‘POST-HIP’: NEW MUSIC FOR OLD INSTRUMENTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

This article explores an emergent vanguard of the ‘historically informed performance’ (HIP) movement in the twenty-first century, focusing on new music written for, and performed on, historical instruments. Drawing on musicological and journalistic writing, as well as first-hand interviews with artists working in the scene, discussion is centred around the work of three key practitioners: the lutenist Jozef van Wissem, gambist Liam Byrne and baroque violinist Halla Steinunn Stefánsdóttir. Finally, an attempt is made to situate the scene, both in relation to earlier revivalist practice and to broader cultural trends, drawing, in particular, on notions of ‘retromania’, post-internet and post-postmodernist practice.

Prelude

Lesson One takes the form of a practical introduction, advising the reader on the basic equipment needed for the course of study. Although various compromises are possible, the advantages of studying on authentic historical instruments as opposed to modern ones are made clear. The objection that studying the Baroque violin or viola will somehow “damage” the player’s modern technique is laid to rest: on the contrary, such study will enhance both one’s technique and one’s understanding of how to make music. The options for acquiring a suitable violin include buying one in its original Baroque condition, reconverting an old one that has been modernized, and buying a modern copy. The choice of a suitable bow is also discussed. There follows a short history of gut strings, a section on how to choose them, and a practical guide to fitting them. The lesson ends with a brief survey of Baroque pitch.

INVISIBLE SOUNDS FOR CALVINO’S INVISIBLE CITIES: COLLABORATION IN A CREATIVE PROCESS

Inspired by Italo Calvino's novel Le città invisibili (1972), which presents Marco Polo's description of several invisible and fictional cities, the authors embarked on an imaginary journey to create invisible sounds with the subtlety of the fortepiano. In a process akin to Calvino's novel, the article presents the comings and goings of an exchange process of ideas between the composer and the performer. Physically separated, in Brazil and Portugal, they used video conferences and e-mails to create the work. As the process evolved, technical aspects of the fortepiano and its peculiar sounds were intertwined with adjustments to the composer's creative writing. On the other hand, the combinatorial structure of Calvino's artwork anchored the exchange of musical materials among the work’s movements. This artistic-research project began in April 2014, and led to a recording of Sons Invisíveis (Invisible Sounds), included in the CD Música Nova for Antique Instruments II in 2016. In order to describe this trajectory, this article addresses recent literature in collaboration and performance studies, composition for historical instruments, particularly the fortepiano, the combinatorial nature of Calvino's writing, how the collaborative process was developed, and its final organization, expressing the ineffable character of Calvino's masterpiece through invisible sounds.