Archival Notes

‘E la mente annullata naufraga nel vento’: A New Appraisal of Giacomo Manzoni’s «Parole da Beckett» from the Perspective of a Conductor

2023-06-29T17:17:32+02:00

This study on Giacomo Manzoni’s «Parole da Beckett» demonstrates how the aleatory sections and the presence of hidden, completely inaudible texts, shown in the separate parts for the two choruses, leave considerable room for choice and alternative readings on the part of the performer. The case study sheds light on the two apparently paradoxical tendencies of the European avantgarde of the 1960-1970s, on one hand to strive for a liberation from the constraints of music notation, and on the other hand to provide the score with extremely detailed instructions for performance. As orchestral conductor and on account of his recent performance of Manzoni’s work, the author claims the main role of interpretation as creative practice in order to reconcile the two tendencies and open up new possibilities motivated by the compositional logic of the work.

«Aus dem Nachlaß»: Sedimentation in Mauricio Kagel’s «Tactil» and «Unter Strom»

2023-06-29T16:56:27+02:00

The estate of Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008) contains two notable works of which the scores were left unfinished. Despite having never been available from his publishers, «Tactil» and «Unter Strom» were nevertheless performed, and studio-recordings (audio as well as video) by Kagel’s own Kölner Ensemble für Neue Musik were distributed – in the case of «Tactil», Kagel even played the keyboard part. Besides the most obvious questions that lead from this odd situation (e.g., how exactly did they perform from sometimes barely written out scores? And why was it apparently impossible to complete the pieces if Kagel clearly considered them fine for performing and recording?), some wider perspectives with regards to the composer’s estate are treated. These works were performed under Kagel’s direct supervision, yet there are serious discrepancies between archived materials and recorded performances. Furthermore, it appears that the official ‘archive’ – the collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation – does not hold all pertinent materials, turning the limelight towards the performers. At the same time, the value for this archival research of the concept of ‘stratification’ – taken from Deleuze and Guattari – is scrutinised and weighed against the notion of ‘sedimentation’.

Altering «A(lter)A(ction)»? Egisto Macchi Then and Now

2023-06-29T17:02:02+02:00

Contamination among arts is a distinctive element of the avant-garde scene in Rome during the Sixties. «A(lter)A(ction)», a music theatre work composed by Egisto Macchi in 1966, is a clear example. The piece was a product of the newly founded Compagnia del Teatro Musicale di Roma (Music Theatre Company of Rome) and featured four protagonists who symbolically referenced Antonin Artaud. This work embodies the transformations of the contemporary mediascape of the twentieth century. Despite a few reprises between 1966 and 1968, the work disappeared from the stages and has never been performed in recent times. Relying on archival sources of different natures, in this essay, I investigate textual issues that need to be considered for preparing an «A(lter)A(ction)»’s performance nowadays. Firstly, I examine Macchi’s theoretical background: his unpublished writings offer a vantage point to examine the operatic genre crisis and the possible solutions through new media. Then, against the backdrop of source studies on the Italian operatic repertoire, I discuss «A(lter)A(ction)»’s key practical challenges, given its multi-authorial nature and its complex media structure that experiment with different communication strategies.

Constança Capdeville’s Personal Archive: Difficulties in Describing and Documenting Performative Practices

2023-06-29T17:05:40+02:00

Archiving music theatre works implies describing interactions, interventions and interpretations by creators, performers, musicologists, users, and archivists. An in-depth understanding of music theatre, a performative genre that appeared in Europe throughout the 1960s, allows composers and performers to solidify the founding concepts of this performative genre and create new performance, production, and pedagogical challenges. This article aims to discuss practices and methodologies between musicology and archival science to preserve music theatre works within a holistic perspective. This approach assists archivists’ work regarding the processing of existing documentation in creations involving collaborative practices, with particular impact on institutions dealing with performance preservation. It also contributes to boosting the access and intelligibility of music theatre works. In this article, I take as a case study the personal archive of the composer Constança Capdeville (1937-1992), a prominent figure in the field of music theatre in Portugal. Based on the issues raised by her music theatre works especially in archival perspective the article proposes possible approaches to archival description and specific tools that may assist the archiving of musical performances.

«Suite “colori”» by Mario Bertoncini: From Performance to Archival Research

2023-06-29T17:09:33+02:00

This article examines several distinctive elements and some intrinsic issues in Mario Bertoncini’s oeuvre using the work «Suite “colori”» for prepared piano as a case study. Indeed, Suite “colori” is an emblematic work showing a wide array of preparations and objects that Bertoncini created and devised throughout his artistic life. In the first part, pianist and musicologist Luisa Santacesaria details her close work with Bertoncini to learn how to play this piece and reflects on this multi-year process. In the final part musicologist Valentina Bertolani reflects on the fluidity of Bertoncini’s material heritage and the constitution of Bertoncini’s archive. With this article the researchers aim to contribute to the current conversation on archival practices for twentieth and twenty-first century musics, committed to understand archival formations as communal and shared responsibilities.

Fingers to Sounds, Sounds to Fingers: Creative Interaction with Giacinto Scelsi’s Archival Materials as Means to Devise Performance Practices of His Music

2023-06-29T17:12:23+02:00

This article proposes a performance practice of Giacinto Scelsi’s music for strings, based on the study of the archival materials and musical instruments. The unusual creative strategy adopted by Scelsi was based on recordings of his free improvisations on the Ondiola and the subsequent transcription in conventional musical notation by hired assistants. The article argues that the participation of Scelsi’s assistants in the transcription process introduces implicit limitations in the traditional authoritative role of the score deriving from the transcriber’s musical aesthetics and understanding of the instrument, which are apparent in the result. To establish a new practice grounded on Scelsi’s recorded improvisations, the article proposes a two-fold approach, based on computer-assisted transcriptions of Scelsi’s recordings and a thorough investigation of his keyboard instrument, resulting in the sampling of the Ondiola’s resources. The experiential knowledge gathered in this phase allowed the author to imagine and creatively adapt to the violin instrumental strategies and technical approaches inspired by the Ondiola and apply them to computer-generated scores. The resulting interpretation is informed by knowledge of Scelsi’s creative routine and rooted in his tapes, while at the same time allowing performers creative freedom in expanding the technical and expressive possibilities of their instruments.

On the Horizon of Digital Technics in Kaija Saariaho’s «IO» and «Nymphéa»

2023-06-29T17:15:07+02:00

This article takes the sweeping success of Kaija Saariaho’s recent concert premieres in North America as a jumping point for reflecting on the historical provenance of her distinctive compositional style and technique, which is shown to be deeply entangled with her decades-long engagement with digital technologies. Drawing on archival materials, the author traces the emergence of interpolation processes and analysis-synthesis methods in two early pieces – «IO» (1986-1987) for sixteen musicians, tape realised by computer, and live electronics, and «Nymphéa» (1987) for string quartet and live electronics. These techniques were developed in collaboration with researchers at the Institut de Recherche Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) using a range of in-house software applications, including CHANT, FORMES, and IANA, as well as a customised program called ‘transkaija’. Expanding the scope of analysis beyond «IO» and «Nymphéa», the article shows how the functionalities of these different technologies were assimilated into visual programming languages like Max and OpenMusic in the nineties, leading to a remediation of the live-electronics setup needed to perform Saariaho’s early works and provoking difficult questions about how to best archive musical artifacts given the rapid pace of digital obsolescence.

«Research-led Performance»: Report on an Ongoing Project

2023-06-29T17:20:09+02:00

The contribution offers a thorough report on the ‘Research-led Performance’ Workshops held at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini from 2016 to 2022.

Ctrl+s | Conversations on the survival of electronic music

2023-06-29T17:22:23+02:00

Report of the concluding round table of the project ‘Ctrl+s | Conversations on the survival of electronic music’, with the participation of Valentina Bertolani, Federica Bressan, Daniela Cattivelli, Francesco Giomi, Luisa Santacesaria, Giulia Sarno, Marco Stroppa, Stefano Trevisi, Alvise Vidolin and Laura Zattra.

Introduction

2023-06-20T09:34:14+02:00

The introduction illustrates intentions, scope, objectives and contents of the thematic volume ‘Archival Research and Performance: Perspectives on Twentieth-Century Music’ (Archival Notes, 7, 2022).