The Italian Traditions and Puccini: Compositional Theory and Practice in Nineteenth-Century Opera

438 Pages·2011·8.49 MB·English

by  Nicholas Baragwanath

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NIChOlAS “Baragwanath represents with admirable In this groundbreaking survey
BArAGwANATh clarity the most important (and entangled) of the fundamentals, methods,
is Director of Postgraduate facets of the Italian theoretical traditions. . . . and formulas that were taught
Studies and Associate An impressive tour de force.” at Italian music conservatories
Professor of Musicology in during the 19th century,
the Department of Music, GIOrGIO SANGuINeTTI Nicholas Baragwanath explores
university of Nottingham. university of rome, Tor Vergata the compositional significance
of tradition in rossini, Bellini,
The
Donizetti, Verdi, Boito, and,
Italian
most importantly, Puccini.
Traditions
Taking account of some 400
&
primary sources, Baragwanath
Compositional
Puccini
explains the varying theories
Theory & Practice
and practices of the period in
in Nineteenth-
light of current theoretical and
Century Opera
analytical conceptions of this
music. The Italian Traditions
and Puccini offers a guide to an
informed interpretation and
appreciation of Italian opera by
underscoring the proximity of
archaic traditions to the music
Cover illustration INDIANA
Musical Meaning
Giacomo Puccini in his garden at of Puccini.
University Press Nicholas
& Interpretation
Torre del Lago, ca. 1909.
Bloomington & Indianapolis
Robert S. Hatten, editor Baragwanath
iupress.indiana.edu INDIANA
1-800-842-6796
ItalianTPmec.indd 1 5/25/11 3:45 PM
The Italian Traditions & Puccini
Musical Meaning & Interpretation
Robert S. Hatten, editor
The Italian Traditions
Puccini
&
Compositional Theory and Practice
in Nineteenth-Century Opera
Nicholas Baragwanath
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Manufactured in the United States of
America
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street Library of Congress Cataloging-in-
Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA Publication Data
iupress.indiana.edu Baragwanath, Nicholas.
The Italian traditions and Puccini :
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 compositional theory and practice in
Fax orders 812-855-7931 nineteenth-century opera / Nicholas
Orders by e-mail [email protected] Baragwanath.
p. cm. — (Musical meaning and
© 2011 by Nicholas Baragwanath interpretation)
All rights reserved Includes bibliographical references and
index.
No part of this book may be reproduced ISBN 978-0-253-35626-0 (hardcopy :
or utilized in any form or by any means, alk. paper)
electronic or mechanical, including 1. Opera—Italy—19th century.
photocopying and recording, or by any 2. Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924—
information storage and retrieval system, Criticism and interpretation. 3. Music
without permission in writing from the theory—Italy—History—19th century.
publisher. The Association of American 4. Composition (Music)—History—
University Presses’ Resolution on Permis- 19th century. 5. Music—Instruction and
sions constitutes the only exception to study—Italy—History—19th century.
this prohibition. I. Title.
ML1733.4.B37 2011
The paper used in this publication meets 782.10945’09034—dc22
the minimum requirements of the Ameri- 2011008988
can National Standard for Information
Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Print-
ed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. 1 2 3 4 5 16 15 14 13 12 11
In Memory of Meta Lilian Baragwanath

Contents
· Preface & Acknowledgments ix
· A Note on Translation and Terminology xvii
1 Musical Traditions in Nineteenth-Century Italy
I. The Italian Schools 1
II. An Introduction to the Primary Sources 3
III. Puccini and the End of the Great Tradition 34
2 Studies in Lucca and Milan
I. Composition as Craft 41
II. The Istituto musicale in Lucca 49
III. Scarpia and the Partimento Cadence 56
IV. The Conservatorio di Milano 60
3 Lessons in Dramatic Composition I: Rhythm
I. Rhythm without Measure, Accent without Beat 66
II. Rules of Versification, Lippmann’s Rhythmic-
Musical Types, and Two Case Studies 75
III. Historical Survey of Writings on Ritmo 89
IV. Short Case Studies from Bellini and Puccini 125
4 L essons in Dramatic Composition II:
Harmony and Counterpoint
I. The Partimento Tradition 140
II. Michele Puccini’s Corso pratico di contrappunto (1846) 164
III. The Bolognese Attachment, or
“Little Keys for Winding Clocks” 167
IV. Regular Motions and Melodic Composition 181
5 L essons in Dramatic Composition III:
Affect, Imitation, and Conduct
I. Dominant Affects and Their Movements 190
II. Physical and Sentimental Imitation 194
III. Form and Conduct 203
IV. Case Studies from Verdi, Boito, and Puccini 232
6 Vocalizzi, Solfeggi, and Real (or Ideal) Composition
I. Lessons in Singing and Counterpoint 256
II. Lessons in Singing and Solfeggio 263
III. From Solfeggio to Ideal Composition
in Puccini (and Bellini) 268
· Notes 313
· Bibliography 355
· Index of Concepts 393
· Index of Names and Works 399
Preface & Acknowledgments
Although it focuses on his life and operas, this book is not primarily about
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). It concerns the Italian musical tradition
of which he remains, by common consent, the last great representative.
What, precisely, “tradition” might mean in this context forms the main
subject of the book.
The methods of musical training current in Lucca during Puccini’s
formative years had remained essentially unchanged since the eighteenth
century. In many respects they differed profoundly from conventional
modern teachings. Nineteenth-century Italian accounts of rhythm and
its relation to phrase structure, for instance, bear little resemblance to
the German tradition represented by Koch (1787), Hauptmann (1853),
and Riemann (1884), which continues to underpin contemporary theory.
Similarly, the modern understanding of musical “form,” based on a no-
tion of abstract templates that may be traced to such sources as Reicha
(1824–26) and Marx (1837–47), began to influence Italian publications
only toward the end of the nineteenth century. The study of harmony
and counterpoint, as undertaken by Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini (prin-
cipally through playing and singing), was entirely at odds with modern
approaches to similarly named disciplines. In the broadest sense, these
teachings comprised a body of guidelines and rules that had evolved over
centuries to meet the demands of the church, the court, and the opera
industry by allowing trained professionals to produce compositions and
performances in the appropriate styles effectively in a remarkably short
time. The pedagogical tradition gradually faded away during Puccini’s
lifetime, together with the practices and industries that gave rise to it,
and is now largely forgotten.
ix