Queer and Gender-Fluid Artists in the Music Performance Universe of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
(2024)
author(s): Brian Lyons
published in: KC Research Portal
In classical music there has been an effort in recent years to bring to light those whose artistic output contributed to their genre or era but were not as well-memorialized as their caucasian heteronormative male counterparts. So, what about artist-musicians, and those adjacent to them, who lived outside the gender constructs of their contemporary hegemony? What contributions did they purposefully or inadvertently make? What is their reception history and how were these histories documented?
Queer Studies in- and outside of musicology has made strides to recognize the existence of historic queer and gender nonconforming individuals. Generally speaking, the aim has been to legitimize the gender spectrum and to make the lives of these noteworthy individuals known. Still it’s impossible for us to know how these gender non-conformists would have categorized their own gender in the Early Modern and Modern Periods were they to have the same terminology as we have today.
In this thesis I will cite figures from plays and broadsheet ballads of the 17th century, the developing opera genre in France in the early 18th century, the “low style” in London society and theater in the early 19th century, through to the Reconstructionist United States. By illuminating queer and gender nonconforming individuals and the performative acts that defined their personal lives, I show that these communities have always existed in some iteration and in many facets of the musical universe. What emerges is a centuries-old artistic lineage between gender non-conforming people that has yet to be fully explored.
Laments for a Modern World: Exploring the pathetic capabilities of 17th-century Laments
(2023)
author(s): Ai Horton
published in: KC Research Portal
This thesis investigates the pathetic capabilities of the 17th-century vocal Lament. After first establishing an overview of the social and cultural conventions that influenced compositional choices, fourteen historic Laments from western Europe are analyzed to determine how they are able to evoke the feeling of grief. These pathetic elements are then applied to the composition of four new Laments for a Modern World, which couple 17th-century compositional techniques with newly commissioned texts that amplify stories including miscarriage, race-relations, displacement from one's homeland, and mental health.
Giuseppe Torelli and the birth of the Violin Concerto
(2021)
author(s): Pietro Battistoni
published in: KC Research Portal
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709), a violinist and composer famous all over Europe during his lifetime, has not received much attention in today's concert programs and academic environments.
This research has a twofold intention: reconstruct the life of Torelli and investigate the origins of a genre of which he is considered to be the father, the soloistic concerto. As a case of study, an in-depth analysis is been drawn of one violin concerto, which has a debated authorship nowadays, poised between Torelli and Vivaldi.
The results are presented in three chapters: the first one contains the biography; in the second one it is outlined how Torelli redefined the form of the pre-existing Concerto Grosso, thanks to the activity of his predecessors and to the peculiar context in which he was active. This process resulted in the arise of the concerto for solo instrument, which already presented all the characteristics that made this musical form so popular and successful amongst his contemporaries and the following generations. The third chapter consists of an analysis of the Concerto for violin in D minor A.2.3.9/RV813. Through the examination of the primary sources, its transcription for solo keyboard made by Johann Sebastian Bach and the stylistic patterns used, I intend to demonstrate that the attribution to Torelli is more plausible.
The inquiry about this repertoire through a musicological and historical contextualization can bring to a more grounded awareness in how to approach this music as a performer and, hopefully, it will lead to a rediscovery of musical treasures.
A Study on Ornamentation and Expression in French vocal Music (1650-1750)
(2021)
author(s): Kitty Lai
published in: KC Research Portal
This study aims to understand and learn about the historical performance practice in the 17th century. As an early music singer, I am attracted to the sweet and charming 17th-century French vocal music. In particular, I am interested in the relationship between French ornamentation and expression. This research investigates the background of 17th-century performance practice in France in relation to the ornamentation, the pronunciation of 17th-century French, the different types of ornaments and the expression implied by the ornaments. The performance practice in the 17th century was different from now since it was undergoing a major change from polyphonic to solo music, which emphasised more the text than the music. The knowledge of ornamentation was an expected requirement for all well-trained singers in the 17th century, ornamentation was not merely a decoration, but a tool in emphasizing the importance of the text. Thus, it is necessary to learn ornamentation for a complete 17th-century French vocal performance. Since text was the main element in 17th-century French vocal music, it is important to know the characteristics of French language in this period. The ability to distinguish French long and short syllables was important because ornamentation could only be applied mostly to long syllables. The pronunciation of certain French vowels has undergone a significant alteration, and the ‘old’ way of pronouncing them is included in the study. The research findings also show that some ornaments were meant to be used only in certain expression and they help me to better ‘compose’ French ornamentation in future performances.
A Singing Orna/Mentor's Performance or Ir/rational Practice
(2019)
author(s): Elisabeth Laasonen Belgrano
published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
This exposition is an orna/mentor’s doing, an attempt, an essay, a performance, a line-of-thinking, a series of relations, a performance-research-model, a beginning of an orna/mentor’s manifesto. It might appear chaotic for some, and inviting for others. Its aim is to allow for the visitor to dive into the ‘orna’ (as in ‘urn’ meaning: an ornamented vase) mentored by a vocal performer. The exposition performs the raw and asymmetric intimacy of a research process searching to penetrate into (while at the same time radically opening up) that-which-is-yet-to-be-known. The performative caring has created an endless amount of philosophizing figures/sounds-in-themselves, as ornamented variations of an original musical score; a translation of one doing of another doing of another doing. Included in this exposition - as yet another ornamented variation – is a ‘peer-review-dialogue’ (a Q & A) between the orna/mentor and a Chorus of Unknown Reviewers. This dialogue has been included to clarify (or perhaps confuse even more) some of the questions that might arise in the mind of the visitor while moving through the exposition.
Seventeenth-century cello playing, focussing mainly on bow technique
(2017)
author(s): Anne-Linde Visser
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Anne-Linde Visser
Main Subject: Baroque Cello
Research Supervisor: Johannes Boer
Title of Research: Seventeenth century (Italian) cello playing, focusing mainly on bow technique
Research Question:
How can we regain seventeenth century bow-technique for cello repertoire?
Summary of Results:
My aim for this research was to find out more about 17th century cello playing, with the focus on bow technique. The first cello treatise was not written until 1741 (Corette) and therefore most cellists will play this repertoire with a late 18th century (bow) technique. Repertoire which is written especially for the violoncello starts in the late 17th century, but a lot of this repertoire was still composed in the old style.
In short, my research contains the following elements: the bow, the bow-hold, bow-technique and other sources on articulation. The sources used include mainly treatises and iconography (taking into account that not all iconography is appropriate).
Iconography shows us that there are a lot of possibilities to play the cello. In terms of bow hold, underhand bow hold is seen the most, but also overhand bow hold can be seen towards the end of the 17th century. The treatises by Sylvestre Ganassi, Riccardo Rognioni and Francesco Frognoni, were my main sources for bow-technique. Ganassi (16th century) already gives some very important ‘rules’ on string-playing that are still applicable today. Written in even greater detail concerning articulation, are the treatises for wind instruments.
In my opinion, those treatises are not only valuable for 17th century repertoire, but could be also a source of inspiration for any other repertoire.
Biography:
Anne-Linde Visser (The Netherlands, 1992) studies baroque cello with Lucia Swarts. Last year she studied with Jonathan Manson at the Royal Academy of Music in London (Erasmus Exchange). Anne-Linde is ‘Young Bach Fellow’ of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and member of the Theresia Youth Baroque Orchestra (Italy). Besides that, she regularly performs with the Laurenscantorij, Ars Musica and the Dutch Baroque Orchestra. With the Castello Consort she was recently accepted to take part in the Eeemerging-programme. She especially enjoys playing basso continuo, which has been described as ‘excellent’ (Early Music Reviews) and ‘impressive: unobtrusive yet decisive’ (Opera Today).
Look again
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Inês de Avena Braga, Claudio Ribeiro
connected to: KC Research Portal
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
It goes without saying that engaging with the ethos of early music demands a considerable amount of continuous research on the practices of the past, as most aspects of performance are not written in the score, and the understanding and usage of signs and other written indications have changed considerably over time. As curious musicians, research is not only a source of inspiration and innovation in our work but also a source of constant questioning and strengthening of our musical practices. Questions such as “is this actually true?” and “can I really say/do that?” are recurring, and, although these are not always fully or definitively answerable, we find it important to keep asking, going back to the sources and answering over and over again.
In this research, as part of the 2021 Lectorate ‘Music, Education and Society’ of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, we will look again at well-known Italian sources and search for new sources of information on performance practice of music written in Italy in the first half of the 18th century (music methods, instructional writings and evidences in repertoire), without imposing our current practice on it, but being open to what these sources may say that is in shock with what we usually do or take for granted. What can we (re)learn about the performance practice of late 17th- and early 18th-century Italian music by going back to the sources? Our conclusions and inconclusions will hopefully stimulate a review of today’s performance practice and renew approaches on the research of performance practice.
The 'cello' in the Low Countries : the instrument and its practical use in the 17th and 18th centuries
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Elske Tinbergen
connected to: Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
This research of Elske Tinbergen is only available in Dutch.
In 20e-eeuwse naslagwerken is niet veel geschreven over de cello in de Lage Landen in de 17e en 18e eeuw, wat doet denken dat het instrument in die tijd hier niet of amper gebruikt werd. Echter, geschreven en pictoriale bronnen alsmede instrumenten en bladmuziek uit deze twee eeuwen geven wel informatie. Op basis hiervan kan gesteld worden dat de cello in de Nederlanden veel meer gebruikt werd dan gedacht. Er werden hier instrumenten gebouwd, er werden zeer veel afbeeldingen geproduceerd (schilderijen, maar ook bijvoorbeeld gebruiksartikelen zoals tegels, drinkglazen en
zilver) en er is ook een substantiële collectie muziek voor cello gecomponeerd, zowel voor cello solo als cello continuo.
De meest verrassende uitkomst van het onderzoek is wel dat er door veel cellisten in de 17e eeuw een andere streektechniek (n.l. onderhands) werd gebruikt dan in de 18e eeuw. Deze uitkomst wordt ondersteund door een overweldigende collectie afbeeldingen. Deze andere streektechniek resulteert in een andere klank en articulatie wat een ander karakter aan een muziekstuk geeft.
Daarnaast is er uitgebreid onderzoek gedaan naar Alexis Magito, lid van een beroemde 18e-eeuwse Rotterdamse familie van voornamelijk kermisklanten maar ook van enkele musici. Alexis was cellist, componist en graveur. Tijdens dit onderzoek is veel informatie over zijn levensloop boven water gekomen. Twee van zijn cellosonates zijn door de promovenda op cd gezet.
Conclusie: het onderzoek laat zien dat de cello ook in de Lage Landen wijdverbreid was en dat er vele verschijningsvormen en speelwijzen waren.
ORNAMENTING-as-a-METHOD: exploring a poetical onto-ethico-epistemology
(last edited: 2020)
author(s): Elisabeth Laasonen Belgrano
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
The aim of this presentation is to perform an insight into the process of developing a research method, based on a practice-led/diffractive/artistic research methodology. The result includes a true story about a woman’s vocal awakening through the concept of NOTHINGNESS; about seventeenth century voices and musical manuscripts; about voicing experiences in Venice, Kyoto, & Jerusalem; about a collection of poems dedicated to one of the first opera singers – Anna Renz romana - who became NOTHINGNESS on stage; touching on Italian Nothingness and French Je-ne-sais-qua. What will become - as for the end of this story – is an attempt to articulate a process of ornamenting-as-a-method allowing for the emergence of a poetic-onto-ethico-epistemology.
Voic/musick/perform/ing: an intra-active spiritual matter?
(last edited: 2019)
author(s): Elisabeth Laasonen Belgrano
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
The role of a singer/musician/performer calls for an ability to capture the attention of an audience. In the 17th century the general concern would have been for the performer to develop musical and performative means in order to touch both hearts and souls of the listeners. In a blog from 2016, Finnish voice-artist Heidi Fast writes about a specific case study in a hospital environment (as part of her doctoral research) where she examines and explores the possibilities of non-verbal vocality to attune embodied relationality: “my task is not to ‘give voice to the patients’, instead, I try to create favourable conditions with my voice and presence to invite the participants to an entirely new dialogue. The role of the researcher is not a distant observer, but experiential in proximity.” The relationality enacted by performer/s, researcher/s, listener/s, participants in a musical event/encounter allows for overlappings of shared elevated (or even spiritual) experiences inspiring to new ways of thinking. Such existential experiences can be challenging to describe or to discursively articulate at a later stage. At the same time these ‘spiritual’ experiences provide a provocative point of departure for artistic research. The aim of this presentation is to open up for an intra-active discussion on relationality, with reference to voicing musicking/performing and the spiritual/existential experience; artistic research and religious studies/radical theology/new materialist/non-dualistic/holistic theories; artistic research in music and its potential contribution to existential meaning-making applicable for ex in pastoral care.
The music performed in this performance-paper refers to the city of Paris in the 17th century, to the fallen city of Jerusalem as described in the biblical Lamentations, and to Gothenburg and an early 20th century water cistern. Experiencing walls and scores constructed in the past sheds new light on future structures and potential relations.
Presented as "Voicing: an intra-active spiritual matter?"
at National Network for Artistic Research in Music (Nationellt nätverk för konstnärlig forskning i musik / NFKM) 23-24 Aug 2017, Royal College of Music, Stockholm, Sweden