Ornamentation
- There is a thorough survey in NGDO3, 760–773, “Ornamentation,” by
Andrew V. Jones and Will Crutchfield. Many musical examples and a three-
column bibliography. Another source, already mentioned, has good coverage
for one period: Companion to Baroque Music(#62), 417–434, “Ornamenta-
tion,” by David Fuller.
Instrumentation
- Weaver, Robert. “The Orchestra in Early Italian Opera.” JAMS17 (1964):
83–89.
Although instrument playing became more elaborate and idiomatic during the
17th century, the role of the orchestra in opera diminished. Weaver does not
accept the received explanation for this curiosity (economic restrictions pre-
vented hiring larger numbers of players), holding for an aesthetic solution. As
opera turned more to expression of emotions, the big brass orchestra became
unsuitable. Composers preferred the “monochromatic string orchestra” as a
setting for expressive singing. - Rose, Gloria. “Agazzari and the Improvising Orchestra.” JAMS18 (1965):
382–393.
In Agostino Agazzari’s treatise Del sonare sopra ‘l basso con tutti li stromenti e
dell’uso loro nel conserto (1607), there is a distinction between foundation
instruments that present the harmony and ornamental instruments that impro-
vise above it. Rose suggests that the players of improvising instruments may
have read from chord sequences in a short score that showed them the vocal
parts and figured bass. Indeed, many scores for 17th-century operatic numbers
present only a continuo, requiring the orchestra to invent the melodies. - Spitzer, John, and Neal Zaslaw. “Improvised Ornamentation in Eighteenth-
Century Orchestras.” JAMS39 (1986): 524–577.
Who improvised, with which ornaments, and under what circumstances? The
custom was more prevalent in Italy than elsewhere. German practice is the best
documented. The “demise of improvised ornamentation is seen as a crucial
step in the evolution of the orchestra as an institution... .” - Zaslaw, Neal. “Lully’s Orchestra.” In Colloque (#1127), 539–580.
Despite the significance now assigned to Lully’s orchestra, “there are astonish-
ingly few hard facts about his personnel.” Zaslaw explores instrumental prac-
tice at opera, ballet, and concert. He disposes of some myths, notably the one
about Lully stabbing himself fatally with a long baton. Between 1664 and
1674 “a fascinating new instrumentation had come into being... the earliest
form of what later acquired the name orchestra.” By orchestra, he means an
ensemble based on doubled strings and winds, with stable instrumentation,
and discipline. Lully’s was the first to meet most of these criteria. With 26
plates.
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