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M U S I C T H E O R Y O N L I N E
A Publication of the
Society for Music Theory
Copyright (c) 1994 Society for Music Theory
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| Volume 0, Number 8 May, 1994 ISSN: 1067-3040 |
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All queries to: mto-editor@husc.harvard.edu
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AUTHOR: Judd, Robert, F
TITLE: Composers, performers, and notation: solo music notations
in Europe, 1500-1700
KEYWORDS: composition, performance, notation, semiology, sociology
Robert F. Judd
42 University Mews
Philadelphia PA 19104
robert_judd@csufresno.edu
ABSTRACT: Work in progress: a synopsis of an
interdisciplinary study examining the movement in western
art music from primarily aural to primarily written media.
The study, now in its formative stages, emphasizes the
semiological, performative, and cultural aspects of the
shift.
[1] The point of departure for this study is the
conceptual conflict I find in the change of performance
traditions of solo music in Europe: about 1500, solo music
was something inherently transitory, "composed" as it was
first played, never heard the same way again; but by 1700,
it had become something relatively permanent, recorded on
paper and intended to be performed again and again by
someone who did not necessarily have compositional
experience. The significance of the conflict might be
stated in communicative terms as the paradigmatic change
from "composer-performer --> listener" to "composer -->
text --> performer --> listener." The musician that
created and performed at the same time was replaced by a
composer / performer dichotomy mediated by "text" or
notation. I wish to focus on notation as the area of
investigation for determining why the change took place,
and the implications for cultural history that follow from
conclusions regarding the change.
[2] The area of solo music is best suited for such an
investigation: beyond a certain point ensemble music had
to be written down to be performed, whereas few such
restrictions limited the freedom of an individual musician
in performance. Individuals had no need for mediation of
any sort when performing, unlike even those ensembles that
used oral or visual signs to communicate synchronous
events to members. Solo music is limited to instruments:
music for organ, harpsichord, lute, harp, etc. The change
from 1500 to 1700 regarding the aesthetic valuation of
vocal versus instrumental music is thus coincident with
the distinction between composer and performer first
identified: the history of the solo sonata has roots in
the same basic conflict symbolized in the use of notation.
[3] The study follows on from my doctoral dissertation,
"The Use of Notational Formats at the Keyboard" (Oxford,
1989; UMI# 90-18544), in which I surveyed Italian and
Spanish keyboard music and writings on music notation from
about 1500 to 1700, and found a striking contemporary
concern for notation and its implications for performance.
Coinciding with the rise of printed music as a medium, a
wide variety of notational experiments were undertaken,
most accompanied by polemic for their own approach and
against competitive approaches. I identified and described
many of these, but the study lacked breadth and coherence
of repertory, and I was unable to assimilate the
interdisciplinary background necessary for tackling
conceptual issues in full. I now intend to explore the
implications of the conflicts and changes I identified
along three conceptual lines of investigation: the
semiotic, the performative, and the cultural, with the
latter assuming most importance.
[4] The creation of systems of notation merits
exploration, for to understand the purpose of the
notations one must first understand their semiological
foundations. Notation systems were devised for an
apparently societal end: to enable participation in a
socially valuable activity for those willing to take the
necessary effort learn the system and implement it
physically on their instrument. An awareness arose that
musical performance need not be restricted to those with
innate (often referred to as "miraculous" in contemporary
documents) abilities, but could be learned by all. The
apparently inexplicable ability of certain individuals to
perform well was a very real phenomenon, but it became
possible to imitate innate ability to some degree through
development of technique and use of notation. Some
contemporary writers viewed this as a gross act of
deception: to sound as if one were a great performer-
composer merely by performing the notated version of
another's work. Related textual questions such as the
impact of music printing on the development of solo
notations are significant but under-explored. Textual
examination of manuscripts and printed works leads to
information about the users of the sources and their
needs; the way the texts were used also has implications
for appreciating the status of text in performance. The
assessment of the use of notations has a semiological but
also social facet.
[5] To recognize the element of performance in the music
communication-paradigm is to call for a consideration of
its implications. Conceptual discussions of notation often
point to its importance as a tool for the memory or
synchronization of ensembles, but another aspect, the
human need for re-creation or re-enactment, is at least as
significant. Notation as a record of "art-moments"
valuable enough to be re-enacted thus assumes importance
in terms of history and concepts of time. Indeed, a change
in historicism coincident with the period under
investigation may be easily seen: Johannes Tinctoris
(1477) voiced an opinion that was prevalent in his day,
that no music more than thirty years old was worth
performing; but by 1672, Lorenzo Penna recommended study
of keyboard music printed in 1543. The solo repertory is
an ideal vehicle to address the problem this change poses.
[6] Both text- and performance-oriented investigations are
subsumed under the heading of cultural history. The social
role of personal music underwent enormous changes in this
period, and the influence of notation on personal choices,
desires, and goals is fundamental; exploring the
interaction between notation and individuals means looking
at a human system of code, its passage through
technological revolution (printing) and market forces (the
goals of the publisher), to the needs of users.
[7] The general approach I propose is unusual. Virtually
no studies isolate solo music; nor have they viewed the
far-reaching implications of the historical phenomenon of
solo music notation. My interdisciplinary research in
textual criticism, bibliography, printing technology,
semiology, performance studies, and anthropology is in its
early stages, and my eventual conclusions are to some
extent unknown; none the less, I believe these questions
are worth in-depth exploration.
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END OF MTO ITEM