Dissertation Index
Author: Bruno, Luca Title: Theory and Analysis of Harmony in Adrian Willaert's Canzone villanesche alla napolitana (1542-1545) Institution: University of Trento, Italy Begun: January 2009 Completed: January 2009 Abstract: This research proposes a new methodology for the analysis of harmonic procedures in particular genres of secular Renaissance polyphony. Adrian Willaert's Canzone villanesche (1542-1545) represent an ideal model for studying the interactions between chordal composition and other dimensions of the polyphonic fabric, in particular text setting. My analytical method provides answers to the following questions: "Does harmony only organize local events?" or "Could harmony connect larger spans of music?" These questions are not secondary, since theorists up to Gioseffo Zarlino did not contextualize in technical terms the large-scale harmonic perspective, focusing instead on local connections between simultaneities through dissonance. The generation of theorists active in Italy during the 1550s displays a new coherence in the treatment of harmony, both from a conceptual and a terminological point of view. My hypothesis is that theorists such as Zarlino and Nicola Vicentino were influenced by the "new" harmonic practice devised by Willaert and applied in nuce in his "lighter" production. Composers such as Orlando di Lasso, Cipriano de Rore, Giovanni Nasco, Filippo Azzaiolo, and Vicentino himself welcomed the new way of composing, which featured local as well as large-scale implications of harmony. I propose seven stages of analysis to determine how harmony (intended here in its modern sense as the study of chord construction and linkage) interacts with other dimensions of the polyphonic fabric to enhance text setting on both a micro- and a macro-structural level. Matters of text setting, particularly prosodic qualities of the "Neapolitan" language, become determinant factors in detecting at deeper levels of structure the harmonic functionality of chords, functionality that exists not only at cadence points, but also throughout the entire musical phrase. The harmonic orientation of Willaert's villanesche is indeed far-reaching, involving the tonal unfolding of entire pieces. The analytical method, focusing on the tonal structures of F-per-bemolle, G-per-bemolle, and D-per-bequadro, is exemplified through three case studies from Willaert's collection: Madonn'io non lo so, Vecchie letrose, and O bene mio. Keywords: Harmony, Adrian Willaert, Canzone villanesca, Polyphony, text-setting, analysis, Italian Renaissance, sixteenth century, tonal structures, early music TOC: Acknowledgements ix List of Music Examples xi List of Tables xiii Introduction xv PART ONE TOWARD A THEORY OF HARMONY IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY POLYPHONY 1 Harmony as "discordia concors:" an Introduction to Literature 3 I. CARL DAHLHAUS AND THE UNTERSUCHUNGEN ÜBER DIE ENTSTEHUNG DER HARMONISCHEN TONALITÄT (1968) 9 Dahlhaus's Untersuchungen: Genesis and Outline 9 Dahlhaus's Discussion of Tonality and Harmony 17 The Harmonic Cadence 19 Dahlhaus on the History of Harmony: Harmonic Progression and Intervallic Composition 27 II. BENITO V. RIVERA AND THE THEORIES OF CHORDAL FORMATION AND HARMONIC FRAMEWORK IN THE RENAISSANCE 43 History of Harmony in Music Treatises from Tinctoris to Rameau 43 Rivera's Contribution to Harmonic Analysis in Renaissance Music 52 III. HOWARD WILDE'S THEORY OF VOICE-LEADING STRUCTURE IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY POLYPHONY 63 Wilde's Towards a New Theory of Voice-Leading Structure in Sixteenth-Century Polyphony: a Schenkerian Approach 63 Wilde's Theory of Voice-Leading Structure: Implications for a Theory of Harmony in Renaissance Music 76 IV. BONNIE BLACKBURN‚S MUSICOLOGICAL INQUIRY INTO COMPOSITIONAL PROCESSES IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 81 V. MIGUEL A. ROIG-FRANCOLÍ ON COMPOSITIONAL THEORY AND PRACTICE IN SPANISH MID-SIXTEENTH-CENTURY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 101 Roig-Francolí and Spanish Instrumental Music of the Renaissance 101 Improvisational and Compositional Practices in Santa María's Arte de tañer fantasía (1565) 103 Vertical Composition and Harmonic Functionality in Santa María's Musical Thought and Practice 115 PART TWO ADRIAN WILLAERT'S CANZONE VILLANESCHE: A MODEL FOR RENAISSANCE HARMONY 125 VI. ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HARMONY IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY SECULAR POLYPHONY 127 Introduction to Analysis: Harmony as a Semiological Construct 127 Chordal Events and Compositional Process 132 The Role of Harmony in Willaert's Compositional Process 136 A Methodological Approach to Renaissance Harmony 144 VII. ADRIAN WILLAERT'S CANZONE VILLANESCHE ALLA NAPOLITANA (1542-1545): ANALYSIS OF HARMONIC PROCEDURES 163 Willaert and the Canzone villanesca alla napolitana 163 Assembling a Chord from the Bass: Aaron's Tables of Consonances Modified 173 Analysis of the Repertory: Three Case Studies 187 VIII. CONCLUSIONS 251 Bibliography 259 Contact: Luca Bruno Via G. Amendola trav. 1 n. 3 87037 San Fili (CS), Italy lucabruno77@hotmail.com +390 984 642545 (home and fax) +39 340 4171425(cell) |