Academic literature on the topic 'Sound Music Music Speech Principal components analysis'

Purpose Cochlear implant (CI) performance varies considerably across individuals and across domains of auditory function, but clinical testing is typically restricted to speech intelligibility. The goals of this study were (a) to develop a basic auditory skills evaluation battery of tests for comprehensive assessment of ecologically relevant aspects of auditory perception and (b) to compare CI listeners' performance on the battery when tested in the laboratory by an audiologist or independently at home. Method The battery included 17 tests to evaluate (a) basic spectrotemporal processing, (b) processing of music and environmental sounds, and (c) speech perception in both quiet and background noise. The battery was administered online to three groups of adult listeners: two groups of postlingual CI listeners and a group of older normal-hearing (ONH) listeners of similar age. The ONH group and one CI group were tested in a laboratory by an audiologist, whereas the other CI group self-tested independently at home following online instructions. Results Results indicated a wide range in the performance of CI but not ONH listeners. Significant differences were not found between the two CI groups on any test, whereas on all but two tests, CI listeners' performance was lower than that of the ONH participants. Principal component analysis revealed that four components accounted for 82% of the variance in measured results, with component loading indicating that the test battery successfully captures differences across dimensions of auditory perception. Conclusions These results provide initial support for the use of the basic auditory skills evaluation battery for comprehensive online assessment of auditory skills in adult CI listeners.

Background: Young adults experience some type of recreational noise exposure on a daily basis; this includes using personal music (PM) systems with earphones. In most cases, this exposure is intermittent and the short-term effects of this exposure on the auditory system are becoming better understood. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of one hour of music exposure using a PM system on distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) absolute levels and generator and characteristic frequency (CF) component levels. Study Samples: Young adults (n = 101) between 18–30 years with normal hearing participated listened to one hour of music through earphones. A second group of young adults (n = 21) served as controls and did not listen to music, but sat in the sound-treated room for one hour. Data Collection and Analysis: Otoscopy, tympanometry, and a hearing screening (≤20 dB HL at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) were completed in a randomly determined test ear. Preferred listening level, in dBA, was obtained and DPOAEs (2f 1 -f 2 ) were measured between 1 and 6 kHz with stimulus levels fixed at L1,L2 = 55,40 dB SPL. Absolute DPOAE levels, along with generator and CF components levels were measured before and after each participant listened to one hour of music at their preferred level in a quiet setting. For data analyses, absolute DPOAE and generator and CF component levels were collapsed into 1/3rd octave bands centered around 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz. Results: Mean preferred listening level was 57.8 dBA, with males having a higher mean level of 61.1 dBA compared with females who had a mean level of 55.7 dBA. Females and males had negligible mean changes in absolute DPOAE levels at 1, 1.5, and 2 kHz, but males had 0.4–1 dB mean decreases after music at 3, 4, and 6 kHz compared to females, although not statistically significant. For DPOAE generator component data, females had small mean decreases for the two lower frequencies whereas males had mean decreases of 0.4–0.8 dB at 3, 4, and 6 kHz. Because of missing data, analyses of the CF component were limited, although females had small mean decreases at four frequencies while males had small mean decreases at two frequencies. There was no effect of listening to music on changes in DPOAEs but control participants had strong reliability (i.e., little or no change) after sitting in quiet for one hour. Conclusions: Young adults listened to music well below what would be considered hazardous. Because of the lower listening levels, DPOAEs showed very little change after music. Although there were no significant short-term changes in DPOAEs after music, the cumulative effect of this noise exposure is still unknown.

AbstractHearing aids (HAs) are important for the rehabilitation of individuals with hearing loss. Although the rehabilitation of speech communication is well understood, less attention has been devoted to understanding hearing-impaired instrumentalists’ needs to actively participate in music. Despite efforts to adjust HA settings for music acoustics, there lacks an understanding of instrumentalists’ needs and if those HA adjustments satisfy their needs.The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges that adult HA-wearing instrumentalists face, which prevent them from listening, responding to, and performing music.A qualitative methodology was employed with the use of semistructured interviews conducted with adult amateur instrumentalists.Twelve HA users who were amateur ensemble instrumentalists (playing instruments from the percussion, wind, reed, brass, and string families) and between the ages of 55 and 83 years (seven men and five women) provided data for analysis in this study. Amateur in this context was defined as one who engaged mindfully in pursuit of an activity.Semistructured interviews were conducted using an open-ended interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.Three categories emerged from the data: (1) participatory needs, (2) effects of HA use, and (3) effects of hearing loss. Participants primarily used HAs to hear the conductor’s instructions to meaningfully participate in music rehearsals. Effects of HA use fell within two subcategories: HA music sound quality and use of an HA music program. The effects of hearing loss fell within three subcategories: inability to identify missing information, affected music components, and nonauditory music perception strategies.Not surprisingly, hearing-impaired instrumentalists face challenges participating in their music activities. However, although participants articulated ways in which HAs and hearing loss affect music perception, which in turn revealed perspectives toward listening using the auditory system and other sensory systems, the primary motivation for their HA use was the need to hear the conductor’s directions. These findings suggest that providing hearing-impaired instrumentalists access to musical experience via participation should be prioritized above restoring the perception of musical descriptors. Future research is needed with instrumentalists who no longer listen to or perform music because of hearing loss, so that the relationship between musical auditory deficiencies and participation can be better explored.

The human auditory system presents a remarkable ability to detect rapid changes in fast, continuous acoustic sequences, as best illustrated in speech and music. However, the neural processing of rapid auditory contrast remains largely unclear, probably due to the lack of methods to objectively dissociate the response components specifically related to the contrast from the other components in response to the sequence of fast continuous sounds. To overcome this issue, we tested a novel use of the frequency-tagging approach allowing contrast-specific neural responses to be tracked based on their expected frequencies. The EEG was recorded while participants listened to 40-s sequences of sounds presented at 8Hz. A tone or interaural time contrast was embedded every fifth sound (AAAAB), such that a response observed in the EEG at exactly 8 Hz/5 (1.6 Hz) or harmonics should be the signature of contrast processing by neural populations. Contrast-related responses were successfully identified, even in the case of very fine contrasts. Moreover, analysis of the time course of the responses revealed a stable amplitude over repetitions of the AAAAB patterns in the sequence, except for the response to perceptually salient contrasts that showed a buildup and decay across repetitions of the sounds. Overall, this new combination of frequency-tagging with an oddball design provides a valuable complement to the classic, transient, evoked potentials approach, especially in the context of rapid auditory information. Specifically, we provide objective evidence on the neural processing of contrast embedded in fast, continuous sound sequences. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Recent theories suggest that the basis of neurodevelopmental auditory disorders such as dyslexia might be an impaired processing of fast auditory changes, highlighting how the encoding of rapid acoustic information is critical for auditory communication. Here, we present a novel electrophysiological approach to capture in humans neural markers of contrasts in fast continuous tone sequences. Contrast-specific responses were successfully identified, even for very fine contrasts, providing direct insight on the encoding of rapid auditory information.

The article outlines the study of political texts from psycholinguistic perspectives. The research generalizes and empirically verifies a psycholinguistic approach to the study of political discourse and focuses on frame analysis, one of the most powerful psycholinguistic techniques. Frame structure embraces conceptual components that allow accumulating information from different sources. The public speeches of two great Ukrainian and American political leaders Viktor Yushchenko and Barack Obama were the principal sources of the analysis. Frame analysis was applied to study cross-cultural peculiarities that depict national nature of two cultures. Data analysis shows that discourse of the Ukrainian leader is mostly focused on categories such as people, power, liberty. The discourse of the American leader contains categories such as economy, money, people, psychological constructs. The results show that people have become top-priority for V. Yushchenko. They are the people the Ukrainian politician addresses, believes and trusts. V. Yushchenko also carries about freedom, independence and liberty of any Ukrainian citizen. B. Obama is deeply concentrated on economy and finance of his country. It has become obvious that he is ready to implement the set of reforms for the country to thrive. The category of psychological constructs shows that the American politician is full of respect and proud for his country ant population. The radical variety of two speeches is caused by different economic conditions, values and mentality of two cultures and personal purposes and objectives of two representatives. References Алимурадов О. Картины языка музыки. Функционально-семантическаяхарактеристика современной английской музыкальной лексики: когнитивнофреймовый подход. М.: КРАСАНД, 2009.Alimuradov, O. (2009). Kartiny Yazyka Muzyki. Funktsional’no-SemanticheskayaKharakteristika Sovremennoy Angliyskoy Muzykal’noy Leksiki: Kognitivno-FreymovyyPodkhod [Pictures of the Language of Music. Functional-Semantic Characteristics ofModern English Musical Vocabulary: Cognitive-Frame Approach]. Moscow: KRASAND. Minsky, M. (1975). A framework for representing knowledge. In: The Psychology ofComputer Vision (pp. 211-277), P.H. Winston (ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Никонова Ж. Теория фреймов в лингвистических исследованиях. СПб: СпбГУ, 2006.Nikonova, Zh. (2006). Teoriya Freymov v Lingvisticheskikh Issledovaniyakh [The Theoryof Frames in Linguistic Studies]. S.-Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University. Никонова Ж. Основные этапы фреймового анализа речевых актов // ВестникНижегородского университта им. Н. И. Лобачевского. 2008. № 6. С. 224–228.Nikonova, Zh. (2008). Osnovnyye etapy freymovogo analiza rechevykh aktov (namateriale sovremennogo nemetskogo yazyka) [The main stages of frame analysis of speech acts (on the basis of modern German language]. Vestnik NizhegorodskogoUniversiteta im. N. I. Lobachevskogo, 6, 224–228 Шейгал Е. Семиотика политического дискурса. М.: Гнозис, 2004.Sheygal, Ye. (2004). Semiotika Politicheskogo Diskursa [The Semiotics of PoliticalDiscourse]. Moscow: Gnozis. Стернин И. Методика исследования структуры концепта. Воронеж, 2001.Sternin, I. (2001). Metodika Issledovaniya Struktury Kontsepta [Methodology for Studyingthe Structure of the Concept]. Voronezh: Voronezh University. Засєкіна Л., Засєкін С. Психолінгвістична діагностика. Луцьк: Вежа, 2008.Zasiekina, L, Zasiekin, S (2008). Psyholinhvictychna Diahnostyka [PsycholinguisticDiagnostics]. Lutsk: Vezha. Sources Obama, B. (2007) Barack Obama’s campaign speech. Retrieved fromhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/10/barackobama. Ющенко В. Слухай своє серце, керуйся своїм розумом!// Високий замок. № 185(3).Yushchenko, V. (2004) Slukhay svoye sertse, keruysya svoyim rozumom! [Listen to yourheart; be guided by your mind!]. Vysokyy Zamok, 185, 3.

Background. In recent decades, musicology has demonstrated a steady interest not only in the grammar of the musical language, in the structural-logical side of the musical form, but also in the associative-figurative plan of music. The latter is increasingly becoming the subject of not only spontaneously-intuitive cognition, but also of decoding and systematization. The works on musical semantics, disclosing the meanings of musical lexemes in the context of that culture, that epoch-making style, in which they originated, belong, in particular, to L. Shaimuhametova, A. Asfandiarova, I. Alekseeva, H. Baikieva, A. Hordeeva, N. Kuznetsova N. Drach, I. Stohniy, H. Taraeva, L. Kazantseva. We also need to note the numerous studies of rhetoric and symbolism in Baroque music, especially, in J. S. Bach’s works. H. Poltavtseva describes the connection of types of musical language and their perception, as well as the process of comprehension on this basis of musical imagery. The study of musical content as a new direction of scientific thought was carried out by V. Kholopova and A. Kudriashov and found its application in creating of same name training courses. The purpose of the proposed study is an attempt to describe the process of forming a figurative subtext of a musical work using the concept of “virtual”, which, despite the wide spreading in modern musicological works of various directions, still does not have an established semantic structure. At the same time, it can be fruitfully used to study many musical phenomena, including the figurative subtext of a musical work. Research methodоlogy. In this study, we rely on the previously developed by us the conceptual system of the virtual in music, in particular, on one of its components – the virtual cognitive applied to the sphere of musical semantics. We used the modeling method to reproduce the algorithm of the formation of the figurative plan of a musical work, the method of semantic analysis to reveal the meanings of musical lexemes, the analytical methods of musical theoretical disciplines for considering the musical material. The results of the research. Virtual cognitive is connected with the hidden possibilities of the musical text and the hidden semantic plans of the musical work. We define hidden musical text plans as “virtual structures”. The latter, in combination with other components of the musical composition and specific features of the perception of music, shape the complex structure of the virtual, which we consider as one of the factors in the formation of the associativefigurative plan of the musical work. In our study, we rely on the idea of both a virtual cognitive and a musical work as a sign-oriented structure that can be studied from the standpoint of the general theory of language, as well as on the statement about the dependence of the perception of the musical text on a thesaurus of a performer or a listener. In this connection, using such terminological pairs as “language-speech”, “text-context”, “denotation-connotation”, we add one more: “text-subtext”. The relation of the last two pairs, in our opinion, is a correlation: “denotation / text”, “connotation / subtext”. Connotations arise thanks to the context, in which this or that text appears and functions. Both denotations (direct meanings) and connotations (accompanying meanings constituting the area of a subtext) belong to the realm of the virtual, because: 1) the meanings of the linguistic sign are products of individual and collective consciousness; 2) contextualized meanings can be revealed to the recipient only if the latter knows the context, in which this or that sign unit originated. However, if there is not enough auditory experience, both the denotation and the hidden connotations of the text (subtext) exist only as an unrealized opportunity, that is, as virtual. We will consider as musical-speech denotations: pitch characteristics, in particular, mode and tonal, harmonic, various “types of musical language” (after H. Poltavtseva), intonational turns with fixed meanings, the virtual structures of the facture-sound level – individual coloring of sound, hidden polyphony. As connotations – the virtual structures of the composition of the dramaturgic level: numerical symbolism, hidden form-building principles, which are the expression of a certain philosophical idea. Thus, the figurative subtext of a musical work is a compound structure formed by a number of elements and processes. The substrates of this complex are: 1) the musical notation, in which the basic parameters of the sounding are fixed; 2) sounding. On this basis, the other virtual formations arise: 1) performer’s mental, audial and motor ideas about a musical work; 2) listener’s perceptions – the modes of psychosomatic activity and figurative associations that arise on their basis; 3) denotations – semantics, fixed to one or another tonalities, to intonation formulas, to rhetorical figures etc.; 4) connotations, the area of subtext, often generating by contexts, in which the text is appeared, functioned and apperceived, taking into account the recipient’s thesaurus. In the context of perception, we include not only the properties of the recipient’s thesaurus, but also the communicative situation, in which this or that work is performed / perceived. Conclusions. Consequently, another else part of the sphere of virtual cognitive is the complex structures of the virtual, which act as a factor of the formation of an associative-figurative plan of a musical work. The components of these complexes are the components of the musical language (which include the virtual structures of the musical text, especially the factural and syntactic levels) in conjunction with the individual characteristics of perception due to the context of the communicative situation, the capacity and the nature of recipient’s thesaurus – a kind of filter, through which the meaning goes filling those or other musical constructions. The prospects for further research on virtual cognitive in the field of musical semantics provide for a more detailed and multidimensional consideration of the complex structures of the virtual in musical texts of different historical eras and styles.

Formulation of the problem. U. Giordano is a bright representative of the late romantic tradition of the Italian opera of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Among the brightest stage versions of his most famous opera “Andrea Chenier”, within this study we have selected a number of the key implementations of Andrea Chenier’s part, which show the constant and mobile signs of the interpretation of this famous opera image. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of interpreting the image of Andrea Chenier from the opera of the same name by the performers of various schools in the aspect of the interaction of historical traditions and modern tendencies from viewpoint of comparative interpretation science. Analysis of recent publications on the topic of the article. The Italian opera of the XIX century is the object of many fundamental researches. The monograph of O. Stakhevych [7] demonstrates a multifaceted approach to the problems of becoming and development the bel canto style; in the study by M. Cherkashina [9], the music theatre of Bellini and Donizetti is presented as an independent phenomenon of Italian operatic history in its first period. I. Drach [2] points to debatable and sometimes subjectivity of interpretation of the concept “bel canto”. The evolution of the Italian opera already at the beginning of the XX century is considered in the study of L. Kirillina [3]; reference information about the Italian opera can be found in English-language articles from Grove’s dictionary [17]. An interesting concept is the book of A. Mallach [14] – the author traces the very fast path of the Italian opera from verismo to modernism. As for U. Giordano’s creativity directly, beside the small articles of encyclopaedic character [12; 13], the publication of M. Morini [15] is the most fundamental and complete. It collected not only researches of the composer’s creativity, but also reviews by contemporaries U. Giordano, his correspondence, registers of his performances and music recordings. The study of C. Ruizzo [16] contains arguments about the components of verismo in the work of U. Giordano, in particular, analyzes the finale of the III pictures of the opera “Andre Chenier”. Regarding this opera, we will separate the mini-guide by Burton D. Fisher [11], the articles of I. Sorokina [8], G. Marquezi [5], H. W. Simon [6], C. Duault [10]. The authors discuss not only the dramatic features of this opera masterpiece, the figure of the main character, but also the influences that this opera made, for example, on “Tosca” by J. Puccini. Statement of the main content of the article. The opera “Andrea Chenier” is a sign composition of the verismo era, despite the fact that its main character is the well-known politician, French poet and journalist. After composing (1895) and the premiere (1896, Milan), the opera was staged in Genoa, Mantua, Parma, Turin, New York (1896), Kharkov, Moscow; Budapest, Buenos-Aires, Florence, Naples, Prague, Santiago (1897), Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Cairo, Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro (1898); in 1907, in the production of Covent Garden, E. Caruso played the title role. The composer and librettist brought to the stage as the protagonist of opera bright, courageous and ambitious person, so it is not surprising that both separate arias and the party of Shenier still belong to the repertoire of many prominent tenors of the planet – F. Tamagno, J. Martinelli, E. Caruso, B. Gigly, G. Lauri-Volpi, A. Cortis, F. Corelli, M. Del Monaco, P. Domingo, L. Pavarotti, M. Alvarez. The opera “Andre Chenier” is a model of the golden age of verismo, and it is endowed with all the main features of this direction of Italian art. However, the protagonist, in addition to being a poet, is also a revolutionary, that is, an uneasy person, a hero, and it is the fact that deduces this work for the stylistic limits of verismo by demonstration of a strong, extraordinary character. These features are embodied in the musical characteristics of Chenier. The main thing in interpreting his famous Improvisation “Un di al’azzurro spazio” (the 1 act of the opera) by E. Caruso is the very elaboration, exact construction of the melodic line and the bright climax, that is, combination the features both a lyrical and a dramatic role specializations that E. Caruso was possessed in equal measure. B. Gigli’s singing (which we consider an example of a dramatic embodiment of the image) is characterized by the refinement of the mezzo voce and the richness, when he sings in full voice, therefore his performance of the Improvisation, in general, is more emotional (a high-profile register, a rhythmic emphasizing that gives a distinct organization the image). M. Del Monaco performs the Improvisation not so much playing by the shades of his strong voice as leading the almost continuous melodic line, which gives mostly lyrical colours to the Chenier’s image. The aria “Come un bel di Maggio” from the 4 act performed by F. Corelli is a model of the exalted lyrics, the lyrical culmination of the opera. F. Corelli performs the aria legato that is tellingly to the bel canto tradition, with a full sound, as if the sound hovers and penetrates everywhere through the skilful addition of dramatic notes (the last sounds of the upper tenor range – si, la of the first octave). P. Domingo interprets Andrea’s image as a whole more dramatically, but in a fairly wide range – from the pathetic (Act 1), the sublime, lyrical (recognition in love in the Act 2) to the tragic (monologue “Yes, I was a soldier” of the Act 3) and the dramatic (Act 4). His striking rubato, aimed at acutely emotional expression, is impressive, P. Domingo has literally speaking in the some parts of the recitatives and even the arias, and that, in conjunction with accelerando, fills the musical language by the speech expression. The interpretation by P. Domingo corresponds to Chenier’s status as a revolutionary hero. Conclusions. Composing the opera, U. Giordano counted on the Italian tenor in the main role, according to the traditions of the bel canto era (strong upper notes, wide range, and equal voice sounding in different registers). The tradition of interpreting the image of Chenier, laid by the first performer J. Borgatti, generally is preserved. The analysis of the most famous interpretations of the Chenier’s part (performed by E. Caruso, B. Gigli, M. Del Monaco, F. Corelli, P. Domingo, J. Carreras, and L. Pavarotti) demonstrated the leading role of the Italian bel canto school. This applies to the principle of canto è riflesso, singing without forcing the sound, the role of breathing, which transforms into the singing sound, the predomination of the head register (la voce di testa), and the integrity of the cantilena. For instance, M. Del Monaco and F. Corelli are lyrical tenors; they sing brightly, with a shine light decoration of high notes. In the performance of B. Gigli, there is a constant movement forward; L. Pavarotti, F. Corelli, J. Carreras, being within the limits of the lyric and dramatic role specifications, transmit in music the power of deep feelings. Instead, B. Gigli and, P. Domingo especially demonstrate the power of drama in the role specification of the Italian tenor, thereby enhancing the heroic side of the image of Shenier. The prospect of further study of the topic is associated with the emergence of new interpretations of the image of A. Chenier in the 21st century, which opens up new dimensions of the science about art interpretation.

Background. The modern science reconsiders various conceptions, which were influencing the theory and practice of musical art over the centuries. Particularly, there is much talk today about the fact that marking of female opera roles as “coloratura” according to the principle of their technical complexity and diapason wideness is quite nominal and not connected directly with singing voices’ gradation. Gradually entrenched tendency of denial of the female voice’s definition as “coloratura” has developed, and it is based on the argument that this characteristic reflects parameters of composer’s objectives rather than the voice’s nature. Probably, that’s why there are works in repertoire of certain female vocalists (for instance, Maria Callas and contemporary Canadian singer Natalie Choquette), which are usually performed by owners of “different” voices. However one cannot deny the fact that certain opera roles are composed specifically for coloratura soprano, despite the fact that indications of it are missing in manuscripts. N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera heritage is exponential in this connection; the destination of particular female roles for coloratura soprano is unquestionable – Snow Maiden, Marfa, Volkhova, Tsaritsa of Shemakha, etc. And though this roles are performed by female vocalists of various voices in today’s theatrical practice, it seems to us that voice’s characteristics have principal significant for appropriate implementation of author’s conception. Objectives. Thus, the purpose of the study is to identify the significance of the voice’s particularity factor as a carrier of a certain imagery in the composer’s conception and in the performer embodiments of opera parts (separated opera arias). Methods. The methodological basis of the study is the unity of scientific approaches, among which the most important is a functional one, associated with the analysis of the genre as a typical structure. Results. The Gogol’s plot became the basis of several operas, the most famous of which are “Cherevichki” (“The Little Shoes”) by P. Tchaikovsky and “Noch’ pered Rozhdestvom” (“Christmas Eve”) by N. Rimsky Korsakov. The comparison of this two works clearly shows the fundamental difference in composers’ conceptions. In P. Tchaikovsky’s interpretation the lyrical line is extracted from the literary primary source. But for N. Rimsky Korsakov the comparison of the real and fantastic world becomes the main thing in this opera. Therefore the role of Vakula is written quite schematically, but Oksana’s image is interesting developed, it is presented in progress – from carefree girl to loving woman. This progress is obvious when comparing Oksana’s Arias from Act I and Act IV. The Aria from Act I is a peculiar synthesis of national and Italian singing traditions, a prime example of entrance aria (di sortita), which presents the character’s portrayal and comprises such basic components as slow introduction and episodes demonstrating technical possibilities of the voice. Oriental intonations, which are specific for composer’s vocal works, coupled with coloraturas, give the impression that Oksana is “not from this world”. According to lots of researchers, the whole N. Rimsky Korsakov’s opera “metacycle” is an artistic integrity united by a generic idea that defined the unity of approach to implementing of “type” (including female) characters. The intonational canvas of every particular role (the choice of so-called intonational complexes – “a cold” or “a warm”) is determined by character’s affiliation with natural or fairy-tale locus. Oksana’s portrayal for N. Rimsky Korsakov has been ambivalent. On the one hand, she doesn’t relate to “another world” like Snow Maiden or Volkhova; on the other hand – Oksana is a fairy-tale character. Therefore composer uses partly the same strokes in the development of the portrayal as for female fairy-tale characters. However, the formation of this character’s personality is revealed through the transformation of “cold” (fairy-tail) intonational complex to “warm” (“alive”). Two performances of the first Oksana’s Aria are briefly reviewed as an example: the concert performance by Gohar Gasparyan, an Armenian lyrical coloratura soprano (1924–2007), and a recording from the Inessa Prosalovskaya’s CD “Arias from operas”, the Russian lyrical dramatic soprano (born in 1947). G. Gasparyan’s idea was to present the portrayal of a young girl of the people. Therefore the singer levels virtuosic components of music material as much as possible, and a coloring of her voice, for which it was easy to sing the second A sharp above middle C, emphasizes lyrical hints of Oksana’s Aria. Also the significant textual cuts becomes one of important parameters of creation of a “gentle” young girl’s portrayal; they not only transform the expanded aria into the form, which is close to a song in scale, but also significantly reduce specifically those snippets, in which technical difficulties are concentrated. Version by I. Prosalovskaya presents another interpretation, original sound of which is largely due to the singer’s timbre of voice. Its deepness, expressivity and completion absolutely modify personal characteristics of the N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s character. Therefore we observe not a young girl already, but a woman – passionate and confident. Thus, it could be concluded that timbre color’s specificity of the voice of female opera singer has a significant impact on features of the character that she embodies. It is obvious that this specificity determines all the parameters of the performer’s version of the composer’s work (both a separate aria and the opera as a whole). A more detailed study of the relationship between the voice timbre and the semantic and compositional decisions characterizing an individual performer style seems to us a promising direction for further research.

Purpose People with hearing impairment (HI) face numerous challenges that can be minimized with the use of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Despite technological advances in these assistive hearing devices, musical perception remains difficult for these people. Tests and protocols developed to assess the musical perception of this audience were the target of this systematic review, whose objective was to investigate how assessments of musical perception in people with HI are carried out. Method Searches for primary articles were carried out in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, and ASHAWire databases. Search results were managed using EndNote X9 software, and analysis was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Statement. Results The 16 cross-sectional included studies analyzed music perception data from people with HI compared to a control group of participants with normal hearing. Among these, four studies were selected to be included in a meta-analysis, performed with timbre and melody. Variability was observed in the tests and between the levels of auditory perception skills analyzed in relation to the components of music. With respect to the tests, sound stimuli generated by synthesizers were the most used stimuli; with the exception of timbre evaluation, the most frequent test environment was a booth with sound attenuation, and the average intensity for presenting sound stimuli was 70 dB SPL. The most evaluated sound component was pitch, followed by rhythm and timbre, with a pattern of responses based on adaptive and psychoacoustic methods. Conclusions The heterogeneity of the musical parameters and the auditory abilities evaluated by the tests is a fact that can compromise evidence found in this area of study. It is worth considering the quality of samples that were recorded with real musical instruments and digitized afterward, in comparison with synthesized samples that do not seem to accurately represent real instruments. The need to minimize semantic parallelism that involves the auditory skills and elements of music involved in the assessment of musical perception is highlighted.