Translating Musical Performance
(last edited: 2018)
author(s): Elisabeth Laasonen Belgrano, Björn Ross, Guillaume Bernardi
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
This exposition is a collaborative translation study of two 17th century historical sources. The aim is to search for possible ways of translating acts, words, and musical meaning from the past into new acts, words, meaning and musical performances.
The following questions will be addressed:
What can we learn today about a performance from 17th century? What was the sound of a voice in the 17th century like? What was the relationship between a performer and her/his audience in the 17th century? To what extent did musical sources influence a musical performance in the 17th century? How can 17th century vocality be translated and performed in a contemporary performance (research) context?
The historical sources used in this study are 1) "Le Glorie della Signora Anna Renzi romana", a collection of poetry composed in honor of one of the most successful singers in Venice around 1640, Anna Renzi romana; 2) a collection of some of the most popular Roman cantatas around 1640.