With passionate voice : re-creative singing in 16th-century England and Italy

Musicians in the 16th century had a vastly different understanding of the structure and performance of music than today's performers. In order to transform inexpressively notated music into passionate declamation, Renaissance singers treated scores freely, and it was expected that each would personalize the music through various modifications, which included ornamentation. Their role was one of musical re-creation rather than of simple interpretation--the score represented a blueprint, not a master plan, upon which they as performer built the music. As is now commonly recognized, this flexible approach to scores changed over the centuries; the notation on the page itself became an ostensible musical Urtext and performers began following it much more closely, their sole purpose being to reproduce what was thought to be the composer's intentions. Yet in recent years, scholars and performers are once again freeing themselves from the written page--but the tools for doing so have long been out of reach.__With Passionate Voice__ gives these tools to modern singers of Renaissance music, enabling them to learn and master the art of "re-creative singing." Providing a much-needed historically-informed perspective, author Robert Toft discusses the music of composers ranging from Marchetto Cara to John Dowland in the context of late Renaissance rhetoric, modal theory (and its antecedents in language), and performance traditions. Focusing on period practice in England and Italy, the two countries which produced the music of greatest interest to today's performers, Toft reconstructs the style of sung delivery through contemporary treatises on music, rhetoric and oratory. Toft remains faithful to the ways these principles were explained in the period, and thus breathes new life into this vital art form. __With Passionate Voice__ is sure to be essential for vocalists, teachers and coaches of early music repertoire. Musicians in the sixteenth century had a vastly different understanding of the structure and performance of music than today's performers. In order to transform inexpressively notated music into passionate declamation, Renaissance singers treated scores freely, and it was expected that each would personalize the music through various modifications, which included ornamentation. Their role was one of musical re-creation rather than of simple interpretation-the score represented a blueprint, not a master plan, upon which they as performer built the music. As is now commonly recognized, this flexible approach to scores changed over the centuries; the notation on the page itself became an ostensible musical Urtext and performers began following it much more closely, their sole purpose being to reproduce what was thought to be the composer's intentions. Yet in recent years, scholars and performers are once again freeing themselves from the written page-but the tools for doing so have long been out of reach. With Passionate Voice gives these tools to modern singers of Renaissance music, enabling them to learn and master the art of "re-creative singing." Providing a much-needed historically-informed perspective, author Robert Toft discusses the music of composers ranging from Marchetto Cara to John Dowland in the context of late Renaissance rhetoric, modal theory (and its antecedents in language), and performance traditions. Focusing on period practice in England and Italy, the two countries that produced the music of greatest interest to today's performers, Toft reconstructs the style of sung delivery through contemporary treatises on music, rhetoric and oratory. Toft remains faithful to the ways these principles were explained in the period, and thus breathes new life into this vital art form. With Passionate Voice is sure to be essential for vocalists, teachers and coaches of early music repertoire. Book jacket. Musicians in the 16th century had a vastly different understanding of the structure and performance of music than today's performers. In order to transform inexpressively notated music into passionate declamation, Renaissance singers treated scores freely, and it was expected that each would personalize the music through various modifications, which included ornamentation. Their role was one of musical re-creation rather than of simple interpretation--the score represented a blueprint, not a master plan, upon which they as performer built the music. As is now commonly recognized, this flexible approach to scores changed over the centuries; the notation on the page itself became an ostensible musical Urtext and performers began following it much more closely, their sole purpose being to reproduce what was thought to be the composer's intentions. Yet in recent years, scholars and performers are once again freeing themselves from the written page--but the tools for doing so have long been out of reach. With Passionate Voice gives these tools to modern singers of Renaissance music, enabling them to learn and master the art of "re-creative singing." Providing a much-needed historically-informed perspective, author Robert Toft discusses the music of composers ranging from Marchetto Cara to John Dowland in the context of late Renaissance rhetoric, modal theory (and its antecedents in language), and performance traditions. Focusing on period practice in England and Italy, the two countries which produced the music of greatest interest to today's performers, Toft reconstructs the style of sung delivery through contemporary treatises on music, rhetoric and oratory. Toft remains faithful to the ways these principles were explained in the period, and thus breathes new life into this vital art form. With Passionate Voice is sure to be essential for vocalists, teachers and coaches of early music repertoire. The sixteenth century was an age of rhetorical persuasion, and singers delivered solo and part songs through a dramatic display of passion that inflamed the hearts and minds of listeners. Composers relied on performers to transform the written page into a powerful musical discourse and never notated subtleties of rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, pauses, accents, emphases, tempo, or ornamentation. Knowledge of the strategies Renaissance vocalists employed to liberate music from its notation enables modern performers not only to complete the creative process the composer began but also to bring songs to life more from within the culture of the era. This book draws on a wide range of historical documents, both musical and nonmusical, to reconstruct the style of singing known in England and Italy between 1500 and 1620; it provides vocalists with the tools they need to turn skeletally written music into persuasive communication. Exhaustively illustrated with excerpts from frottole , madrigals, monodies, and lute songs, this book captures the breadth of practices singers used in the sixteenth century to realize those aspects of the music that remain hidden in the score until released by performers. Discussions of complete works by composers ranging from Cara and Tromboncino to Monteverdi, Caccini, and Dowland explain how vocalists today can use the old methods to personalize the music, and a companion website offers demonstrations of the principles involved 'with Passionate Voice' Gives Modern Singers Of Renaissance Music The Tools To Learn And Master The Art Of 're-creative Singing'. Providing A Much-needed Historically-informed Perspective, Author Robert Toft Discusses The Music Of Composers Ranging From Marchetto Cara To John Dowland In The Context Of Late Renaissance Rhetoric, Modal Theory, And Performance Traditions. Introduction: An Age Of Rhetorical Persuasion -- Part 1. Preparing The Text. Words Appropriately Fitted To The Notes -- Part 2. Elocutio : Fine Words And Music. Every Trope, Every Figure -- Part 3. Pronunciatio : Singing Eloquently And Acting Aptly. The Art Of Vocal Delivery ; A Garden Of Embellishment ; Action -- Part 4. Passionate Ayres Pronounced. The Prosopopoeia In England ; Affetto Cantando And Consort Singing In Italy -- Appendix. Understanding Learned Compositions -- The Addition Of Sharps And Flats. Robert Toft. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.