Thompson, Benjamin
(2024)
Musical Cryptography: Codes, Ciphers, Form, and Function.
MRes thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
This thesis investigates the conception, historical development, and function of musical cryptography. Musicologists such as David Løberg Code, Eric Sams, Roy Howat, and Helen Elizabeth Rudeforth will provide the framework for cipher and code-based study, while Johannes Kepler, Mihail Cocos, and Shawn Fowers provide the framework for study of the relationship between music and mathematics. By clarifying the origins of codification and examining the musical applications of cryptographic practice, this thesis hopes to establish the significance of musical cryptology, not as supplementary to other analyses, but as an autonomous branch of musicology.
THE RESEARCHER AND THE RESEARCHED
The concept of musical cryptography was first introduced to me during a Music in 20th Century Britain lecture in 2021. Discussing Elgar’s Enigma Variations, the lecturer jovially remarked that the piece comprised a true enigma, the clues to which were outlined by Elgar in a cryptic programme note. I was fascinated by the notion that music could be used as a vessel for encryption and following this encounter, absorbed any and all information I could on the subject.
In the subsequent three years of formal and informal research, I have observed two consistent shortcomings in much of the current scholarship. Firstly, while musicologists like Howat and Rudeforth do engage in cryptographic analysis, it is rarely the focus of their articles, instead being used to underpin other analyses. Secondly, papers that do make cryptography the focal point (like Eric Sams’ work on Schumann) are never long-form studies, instead appearing as articles or columns that handle very focused moments of method analysis. As a result, musical cryptography as a practice is yet to be contextualised functionally, in terms of its purpose, or historically, in terms of its development and origins.
In order to address the gaps left by these publications, it is important to acknowledge that this thesis will feel abnormally broad in scope for a paper of this size. This is especially true of the first half which hopes to acclimatise the reader to complex concepts and terminology that are vital to any significant study of the topic.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
My research questions draw from the information, knowledge, and expertise in musical cryptographic methodology from David Løberg Code, Eric Sams, and the many contributors to cryptography forums and blogs whose online anonymity means I am unable to personally acknowledge them. That being said, I am continually in awe of the remarkable online communities born of a shared passion for cryptography, and feel very fortunate to have interacted with them while developing this paper.
The central research questions are as follows. What are the origins of musical cryptography? What are the different encryption techniques and how do they affect musical output? Finally, why did composers choose to encrypt their music, what was the function?
THE CHAPTERS
The paper is outlined with four chapters in mind. Chapter one defines cryptography, introduces the three fundamental modes of musical encryption, and explores the ancient origins of musical cryptography as a practice. This chapter also addresses the academic avoidance of musical codes and examines three musical codification case studies. The second chapter examines the various forms of musical ciphers. Establishing five differing construction techniques, the chapter identifies multiple examples of each and evaluates the strength of the encryption, and coherence of the resulting music. Chapter three steers away from cryptographic form, focusing on the function of musical encryption. Analysing three large case studies, the examples are evaluated in the final chapter. The fourth chapter also establishes musical cryptography within the wider musicological landscape.
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