Oxford Seminar in Music Theory & Analysis: New Directions in Topic Theory
Curated and chaired by Dr James Donaldson (Magdalen College, Oxford)
‘Towards a phraseology of musical topics’
Olga Sánchez-Kisielewska (University of Chicago)
‘“This sounds familiar...’: a model for tropes in video games’
Ben Major (Royal Holloway, University of London)
'TMI: analysing topics in the information age'
James Donaldson
'Reimagining topic theory with reference to electronic dance music in the social media era'
Edward K. Spencer (Utrecht University)
Abstracts
‘Towards a phraseology of musical topics’ (Olga Sánchez-Kisielewska)
Scholars have argued that topics have ‘no syntax’ (Agawu 1991) and that their relation to formal function is ‘fragile’ (Caplin 2005). Even the description of this symposium aligns topics with ‘musical surface’ as opposed to ‘musical structure and process’. This paper will reconsider the relation between topics and form by focusing on frequent pairings of styles found in similar formal contexts – with the hymn topic c. 1800 as a case study. I understand these musical processes as syntagmas (sequences of signs that together create meaning), a term from semiotics frequently applied to media studies.
The hymn topic appears in three common syntagmas in instrumental music, each operating at a different structural level. The first, which I dub the ‘solemn-to-lyrical’, is typical of slow movements that begin as hymns but inevitably dissolve into a more effusive singing style. This intensification of expression tends to occur in a two-stage, nested process: within the phrase and between phrases. The second strategy places the hymn topic after tempesta in sonata developments or secondary themes. This musical storm clearing migrates from opera and pastoral symphonies into non- programmatic works, endowing the remission of turbulence with spiritual associations. The third strategy is specific to a group of two-tempo finales by Paul Wranitzky and Jan Dussek, in which a hymnic adagio reappears in the middle of a fast movement. I interpret this design as a musical metaphor for Schiller’s cyclical journey of human growth.
Although the frequency and consistency of these topical sequences does not raise to level of grammar, it does provide an expressive phrasicon of conventional strategies that determine the succession of topics and their formal locations. These syntagmas provide a path to emancipate topics from their role as ‘ancillary compositional devices’ (Allanbrook 2014), challenging old dichotomies between structure and expression or syntax and semantics.
‘TMI: topic theory for the information age’ (James Donaldson)
Applying topic theory to music of recent decades faces a problem. The sheer number of possible topics – from the winter topic (Lavengood 2023) to space rock (Echard 2017) to tonality itself (Johnson 2017) – creates an information overload, at risk of rendering the insights of the topic-theoretical apparatus increasingly obsolete. This problem is not unique to topic theory; specifically, it parallels the proliferation of music genres, exemplified by Spotify’s genre lists numbering in the thousands. Genre theory, developed with reference to the study of literature, film and popular music, has faced these issues head-on. This paper argues that topic theory can benefit from genre theory’s insights. Building on this work – and Mirka’s definition of a topic as ‘musical styles and genres taken out of their proper context and used in another one’ (Mirka 2014, 2) – this paper argues for adapting a relational approach to genre to musical topics, emphasising the instability of and relations between genres (Derrida 1979, Frow 2006).
I use a case study of the first movement of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 12 (1968) to demonstrate this in practice. I read the generic distant between the serialism topic and a group of familiar eighteenth-century topics onto the form of the movement. Initially, the serialism topic appears alone. Gradually, however, the twelve-tone material transforms the traditional tonal versions of the waltz and learned style into their Schoenbergian (i.e., twelve-tone) subtopics. From this topic-theory led analysis, I suggest that, rather than viewing Shostakovich’s use of twelve-tone rows as somehow second-rate to examples from the West, viewing the serial rows as topics suggests a more distanced treatment of serial music, contributing more to musical meaning rather than as generating harmony and ultimately providing a different perspective on the role of twelve-tone music in 1960s Soviet composition.
‘“This sounds familiar...”: a model for tropes in video games’ (Ben Major)
Video games are both connected to, and distinct from, other forms of media. Like all media, video games also create, iterate, and develop tropes, in which music and sound are particularly important. Scholars have begun using topic theory as a foundation to discuss musical tropes in games but are hampered by using inconsistent terminology. This paper presents a definition and a model for understanding tropes unique to games.
To propose a unified definition of video game tropes, this paper synthesises prior research in topic theory (Monelle 2006; Agawu 2009; Allanbrook 2014; Hatten 2014) as the basis for an analytical model. I also delve into game studies (Perron 2014), and game music research (Atkinson 2019; Yee 2020; Bradford 2020; Lind 2023) to examine how tropes and their interrelated terms have been used in current game scholarship. I then define video game tropes as being ludo-narrative and present a model for identifying these tropes and their sounds as they are found in games. The proposed model identifies three game elements – sonic, ludic and narrative – as well as three elemental levels –unit, topic and process – to account for the myriad formulations and functions of tropes in games.
With a basis in topic theory, this research seeks to clear up the terminological confusion about the term trope in video game discourse. It also assists in the analysis and categorisation of tropes as encountered in games. By using the proposed ludo-narrative trope model, researchers can identify game-specific tropes and isolate their constituent elements. This leads to increased understanding of the effective building blocks of the shared lexicon between developers and players. Ultimately, this expanded topic theory approach reveals a fundamental aspect of the communicative and aesthetic dimension of games: how meaning is conveyed to gamers.
‘Reimagining topic theory with reference to electronic dance music in the social media era’ (Edward K. Spencer)
Abstract to follow
Season 7 of OSiMTA marks a change in format from the first six seasons. In place of twice-termly meetings with one invited speaker, sessions will take place once a term with a larger number of position papers and responses around a focused theme, in order to encourage greater engagement and discussion. We are calling these seminars New Voices in Music Analysis, and each session will be curated by one of the latest generation of Oxford researchers in music theory and analysis.
The sessions will take place as follows:
Michaelmas Term 2024: Tuesday 19 November (6th week), 17.00–19.00, New Directions in Topic Theory, curated by Dr James Donaldson (Magdalen College, Oxford).
Hilary Term 2025: date tbc, New Voices in Musico-Poetics, curated by Chloe Green (DPhil candidate, Somerville College, Oxford)
Trinity Term 2025: date tbc, Scenes from Childhood: Music Theory and Analysis, Education and Play, curated by Dr Giles Masters (Magdalen College, Oxford)
The Oxford Seminar in Music Theory & Analysis (OSiMTA) was established in 2018 and is convened by Dr Esther Cavett and Professor Jonathan Cross.
Our conception of theory and analysis is critical, plural and interdisciplinary. In shaping the seminars, we always aim to reflect the broad range of activity taking place under the heading of theory and analysis today, as well as to challenge boundaries, embracing not only ‘conventional’ practices, histories of theory and repertoires, but also new interdisciplinary approaches that engage with cultural studies, ethnomusicology, aesthetics and philosophy, psychology, politics, performance studies, popular music studies, and so on. Speakers include distinguished local, national and international scholars.
Seminars are open to all, including the general public. Sessions this year are likely to last two hours, where lively discussion will be encouraged. Stay for drinks and join us afterwards for dinner in a local restaurant.
