At the end of the sixteenth century, Simone Verovio printed a series of canzonetta anthologies in Rome. These collections were unique, in that they contained keyboard and lute intabulations alongside their vocal parts. The keyboard intabulations seem primarily intended as accompanimental parts. As such, they inform us about the use of keyboard instruments in ensembles of mixed voices and instruments. This thesis examines how the printing format of Verovio's keyboard intabulations arose from a larger context. In particular, it asks what were the skills and training of amateur keyboard players (often women), when or when not to transpose pieces with chiavette (or high clefs), and how instrumental embellishments relate to the canzonetta's text as well as musical texture. This examination contributes to a better understanding of Italian sixteenth-century performance practice, especially of the ways in which instruments were used along with voices in domestic music making.

With the fear of decline of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition after the airing of The Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler by the CBC in 1971, both the Cape Breton community and ethnographers clamored to preserve and maintain the extant practices and discourse. While this allowed for performance contexts and practices to burgeon, it also solidified certain perspectives about the “diasporic preservation” and resultant “authenticity.” This work aims to trace the seeds and developments of the beliefs surrounding the Cape Breton fiddling tradition, from the idealizations of Enlightenment Scotland to the manipulation and commercialization of the folklore and Celticism of twentieth-century Nova Scotia. These contexts romanticized older practices as “authentic,” a construct that deeply impacted the narrative about the Cape Breton fiddling tradition. One of the most rooted and complex concepts in this narrative is that of “old style,” a term that came to represent the idealized performance practice in post-1971 Cape Breton fiddling. As models were sought for younger players to emulate, pre-1971 “master” fiddlers with innovative stylistic approaches began to be identified as “old style” players. The interstices of the tradition allowed more extreme stylistic experimentation to be accepted as “traditional,” while the symbiotic social practice of dancing necessitated relative conservatism. Analysis will show that “listening” tunes fell into the interstices of allowable innovation, while dance (particularly step-dance) tunes demanded certain “old style” techniques. A more holistic view of the complexities of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition follows from a perspective not only of the socio-musical elements that shaped the historical narrative, but also of the musical elements of this dance-oriented “old style.”

This critical commentary investigates performance practice issues in Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni’s Concerto à cinque, op. 9 no. 5 (Amsterdam: Le Cène, 1722). It aims to stimulate players of the modern oboe to consider an historically informed approach towards the performance of this work through an assessment of relevant literature. Albinoni’s (1671–1750/51) professional career and the musical environment of Venice at this time form the backdrop for the study. The insularity of Albinoni’s life in Venice can be seen to have shaped certain original elements of his work. Furthermore, the increased availability of woodwind virtuosos in northern Italy during the early eighteenth century saw the composition of concertos for the oboe become an established part of Venetian musical life. This critical commentary includes a review of both historical treatises and modern literature that focus on the major performance practice parameters of tempo, dynamics, articulation and ornamentation. The historical treatises provide oboists with an understanding of the general practice during the baroque period, while the modern literature offers further discussion and analysis of these sources, alongside newer ideas for approaching the performance of Albinoni’s concerto. The resulting suggestions should not be regarded as rigid rules that contemporary performers must follow, but rather aim to give them more insight into the possible interpretation of the work. Thus the study provides both background information on the Concerto and guidelines on performance practice to assist oboists in generating their own ideas so that they can then develop their own interpretation of Albinoni’s concerto based on the evidence obtained from extensive research.

Beethoven’s tempo indications have been the subject of much scholarly debate, but a coherent understanding of his intended tempos has not yet emerged. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, some of the discussion has been based on unreliable sources, or an unrepresentative sample of sources. Secondly, the substantial differences between tempo preferences in the early nineteenth century and now has made these tempo indications difficult to approach for musicians in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Thirdly, discussions of Beethoven’s tempo have typically focussed on works in one particular genre. This thesis overcomes these limitations by incorporating all of Beethoven’s works, and rooting the whole research in a wide variety of sources from the eighteenth and nineteenth century that have a plausible relationship with Beethoven’s practice. In particular the metronome marks by Beethoven, as well as those from his close contemporaries Carl Czerny, Ignaz Moscheles, and Karl Holz, provide great insight into the composer’s sense of tempo. By using as many sources on Beethoven’s tempo as possible, this approach makes reasonable estimations of the actual speeds that Beethoven had in mind for his works. Furthermore, it also allows an exploration of the musical intuitions that are the root cause of these speeds.

With the fear of decline of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition after the airing of The Vanishing Cape Breton Fiddler by the CBC in 1971, both the Cape Breton community and ethnographers clamored to preserve and maintain the extant practices and discourse. While this allowed for performance contexts and practices to burgeon, it also solidified certain perspectives about the “diasporic preservation” and resultant “authenticity.” This work aims to trace the seeds and developments of the beliefs surrounding the Cape Breton fiddling tradition, from the idealizations of Enlightenment Scotland to the manipulation and commercialization of the folklore and Celticism of twentieth-century Nova Scotia. These contexts romanticized older practices as “authentic,” a construct that deeply impacted the narrative about the Cape Breton fiddling tradition. One of the most rooted and complex concepts in this narrative is that of “old style,” a term that came to represent the idealized performance practice in post-1971 Cape Breton fiddling. As models were sought for younger players to emulate, pre-1971 “master” fiddlers with innovative stylistic approaches began to be identified as “old style” players. The interstices of the tradition allowed more extreme stylistic experimentation to be accepted as “traditional,” while the symbiotic social practice of dancing necessitated relative conservatism. Analysis will show that “listening” tunes fell into the interstices of allowable innovation, while dance (particularly step-dance) tunes demanded certain “old style” techniques. A more holistic view of the complexities of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition follows from a perspective not only of the socio-musical elements that shaped the historical narrative, but also of the musical elements of this dance-oriented “old style.” / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

In Caught Between Jazz and Pop, I challenge the prevalent marginalization and malignment of smooth jazz in the standard jazz narrative. Furthermore, I question the assumption that smooth jazz is an unfortunate and unwelcomed evolutionary outcome of the jazz-fusion era. Instead, I argue that smooth jazz is a long-lived musical style that merits multi-disciplinary analyses of its origins, critical dialogues, performance practice, and reception. Chapter 1 begins with an examination of current misconceptions about the origins of smooth jazz. In many jazz histories, the origins of smooth jazz are defined as a product of the jazz-fusion era. I suggest that smooth jazz is a distinct jazz style that is not a direct outgrowth of any mainstream jazz style, but a hybrid of various popular and jazz styles. Chapters 2 through 4 contain eight case studies examining the performers of crossover jazz and smooth jazz. These performers have conceived and maintained distinct communicative connections between themselves and their audiences. In the following chapter, the unfair treatment of popular jazz styles is examined. Many early and influential jazz critics sought to elevate jazz to the status of art music by discrediting popular jazz styles. These critics used specific criteria and emphasized notions of anti-commerciality to support their theoretical positions. In Chapter 6, the studio recordings and live performances of smooth jazz are discussed. Critics frequently complain that most smooth jazz recordings feature glossy packaging and pristine studio editing, resulting in a too-perfect product. Although this aesthetic is the result of a unique series of interactions, recordings do not represent the complete musical nature of smooth jazz. Live performances contain important, but typically neglected aspects of smooth jazz. Live performances enable performers to extend solos, interact, and communicate directly to the audience. While recordings are a useful source for musical analysis, smooth jazz, like other styles of jazz, is an improvisatory music that utilizes multiple sites of production and cannot be accurately judged on recordings alone.

Clara Schumann’s 1850 tour of northern Germany with her husband officially ended with a successful concert in Altona where Jenny Lind made a surprise appearance. Immediately thereafter, one more concert featuring the pianist, singer, and Robert’s music was added at the last minute to take place in Hamburg. This too was a success. But a detail that made it especially memorable was Lind’s position behind the piano lid so that, as Clara recounted in her diary, many audience members could hardly catch a glimpse of her. This paper explores the rationales and implications of this singular and fleeting moment, and teases out aspects of the two star performers’ relationship both on and off the stage. In the process, the paper draws attention to hitherto neglected variables in the performance practice of Lieder and seeks to expand our lines of inquiry with regards to the 19th-century Lied as cultural practice.

This study was carried out in order to discover new strategies to memorize piano music. There are six different types of memory involved in performing: auditory, kinesthetic, visual, analytical, nominal and emotional. There are two main ways of practicing: playing practice and non-playing practice. I tried to find out if the order in which we use these two kinds of practice affects the quality of the memorization. During one week I practiced three different pieces following three different methods: 1 Using only playing practice; 2 using first playing practice and then non-playing practice; 3 using first non-playing practice and then playing practice. The second method had a much better result than the other two. The whole process was registered with a video camera and a logbook. / <p>The exam concert is archived for copyright reasons until 2023.</p>

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