ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions lecture
“A Baroque History of Time: Hearts, Stars, and the First Operas”, Dr Andrew Lawrence-King, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (1100-1800)
Date: Friday March 8, 2013
Time: 11am to 12.30pm
Location: Hartley Concert Room, Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide
The lens of a History of Emotions allows us to refresh our view of early 17th-century music-drama, sharing the period fascination with communicating emotions (muovere gli affetti) by embodied presentation (in genere rappresentativo) in a new style of acted music (musica recitativa). Historical Performance Practice Studies engage us with the discourse of our performer-colleagues four hundred years ago, challenging us to understand their belief-systems at both cosmic and individual levels, the grand philosophy and personal assumptions that underpin pragmatic performance decisions. Musicians today equate ‘expressivity’ with rubato. In the seicento too, rhythm was given a high priority, but within a pre-Newtonian concept of time. Just as the effects of Einstein’s 20th-century relativity seem ‘paradoxical’ to us, so 17th-century attitudes to musical time differ from our inherited 18th/19th-century assumptions.
The Early Modern philosophy of time was founded on Aristotle and Plato, whose theoretical concepts were applied even in the hurly-burly of a theatrical production or the real-life drama of a sword-duel. For singers and swordsmen alike, tempo signifies both kronos and kairos (measured time and the opportune moment). Arithmetic, geometry and music are related in an intellectual hierarchy topped by astronomy, swordsmanship and dancing. The structure of the cosmos, the beating of the human heart and musical rhythm are interconnected in philosophical theory and in the practical use of the slow, steady beat of tactus. In the historical context of measured rhythm, our modern ideas about recitative need radical revision. Close reading of the prefaces to the first ‘operas’, the anonymous (c1630) guide for a music-theatre’s artistic director, Il Corago, and the first continuo treatises reveals a consistent period view that differs sharply from our modern practice.
Perhaps the most glaring anachronism in today’s Early Music is the presence of conductors. Removing them and their 19th/20th– century rubato devolves responsibility for tactus back to singers and continuo-players, redefining their roles. To the heartbeat of a steady tactus, word accentuation, syllable speed, poetic imagery, vocal pitch, harmonic intensity, and emotional content are all forever changing, often from one extreme to its opposto. Now we can reassess the much-vaunted ‘freedoms’ of the period: Peri’s derivation of musical monody from an actor’s spoken declamation, Caccini’s sprezzatura di ritmo and Frescobaldi’s detailed instructions for ‘guiding Time’ in toccatas and madrigals.
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Dr Andrew Lawrence King is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow with the Centre, working with Professor Jane Davidson on early 17th Century baroque opera performance practices. Andrew Lawrence-King is a harpist and early music specialist, and is currently the director of The Harp Consort. He also is also a conductor who directs from one of several continuo instruments, including harp, organ, harpsichord & psaltery. In 2011 Dr Lawrence King won a coveted grammy award as harp soloist in the category of Best Small Ensemble Performance, performing alongside Jordi Savall.
For further information please email: emotions@uwa.edu.au