‘Glückliche Begabung für leichten Gesprächston’ – on Concepts of Declamatory Freedom in German-Language Music Theatre

Moeckli, Laura (2021). ‘Glückliche Begabung für leichten Gesprächston’ – on Concepts of Declamatory Freedom in German-Language Music Theatre. Musiktheorie : Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft, 36(3) Laaber-Verlag

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Until well into the 19th century, Italian-influenced opera aesthetics gave improvisatory declamatory singing a considerable, if controversial, status. Clearly recognizable freely declaimed recitative sections were demarcated from the more fixed lyrical numbers. In contrast, late 19th and early 20th century opera increasingly broke away from the declamatory conventions of recitative, composers seeking increased authorial control, while paradoxically still longing for the impression of declamatory freedom. Traces of this dialectical tension can be found in examples ranging from Otto Nicolai to Stefan Wolpe, via Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. To what extent improvisational freedom is left to the performers, what leeway is expected in prosodic emphasis and distribution, what new systems of notation and restriction were invented to capture this freedom, and what dramaturgical and performative results were achieved in the process, are some of the topics discussed in this study.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Musicology

UniBE Contributor:

Moeckli, Laura Elisabeth

Subjects:

700 Arts > 780 Music

ISSN:

0177-4182

Publisher:

Laaber-Verlag

Language:

German

Submitter:

Laura Elisabeth Moeckli

Date Deposited:

14 Sep 2021 08:48

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:52

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/157765

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