All Questions
Tagged with performance-practice history
9 questions
6
votes
1
answer
195
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What is the earliest use of the note F#?
I came across Richard Taruskin's transcription of Verbum Patris humanatur, a 12th century conductus in three parts, in The Oxford History of Western Music, Vol. I. In it, he uses a ficta # above some ...
- 241
2
votes
1
answer
217
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When did the oboe wind up being the standard to tune other instruments in an ensemble / orchestra?
As a follow up to the question why does the orchestra tune to the oboe, I'm asking since when this became standard practice? For example, was it since the Modern oboe, or already since the Classical ...
- 2,375
5
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4
answers
1k
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Who decides how a historic piece is adjusted (if at all) for modern instruments?
Here we have a video of a historically-informed (or period) performance of Moonlight Sonata's first movement.
Wikipedia notes:
Some critics contest the methodology of the HIP movement, contending ...
- 403
8
votes
1
answer
762
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What is the meaning of the "chiaroscuro" sound that was considered ideal in Classical and early-Romantic Italian opera?
Apparently, in Classical and early-Romantic Italian opera (the "bel canto" opera repertoire), the ideal kind of vocal colour was a so-called chiaroscuro sound. The chiaro- part translates as ...
- 275
3
votes
2
answers
339
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Has it always been the tradition for conceto soloists to have their music memorized?
At all the performances of concertos I've attended, the soloists perform without sheet music, whether it is a concerto for piano, viola, or horn. Has this always been the performance tradition for ...
- 1,123
1
vote
1
answer
288
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The Blues Face: Origins
I'm sure plenty of you guys know this situation well: Someone's playing some blues guitar lick, and right as things get real stanky, they make a weird face, seemingly in reaction to the lick they're ...
- 12.9k
16
votes
3
answers
435
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What is the historically informed way of playing the 1/16 notes in Handel's Water Music suite no. 1 overture?
Handel's Water Music suite no. 1 starts with a slow overture with 1/16 notes at the middle and end of each measure:
Some performances play it "as written" [Koopman], but some play the 1/16 notes ...
- 1,855
8
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2
answers
7k
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Where does the tradition of bowing after a performance come from?
Why do we bow after a performance? Where does this tradition come from? For how long has performers been doing this?
Maybe there is some sort of interesting anecdote about this.
- 15k
5
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3
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Which source for Scarlatti K208? Can I mix and match versions?
I'm working on Scarlatti's K208.
The Dover edition includes variants from the Codice Veneziano (C.V.), Codice Santini (C.S.) and from the London original edition (E.O.). The first picture shows a ...
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