonority and touch. These parameters are important aspects in allowing performers reach a transparent and meaningful execution on their instruments. Drawing upon historical, analytical and stylistic trends, it is crucial for professional performers and students to combine all theoretical data in order to make a well grounded interpretation. Searching elements that affected the original conceptions of Mozart, the influence of Empfindsamerstil cannot be neglected during the Rococo. Mozartian phrases exemplify contrast through juxtaposing distinct but complementary affects in the phrase. Contrasts exist not only among the different themes of a composition but also within the same theme. The development of the Mannheim school and orchestra encouraged composers to also take into consideration the virtuosic capabilities of instruments and instrumentalists along other principles. Virtuosic phrases that require steady technique, endurance, and vigor are an emblem of Mozartian aesthetics. Combined with the growing weight of tonality during this period, virtuosic passages always emphasize tonal and harmonic motion. By studying the ways and means in which a stylish interpretation can be established, and to use them as historical foundations for artistic decisions, performers have to understand and make a distinction between metric, structural, and pathetic accents. Mozartian melodies can not be significantly expressed unless the performer considers the integrated relationship between melodic inflection, articulation and accents in the interpretation of melodies. While structural and pathetic accents are influenced by the rhetorical/grammatical structure of the piece, it is important for meter not to be mistaken for pulse. Thus, appropriate accentuation is a critical skill in the performance of Mozart because it generates pulse, and pulse should be sufficiently emphasized because it creates motion in performance.

Research on popular music in Iran has a short history. Perhaps the article “sociology of the music of the masses in Iran”, published in 1980, can be considered as the first methodological and systematic study on the popular music in Iran. In that article, the researcher, using Marxist and Neo-Marxist approaches to study popular music, provides a general view on the music of the masses of the pre-revolution era in Iran. It is worth mentioning that, ever since the publication of mentioned article, the amount of research conducted on popular music in Iran has been quite low, even though the production and consumption of popular music in Iran has a considerably richer history. Production and consumption of popular music in Iran as a country in transition has a long history. Up to now dsifferent Genres of popular music in Iran has produced such as Pop, Rock, Jazz, Heavy Metal and etc. The history of production and consumption of music in Iran can be traced back to the time of the introduction of technological aspects of the western modernity to Iran; however, the gap between the production of popular music in its particular sense in Iran, and the concern of researchers for a methodological study of this phenomenon in rather long. Early research on popular music in west almost coincides with the provision of a social context for the production and consumption of popular music. Regardless of the problematic gap between the rise of popular music and the conduct of methodological research on them in Iran, another issue is that these studies are not a theoretical and methodological study. In today’s Iran, despite the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge related to the study of popular music, such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, and educational science, and the establishment of specialized interdisciplinary fields such as musicology and folk musicology in universities and research centers, we do not yet witness the establishment of an interdisciplinary field related to the “popular music studies”, similar to the one which has developed an independent identity in the form of traditional theories and a variety of methodologies for research on popular music in west. This paper aims to study the domestic research experiences on popular music, whose results are generally published in scientific and specialized publications (Such as Mahoor Music Quarterly, University of Tehran Journal of Social Sciences, Iranian Journal of Cultural Researches, University of Tehran Journal of Sociology of Art and Literature, University of Tehran Journal of Fine Arts, Iranian Journal of Sociology), in order to analyze the possibility of forming the interdisciplinary field of “popular music studies”, and answer the question, why studies on popular music have not gained a standard form in Iran yet. What is evident from the popular music studies in west is that, determining a field of study in the area of popular music studies is a very essential perquisite for purposeful studies on popular music, and this, in turn, asserts the necessity of forming such an enterprise in Iran.

this article analyzes 40 images, showing oud player from Sassanid to Safavid periods. These images offer additional insight about the oud. Permanent elements in these images are the basis of analysis in this research. There are two types of figures that could be defined as “permanent elements”: basic figure and nonbasic figure. Basic figure refers to an element (or a person) which is superior to other figures. This can be recognized by visual signs and symbols such as: composition, size, position, and the relation of other figures to it. Sometimes a text, or poem, which is the subject of the image, can help us discern basic figures. Basic figure can be a human being, a mythological creature, a tree, a bird, a throne, or a building. Non-basic figure occupies a lower status than basic figure. In this article, the oud player is oftentimes seen a nonbasic figure. This research shows four kinds of patterns, representing images of the oud player. Repetition and diversity of the patterns could be considered as the reflection of social and cultural values in Persian Ancient and Islamic art. Most of the images belong to the first pattern whereby a king is the basic figure, and hence superior to oud player, a non-basic figure. Most of the time, the oud player is represented in the left corner of the scene, but in a few images he is shown in the right corner. In the second pattern, a non-human element replaces the king as the basic figure. In the third pattern, the oud player is represented as the basic figure, showing his individuality. In other words, there is an overlap between basic and nonbasic figures. In the last pattern, the oud player is shown beside the other figure, demonstrating equal status – in fact, neither is superior to the other. This study introduces Sassanid patterns as a group, having the most variety. All four patterns are available in this period. But a successive review of images, from Sassanid to Safavid, shows that the first pattern becomes more dominant – i.e., the oud player is shown as a non-basic figure. There are the tree images shown in the third category. The first is related to the Sassanid period; the second is related to Islamic period, but obviously under the influence of the Sassanid artistic traditions; and the last belongs to Safavi’s art. Although oud players were respected in the Sassanid period but, due to the lack of enough images from this period, the third pattern of the research does not suggest the superior representation of oud players in Sassanid social classes. The images in the Islamic period shows a lack of emphasis of the individuality of oud player. There has been some debate about the place of music in Islam, so the first and the second patterns can be an indication of lower status of oud player in this society.

throughout history, cultures and music of different nations have been able to hold sway on each other. Neighboring or not, cultures through economic, business and political transactions, wars, shared religious beliefs, immigration of diverse races, etc., have exerted influence over one another. One of the musical impacts was the circulation and popularity growth of the musical instruments. Also, by virtue of exogenous factors, one can witness the transformation which musical instruments have undergone; these changes occurred in different aspects including the material of which the instruments were made, tuning and techniques of playing. At times, the emergence of such external elements in a culture has culminated in abolition of one musical instrument in that culture. Even the invasion of such alien factors has eventuated in abolition of some ethnic musical instruments as well. The influence of European art in Iran is one of the cultural issues in Safavid dynasty which enjoys a great consequence. One of the achievements of the ties established between Iran and the Occident was the presence of European instrument in Iran’s royal court. This presence has been documented both in travel literature of the European travelers and the illustrations remained inherited from safavid dynasty. Western musical instruments set foot on Iran during this epoch via various ways. Sometimes, they were presented as a gift to the kings of Persia from the European governments. Sometimes, they were introduced to the Iranians by the European visitors who appeared at the royal court of Iran. Moreover, the ambassadors who traveled to Iran used to be accompanied by some players in their entourage. Not with standing, European musical instruments used to be present at the court feasts and played by foreign players, they were, in actual fact, common neither among the public nor among the Iranian musicians. What is noteworthy here is the remarkable reception from the Iranians to occidental music and musical instruments. Iranian people, in general, and Safavid kings, in particular, enjoyed the music played by European players, and even, reportedly, the kings took pleasure in listening to slightly out-of-tune sounds of these instruments. The rapturous reception towards European music and instruments from Safavid dynasty is indubitably worth mentioning. This enthusiasm can be vividly notice when Shah Sultan Hossein (c.1668 - c.1726) through a letter to the ambassador of Portugal requested him to send some players to his royal court. That his request was granted or not cannot be confirmed via no reliable sources at hand. Yet, the content of this letter underlines the alacrity and fondness of the king towards the European music and the musical instruments. Although foreign music and instruments were welcomed in Safavid court, there is no sign indicating that the cornerstone of the Iranian music has been influenced by their exotic presence. The impression of European ideas can be detected more obviously in the art of painting rather than other realms of art which has led in the foundation of school called Farangi-sazi style, whereas such parallel evolution cannot be observed in Iranian music.