It deals with the different notational typologies with which the medieval monodic repertoire has been handed down, especially from the beginnings until the XIII century and proposes to approach the main historical-critical issues raised by these notations, as well as to the problems that their interpretation / translation in modern notation.
Course Prerequisites
Good knowledge of the history of medieval music and in particular of the Western liturgical chant. Good knowledge of ancient and modern music theory.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, and practice exercises, possible seminar activities.
Assessment Methods
Written test and oral exam. The written test (which will also be supported by non-attending students) will consist of the neumatic analysis and the modern transcription of a composition taken from the Gregorian Chant repertoire through several codices in different writings (which must be identified).
Texts
eference bibliography:
– Paléographie musicale: les principaux manuscrits de chant grégorien, ambrosien, mozarabe, gallican, Solesmes, 1889-. – s.v. D. HILEY - J. SZENDREI, Notation, § III.1, Plainchant, in Groveonline. – M.-N. COLETTE - M. POPIN – PH. VENDRIX, Histoire de la notation du Moyen Âge à la Renaissance, Paris, Minerve, 2003. – TH. F. KELLY, Capturing Music. The Story of Notation, New York, W.W. Norton, 2014. – M.E. SCHMID, La notazione musicale. Scrittura e composizione tra il 900 e il 1900, a cura di A. Cecchi, Roma, Astrolabio, 2017. – S. RANKIN, Writing sounds in carolingian Europe: the invention of musical notation, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Additional documentary material and specific bibliography will be reported during lectures. Frequency is strongly recommended. In any case, a specific exam program will be provided for non-attending students.
Contents
The course will focus on the emergence and dissemination in the West of the neumatic notations in the main writing centers, their semiographic and semiological characteristics, and the various transformations over time, especially in the French, Germanic and Italian areas. The course includes a part of practice exercises for reading and analyzing the different types of notation.
Course Language
Italian
More information
Students authorized to benefit from Inclusive Teaching must contact the lecturer who, through a personal interview (in person or remotely) will identify the most suitable teaching material on a case-by-case basis depending on the relevant categories, as proposed by the Academic Senate.
