Performance interpretation

1995 ◽  
pp. 171-182
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Andrew Quintin George Atkins

<p>Performance interpretation is one of the most challenging yet most important skill sets for a performer to develop. Performers all use different approaches in developing their interpretations. This exegesis focuses on the idea of Performance-Motivated Analysis as one of these possible approaches to interpreting music. By performing a thorough analysis of the exposition of the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, by drawing upon many analytical sources, and by combining this with an annotative analysis of six performers’ interpretations, this exegesis shows how theory can be used to explain many possible interpretive decisions within the composition. I then use and discuss this knowledge in regards to my own interpretation and subsequent performance of the same composition for my Masters Recital.</p>


Manuscript ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 256-261
Author(s):  
Lidia Alexandrovna Reznikova ◽  

Author(s):  
Hanna Savelieva

The purpose of the article is to study the creative aspects of the performance interpretation of the choral work “Lux Aurumque” by the modern American composer E. Whitacre in the perspective of comparative analysis of performance versions. The research methodology includes classical musicological methods – analytical, interpretive and comparative methods. The concept of the article was created in the process of developing the ideas of I. Polusmyak and K. Timofeyeva. The scientific novelty is based on the fact of virtualization of choral singing that has not become the subject of a separate scientific study yet. The overriding task of the study is to clarify the specifics of the communicative conditions for the coexistence of national and cultural traditions of American and Ukrainian choral cultures. The influence of the semantics of the poetic source and the peculiarities of the composer’s choral writing are considered. The ways and possibilities of choral performance in the synthesis of traditional conditions and tendencies of cultural communication of modern society in the global network Internet are investigated. The specifics of the communicative conditions of coexistence of national and cultural traditions of American and Ukrainian choral culture are clarified. Comparative methods in this study include the analysis of several performance varieties – Virtual Choir 1.0., singing of the choir Eric Whitacre Singers under the direction of the author and the performance of the Student Choir of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts. In the process of studying the cognitive possibilities of comparative analysis of performing interpretations of the selected composition, common and different features dui to various physical conditions and vocal-technological approaches were revealed. Conclusions. Consideration of the features of performance drama in the process of creation virtual and real choral work versions has revealed that the selected performance versions can be divided into two types: correspondence (the first two author’s options) and adaptation (Student Choir). This topic provides a perspective area for further research and will have an exceptional scientific result in case of cooperation of specialists in several spheres – musicology, sound design, acoustics and sociology.


Author(s):  
Anastasiia Pater

The article highlights the issue of achieving a sound standard in the performance interpretation of sacred music by Ukrainian choral groups, which is relevant in the process of understanding the intonation-figurative sphere of performance. We believe that the standard performance version is the performance embodiment of a musical work that corresponds to the sound ideals characteristic of a certain tradition. The sound standard covers a complex of aesthetic and performing means that form a system of physiologically-technological technical-virtuosic, artistic-aesthetic components of the reference sound. Based on the analysis of the choral concert of Maxim Berezovsky "Don't reject me in my old age" in the performance versions of the Lviv state academic men's choral Capella "Dudarik" (conductor – Nikolay Katsal) and the Kiev chamber choir named after B. Lyatoshinsky (conductor – Viktor Ikonnik), the measure of compliance of their performance with the standard parameters of sound is traced.In the performance skills of both groups, the ability to reinterpret a musical work in accordance with its verbal basis can be traced. Depending on the figurative content, a rational reserved approach is used, devoid of emotional sound expression, or, in another situation, the secrets of spiritual experiences are soulfully transmitted. This mobility in the sense of the laws of eternal beauty and the ability to embody them in choral sonority, the combination of properties of the conscious and unconscious, determine the features of performing thinking inherent in the Ukrainian national choral art. The performance of the choral Capella "dudarik" truthfully conveys the performance style of the XVIII century, in which M. Berezovsky created. The combination of high light trebles, timbre- free soft Altos, ringing tenor groups and deep basses creates an impression of directness and sincerity in the transmission of spiritual content. But the choral intonation of the Kiev chamber choir appeals to the Western European style of music making, which is characterized by the most accurate reproduction of the elements of articulation specified in the composer's text – strokes, accents, caesuras, dynamic palette. At the same time, the balance of the single timbre ensemble of the choir with the deep "heart" sound paint characteristic of the Ukrainian tradition is preserved. The interpretation of musical architectonics by both groups brings its own uniqueness to their performing style and image-sound paint – and this is the ability to perceive and report the living matter of the work, to reincarnate the essential meanings of the national spiritual and aesthetic experience. Each of the considered performance versions corresponds to the essential characteristics of the reference sound.


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