Jed Wentz

Flexibility of Tempo and the Expression of Emotion in French Baroque Music

The topic of my study can only properly be approached in a multi-disciplinary fashion: according to French writers on musical performance of the period, the richness of the harmony (see, for example, Rameau, Code de la Musique, Paris, 1760, pg. 170, Rousseau, Dictionnaire de musique, Paris, 1768, article: chronomètre), the content of a vocal text and richness of the ornamentation (see de Bacilly, L´art de bien chanter, Paris, 1679, pgs. 107-108) and the acting and expressive gestures of the singer (see de Grimarest, Traité du récitatif dans la lecture, dans l´oration publique, dans la déclamation, et dans le chant, nouvelle edition, Rotterdam, 1707, pg. 121) could all serve as an impetus to changing the musical tempo, either by speeding it up or slowing it down, depending on the intended affect. I shall therefore only be able to draw conclusions from my research if I have an adequate grasp not only of the science of music, but also of the laws of rhetoric and the principles of Baroque acting and dance. This multi-disciplinary aspect to my study recommends itself to a practice-based research project, one which includes experimental work with dancers and singers (for example, in order to discover what influence expressive gestures can have on the mouvement of instrumental and vocal music such as a danced chaconne or a scene from a French cantata). Of particular interest to my work are the Parisian revival scores prepared in the 1750s by Francoeur and Rebel, whose rich annotations lend insight into mid-18th century operatic performance practices. My final project will be a series of performances of Rameau´s Hippolyte et Aricie voor the Nationale Reisopera in 2009.

Website van Jed Wentz