Music Practice Commons^™

“Transports Of Delight”? Reviews Of Clarinet Performance In Paris And London, C. 1770 – C. 1810, Catherine J. Crisp

Performance Practice Review

Reviews of clarinet performance in Paris and London, c. 1770 – c. 1810 make specific reference to 18^th-century performance ideals, as identified by the contemporary writer Charles Burney who described the “principal excellencies of perfect execution”. The performance qualities described by Burney and their inclusion in contemporary reports is particularly valuable in assessing performances featuring the newest woodwind instrument, the clarinet. References to many of these performance qualities combine to form detailed accounts of the sonorities, technical execution and expressive qualities evident in performances given by clarinet players in Paris and London.

This article draws upon a wide …

By Word Of Mouth: Historical Performance Comes Of Age, Ingrid E. Pearson

Performance Practice Review

Since Clive Brown’s 1991 accusation that many twentieth-century manifestations of historical performance lacked an appropriate degree of musical sensitivity, the historical performance movement has truly come of age. In the arena of Western Art music, historical performance is now an essential component of musical training and education. Successful performers must be able to seamlessly function across the widest possible range of musical styles, accommodating an equally wide gamut of tastes, both individually and collectively.

In 1982, nine years earlier, Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word explored differences between oral and literate cultures. Of particular interest to …

Numbers And Tempo: 1630-1800, Beverly Jerold

Performance Practice Review

After discussing the role of technology in achieving modern performance standards, this article examines sources that have been cited in support of extremely rapid tempos for the time frame 1630-1800. It summarizes recent findings about the French time devices in which a new source ‒ the Paris dancing master Raoul Auger Feuillet’s reasonable pendulum tempo numbers for dance forms ‒ provides the most accurate information to date for tempo around 1700. Continuing then with other sources cited for rapid tempos, the present article discusses the conflicting statements in Marin Mersenne’s Harmonie universelle and his inaccurate pendulum measurements. It considers the …

"Interpreting Mozart: The Performance Practice Of His Piano Pieces And Other Compositions" By Eva Badura-Skoda And Paul Badura-Skoda, Andrew Willis

Performance Practice Review

Willis reviews and critiques Eva and Paul Badura-Skoda's 2009.

Some Misconceptions About The Baroque Violin, Stewart Pollens

Performance Practice Review

Much has been written about the baroque violin, yet many misconceptions remain most notably that up to around 1750 their necks were universally shorter and not angled back as they are today, that the string angle over the bridge was considerably flatter, and that strings were narrower gauge and under lower tension...

In Search Of The Eighteenth-Century “Violoncello”: Antonio Vandini And The Concertos For Viola By Tartini, Marc Vanscheeuwijck

Performance Practice Review

In this rarely-quoted excerpt, Johann Philipp Eisel obviously paraphrases Johann Mattheson’s definition of the violoncello in Das Neu-eröffnete Orchestre. It is yet another description that does not conform precisely to our early twenty-first century historical construct of the “baroque” cello. In the past not much attention has been given to such descriptions, considered to be too deviant from the general understanding of what a cello was supposed to be: five or six strings were not considered to represent the “normal” cello, and the viola da spalla was considered a different instrument altogether. However, recent research has finally taken such descriptions …

Bach's Tempo Ordinario: A Plaine And Easie Introduction To The System, Robert Marshall

Performance Practice Review

The initial impetus for this inquiry came from a question posed by Arthur Mendel during a coffee break in a Bach seminar some thirty years ago. Why, he asked, did Bach notate the last movement of the fifth Brandenburg Concerto in two-­four time, with triplets rather than in six-­eight time?...

The Mandolin: Its Structure And Performance (Sixteenth To Twentieth Centuries), James Tyler, Paul Sparks

Performance Practice Review

RILM: "A history of the instrument, with information about the construction and repertoire, and particular reference to performance techniques. The derivation of the term "mandolin" is discussed, as are the differences between the mandolino and the Neapolitan mandolin."

Performing On The Trombone: A Chronological Survey, David M. Guion

Performance Practice Review

RILM: "A history of the trombone from the late 14th c. to the present, with special emphasis on performance practice."

Action And Singing In Late 18th And Early 19th Century England, Robert Toft

Performance Practice Review

RILM: "Examines the role that action played in the performance of vocal music in the late 18th and early 19th c., through descriptions in writings from the period. Gilbert Austin's Chironomia, or, A treatise on rhetorical delivery (London, 1806) provided instruction in elocution and described such topics as standing, using the hands and arms, and making gestures in relation to the text. Austin's notation of action is applied to Thomas Gray's poem An elegy written in a country church-yard--which was set to music by Stephen Storace--to illustrate how action might have been employed by singers in the late 18th …

Musical Venues In Vienna, Seventeenth Century To The Present, Ingeborg Harer

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract: "Consideration of musical venues is often neglected in research on historical performance practice. Many musical works are directly linked to a particular location. The characteristic features (type, size, Acoustics) of the room or building for which the music was written influenced the composer in the creation of his work. A number of venues have had a special place in the musical life of Vienna over the past four centuries. A list of principal Viennese musical buildings (theaters, opera houses, music rooms, concert halls) is included, along with the circumstances surrounding their construction, and the more important musical works--especially …

Woodwind Vibrato From The Eighteenth Century To The Present, Dwight C. Manning

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract: "Surveys methods of vibrato production in woodwind performance. Beginning with Jacques Martin-Hotteterre, 18th-c. authors recommended finger vibrato. In the 19th c., Anton Bernhard Furstenau mentioned finger as well as jaw and breath vibrato. Late in the century, Maximillian Schwendler proclaimed that vibrato is initiated in the larynx (throat). The 20th c. has seen the debate continue over whether vibrato is produced by the breathing and blowing apparatus or by the throat, with recent scientific experiments supporting the latter claim."

"Classical And Romantic Music, The Library Of Essays On Music Performance Practice" Edited By David Milsom And Mary Cyr, Colin Lawson

Performance Practice Review

Colin Lawson discusses and reviews Milsom's 2011 work.

Milsom, David ed. Classical and Romantic Music, the Library of Essays on Music Performance Practice, series editor Mary Cyr. Farnham, Surry, UK, and Burlington, VT, USA: Ashgate, 2011.

ISBN 978-0-754-62859-0.

'Back To The Land': Performance Practice And The Classic Period, Malcom S. Cole

Performance Practice Review

Although much valuable work has been done on performance practice in the Classic period, many issues await detailed study.

"The Music Of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach" By David Schulenberg, David Ledbetter

Performance Practice Review

David Ledbetter discusses and reviews Schulenberg's 2010 work.

Schulenberg, David. The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2010.

ISBN: 978-1-58046-359-1

Keyboard Fingering And Interpretation: A Comparison Of Historical And Modern Approaches, Jeffrey Swinkin

Performance Practice Review

Earlier systems of keyboard fingering exploit the natural differences of finger strength and utilize frequent changes of position in order to facilitate localized (gestural) phrasing and articulation, among other interpretive nuances. The modern system of fingering, by contrast, views the fingers as more homogeneous and aims to keep the hand more stationary out of a concern for purely technical facility and for promoting a longer line. This essay offers numerous examples of historical keyboard fingerings—those by C. P. E Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Schenker—in each case discussing the implications the fingering has for phrasing and other aspects of interpretation. It …

Monsieur De Saint-Georges' 'Règles Pour L'Accompagnement': A Translation And Commentary, Sara-Anne Churchill

Performance Practice Review

Saint-Georges' 'Règles pour l'accompagnement,' which provide instruction in figured bass realization at the harpsichord, are found in an undated manuscript (Paris, Bn, Vm8 1139). This article examines questions of authorship, date of copying, and the author's identity. The manuscript exhibits a close connection to Jean-François Dandrieu’s Principes de l’accompagnement du clavecin (1719) and probably represents an early version of that work.

Concerning Articulation On Keyboard Instruments: Aspects From The Renaissance To The Present, Sandra P. Rosenblum

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract: "The organ, harpsichord, clavichord, and piano have different articulative characteristics due to their actions. An apparent norm of nonlegato playing for secular music existed prior to 1600, with probable playing of notes in ligatures. Signs specific to Articulation began to appear in the 17th c. The articulatory quality of short slurs is discussed, and the persistence of nonlegato into the early 19th c. is illuminated. Changes in the piano and in styles of Articulation went hand in hand in the 19th c. In the 20th c., new signs were added by composers seeking greater specificity of articulative color."

The Guitar And Its Performance From The Fifteenth To Eighteenth Centuries, James Tyler

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract:"Discusses the four-course guitar from the 15th to the 17th c., the five-course guitar from the late 16th to the early 18th c., and the six-course guitar from the later 18th c."

Tu Ru Or Not Tu Ru: Paired Syllables And Unequal Tonguing Patterns On Woodwinds In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries, Bruce Haynes

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract:" Original source material on historical tongue-strokes describes "paired syllables", or double-tonguing, as contrasted to single-tonguing. Patterns place the accent on the first, second, or both parts of the pair. Double-tonguing uses a rebound motion to enhance the velocity of Articulation; it reinforces appropriate metrical patterns, but is more often used to achieve speed in extended (and therefore fatiguing) runs of quick notes. Descriptions of double-tonguings began in the early 16th c. and continued to ca. 1827, and were used in Italy, Germany, Holland, France, and England."

The Timpani And Their Performance (Fifteenth To Twentieth Centuries): An Overview, Edmund Addison Bowles

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract: "From the 17th to the early 18th c., timpani performance practice was determined by stock formulas, some of which are seen in Bach's and Handel's orchestral writing. Characteristic written-out patterns only came into use in the late 18th c. In the 19th c., rapid changes of pitch became a challenge, and hand screws and mechanical linkages with tuning levers gave way to the modern pedal timpani. The modern era featured the exploitation of various and unusual tone colors and effects, such as glissando passages, stepwise ascending and descending passages, hitting the center of the drum, using different kinds …

Some Thoughts About "Last Words And Overdotting", Stephen E. Hefling

Performance Practice Review

A review and analysis of Fuller's preceeding article.

Stephen Hefling's Book: Another View, Erich Schwandt

Performance Practice Review

A brief review of Stephen Hefling's book "Rhythmic Alteration in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Music: Notes inegale and Overdotting."

The Expressive Pause: Punctuation, Rests, And Breathing In England 1770-1850, Robert Toft

Performance Practice Review

Examines the close relationship between the arts of singing and speaking in English treatises on singing published from the late-18th to the mid-19th c. Speech patterns are compared to the singer's practices of punctuation, rests, and breathing in order to explain the highly articulated singing style of the period."

Last Words On Inequality And Overdotting: A Review Of Stephen Hefling's Book, David Fuller

Performance Practice Review

Fuller attempts to make definitve decisions about "appropriate" articulation and rhythmic interpretation in 17th and 18th century music.

The Expressive Pause: Punctuation, Rests, And Breathing In England, 1770-1850, Robert Toft

Performance Practice Review

Examines the close relationship between the arts of singing and speaking in English treatises on singing published from the late-18th to the mid-19th c. Speech patterns are compared to the singer's practices of punctuation, rests, and breathing in order to explain the highly articulated singing style of the period.

Tuning Renaissance And Baroque Instruments: Some Guidelines, Mark Lindley

Performance Practice Review

Provides detailed guidelines for tuning keyboard instruments, including the harpsichord, piano, and organ. Musical examples for tuning unisons between overtones in consonant intervals and octaves are included. Other musical examples illustrate the procedures for setting a quasi-Pythagorean temperament, a meantone temperament, a temperament ordinaire, a Bach-style irregular temperament, and an equal temperament.

"Perspectives On Mozart Performance." By R. Larry Todd And Peter Williams, Malcolm S. Cole

Performance Practice Review

Cole discusses and reviews Todd and Williams' 1991 book.

Pedaling The Piano: A Brief Survey From The Eighteenth Century To The Present, Sandra P. Rosenblum

Performance Practice Review

Before World War II, most composers notated relatively few pedal indications, usually to create unsuspected effects. Mutations (Veranderungen) on the early pianos and the uses of hand stops, knee levers, and pedals are discussed based on information from extant instruments, composers' autographs, and comments in tutors by such teachers as Johann Milchmeyer and Louis Adam. Pedaling techniques and uses of the damper, una corda, and sostenuto pedals on the changing instruments of the 19th and 20th c. are described, with particular attention to compositions of Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Villa-Lobos, Boulez, Cage, and Stockhausen.

"Bach's Continuo Group: Players And Practices In His Vocal Works." By Laurence Dreyfus, Patrick Rogers

Performance Practice Review

Rogers discusses and reviews Dreyfus' 1987 book.