Encoding Emotion
(2024)
author(s): Geneviève Gates-Panneton
published in: KC Research Portal
The paper Encoding Emotion details an experiment conducted on early 18th-century French recitative to determine how composers relate harmony to sung text, if at all. Although the existence of a relationship between harmony and vocal expression is generally agreed upon, it is rarely properly taught to baroque singers, even though harmony is fundamental to the concept of basso continuo. It is also rarely discussed in continuo or singing treatises, either historical or modern, and, if so, never explicitly. The present experiment aims to fill that gap by examining harmony and text in actual written music. To do so, a harmonic analysis was performed on excerpts of secco recitative from French operas and cantatas written by Campra, Clérambault, Jacquet de la Guerre, and Rameau; the significant chords and harmonic passages were then logged in a spreadsheet with their corresponding text. Over two hundred lines of results were then analysed to determine whether patterns could be found associating certain words to chords or harmonic progressions. In the end, the dataset was too small for any general conclusions to be made with certainty, but patterns still emerged. Most notably, the plagal cadence correlated to feelings of love and tenderness, particularly in a sacred or noble context. It was also noted that, though general patterns could not always be identified, some chords or harmonic progressions appeared to have specific meaning for a certain composer. The V of IV, for example, was strongly associated with pleasure in Clérambault's works. Although there is only limited use for these results outside of this study, the identified patterns show that a more extensive dataset would yield enlightening results and give singers access to a remarkably rich tool with which to inform their interpretation.
Zum Spielen und zum Tantzen
(2016)
author(s): Tormod Dalen
connected to: Norwegian Artistic Research Programme
published in: Journal for Artistic Research
This exposition presents the artistic research project 'Zum Spielen und zum Tantzen: A Kinaesthetic Exploration of the Bach Cello Suites through Studies in Baroque Choreography’, undertaken at the Norwegian Academy of Music between 2009 and 2012. I offer a historical background, discuss the method used, and present the artistic results in the form of video and audio files.
The dance titles of J. S. Bach's cello suites, derived from French court dance, clearly meant more to the composer than just abstract references. In Bach's time, dance practice permeated social life, and an intimate knowledge of fashionable dance forms was indispensable for a musician. The movements and gestures of these dances inevitably had a profound influence on performance style.
I have investigated how the practice of Baroque dance could influence my interpretation of the Bach suites. Learning the essentials of this style and its original choreographies and frequently accompanying dancing, I also explored the dance aspect of the cello suites by way of experiments with historical tempos as well as melodic and rhythmic reductions of the musical material.
Through this project, I hope to make a worthy contribution to the development of performance practice studies, offering a recontextualisation of Bach’s work that emphasises the close links between the expressive gestures of music and dance. The results have both artistic and pedagogic potential as tools to discover essential aspects of dance character in Baroque music.
Subversive Climes: Exploring the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes
(2016)
author(s): Bethany Shepherd
published in: KC Research Portal
Name: Bethany Shepherd
Main Subject: Early Music Singing
Research Supervisor: Charles Toet
Title of Research: Subversive Climes: Exploring the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes
Research Question: What is the role of exoticism in Les Indes Galantes?
Summary of Results: Exoticism in Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les Indes Galantes has three primary functions. By setting the plots of the four independent entrées in real but geographically distant cultures, the librettist Louis Fuzelier was able to introduce new spectacles to the operatic stage, providing novelty for audiences jaded by the tradition of entertainment based on gods and mythology. This dramatic development in turn provided Rameau with the opportunity to manipulate and extend the musical conventions of the time in order to create a style of expression appropriate to depict these exotic characters and locales. A deeper understanding of the context in which Rameau and Fuzelier created this work was has further revealed that the libretto and Rameau’s musical depiction of the characters in Les Incas du Pérou and Les Sauvages reflect the practice in early Enlightenment literary and philosophical cirlces of idealising exotic cultures to criticise eighteenth century French society. These conclusions offer modern performers a wider range of interpretive options when approaching this work, allowing for a more nuanced performance which brings together the elements of drama, music, philosophy and entertainment in a cohesive manner.
Biography: Australian soprano Bethany Shepherd studied Classical Singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, under renowned Wagnerian soprano Lisa Gasteen. After obtaining a Bachelor degree with distinction in Australia, Bethany moved to The Netherlands to undertake studies in Early Music at the Koninklijk Conservatorium. She is currently completing a Master of Early Music Singing, studying with Rita Dams, Jill Feldman, Peter Kooij, Michael Chance and Pascal Bertin.