In this series of posts, an attempt was made at portraying aspects of a chant performer’s creative explorations, against a backlight of developments in the world of artistic research. Focusing on the creative potential of recitation (of texts) and reconsideration (of histories, theories, contexts), an image has emerged, inevitably incomplete, of the chant performer as... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations [14/15] Saintly
Music for saints holds a special place in the repertoire of chant. In the first centuries of Christianity a cult of saints developed, and long before the invention of musical notation a considerable repertoire of music for saints had already been established. However, the bulk of that kind of music had yet to come, since... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations [13/15] Recitation becomes chant
There is hardly any better training imaginable for a plainchant performer than a detailed experience of different forms of recitation. The art of recitation is at the heart of instruction and creative development. As described earlier, various rhetorical elements (as basic as the beginning and end of a sentence) and their translation into musical formulae,... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations [9/15] Obstacles and opportunities
Today’s chant singer researching a performance practice for late medieval chant is faced with many questions. These include questions concerning language and vocal techniques, such as the proper pronunciation of Latin, use of the voice and pitch; performance practice issues such as rhythm, meter, tempo and phrasing; contextual considerations such as the number and composition... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations [5/15] A communication that reflects a topological research approach
A communication that reflects a topological research approach Nyrnes (2006) suggests talking about art research in spatial or topological terms, where “creativity is a matter of being aware of the topoi in order to choose new paths”. Subsequently, three topoi of artistic research are presented. First, there’s the ‘own language’ topos, where the storytelling and... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations [2/15] Augustine & Bowie
Towards the end of his life, around the year 427, Augustine of Hippo set out not only to catalogue all his works (in total more than five million words), but also to revise, correct, amend and even reconsider them. In addition, he described some of the circumstances in which he worked, making the Retractationes one... Continue Reading →
[ENG] Recitations and Reconsiderations – Aspects of a performer’s research into late medieval plainchant [1/15]
In plainchant – that reverend and revered godparent of the Western musical tradition – words from the Bible and other religious writings are endlessly cited and recited. Simply reading a liturgical text out loud to a large audience is a difficult task when done with due respect and without microphone. The best option is to... Continue Reading →
Psallentes Oude Muziek 