The Early History of the Viol


Book Description

This book traces the development of the viol from its late medieval Spanish origins to the sixteenth century, when it became the most widely played bowed instrument in western Europe. Ian Woodfield examines the two most important ancestors of the instrument, the Moorish rahab and the vihuela de mano. From these two instruments emerged an early form of viol, the Valencian vihuela de arco, which spread rapidly across the Mediterranean during the papacy of Rodrigo Borgia. The viol was enthusiastically accepted by the d'Este and Gonzaga families and other Italian arbiters before migrating across the Alps and into the rest of Europe. The author discusses all aspects of the viol during its Renaissance hey-day: the growing perfection of viol design at the hands of Italian craftsmen; the gradual evolution of tuning systems; the development of advanced playing techniques and the wide range of music, both solo and consort. The final chapter examines the growth of a viol playing tradition in sixteenth-century England, in particular in the London choir-schools. Dr Woodfield brings iconographic evidence and an interesting approach to this study which will be of interest to musicologists, iconographers, organologists and viol players.




The Baroque Violin & Viola


Book Description

In the early seventeenth century, enthusiasm for the violin swept across Europe--this was an instrument capable of bewitching virtuosity, with the power to express emotions in a way only before achieved with the human voice. With this new guide to the Baroque violin, and its close cousin, the Baroque viola, distinguished performer and pedagogue Walter Reiter puts this power into the hands of today's players. Through fifty lessons based on the Reiter's own highly-renowned course at The Royal Conservatory of the Hague, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume I provides a comprehensive exploration of the period's rich and varied repertoire. Volume I covers the basics of choosing a violin, techniques to produce an ideal sound, and sonatas by Vivaldi and Corelli. Practical exercises are integrated into each lesson, and accompanied by rich video demonstrations on the book's companion website. Brought to life by Reiter's deep insight into key repertoire based on a lifetime of playing and teaching, The Baroque Violin & Viola, Volume I: A Fifty-Lesson Course will enhance performances of professional and amateur musicians alike.




On Playing the Flute


Book Description

Originally published in 1752, this is a new paperback edition of the classic treatise on 18th-century musical thought, performance practice, and style




Sourcebook for Research in Music


Book Description

This bibliography of bibliographies lists and describes sources, from basic references to highly specialized materials. Valuable as a classroom text and as a research tool for scholars, librarians, performers, and teachers.




Music from the Heart


Book Description

Music from the Heart follows Emile Benoit, a fiddler from French Newfoundland, through a rapidly changing musical milieu as he moves from a small rural community to international musical and folk festivals. Seeing himself as a representative of French Newfoundland, Benoit viewed his music as an expression of that identity. In Benoit's tunes one finds reference to the people, places, communities, roads, and natural landmarks that have framed his life. The compositions included represent a range of work that evokes his youthful experiences and follow his career as he leaves home, plays with other musicians, and presents his stories to audiences around the world. Quigley has based his study on years of observation of Benoit's compositional practices, his own experiences performing with Benoit, interviews, and analysis of the thoughts and conceptions of the artist himself.




The Art of Musical Phrasing in the Eighteenth Century


Book Description

This book is the collection of papers that came out of an interdisciplinary symposium held in the spring of 1991 in the Republic of San Marino. The conference "Effects of War on Society" was planned as the first in a series aimed ultimately at placing in perspective the sociocultural variables that make outbreaks of war probable, and delineating for researchers and policy makers alike some important steps that can be taken to control these variables. This is Volume 1 of a series entitled "Studies on the Nature of War", which the University of Rochester Press has been publishing from Volume 2 (War and Ethnicity: Global Connections and Local Violence (1997)). after much demand, we are now distributing this book on behalf of the conference organizers, The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress, in San Marino.




Sei Solo: Symbolum?


Book Description

One of the jewels in the crown of Johann Sebastian Bach's sacred music is its use of astonishingly subtle and complex allegorical and representational devices. But when similar devices appear in the context of one of Bach's untexted, secular, instrumental collections such as the Six Solos (sonatas and partitas) for violin, the question arises whether he might be intending to embed discernible theological significances there as well, thus infusing the secular with the sacred. Such designs would be reasonably plausible within Bach's musical, cultural, and religious context. Shute carefully investigates the extent to which musical features of the Six Solos that seem to invite theological parallels might indeed have been intended to do so. Although the precise extent of Bach's intentions cannot be ascertained with certainty, the degree of correlation among strong potential signifiers would seem to suggest that they, and many other features of the Six Solos, are best explained as the product of extensive theological-allegorical designs on Bach's part, like those evident in his texted vocal music.




A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music, Second Edition


Book Description

Vocal/choral issues. The solo voice in the Renaissance / Ellen Hargis ; On singing and the vocal ensemble I / Alexander Blachly ; On singing and the vocal ensemble II / Alejandro Planchart ; Practical matters of vocal performance / Anthony Rooley -- Wind, string, and percussion instruments. Recorder ; Renaissance flute / Herbert Myers ; Capped double reeds : crumhorn--Kortholt--Schreierpfeif / Jeffery Kite-Powell ; Shawm and curtal / Ross Duffin ; Racket : rackett, Rankett (Ger.), cervelas (Fr.), cervello (It.) / Jeffery Kite-Powell ; Bagpipe / Adam Knight Gilbert ; Cornett / Douglas Kirk ; Sackbut / Stewart Carter -- Bowed instruments / Wendy Gillespie -- The violin / David Douglass -- Plucked instruments / Paul O'Dette -- The harp / Herbert Myers -- Early percussion / Benjamin Harms -- Keyboard instruments / Jack Ashworth -- Practical considerations/instrumentation. Proto-continuo / Jack Ashworth and Paul O'Dette ; Mixed ensembles / James Tyler ; Large ensembles / Jeffery Kite-Powell ; Rehearsal tips for directors / Adam Knight Gilbert ; Performance editions / Frederick Gable -- Performance practice. Tuning and temperament / Ross Duffin ; Pitch and transposition / Herbert Myers ; Ornamentation in sixteenth-century music / Bruce Dickey ; Pronunciation guides / Ross Duffin -- Aspects of theory. Eight brief rules for composing a si placet altus, ca. 1470-1510 / Adam Knight Gilbert ; Renaissance theory / Sarah Mead -- Introduction to Renaissance dance. Early Renaissance dance, 1450-1520 / Yvonne Kendall -- For the early music director. Starting from scratch / Jeffery Kite-Powell.