Using the visualisation for research
This resource centres around Louise Hanson-Dyer, but the extensive nature of her network means it can also be used to explore connections between other figures active in the arts throughout her lifetime. The following example illustrates how the visualisation tool can be used to research musical life in interwar Paris.
Example of a search
A keyboard student at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music has become interested in the early music revival of the twentieth century, particularly the influence of the Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, who attracted many harpsichord students to Paris between 1925 and 1940. When browsing the visualisation’s drop-down list of people and groups, the student recognises the names of a number of harpsichordists who studied with Landowska in Paris: Isabelle Nef, Ruggero Gerlin and Marcelle de Lacour.
After selecting these names and keeping Show nodes related to selection switched to Yes, the student sees a number of connections between these individuals. However, after switching Show nodes related to Hanson-Dyer to No, they see many links between Nef and Gerlin, but none with de Lacour.
Interpreting results
The many links between Nef and Gerlin indicate that these harpsichordists collaborated on many Oiseau-Lyre projects. Clicking on the names that link them, such as Pierre Pierlot, Marcel Frécheville, Georges Alès or Louis de Froment, reveals the nature of these relationships (primarily Recorded With in this case, i.e. playing together on a recording released on disc by Hanson-Dyer). Clicking on the names also lists other members of the network with whom that individual worked, as well as basic details about them.
De Lacour, on the other hand, never worked alongside Nef and Gerlin on a Oiseau-Lyre output. Clicking on her name reveals that her only relationship in the database is having her performance published on disc by Hanson-Dyer, indicating that she operated in the Hanson-Dyer network only as a solo recording artist. The visualisation therefore reveals that all three musicians worked with Hanson-Dyer; Nef and Gerlin worked with Hanson-Dyer on many of the same outputs; but the three musicians never worked with Hanson-Dyer at the same time.
Closer inspection of the connections within this map may also help to understand the networks that Nef and Gerlin established within the context of l’Oiseau-Lyre. Many names connect the Swiss and the Italian harpsichordist at the centre, top and bottom of the map, and choosing to colour the nodes by nationality reveals that these are primarily French and Belgian musicians, which is expected, given that both trained in Paris. However, at the left and right sides of the map we also see distinct networks: for Nef these are Swiss musicians, indicating that she continued to make recordings for the Paris-based label after returning to Geneva in 1936. For Gerlin, on the other hand, British, Australian and Canadian musicians form the distinct portion of his network, even though he moved from Paris to Naples in 1941. These unusual results could be used as a starting point for a study into the international recording and touring career of this under-researched musician.
Colouring results by nationality also speaks to the importance of international collaborations for Hanson-Dyer, and new or similar questions could arise when sorting the same results by gender or role.