Vibrato between 1770 and 1820 : a pleasure to rediscover
Responsable(s)
Équipe
Partenaires
Jean-Christophe Revel, CRR Paris
Date de début: 2022
Présentation du projet
The music of the classical and Romantic periods has, for several decades now, been the subject of special attention on the part of researchers and musicians interested in musical performance in accordance with historically informed criteria. Vibrato, a favourite means of expression and a complex one, conditioned by the freedom of the performer and, moreover, subject to a set of criteria that limit its use, has come under particular scrutiny. The systematic analysis of its use, considered ornamental up until the end of the 19th century, will contribute in an essential way to a more fine-grained understanding of the structural elements of musical gesture (phrasing, production of sound, articulation, ornamentation).
The starting point for the project will be the study and analysis of a selection of historical documents: sources from the era in question, of course, but also recordings from the period 1910-1960, attesting to how past uses of vibrato have persisted, and a more recent discography that allows us to define how this practice is currently conceived. The usages of vibrato that will be demonstrated during the workshops will be recorded and then transcribed, so as to enable comparative analyses that involving excerpts, and old and new recordings. The experiments conducted in the project will involve thirty students, as part of the HEM’s diverse range of activities (from chamber music to orchestral playing).
