- Schulich School of Music Mcgill University, Music Research, Faculty Member"Tor Vergata" University of Rome, Beni Culturali, Musica e Spettacolo, Faculty Memberadd
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The octatonic pitch collection has first been described by the Italian theorist and composer Vito Frazzi (1929). This article examines the Florentine cultural milieu where Frazzi's research took place.
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Discusses the reception history of Beethoven's first symphony as a not-yet-fully Beethovenian work. Shows that this work was conceived by Beethoven as a deliberate attempt to secure himself as a successor of Mozart in the Viennese... more
Discusses the reception history of Beethoven's first symphony as a not-yet-fully Beethovenian work. Shows that this work was conceived by Beethoven as a deliberate attempt to secure himself as a successor of Mozart in the Viennese musical world.
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Discusses some instances of the galant scheme called (after Gjerdingen) Quiescenza in nineteenth-century music.
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Questi due lavori contribuiscono a gettare luce su un campo sempre più indagato negli ultimi decenni: quello della pedagogia musicale a Napoli nel Settecento. Il volume di Cafiero raccoglie una silloge dei suoi lavori, di carattere... more
Questi due lavori contribuiscono a gettare luce su un campo sempre più indagato negli ultimi decenni: quello della pedagogia musicale a Napoli nel Settecento. Il volume di Cafiero raccoglie una silloge dei suoi lavori, di carattere prevalentemente storico, scritti in circa tre decenni di ricerche e che hanno costituito il punto di partenza per l'attuale riscoperta della teoria napoletana. Il volume di Baragwanath va a completare il terzo, e finora più trascurato, pilastro della teoria settecentesca napoletana: il solfeggio (gli altri sono il partimento e il contrappunto) ricostruendo una complessa prassi che dalla solmisazione esacordale porta fino alle elaborate diminuzioni create dai castrati sulla notazione delle arie d'opera.
Research Interests: Art and Literature
Discusses the form and structure of Bellini's Casta diva from Norma, particularly its double climax, one of which is melodic, the other structural. Suggests that the melodic structure of Casta diva depends on a sophisticated use of... more
Discusses the form and structure of Bellini's Casta diva from Norma, particularly its double climax, one of which is melodic, the other structural. Suggests that the melodic structure of Casta diva depends on a sophisticated use of dissonances.
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L'aspetto piu difficile e sfuggente dell'esecuzione musicale e forse quello della scelta del tempo e delle sue variazioni. Qual e il tempo giusto per una composizione, e come va stabilito? E poi, una volta deciso il tempo... more
L'aspetto piu difficile e sfuggente dell'esecuzione musicale e forse quello della scelta del tempo e delle sue variazioni. Qual e il tempo giusto per una composizione, e come va stabilito? E poi, una volta deciso il tempo generale, questo va osservato strettamente o l'esecutore puo concedersi accelerandi e rallentandi occasionali, o addirittura cambiare il tempo in una data parte della composizione, per poi riprendere successivamente il tempo principale? In cosa consiste il rubato, e dove questa pratica trova legittimita? E giustificato introdurre una variazione agogica anche dove il compositore non l'ha prescritta? Domande di questo genere si pongono continuamente agli esecutori, e le risposte ovviamente dipendono da una gran quantita di fattori, prima di tutto dal contesto storico e stilistico nel quale il pezzo e originato, e dalla conoscenza della prassi esecutiva relativa alla sua epoca e alla sua tradizione locale.
Research Interests: Humanities and Art
Discusses some instances in Classical or Romantic sonata forms when the onset of the recapitulation occurs gradually, without any obvious sign, making impossible for the listener to discern an exact point of reprise. This recapitulatory... more
Discusses some instances in Classical or Romantic sonata forms when the onset of the recapitulation occurs gradually, without any obvious sign, making impossible for the listener to discern an exact point of reprise. This recapitulatory strategy is labelled "Ongoing reprise", and its emergence is possibly related to the Homeric vogue in Europe in the eighteenth century.
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A partimento is a linear guide for the improvisation of a keyboard piece. Partimenti were developed for the training of composers in the conservatories of Naples during the eighteenth century. They contain all the information needed for... more
A partimento is a linear guide for the improvisation of a keyboard piece. Partimenti were developed for the training of composers in the conservatories of Naples during the eighteenth century. They contain all the information needed for the realization of complete pieces of ...
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Schenker's theory has its roots in the theoretical traditions of the eighteenth century , specifically in species counterpoint and in the practice of thoroughbass: for him, these disciplines formed the basis of the " true theory, as... more
Schenker's theory has its roots in the theoretical traditions of the eighteenth century , specifically in species counterpoint and in the practice of thoroughbass: for him, these disciplines formed the basis of the " true theory, as opposed to the " false " theory that was based on nineteenth-century harmony and form. Species counterpoint and thoroughbass did indeed constitute an indispensable theoretical foundation for Schenker's concept of musical structure, but they were not sufficient to explain the nature of tonal music: two other principles were required. The first was Schenker's own theory of harmonic structural degree (Stufen) progression. The second principle was diminution, a technique used in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, consisting of substituting for a melody in long notes a passage of notes of shorter values: in itself, diminution implies a generative process from simple to complex figurations. All four of these elements contributed to the final stage of Schenker's theory as formulated in Der freie Satz: counterpoint and harmony are synthesized in the horizontal (Urli-nie) and vertical (Baßbrechung) components of the Ursatz: the principle of diminution is an essential component of the idea of structural levels, and thoroughbass supplies the basis for many techniques of prolongation. For two of these four constituents of Schenker's mature theory—species counterpoint and general bass—he referred to a specific teaching tradition: Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum and its legacy on one hand, and the thoroughbass treatises, exemplified in C. P. E. Bach's Versuch, on the other
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This article aims to a re-evaluation of Arnold Schoenberg's Harmonielehre, tracing its sources and influences in the teaching of Anton Bruckner and Simon Sechter, and comparing it with the Harmonielehre by Heinrich Schenker.
This essay considers the issues related to the education of Italian musicians during the first half of the Twentieth century. In particular, it deals with the so-called" cultural problem": that is, the acceptance of... more
This essay considers the issues related to the education of Italian musicians during the first half of the Twentieth century. In particular, it deals with the so-called" cultural problem": that is, the acceptance of music within the realm of" high" education in Italy. It offers also a ...
Fugue was the highest goal in partimento training: all ordered partimento collection invariabily end with a series of fugues. This paper offers a first glimpse into the variegated tipology of fugal practice used in eighteenth century... more
Fugue was the highest goal in partimento training: all ordered partimento collection invariabily end with a series of fugues. This paper offers a first glimpse into the variegated tipology of fugal practice used in eighteenth century Nepolitan conservatories. Italian fugal ...
Mozart's Fantasy in D minor owes its popularity to its inherent musical qualities, but also to certain narrative properties. The article makes a comparison between the Fantasy and the myth of Orpheus, which was very well known at... more
Mozart's Fantasy in D minor owes its popularity to its inherent musical qualities, but also to certain narrative properties. The article makes a comparison between the Fantasy and the myth of Orpheus, which was very well known at the time of the composer. The rhetorical ...