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The Reluctant Modernist

Nicholas Cook

in The Schenker Project: Culture, Race, and Music Theory in Fin-de-siècle Vienna

Music editing formed a key part of Schenker's programme to restore the values and practices of classical musical culture. Taking as its starting point Schenker's treatise on ornamentation (1903), ... More

Music editing formed a key part of Schenker's programme to restore the values and practices of classical musical culture. Taking as its starting point Schenker's treatise on ornamentation (1903), this chapter pursues an extended comparison between his work and the contemporary Viennese debate about ornamentation in the visual arts and particularly architecture: the aim is to set Schenker's thought in its broad cultural context and to locate the tension between its modernist and conservative dimensions. A similar tension can be found in the architectural and critical practice of Adolf Loos, while key aspects of Schenker's thought resonate with the writing of the art historian Aloïs Riegl.Less

The Siciliana of the G-minor Sonata

Joel Lester

in Bach's Works for Solo Violin: Style, Structure, Performance

The Siciliana lightens the tone of the G-minor Sonata with its dance-like rhythms (a siciliana being a dance related to the gigue) and with its looser construction into a series of parallel sections ... More

The Siciliana lightens the tone of the G-minor Sonata with its dance-like rhythms (a siciliana being a dance related to the gigue) and with its looser construction into a series of parallel sections with heightening activity, both within sections and in the recurrence of sections. Comparison with some other parallel-section movements by Bach in many genres (including the C-major Two-Part Invention, two movements of the Sonata in A major for Violin and Keyboard, and the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2) highlights the construction of this movement and the slow movements to the other solo-violin sonatas. All these slow movements welcome ornamentation.Less

The Organ and Hymn Singing

Joseph Herl

in Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism Choir, Congregation and Three Centuries of Conflict

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the role of the organ changed from performing the liturgy in alternation with the choir to accompanying a singing congregation or choir. Organ accompaniment of ... More

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the role of the organ changed from performing the liturgy in alternation with the choir to accompanying a singing congregation or choir. Organ accompaniment of hymns gave support to the people and encouraged them to sing, putting the final nail into the coffin of the choral liturgy among Lutherans. Genres of organ music included interludes (Zwischenspiele), preludes, and postludes; features of it included melodic ornamentation and text expression. In some localities, the length of the prelude was a cause for concern.Less

You Can Never Be Right for All Time

Bernard D. Sherman

in Inside Early Music: Conversations with Performers

George Frideric Handel was the first composer in history whose works never fell out of the concert repertory. But despite the reverence for him, only a little of his music was actually performed in ... More

George Frideric Handel was the first composer in history whose works never fell out of the concert repertory. But despite the reverence for him, only a little of his music was actually performed in the 19th century. Messiah was one of them, of course, sung with increasingly gargantuan choruses and orchestras, and so were Samson, Israel in Egypt, and Judas Maccabeus. But such masterpieces as Theodora, Giulio Cesare, Jephtha, Orlando, and L’Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato occupied few beyond the occasional scholar. The coincidence of the Handel revival with the historical-performance movement has raised a number of issues. A more basic issue is the works themselves. When certain works by a widely revered composer are almost never played, one might be forgiven for suspecting that these works are of lesser quality. Such suspicions have faded in recent decades, but doubts about the stageworthiness of the operas persist. This chapter presents an interview with Nicholas McGegan on Handel, use of countertenors for the operatic roles written by Handel for castrati, early music singing in Handel, improvisation with Baroque orchestras, ornamentation in Handel’s works, harmony, rubato, Handel’s rhythmic notation, technical perfection, period pronunciation in English-language oratorios, and overdotting.Less

The Performance of Sean-nós in Connemara

Sean Williams and Lillis Ó Laoire

in Bright Star of the West: Joe Heaney, Irish Song Man

Joe Heaney came from a regional tradition with a particular style of singing that included complex practices of ornamentation and close attention to poetic rhythm and meter. His performance practice ... More

Joe Heaney came from a regional tradition with a particular style of singing that included complex practices of ornamentation and close attention to poetic rhythm and meter. His performance practice brought those features into public notice both at home and in the United States, whether he sang in the Irish language or in English. This chapter explains some of the governing features of Heaney's choices in ornamentation and performance practice. Heaney's song lyrics often featured aspects of metaphor and implication. Because part of his intention was to instruct his audience members and students on proper performance style, he insisted that using a vocal vibrato was inappropriate; his own voice, however, had a vibrato. In addition, though he presented himself as an Irish-language singer, most of his songs performed in the United States were in the English language.Less

The Growing of Plants by Children—The School-Garden

John A. Stempien and John Linstrom (eds)

in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Gardener's Companion: Essential Writings

The main idea in this chapter is that the "love of plants should be inculcated in the school." While there "are many practical applications" for children to gain knowledge of "plants and ... More

The main idea in this chapter is that the "love of plants should be inculcated in the school." While there "are many practical applications" for children to gain knowledge of "plants and horticulture," Bailey indicates that the knowledge is more than "information of plants themselves." Rather, such knowledge "takes one into the open air… It increases his hold on life." The chapter concludes with types of school gardens: ornamenting the grounds, establishing a collection, making a garden for instruction, and providing a test ground for new varieties.Less

The Garden of Gourds

John A. Stempien and John Linstrom (eds)

in The Liberty Hyde Bailey Gardener's Companion: Essential Writings

Gourds are distinct both in that their autumn harvest "contains" the summer months and in that their use for domestic ornamentation carries them "through to the holidays and beyond." Bailey notes ... More

Gourds are distinct both in that their autumn harvest "contains" the summer months and in that their use for domestic ornamentation carries them "through to the holidays and beyond." Bailey notes that the primary interest in gardening gourds and the development of their fruits belongs to "the gardener and the horticulturist."Less

ANTHONY GILBERT (b. 1934)Peace Notes (2011): Texts by Sarah Day

Jane Manning

in Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 2: Works Written From 2000 Onwards

This chapter explores Anthony Gilbert’s Peace Notes (2011), a highly original and fascinating seven-movement cycle. The evocative poems by Sarah Day, full of colourful imagery and alliterative ... More

This chapter explores Anthony Gilbert’s Peace Notes (2011), a highly original and fascinating seven-movement cycle. The evocative poems by Sarah Day, full of colourful imagery and alliterative syllables, are ideally suited to detailed treatment, and Gilbert crafts the vocal lines with consummate care, incorporating some characterful ornamentation. Brief, exposed fragments contrast with longer, arching spans, and the writing becomes a little more demanding as the piece progresses. Preparatory work is essential; some rhythms, carefully honed to fit the words, could seem elusive at first, but a dedicated singer should enjoy mastering their subtleties. Extremes of tessitura are largely avoided, but Songs 3–6 (‘Iris’, ‘Margin’, ‘Piano’, and ‘Enrapt’) have some sustained passages that occasionally leave the singer suspended on a high pitch—something that heavier voices may find difficult. The piano writing is relatively unchallenging: lean, uncluttered, and lucid, apart from occasional trills. It supports and enriches the voice part but never drowns it, leaving the singer free to place and manipulate phrases without feeling harried. Dynamics are typically refined and meaningful, affecting vocal and pianistic timbres.Less

Pictures for Readers: The Birth of the Illustration in the Second Century

Luca Giuliani

in Image and Myth: A History of Pictorial Narration in Greek Art

This chapter describes the decline in the production of red-figure vases and the shift to the manufacture and successful export of a type of black-glazed ceramics closely resembling metal vessels. ... More

This chapter describes the decline in the production of red-figure vases and the shift to the manufacture and successful export of a type of black-glazed ceramics closely resembling metal vessels. Prosperous clients now increasingly came to prefer vessels made of bronze or silver, while less prosperous clients had to make do with ceramic copies. As a rule, these copies feature a monochromatic slip without figured decoration; embellishments are limited to plant motifs, wreaths, and tendrils, which hardly require interpretation. Even those who used the vessels would have had no reason to regard this ornamentation as a basis for telling stories. Ceramics featuring figured ornamentation were extremely rare in Hellenistic Greece. The majority of finds come from Macedonia and Thessaly, and Macedonia, where casting molds for the production of such vessels have also been found, was probably home to the most important production centers.Less

Modernism and the Medium: On Greenberg and Weber

Simon Morgan Wortham and Gary Hall

in Experimenting: Essays with Samuel Weber

The subtle, but precarious delineation of the aesthetic idea came to a head later with the advent of modernist abstraction in the twentieth century. At once, the fine line between modern abstract art ... More

The subtle, but precarious delineation of the aesthetic idea came to a head later with the advent of modernist abstraction in the twentieth century. At once, the fine line between modern abstract art and design patterns or ornamentation appeared to have become frayed — meaning that the fine line between autonomous, purposeless art and purposeful design was not always readily apparent. At such moments, the recourse to Kantian formulations became quite pronounced in criticism, even though Kantian philosophy was rarely examined in any detail. In a general survey of art of the 1960s, Thomas Crow asserts that the vital issue for formalist accounts of art was the assumption that abstract painting — in contrast to design or ornamentation — constitutes an “expressive communication” between an artist and a “contemplative spectator.”Less

Bach and the Varied Stollen

Russell Stinson

in J. S. Bach at His Royal Instrument: Essays on His Organ Works

This chapter investigates Bach's use of the “varied Stollen” in over twenty of his chorale preludes. He tended to employ this technique during his youth and early adulthood, when he was composing ... More

This chapter investigates Bach's use of the “varied Stollen” in over twenty of his chorale preludes. He tended to employ this technique during his youth and early adulthood, when he was composing under the influence of the North German organ school, and he utilized it in highly diverse and imaginative ways. For the most part, the compositional procedures involved are ornamentation, re-harmonization, invertible counterpoint, and the migration of the chorale tune from one voice to another.Less

Determinants of Lek Mating Success in Male Galápagos Marine Iguanas: Behavior, Body Size, Condition, Ornamentation, Ectoparasite Load, and Female Choice

William K. Hayes, Ronald L. Carter, Martin Wikelski, and Jeffrey A. Sonnentag

in Iguanas: Biology and Conservation

This chapter discusses the lek mating system of marine iguanas. Marine iguanas along the coastlines of the Galápagos Islands exhibit a lek mating system in which males cluster during the mating ... More

This chapter discusses the lek mating system of marine iguanas. Marine iguanas along the coastlines of the Galápagos Islands exhibit a lek mating system in which males cluster during the mating season and defend small, symbolic territories that lack material resources. This chapter identifies possible criteria females might use to evaluate male quality. It examines the contribution of behavior, body size, condition, ornamentation, and ectoparasite load to relative mating success.Less

Renaissance Ornamentation: Diminutions and Graces

Kate Clark and Amanda Markwick

in The Renaissance Flute: A Contemporary Guide

In Chapter 15, we distill information presented in original sources down to several practical suggestions about what constitutes good diminutions, how to get started making your own diminutions, and ... More

In Chapter 15, we distill information presented in original sources down to several practical suggestions about what constitutes good diminutions, how to get started making your own diminutions, and how to make use of the smaller ornaments called “graces.” Relevant primary and secondary sources are listed.Less

An Examination of the Aria Song “Shilin Jita”

Nancy Yunhwa Rao

in Chinatown Opera Theater in North America

Cantonese opera aria was a primary form of musical utterance in Chinatowns in the 1920s. They were heard not only at theaters but also as aria song on phonograph records at laundries, canneries, or ... More

Cantonese opera aria was a primary form of musical utterance in Chinatowns in the 1920s. They were heard not only at theaters but also as aria song on phonograph records at laundries, canneries, or stores, or through life performance at clubhouses of family associations. As an introduction to this sound world, this chapter examines a popular aria from that decade: Li Xuefang’s “Shilin Jita” from Madame White Snake. The lyrics are comprised of couplets of ten-syllable verses, and the aria is a fanxian erhuang type. Focusing on the transcription of a historical recording, the chapter delves into analyses of the relationship between text and music, the phrase structures, mode, ornamentation styles, rhythmic scheme, etc. Two versions of the same arias are also compared. A discussion of vocal sliding tones at the end of the chapter points to additional consideration of the singing style typical of Cantonese opera singing. While this chapter focuses on a single aria from a large body of repertoire, it nevertheless introduces important aspects of the musical characteristics and aesthetics of Cantonese opera in the 1920s.Less

Transmission Versus Tradition

in Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera

A completed opera would be rehearsed for about a month. In dire circumstances, rehearsals would begin before the last act had been drafted. Composers often tailored their scores to the abilities of ... More

A completed opera would be rehearsed for about a month. In dire circumstances, rehearsals would begin before the last act had been drafted. Composers often tailored their scores to the abilities of their singers and made many modifications for artistic reasons, independent of the predilections of individual singers. Revision and polishing continued throughout the rehearsal period, often creating confusion in the subsequent transmission of an opera. The texts transmitted through written sources do not embody the performance traditions. Only rarely does a particular reworking of an opera, by later performers, become part of a continuous written record, although some transmitted reworking has had a pernicious influence on the history of a work. The occasional publication of an aria with the ornamentation of a favorite singer almost never influenced the text of the work from which the aria was taken.Less