Well, if we're talking about the article "French Lyricism in 17th century pi=E8ces de luth," by yours truly, the conclusion is as follows:
In order to understand the concept of French lyricism we need to know what the French considered good melody and how it is present in their airs. An understanding of French melody must proceed from an understanding of how the rules of French versification were employed by composers and how this resulted in irregular groupings of melodic units or phrases in the setting of texts. The next step consists of finding a correspondence between the vocal and instrumental models. By isolating the ends of melodic units and their coincidence with harmonic and technical divisions, it becomes possible to see how instrumental melodies are related to sung melodies. Not surprisingly, instrumental melodies share stylistic traits with the airs . The inference is that players of instrumental music imagined vocal models as a basis for these instrumental pieces -- a hypothesis that not only explains the intrinsic quality of French instrumental melodies but also supports the notion that technical indications found in sources provide a basis for musical interpretation as well as technical aid. On a related topic, my most recent article for JLSA should be out now and is entitled "Performance Practice Technique for the French Baroque Lute: An Examination of Introductory Avertissements from Seventeenth-Century Sources." This includes translations and commentaries from both Gaultier prints, and the Gallot, Perrine, and Mouton publications. The article has a "side by side" orientation so that the French and the English are both on the same page for easy cross reference. I hope this piece will spark some healthy debate, argumentation, and hopefully future research on this very important topic among the readership. Best regards, Jorge On Jun 19, 2008, at 11:26 PM, damian dlugolecki wrote: > > Good question. The conclusion is that there is no conclusion based > on scansion. French 'lyrisme' is not difficult to grasp but you > need to have a working knowledge of the language. I feel that > these pieces for lute were souvenirs of various 'f=EAtes' , parties, > occasions etc.composed for the enjoyment of the patrons and > benefactors of the luthistes. > > The continual inversion of the melody is something I found very > difficult to get used to when I first read through this music more > than 20 years ago, but now find just abstract enough to suit my > taste perfectly. > > DT's appraisal is so =E0 propos that I am tempted to get in my rig > and drive down to the Bay area and play for him, as I feel he would > be a very good listener. > > DD >> Just out of curiosity, have you read the article, and if so what is >> the big surprise about pronunciation? >> dt >> >> At 01:46 PM 6/19/2008, you wrote: >>> Nah, the duck is far more important, i.e. phrasing, syntax, melodic >>> and harmonic rhythms etc. >>> I.e. the drivetrain. Your list is chromeplating. >>> RT >>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Tayler" >>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> To: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 4:38 PM >>> Subject: [LUTE] Re: French Style >>> >>> >>>> All the things on this list are uniquely French; they give the >>>> music >>>> the character. >>>> For French music, the truffle is more important than the duck. >>>> A ground bass can have the exact same harmony in France as an >>>> Italian >>>> one, but the sauce is different. >>>> dt >>>> >>>> >>>> At 01:08 PM 6/19/2008, you wrote: >>>>> This is all truffle sauce, but it tells you nothing about the wild >>>>> boar underneath. >>>>> RT >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Tayler" >>>>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>>>> To: "lute-cs.dartmouth.edu" <[email protected]> >>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 3:59 PM >>>>> Subject: [LUTE] Re: French Style >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> That's a terrific question for which there is no easy answer. >>>>>> Here's a few basic starting points: >>>>>> 1. It is different at different times--don't conflate the >>>>>> different genres >>>>>> 2. Inegal is the most misused and most misunderstood. Read the >>>>>> original sources, don't rely on secondary sources. >>>>>> At a minimum,Distinguish between coule & pointe, and distinguish >>>>>> rhythmic inegal from articulation inegal--this is where it always >>>>>> goes wrong. >>>>>> 3. Read up on the "gout" >>>>>> 4. Learn all the agreements. Most people know 2 or 3, some >>>>>> know half >>>>>> a dozen, few know them all. >>>>>> You need to know at least a dozen, to put an arbitrary number >>>>>> on it. >>>>>> 5. Learn the three parts of the trill--the starting note, the >>>>>> repetition, and the escape. Most people don't play their trills >>>>>> right, or play them "evenly". >>>>>> 6. Use the 2/3rds rule for grace notes and the first note of the >>>>>> trill as a starting point--the grace note is the long note, >>>>>> not the >>>>>> other way around >>>>>> 7. Distinguish between the weight of medial and final cadential >>>>>> trills and ornaments, the lighter ones are often at the end, >>>>>> not the >>>>>> other way around. >>>>>> 8. At a minimum, read Monteclair on the agreements, especially >>>>>> for >>>>>> the port de voix, the ornament which is most often performed >>>>>> backwards (enough here for a separate post) >>>>>> 9. Also read the following which describes the actual >>>>>> ornaments used >>>>>> in Rameau's time: >>>>>> >>>>>> Author: MCGEGAN, Nicholas; SPAGNOLI, Gina >>>>>> Singing style at the Opera in the Rameau period. (Paris: >>>>>> Champion; Geneve: Slatkine, 1986) Music. In French. See RILM >>>>>> 1987-00887-bs. Collection: Jean-Philippe Rameau >>>>>> >>>>>> 10. You are right about the language, lots to investigate there. >>>>>> 11. Listen to a few recordings of unmeasured preludes for >>>>>> harpsichord, then arrange them for lute. A new take on stile >>>>>> brise. >>>>>> >>>>>> dt >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> At 12:35 PM 6/19/2008, you wrote: >>>>>>> I'm wondering: what is it that makes up the "French style" of >>>>>>> Baroque music? I don't mean particularly stile brise, notes >>>>>>> inegall >>>>>>> etc. Those are obvious, and to me insufficient explanations to >>>>>>> convey the French Baroque. It seems to me there's more to it >>>>>>> than >>>>>>> that. Are there, for example, considerations in the French >>>>>>> style >>>>>>> that have to do with the cadences and general kinds of >>>>>>> rhythms of the >>>>>>> French language itself? What things does one need to >>>>>>> understand / >>>>>>> appreciate in order to make effectively rhetorical music in the >>>>>>> French style? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Anybody got any ideas on this? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Best, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> David Rastall >>>>>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> >>>>>>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>>>>>> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> __________________________________________________ >>>>> D O T E A S Y - "Join the web hosting revolution!" >>>>> http://www.doteasy.com >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> __________________________________________________ >>> D O T E A S Y - "Join the web hosting revolution!" >>> http://www.doteasy.com >>> >> >> > > Jorge Torres Associate Professor of Music 237 Williams Center Lafayette College Easton, PA 18042 (610)330-5365 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ::::::::::::::::::::::::: --
