Research Catalog

The harmonic orator : the phrasing and rhetoric of the melody in French baroque airs

Title
The harmonic orator : the phrasing and rhetoric of the melody in French baroque airs / Patricia M. Ranum ; preface by William Christie.
Author
Ranum, Patricia M.
Publication
[Hillsdale, NY?] : Pendragon, [2001]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Request for On-site UseRequest Scan
How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?
TextRequest in advance ML2827 .R36 2001Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description
xxvii, 496 pages : illustrations; 26 cm
Summary
  • "The first systematic study of French baroque music to analyze melody and lyrics rather than notational rhythms, counterpoint, and harmony, this guide presents the phrasing, rhetoric, and expression that is woven into the melodies of sung dances. Its close reading of rhetorical and poetic writings of the period, combined with its presentation of basic French linguistic patterns and speech rhythms, opens the way to a deeper historical understanding of French baroque music.
  • Proudly standing apart from its European neighbors, the music of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France represented a conscious synthesis of French speech rhythms, French rhetorical practices and French theatrical recitation. As such, it demands its own performance style.".
  • "Speech and its melodies constituted what the French prior to Rameau thought of as "harmony." Twentieth-century performers and listeners who read this book will take increased pleasure in French baroque music when they can view the airs as miniature "orations" in which speech and music fuse to form a poetic whole.".
  • "Indispensable for musicians and critics who wish to deepen their knowledge of French music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this guide will also prove useful to persons interested in French poetry and theatrical performance."--BOOK JACKET.
Subject
  • Songs, French > France > 17th century > History and criticism
  • Songs, French > France > 18th century > History and criticism
  • Music and rhetoric
  • Performance practice (Music) > History > 17th century
  • Performance practice (Music) > History > 18th century
Note
  • Pendragon Press musicological series. "Pendragon Press musicological series."
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 473-487) and index.
ISBN
1576470229
LCCN
00068827
OCLC
  • ocm45582517
  • SCSB-4192272
Owning Institutions
Columbia University Libraries