A day of solfeggio events!

Lecture and concert in Montréal, Québec

ELINOR’S BLOG:

The events of the past week have been thrilling. The crowning moment of many months of planning and work, it was very gratifying to put into performance many of the ideas Nick and I had been studying and exploring together. Being on stage in front of hundreds of people and playing a complete sonata that I wrote was a new and exhilarating experience. Nick helped me every step of the way and was a truly sympathetic maestro !

A lot of the compositional work consisted of adding more space into my composition. When I make melodic material or find a idiomatic way to execute a schema sequence on the cello, I often do it in a too-compact way. The material doesn’t breathe and transitions are too abrupt or even misplaced. Nick helps me to extend and tease out music that flows better and has more ease and space.

Another big task: learn MuseScore. I wanted to typeset my sonata but I don’t yet use programs like Sibelius or Dorico. I had tried MuseScore before and decided to dive in for real this time. I was able to figure it out enough to have a legible typeset version. :)

Eventually, I arrived at three movements: an Allegro in E-flat, a revised version of last month’s Siciliana in G Minor, and a Minuetto with two variations. The variation ideas finally came together the night before the concert and during the dress rehearsal I had to edit some parts that didn’t quite fit. It was certainly a wild ride to the very end!

Here excerpt from the Siciliana performed at our concert !

Our talk at McGill University earlier in the same day as the concert (April 2nd) was well-attended and ended with many thoughtful questions from students and faculty. The turnout included my whole graduate seminar, many students in early music and theory, and quite a few celebrated McGill theory and music history faculty members such as Peter Schubert, William Caplin, Julie Cumming, Dorian Bandy, Ed Klorman, and others. I have a feeling that after our talk, the music department will be more open to my offering historical solfeggio in classes there.

Interestingly, Nick and I talked about a few frustrating things in relation to our our talk. Some of the attendees wrote only him after thanking him only for his talk and later the next day, a colleague mentioned “Nick’s talk” in public. It’s impossible to say if these comments are gendered, but regardless, our project is a shared endeavour in which both of us are essential contributors. Even though Nick is the “maestro” here, our project is based on our exchange and developing new approaches together. Its value lies in us both finding ways to learn from and teach each other.

Lastly, since this was Nick’s very first ever trip to Canada, we wanted to make sure sightseeing was also on the docket. When he arrived to Montréal, I gave him spoonfuls of maple syrup. :) The day after our concert, we spent a few hours walking in the “old port,” along with fabulous composer-harpsichordist Nicola Canzano, and we admired old buildings along rue St-Paul. Per usual, Nick regaled us with hilarious stories. I’m going to miss having him in Montréal !

NICK’S BLOG:

Today marked the culmination of many months of work. Elinor completed and performed her own three movement sonata, as well as several improvised variations and much other repertory. In true eighteenth-century fashion, the ink was still wet on the page - so to speak - at the premiere. She completed it only on the morning of the concert. She was still making amendments minutes before going on stage. There was no time to practice the difficult passagework and double-stops. Somehow, she managed to sightread the new parts. For a first composition, her sonata is an impressive achievement. It was composed using solfeggio, rather than the more usual partimento/bass/schema models currently in use. Its emphasis on melodic discourse is obvious. This method begins with a pattern of melodic solfeggio syllables, arranged into coherent phrases/units. The bass is added later, as a kind of supportive conversation partner. Solfeggisti in the eighteenth century, including castrati and string virtuosi, could compose melodies in this way without having to give much consideration to the bass. Farinelli, for instance, could compose wonderful arias, leaving it to his brother Riccardo Broschi to complete the mundane tasks of adding a bass and inner parts.

The concert was fantastic. Elinor was joined by violinists Valerie Gordon and Cristina Prats-Costa, harpsichord/composer Nicola Canzano, and bassist Shanti Nachtergaele. They played beautifully and with compelling energy. The concert showcased some of the ways that historical solfeggio can be applied in modern performance. The musicians added their own minore variations to Corelli’s Ciaccona; Elinor played her own improvised variations on Vivaldi’s Minuet (Fandango); we were treated to original compositions by Nicola and Elinor; and Elinor performed the slow movement from Leo’s F minor cello concerto having never see the score. She knows only the ‘thread’ of its syllables. A thumping rendition of Vivaldi’s variations on La Folia provided a fitting end to the concert.

Elinor and I also delivered a colloquium at McGill before the concert, which was attended by her entire class. So many talented and enthusiastic young musicians!