The Solfeggio Tradition: A Forgotten Art of Melody in the Long Eighteenth Century

431 Pages·2020·22.488 MB·English

by  Nicholas Baragwanath

The Solfeggio Tradition

The Solfeggio Tradition
A Forgotten Art of Melody in
the Long Eighteenth Century
NICHOLAS BARAGWANATH
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Baragwanath, Nicholas, author.
Title: The solfeggio tradition : a forgotten art of melody in the long
eighteenth century / Nicholas Baragwanath.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020017866 (print) | LCCN 2020017867 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780197514085 (hardback) | ISBN 9780197514108 (epub) |
ISBN 9780197514115
Subjects: LCSH: Solmization—History—18th century. |
Sight singing—History—18th century. |
Music—Instruction and study—History—18th century.
Classification: LCC MT44 .B4 2020 (print) |
LCC MT44 (ebook) | DDC 782.04/2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017866
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017867
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America
For Isaac

Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Glossary of Technical Terms xiii
1. Introduction: Discovering Solfeggio 1
I. CONTEXT: APPRENTICESHIP,
PLAINCHANT, AND THE RUDIMENTS
2. Sepperl’s Story: A Case Study in Music and Social Mobility 23
3. The Church Music Industry 31
4. Eighteenth- Century Plainchant— For Beginners 37
5. Canto Fermo and Canto Figurato 58
II. THEORY AND PRACTICE:
LESSONS IN THE ART OF MELODY
6. Speaking Solfeggio 85
Solmization Solutions 113
Appendix: Ambiguities, Complexities, and Supplementary Guidelines 120
7. Singing Solfeggio 128
8. Learning la- sol- fa- mi, with Some Hints on Musical Grammar 156
9. Solano and Sabbatini on Modulation 213
III. THE SOLFEGGIO REPERTORY:
TYPES, STYLES, AND GENRES
10. Defining Solfeggio 239
11. Unaccompanied Solfeggio 249
12. Accompanied Solfeggio 266
13. Solfeggio and Partimento 288
14. Epilogue: Alternative Systems and the End of the Great Tradition 298
Notes 309
Bibliography 339
Index 399

Figures
2.1. Georg Balthasar Probst, L’ouïe, c. 1740 29
7.1/ Ex. 7.5. Niccolò Zingarelli, Solfeggi 140
7.2/ Ex. 7.7. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi 143
7.3. Niccolò Porpora, Solfeggi di Soprano 147
7.4/ Ex. 7.10. Leonardo Leo, Solfeggi, 1756 148
7.5. Saverio Valente, Solfegi [sic] 149
7.6./ Ex. 7.12. Carlo Cotumacci, Principij e Solfeggi, c. 1755 150
8.1/ Ex. 8.4. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 172
8.2/ Ex. 8.5. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 173
8.3/ Ex. 8.6. Leonardo Leo, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 175
8.4/ Ex. 8.7. Carlo Cotumacci, Principij e Solfeggi, c. 1755 176
8.5/ Ex. 8.8. Leonardo Leo, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 178
8.6/ Ex. 8.9. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 181
8.7/ Ex. 8.10. Leonardo Leo, Solfeggi, 1756 183
8.8/ Ex. 8.13. Leonardo Leo, Solfeggi 187
8.9/ Ex. 8.14. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 188
8.10/ Ex. 8.20. Carlo Cotumacci, Principij e Solfeggi, c. 1755 196
8.11/ Ex. 8.21. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 198
8.12/ Ex. 8.22. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 199
8.13/ Ex. 8.23. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 200
8.14/ Ex. 8.24. Pasquale Cafaro, Solfeggi a voce sola di soprano 201
8.15/ Ex. 8.25. Carlo Cotumacci, Principij e Solfeggi, c. 1755 204
8.16/ Ex. 8.26. Carlo Cotumacci, Principij e Solfeggi, c. 1755 208
9.1/ Ex. 9.14. Niccolò Porpora, Solfeggi di Soprano 233