HF0119z Interpretation of Early Music I

Faculty of Music
Winter 2022
Extent and Intensity
2/0/2. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
MgA. Anežka Drozdová (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. Barbara Maria Willi, Ph.D., MBA
Organ and Early Music Department – Dean’s Office – Faculty of Music – Janáček Academy of Performing Arts
Supplier department: Organ and Early Music Department – Dean’s Office – Faculty of Music – Janáček Academy of Performing Arts
Prerequisites
Successful admission.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The subject supports the creativity and personality of the student and prepares them for independent work in highly competitive environments. Studying the subject prepares the student for the variability and flexibility of the labour market. The student has the opportunity to connect the theory of the historically informed performance practise beyond their skills on a classical or historical instrument. The future graduate of the subject should acquire the knowledge, ability and skills so as to incorporate them into their concert activity. The aim of this course is to prepare the student for authentic interpretation in solo and ensemble playing, as well as in specialized orchestras. For students to correctly interpret the early music, it is necessary that they be familiarized with the relevant issues: tempo, instrumental setting, articulation, phrasing, tuning, ornamentation, etc. All these questions need to be supported by the corresponding literature.
Learning outcomes
The aim of this subject is to prepare students to work in ensembles that focus on authentic performances as well as in early music ensembles.
Authentic performances of pre-baroque, baroque and classical music require students to be aware of the relevant issues that include: tempo, instrumentation, articulation, phrasing, pitch standards, ornamentation.
These questions are addressed in the light of the relevant literature.
Syllabus
  • The subject of Interpretation of Early Music is related to the study of period sources (treatises, methods, prefaces to compositions, tables of ornaments, encyclopaedical works, musical dictionaries, etc.)
  • the study of contemporary sources (RISM, catalogues of sources, eg: Méthodes et Traités, thematic catalogues, catalogues of dictionaries, eg: Grove, MGG, bibliography of dictionaries and books of criticism, musical & science journals, etc)
  • the study of iconography (paintings, graphics, drawings, statues, etc.); the study of historical documentation (archive documents - factual sources, periodicals, literature, memoirs, polemic writings, aesthetic works, etc.)
  • the study of musical documentation (manuscripts, prints, periodicals, posthumous editions, musical journals, etc.)
  • the study of instrumental documentation (invoice, literature).
  • Another aspect is also the orientation in key groups in the interpretation of music of older stylistic periods, such as declamation and rhetoric, phrasing including, the hierarchy of beats, gestures, tempo, rhythm and rhythmic elements, the creation of ornaments and melodic decorations (appoggiaturas, trills, free ornaments, vibrato, messa di voce, glissando, etc.), basso continuo, etc.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Bruce Haynes: A history of performing pitch;. info
  • Couperin, François: L´Art de toucher le clavecin. Breitkopf und Härtel 1933. info
  • Dolmetsch, A.: The Interpretation of the Music of the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries, London 1915. info
  • Donington, Robert: The interpretation of Early Music. Faber & Faber, London 1989. info
  • Grove, Riemann, MGG a další světové slovníky a encyklopedie. info
  • Hotteterre: Principes de la flute; Methodes et Traité de basson. info
  • Neumann, Frederick: Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music. With special emphasis on J. S. Bach. University Press, Princeton 1980. info
  • Rosen, Ch. : The Classical style - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. New York 1998. info
  • Vybrané hudebně-teoretické traktáty (S. Ganassi, G. Caccini, J. Mattheson, L. Mozart, J. J. Quantz, C. Ph. E. Bach, D. G. Türk u. a.). info
  • BUKOFZER, Manfred. Music in the Baroque Era. W. W. Norton & Company: 1947
  • BURNEY, Charles. The present state of music in France and Italy: or, The journal of a tour through those countries, undertaken to collect materials for a general history of music. T. Becket, 1773
Teaching methods
The teacher evaluates students on the basis of their knowledge, contributions, progress, individual preparation, abilities, etc. The teacher monitors the theoretical knowledge of the students as well as well as the extent of their orientation in the given subject.
Assessment methods
Students are evaluated according to their knowledge, abilities, presentations, progress, individual preparation. The teacher evaluates the activity of students, how much they have learnt and their ability to shape this into an oral presentation. The teacher monitors the gains in theoretical knowledge of the students as well as their ability to deal with specific issues. Oral or written exam.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught: every week.
Note related to how often the course is taught: online.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2023, Winter 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2022, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.jamu.cz/course/hf/winter2022/HF0119z