Žanna Pärtlas

Curriculum Vitae 

(last update: December 2022)

Žanna Pärtlas is currently Senior Researcher at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn.

She was born in 1964 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Russia (former USSR). 1983 to 1992 she studied musicology at the Rimski-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, where she received her PhD in 1992.Since 1992 she is living in Estonia. Pärtlas mainly investigates the Seto, Russian and Mordovian traditional songs. Her research projects focus primarily on analytical approaches to traditional music and on general theoretical questions of traditional multipart singing. Since 1981 she has undertaken fieldwork in different regions in Russia, Belarus, and Estonia.

 

Selected Publications:

1992. Теоретические проблемы гетерофонии [Theoretical Questions of the Heterophony; in Russian]. In Проблемы фактуры, ed. Татьяна Бершадская, Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория им. Н. А. Римского-Корсакова, St. Petersburg, 65 - 89.

1992. Гетерофонное многоголосие русской народной песни: определение феномена, закономерности образования и строения (на материале традиции русско-белорусского пограничья) [Heterophony in Russian Folk Song Tradition: Definition of the Phenomenon, Formation Rules and Structure (on the Material of the Border Zone of Russia and Belarus); in Russian]. Ph. D. Dissertation, The Rimski-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory.

1997. Tähelepanekuid setu laulu laadiehitusest ja mitmehäälsusest [Some Remarks about Modal Structure and Polyphony in the Setu Songs; in Estonian]. In Teater. Muusika. Kino, nr 1, 23 - 28.

2000. Helide funktsionaalsuhetest setu pooltoon-poolteisttoon-laadis (mitmekanaliliste salvestuste distributiivanalüüsi põhjal) [The Functional Relationships of Tones in the Setu One-Three-Semitone Mode (on the basis of the distributive analysis of the multi-channel recordings; in Estonian]. In Töid muusikateooria alalt I, ed. Mart Humal, Eesti Muusikaakadeemia, Scripta Musicalia, Tallinn, 115 – 140 [Summary in English: 204 - 205].

2001. Viisi rütmilisest vormist ja laadirütmist setu mitmehäälses rahvalaulus [The Rhythmic Form of the Tune and Modal Rhythm in the Setu Polyphonic Folk Song; in Estonian]. In Regilaul – keel, muusika, poeetika, eds. Tiiu Jaago, Mari Sarv, Eesti Kirjandusmuusem, Tartu, 117 - 152 [Summary in English: 369 - 371].

2004. Muusikaanalüüs etnomusikoloogias [Music Analysis in Ethnomusicology; in Estonian]. In Mõeldes muusikast: sissevaateid muusikateadusesse, eds. Jaan Ross, Kaire Maimets, Varrak, Tallinn, 448 - 475.

2004. Muusikalise loomingu võimalikkusest setu mitmehäälses laulutraditsioonis [On the Possibilities of Musical Creation in the Setu Polyphonic Song Tradition; in Estonian]. In Regilaul – loodud või saadud?, ed. Mari Sarv, Eesti Kirjandusmuusem, Tartu, 73 - 87 [Summary in English: 264 - 266].

2004. О ладовом “двуязычии” сетуских многоголосных песен [On the Modal “Bilingualism” in the Setu Polyphonic Songs; in Russian]. In Механизм передачи фольклорной традиции, ed. Наиля Абубакирова-Глазунова, Российский институт истории исскуств, Санкт-Петербург, 78 - 90.

2005. К вопросу о сходствах в сетуской, мордовской и южнорусской песенных традициях [On the Similarities between Setu, Mordovian and South-Russian Folk Song Traditions; in Russian]. In Setumaa kogumik 3. Uurimusi Setumaa loodusest, ajaloost ja folkloristikast, eds. Mare Aun, Ülle Tamla, Tallinna Ülikooli Ajaloo Instituut, Tallinn 196 - 237 [Summary in English: 236 - 237].

2006. Foundations of the Typology of Setu Folk Tunes [in English]; Setu rahvaviiside tüpoloogia alustest [in Estonian]. In Individual and Collective in Traditional Culture. Individuaalne ja kollektiivne traditsionaalses kultuuris. Töid etnomusikoloogia alalt 4, eds. Triinu Ojamaa, Andreas Kalkun, Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, Tartu, 19 - 38 (in English), 29 - 46 (in Estonian).

2006. "Sümmeetrilised laadid" ja monointervalliline mitmehäälsus vokaalses rahvamuusikas: mõningaid paralleele setu ja Lõuna-Venemaa rahvalaulu vahel [“Symmetrical Modes” and Mono-interval Polyphony in Vocal Folk Music: Some Parallels between the Setu and Southern Russian Folk Song; in Estonian]. In Regilaul – esitus ja tõlgendus, ed. Aado Lintrop, Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, Tartu, 219 - 248 [Summary in English: 270 - 272].

2008. Принципы бурдона и гармонического согласования в сетуском вокальном многоголосии: закономерности строения партии killõ [The Principles of Bourdon and Harmonic Coordination in Setu Multipart Singing: The Rules for the Upper Voice killõ; in Russian]. In Финно-угорское многоголосие в контексте других музыкальных культур, eds. Triinu Ojamaa, Žanna Pärtlas, Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum, Tartu, Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia, Tallinn, 107 - 122 [Summary in English: 121].

2008. Гармонический ритм и проблема типологизации народных напевов (на материале многоголосных сету-эстонских песен) [Harmonic Rhythm and the Problem of a Typology of Traditional Tunes (The Case of Setu-Estonian Multipart Songs)]. In Финно-угорские музыкальные традиции в контексте межэтнических отношений, eds. Н. И. Бояркин, Л. Б. Бояркина, М. В. Логинова, Е. В. Сычева, Издательство Мордовского университета, Саранск, 240 - 253.

2010. Ambrazevicius, Rytis, Žanna Pärtlas. Searching for the "Natural" Origins of Symmetrical Scales: Traditional Multipart Setu Songs. In CIM10. Conference on Interdisciplinary Musicology. Nature versus Culture. Programme and Proceedings, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, 73 - 78.

2010. Setu Multipart Singing: Comparison of Written Sources and Sound Recordings. In Historical Sources and Source Criticism, eds. Susanne Ziegler, Urban Bareis, Svenskt Visarkiv, Stockholm, 227 - 237.

2010. A “Hen-and-Egg” Problem: Interrelation Between Scale Structure and Vertical Structure in Setu Multipart Songs. In The Fourth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. Proceedings, eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph Jordania, International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, Tbilisi, 336 - 354.

2010. O проблеме восприятия и нотации ладов с подвижными ступенями: эксперимент А. М. Листопадова и сетуские архаические звукоряды [About the Perception of Modes with Mutable Tones: the Experiment by A. M. Listopadov and the Ancient Setu Scales]. In Фольклор и мы: Традиционная культура в зеркале ее восприятий, eds. Н. Ю. Альмеева, А. Ф. Некрылова, А. В. Ромодин, Российский Институт Истории Искусств, СанктюПетербург, 20 - 32.

2011. Ambrazevičius, Rytis, Pärtlas Žanna. Searching for the “Natural” Origins of the Symmetrical Scales: Traditional Multipart Setu Songs. In Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies, 5 (1), 1 - 17.

2011. Pärtlas, Žanna. Men’s Songs in a Women’s Song Tradition. Some Remarks on Men’s Multipart Singing in Setumaa, Southeast Estonia. In European Voices II. Cultural Listening and Local Discourse in Multipart Singing Traditiona in Europe, ed. Ardian Ahmedaja. Wien, Köln, Weimar: Böhlau, 87 - 111.

2011. Pärtlas, Žanna. Lexicon of Local Terminology on Multipart Singing in Setu, Estonia. In European Voices II. Cultural Listening and Local Discourse in Multipart Singing Traditiona in Europe, ed. Ardian Ahmedaja. Wien, Köln, Weimar: Böhlau, 317 - 326.

2012. Pärtlas, Žanna. Retracing Processes of Change: the Case of the Scales of the Setu Songs (Southeast Estonia). In The Fifth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. Proceedings, eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph Jordania. Tbilisi: International Research Center for Traditional Poluphony of Tbilisi Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, 185 - 195.

2012. Pärtlas, Žanna. Musical Thinking and Sonic Realization in Vocal Heterophony. The Case of the Wedding Songs of the Russian-Belarusian Borderland Tradition. In Multipart Music. A Specific Mode of Musical Thinking, Expressive Behaviour and Sound, ed. Ignazio Macchiarella. Udine: Nota, 129 - 142.

2012. Pärtlas, Žanna, Janika Oras. Seto traditsioonilise laulmismaneeri jäljendamise eksperimendist [Results from an experiment in emulating the traditional Seto singing style]. In Res Musica, 4, 22 – 43 [Summary in English: 42 - 43].

2012. Пяртлас. Жанна. Kergütäminõв сетуской народной песне: практическ­ая необходимо­сть, обычай или композицио­нный прием? [Kergütäminõin the Seto traditional songs: practical necessity, convention or compositional device?] In Регионология, 123 - 124.

2013. Pärtlas, Žanna. On Musical Creativity in “Text-oriented” Song Traditions: The Processes of Melodic Variation in Seto Multipart Songs. In Local and Global Understandings of Creativities: Multipart Music Making and the Construction of Ideas, Contexts and Contents, ed. Ardian Ahmedaja. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 60 - 76.

2014. Pärtlas, Žanna. Soolised variatsioonid rahvaviisi teemale: seto viisid meeste ja naiste esituses [Gender Variations on the Theme of Folk Tune: The Seto Tunes in Men’s and Women’s Performance]. In Regilaulu kohanemine ja kohandajad(Eesti Rahvaluule Arhiivi toimetused; 31). Toim. Janika Oras, Andreas Kalkun, Mari Sarv. Tartu: Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumi Teaduskirjastus, 255 - 272.

2014. Pärtlas, Žanna. The Functional System of the Seto One-three-semitone mode: An Approach Based on a Distribution Analysis of Multitrack Recordings. In The Sixth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony, eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph Jordania. Tbilisi: International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi V.Sarajishvili State Conservatory, 393 - 408.

2015. Пяртлас, Жанна. О музыкальном творческом процессе в сетуских многоголосных песнях [On the Musical Creative Process in the Seto Multipart Songs.]. In Музыкальная культура финно-угорских народов: изучение, сохранение и перспективы развития, pед.-сост. Исаева С. А. Cаранск: Издательство Мордовского государственного университета, 3 - 8.

2016. Pärtlas, Žanna. Theoretical Approaches to Heterophony. In Res Musica, 8, 44 - 72.

2017. Pärtlas, Žanna. The Changing “Sound Ideal” as a Social Marker in Seto Multipart Songs. In European Voices III. The Instrumentation and Instrumentalization of Sound. Local Multipart Music Practices in Europe, ed. Ardian Ahmedaja. Vienna: Böhlau Verlag (Schriften zur Volksmusik; 25), 141 - 159.

2017. Pärtlas, Žanna. On the Relict Scales and Melodic Structures in the Seto Shepherd Tune Kar’ahääl. In Folklore. Electronic Journal of Folklore, 68, 43 - 68.

2018. Pärtlas, Žanna. The Brides of Death: Seto Collective Funeral Laments to Maiden. In The Eighth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. Proceedings,eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph Jordania. Tbilisi: International Research Center for Traditional Poluphony of Tbilisi Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, 220 - 233.

2018. Пяртлас, Жанна. Похоронные причитания по девушке у народности сету (юго-восток Эстонии)[The Seto Collective Funeral Laments to Maiden (South-Eastern Estonia)].In Символический капитал традиционной культуры: опыт прошлого в моделях будущего. Материалы международной научно-практической конференции. Ред. Сиротина И. Л., Исаева С. А., Гулая Т. Н. Саранск: Национальный исследовательский Мордовский государственный университет им. Н. П. Огарёва, 192- 197.

2020. Pärtlas, Žanna. Russian Lyrical Songs in the Repertoire of Erzya and Moksha Mordvins: Multipart Singing and Related Emic Terminology. In Tradition and Transition. A selection of articles developed from paper presentations at The First and The Second Symposia of the ICTM Study Group on Music and Dance of the Slavic World. Skopje, North Macedonia: ICTM National Committee of Macedonia, 247 - 260.

2020. Pärtlas, Žanna. The Moksha Mordovian Multipart Songs 40 Years Later: The Comparison of the Multitrack Recordings Made in 1970s and 2010s. In The Ninth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. Proceedings, eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph JordaniaTbilisi: International Research Center for Traditional Poluphony of Tbilisi Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, 123 - 129.

2020. Pärtlas, Žanna. Controlled Disorder in Polymusic: The Case of the Seto Wedding Song Genre Kaasitamine. In Res Musica, 12, 11 - 38.

2021. Pärtlas, Žanna. Methodological Approaches to Folk Tune Typology: Modelling Harmonic Rhythm in Seto Multipart Songs (Southeast Estonia). In Shaping Sounds and Values: Multipart Music as a Means of Social and Cultural Interaction, ed. Ardian Ahmedaja. Riga: Musica Baltica, 75 - 92.

2021. Pärtlas, Žanna. Rising and Falling Tonality in Seto Multipart Songs (South-East Estonia). The Kergütämine Technique and its Functions. In Lietuvos Musicologija (Lithuanian Musicology), 22, 34 - 55.

2021. Oras, Janika; Pärtlas, Žanna; Sarv, Mari; Kalkun, Andreas. The Metrics of Seto Choral Laments in the Context of Runosong Metrics. In Studia Metrica et Poetica, 8 (1), 40 - 98.

2022. Pärtlas, Žanna. Controlled Disorder in Polymusic: The Case of the Seto Wedding Song Genre Kaasitamine. In The Tenth International Symposium on Traditional Polyphony. Proceedings, eds. Rusudan Tsurtsumia, Joseph Jordania. Tbilisi: International Research Center for Traditional Polyphony of Tbilisi Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatoire, 257 - 265. [In English and Georgian]

2022. Kalkun, Andreas; Oras, Janika; Pärtlas, Žanna; Valk, Meel; Kaisel, Mari; Vissel, Triin. Seto laulupärimus. Website. https://laul.setomaa.ee/ Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum (Estonian Literary Museum).