scholarly journals Duels in Sound: Pietro Antonio Locatelli vs Jean-Marie Leclair

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-102
Author(s):  
Ewa Chamczyk
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Violin Concerto ◽  
French Music ◽  
Violin Music ◽  
History Of ◽  
Italian Music ◽  
A Minor

The tradition of musical duels harkens back to the days of ancient Greece. One of the earliest examples of musical rivalry is the myth of Marsyas and Apollo, which ends tragically for the satyr. Without doubt, the tournaments of the ancients served as an inspiration for later generations of musicians. In each epoch they took a different form, tailored to the current norms and customs. In the sixteenth century the singing contests of the Meistersingers became extremely popular. With the development of instrumental music in the seventeenth century, duels, in which the main subject of the dispute was the superiority of one of the performers in terms of interpretation and mastery of playing a given instrument, were increasingly growing in importance. The eighteenth century, in which public concert life flourished and demand for virtuoso instrumentalists consequently grew, brought a genuine boom in musical duels. During that era, musical duels were not only confrontations between individual musicians or their patrons, but also important contributions to the exchange of experiences between artists, the spread of musical novelties and dissemination of the works themselves. Additionally, such ‘battles’ symbolised a confrontation of musical styles, in particular the Italian and the French one. Jean-Marie Leclair, known as the French Corelli, is considered by many researchers as the founder of the French violin school. Pietro Antonio Locatelli, an heir to the legacy of Arcangelo Corelli, is justifiably considered as the Paganini of the eighteenth century. Despite shared roots in the Italian violin school, their music differs in both form and expression. At first glance, Locatelli’s typically Italian music goes far beyond the previously accepted norms as far as demands placed on the violinists are concerned, whereas Leclair’s French music bears the mark of Antonio Vivaldi’s models set in the latter’s violin concertos. We know that the first confrontation of the violinists took place on 22 December 1728 at Kassel court. Some authors speculate that it was not the only meeting of these two musicians. The surviving accounts suggest that both of them stirred strong emotions among the audiences with their playing. Despite their enormous importance for the development of violin music, both composers remain underrated. This article briefly outlines the history of musical duels and sheds light on the practice of violin performances in the first half of the eighteenth century. Additionally, I have attempted a comparative analysis of selected violin concerts, namely: Locatelli’s Violin Concerto in G major Op. 3 No. 9 and Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 7 No. 5 by Jean-Marie Leclair. These two come from a similar period in the work of both composers and are close in time of composition to the famous duel.

scholarly journals Pojedynki dźwiękiem pisane. Pietro Antonio Locatelli versus Jean-Marie Leclair

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-104
Author(s):  
Ewa Chamczyk
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Main Subject ◽  
Violin Concerto ◽  
French Music ◽  
Violin Music ◽  
Antonio Vivaldi ◽  
A Minor

Duels of the Sound: Pietro Antonio Locatelli Versus Jean-Marie Leclair The tradition of musical duels harkens back to the days of the ancient Greece. One of the earliest examples of a musical rivalry is the myth of Marsyas and Apollo, which ends tragically for the satyr. Without doubt, the battles of the ancients served as an inspiration for the next generations of musicians. In each era, they took a different form, tailored to the prevailing norms and customs. In the 16th century the singing competitions of the Meistersingers became extremely popular, and along with the development of instrumental music in 17th century, duels, in which the main subject-matter of the dispute was the superiority of one of the performers in terms of interpretation and fluidity in playing a given instrument, gained increased importance. A real boom of musical duels did not came along until 18th century, in which public concerts bloomed and along with it, the demand for virtuoso instrumentalists increased. During that era, musical duels were not only confrontations between specific musicians or their patrons, but also contributed to the exchange of experiences between the artists and the spread of musical news and the works themselves. Additionally, the battles symbolised a confrontation of musical styles, in particular the Italian and French styles. Jean-Marie Leclair, known as the French Corelli, is considered by many researches as the founder of the French violin school. Pietro Antonio Locatelli, an heir to the legacy of Arcangelo Corelli is justifiably considered the Paganini of the 18th century. Their music has shared roots in the tradition of the Italian violin school, yet it differs both in terms of its formality as well as expressiveness. At first glance the French music of J.M. Leclair bears the imprint of standards of the violin concerts of Antonio Vivaldi, whereas the typically Italian works of P.A. Locatelli significantly transcend the norms accepted at that time in terms of requirements imposed on violinists. We know that the first confrontation of the violinists took place on 22 December 1728 at the manor in Kassel. However, some speculate that it was not the only meeting of the musicians. The preserved information suggest that both of them stirred strong emotions among the audiences with their playing. The profiles of the aforementioned composers, despite their immense importance on the development of violin music, still remain underrated. This article outlines the short story of musical duels and sheds light on violin concerts in the first half of the 18th century. Additionally, the author made an attempt of a comparative analysis of selected violin concerts, i.e. Locatelli’s Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 3, No. 9 and Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 7, No. 5 by Jean-Marie Leclair’s from a similar artistic period of both composers and close in terms of the time of their creation to their famous duel.

A REPUBLIC OF CUCKOO CLOCKS: SWITZERLAND AND THE HISTORY OF LIBERTY

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
ISAAC NAKHIMOVSKY
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Italian Renaissance ◽  
Military Power ◽  
Black Forest ◽  
Orson Welles ◽  
The Third ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Alps

The history of Swiss republicanism was memorably summed up by Orson Welles in the classic filmThe Third Man(1949): whereas the tumultuous and tyrannical politics of the Italian Renaissance produced a great cultural flourishing, Welles observed, “In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” Suggestive as it may be, Welles's contrast is as misleading as it is memorable. The Swiss were a fearsome military power at the beginning of the sixteenth century, admired by no less a Florentine than Niccolò Machiavelli, but by the eighteenth century they were no longer capable of defending themselves, and they were summarily occupied by the armies of revolutionary France in 1798. The nature of Swiss democracy was long contested, and in 1847 the Swiss fought a civil war over it. Finally, it must be said, cuckoo clocks were invented in the Black Forest region, on the other side of the Alps. As we shall see, the success of the Swiss watchmaking industry does in fact deserve a place in the history of liberty, but Jean-Jacques Rousseau turns out to be a more helpful guide for understanding its significance.

College Communities Abroad

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Migrant Communities ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

In the early modern period, Catholic communities in Protestant jurisdictions were impelled to establish colleges for the education and formation of students in more hospitable Catholic territories. The Irish, English and Scots Colleges founded in France, Flanders, the Iberian peninsula, Rome and elsewhere are the best known, but the phenomenon extended to Dutch and Scandinavian foundations in southern Flanders and the German lands. Similarly colleges were established in Rome for various national communities, among whom the Maronites are a striking example. The first colleges were founded in the mid-sixteenth century and tens of thousands of students passed through them until their closure in late eighteenth century. Only a handful survived the disruption of the French Revolutionary wars to re-emerge in the nineteenth century. Historians have long argued that these exile colleges played a prominent role in maintaining Catholic structures by supplying educated clergy equipped to deal with the challenges of their domestic churches. This has ensured that the Irish, English and Scots colleges in particular have a rich historiography laid out in the pages of Archivium Hibernicum, the Records of the Scots Colleges or the volumes published under the aegis of the Catholic Record Society in England. Until recently, however, their histories were considered in isolating confessional and national frameworks, with surprisingly little attempt to examine commonalities or connections. Recent research has begun to open up the topic by investigating the social, economic, cultural and material histories of the colleges. Meanwhile renewed interest in the history of early modern migration has encouraged historians to place the colleges within the vibrant migrant communities of Irish, English, Scots and others on the continent. The Introduction begins with a survey of the colleges. It assesses their historiographies, paying particular attention to the research of the last three decades. The introduction argues that an obvious next step is to examine the colleges in transnational and comparative perspectives. Finally, it introduces the volume's essays on Irish, English, Scots, Dutch, German and Maronite colleges, which provide up-to-date research by leading historians in the field and point to the possibilities for future research on this exciting topic.

Notes on Don Juan of Persia's Account of Georgia

1930 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-186
Author(s):  
W. E. D. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
The State ◽  
Don Juan ◽  
French Edition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Persian War ◽  
Interesting Account

In one of the recently published volumes of the Broadway Travellers Series (Don Juan of Persia; a Shi'ah Catholic, 1560—1604, translated and edited with an introduction by G. Le Strange) is an interesting account of Georgia and of some of the events of the Turko- Persian War which endured between the years 1578 and 1587. The Persian account throws much light on the state of Georgia at the end of the sixteenth century, and it serves as a valuable supplement to von Hammer Purgstall's history of the war, based mainly on Turkish sources, and published as books 38 and 40 of his Histoire de l'Empire Ottoman (in Vol. viii of the French edition).Neither the historian of Turkey nor the editor of Don Juan appear to have made use of the material from Georgian sources which is available for this period, namely the provincial histories of Kartli, Samtzkhé, Kakheti and Imereti collated by Prince Wakhusht of Kartli during the eighteenth century, and published by Brosset in his Histoire de la Géorgie, 2ième partie, 1iere livraison, Spb. 1856.

Listening, Ancient and Modern

2010 ◽  
Vol 135 (S1) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Western Tradition ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to describe some aspects of the agenda of listening in the Western tradition. Ancient and modern versions of some of the myths of listening (Orpheus, the Sirens) are compared to illustrate what might be at stake in the activity of listening. A basic contrast is drawn between ancient rhetorical ideas of the power of music to affect the listener and the demand of instrumental music, from the late eighteenth century on, that we understand what the music wants of us. The paper continues with a discussion of some ancient ideas about philosophical listening, which precludes talking and is directed both inwards and outwards, and it ends with some suggestions about themes that a history of listening might pursue.

The Early History of the Sultanate of Angoche

1972 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. D. Newitt
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Early History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Set Up

The sultanate of Angoche on the Moçambique coast was founded probably towards the end of the fifteenth century by refugees from Kilwa. It became a base for Muslim traders who wanted to use the Zambezi route to the central African trading fairs and it enabled them to by-pass the Portuguese trade monopoly at Sofala. The Portuguese were not able to check this trade until they themselves set up bases on the Zambezi in the 1530s and 1540s, and from that time the sultanate began to decline. Internal dissensions among the ruling families led to the Portuguese obtaining control of the sultanate in the late sixteenth century, but this control was abandoned in the following century when the trade of the Angoche coast dwindled to insignificance. During the eighteenth century movements among the Macua peoples of the mainland and the development of the slave trade in the Indian Ocean laid the foundations for the revival of the sultanate in the nineteenth century.

scholarly journals The disciplined sea: a history of maritime security and zonation

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 1055-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
Functional Zones ◽  
History Of ◽  
Historical Architecture ◽  
Territorial Claims ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract This article details the evolution of maritime security from the perspective of its impact on the historical architecture of sea space. It argues that, as the fundamental unit of governance, zoning provides keen insight into the mechanics of maritime security. The article observes that Britain's Hovering Acts in the late eighteenth century represent the earliest example of modern zonation at sea and that they exhibit a shift from early modern territorial claims based on imperium and dominium. The article explores the way these hovering zones shaped the rationale underlying contemporary maritime security. It finds that maritime security has effectively relegated national security to a minor spatial belt of state power, while elevating non-traditional understandings of security to the level of global existential threat. The future of maritime security is under construction. Increasingly segmented by interconnecting, overlapping, multi-functional zones that seek to regulate all free movement and usage of the sea, security developments are reorganizing the maritime sphere. Nonetheless, the article argues, despite the novelty of this development, a historical military logic persists in new formations of security-oriented practices of maritime governance.

A misleading source: the fortuna of a sixteenth-century engraving and its impact on the history of Roman baths studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-335
Author(s):  
Giacomo Savani
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Wall Painting ◽  
History Of ◽  
Roman Baths ◽  
Uncritical Acceptance ◽  
Roman Wall Painting ◽  
Intellectual Networks ◽  
Cutaway View

AbstractIn this article, I follow the mixed fortunes of a woodcut depicting a cutaway view of a set of ancient baths, so far neglected by modern scholarship. First published in a mid-sixteenth-century treatise on balneology and based on a misinterpretation of Vitruvius (5.10.1), it reappeared as a copy of a Roman wall-painting in several eighteenth-century antiquarian works. The remarkable resonance enjoyed by this image in specialist and popular publications until the early twentieth century makes it one of the most influential and controversial sources in the history of Roman baths studies. In exploring the reasons behind the enduring, uncritical acceptance of this depiction, I raise broader questions concerning the nature and extent of intellectual networks in eighteenth-century Europe.

A newly discovered keyboard source (Gonzalo de Baena's Arte nouamente inuentada pera aprender a tanger, Lisbon, 1540): a preliminary report

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tess Knighton
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
New Music ◽  
Rhetorical Style ◽  
Keyboard Music ◽  
History Of ◽  
Portuguese Music

The discovery of a musical source is always something of an event. This volume of keyboard music dated 1540 and printed in Lisbon was discovered – appropriately for an Iberian source – in 1992 by Alejandro Iglesias who announced his find at a conference held at the Institution ‘Fernando el Católico’ in Zaragoza in the autumn of that year. It was heralded in the Castilian rhetorical style as the ‘discovery of the century’, and it provided a moment of high drama, especially when it became clear from Iglesias's brief description of the source that it included works by Franco-Netherlandish composers such as Josquin, Ockeghem, Compère, Agricola, Caron and Obrecht. The volume is indeed of considerable interest, not only because it offers keyboard intabulations of previously unknown works by both Franco-Netherlandish and Spanish composers, but also because it is the earliest surviving source of keyboard music from the Iberian peninsula and a rare example of printed instrumental music from the first half of the sixteenth century. Manuel Carlos de Brito, making an assessment of Renaissance Portuguese music in 1989, was perfectly justified in thinking that new music sources were unlikely to appear, and that lack of musical texts to confirm or refute the historical context suggested by documents would limit the history of Portuguese music to the realms of speculation. This discovery, surprising though it is, rescues something from that shadowy kingdom.

VII. Ightham Mote: Politics and Architecture in Early Tudor England

Archaeologia ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Starkey
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Tudor England ◽  
Art And Politics ◽  
Country Houses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Four Square ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Steep Hill

Ightham Mote in Kent is one of the most beautiful of English country houses; it is also one of the most important. It stands at the foot of a steep hill, four-square and surrounded by the moat that gives it its name. Directly from the water rises the picturesquely irregular exterior. Most of the lower courses and the whole west or gatehouse front are of Kentish ragstone; much of the upper storey, however, is half-timbered. This mixture reveals the chief fact in the history of the house. It is a late medieval building, extensively remodelled in the early sixteenth century (pl. LII).The works were carried out by Sir Richard Clement, a minor Tudor courtier (pl. LIII a), and they embody his political and social ambitions with remarkable faithfulness. At the same time, the clarity of Clement's statement reflects back on his own society and raises important questions about the nature of both early Tudor art and politics and the relationship between them. I begin by tracing Clement's career to the time of his purchase of Ightham Mote; then the rebuilding of the house is described and its decorations placed within the context of the early Tudor court style; finally, the possible political significance of the style is explored, partly in terms of its origins and partly through an account of Clement's later career as a Kentish gentleman.

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