The harmonic orator : the phrasing and rhetoric of the melody in French baroque airs / Patricia M. Ranum ; preface by William Christie.
| Author/creator |
Ranum, Patricia M. |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | [Hillsdale, NY?] : Pendragon Press, [2001] |
| Description | xxvii, 496 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm. |
| Subject(s) |
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| Series | Pendragon Press musicological series Pendragon Press musicological series. ^A355415 |
| Contents | Prologue: Truth embellished. The French air, an echo of spoken rhetoric. A word-determined musical style ; Poetic harmonie and poetic modulation ; Music as an oration ; The air ; Truth embellished ; Which came first, the words or the music? Sung dances ; A musical road map -- Chapter I. A singing voice. The poetic structure of an air. The singing upper voice ; The poetic line -- An artful disposition. The periodic structure of an air. The oratorical period ; Reprises ; The disposition -- Harmonious vowels. Long and short syllables. Quantity ; Long syllables ; Short syllables ; Symmetry ; Vocabulary ; Ornaments -- Harmonious meters. The rhythmic structure of a poetic line. Mesure ; Regular meter ; Line length ; Irregular meter ; Music as poetic meter -- Expressive numbers. Relays and poetic feet. Number ; The poetic foot and its relay ; The emotions conveyed by the different poetic feet ; Variety -- Persuasive pronunciation. Accents and articulations. Doubling ; The oratorical accent ; Gliding pronunciation -- Moving speech rhythms. Equal and unequal notation. Masculine and feminine speech rhythms ; Equal speech rhythms ; Unequal speech rhythms -- Weapons of the soul. Rhythmic figures of speech. Metered figures of speech ; Closings -- Expressive energies. The emotions conveyed by tempos, modes, chords. Tempo ; Tones of voice ; The energies of the different modes ; Key signatures and accidentals ; The figure of the bass -- Artful imitations. Basic French speech melodies. Imitation ; The melodic line ; Pitch levels and emotion -- The soul in motion. Expressing the passions. The passions of the soul ; Passions and their melodies ; More tones of voice -- Conclusion: Toward a "national music". Music with a French accent -- Envoi -- Eighteen miniature orations. |
| Abstract | The first systematic study of French baroque music to analyze melody and lyrics rather than notational rhythms, counterpoint, and harmony, this guide presents the phrasing, rhetoric, and expression that is woven into the melodies of sung dances. Its close reading of rhetorical and poetic writings of the period, combined with its presentation of basic French linguistic patterns and speech rhythms, opens the way to a deeper historical understanding of French baroque music. Proudly standing apart from its European neighbors, the music of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France represented a conscious synthesis of French speech rhythms, French rhetorical practices and French theatrical recitation. As such, it demands its own performance style. Speech and its melodies constituted what the French prior to Rameau thought of as "harmony." Twentieth-century performers and listeners who read this book will take increased pleasure in French baroque music when they can view the airs as miniature "orations" in which speech and music fuse to form a poetic whole. Indispensable for musicians and critics who wish to deepen their knowledge of French music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this guide will also prove useful to persons interested in French poetry and theatrical performance. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 473-487) and index. |
| LCCN | 00068827 |
| ISBN | 1576470229 |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Music | Music Stacks | ML2827 .R36 2001 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |