Nicholas Baragwanath, University of Nottingham
5-8 March 2018
Solfeggio in the Long Eighteenth Century
Apprenticed musicians in the eighteenth century would spend three or more years singing solfeggio
before they were allowed to undertake lessons in playing an instrument, counterpoint, or
composition. Solfeggio training provided the fundaments for almost every musician, regardless of
their later specialism. Many thousands of their solfeggio manuscripts survive. They record
compilations of sung lessons, usually conceived by a maestro and written-down for a pupil to sing,
but sometimes originating in the pupil’s own improvisations. What they reveal about the art of
melody is just as relevant to sonatas and concertos as arias.
To reconstruct how solfeggi were used, I will present evidence drawn from the following: (1)
hitherto unremarked performance indications that regularly appear in manuscripts; (2)
contemporary solmization and its founding principles; (3) a broad range of contemporary vocal
repertory and singing treatises; and (4) consideration of the practical demands and pedagogical
purposes of individual solfeggi.
In these sessions, we will bring a dead language back to life. We will learn how to sing (yes, together)
an eighteenth-century solfeggio as an apprentice of the time would have sung it. What implications
this may have for modern musicology, music theory, and pedagogy will be explored in a closing
discussion.
Knowing how to “speak” galant melody explains how castratos managed to amaze audiences by
singing the same aria five or six times in completely different ways, and how composers could write
an opera in a matter of days. The secret lies in understanding how the same basic cantus firmi,
learned in the first weeks of training, were sung for up to six years.
During the practical workshops, students will be shown how to apply their new skills in solfeggio to a
set task, which they will select from the following: 1. solmize a given melody and prepare a
performance edition for singing it the eighteenth-century way; 2. compose your own solfeggio to a
given cantus firmus (not as hard as it sounds); 3. analyse a given short composition by identifying its
note names (lettura) and vocalisations, and describe what these findings might tell us.
Apprenticed musicians in the eighteenth century would spend three or more years singing solfeggio
before they were allowed to undertake lessons in playing an instrument, counterpoint, or
composition. Solfeggio training provided the fundaments for almost every musician, regardless of
their later specialism. Many thousands of their solfeggio manuscripts survive. They record
compilations of sung lessons, usually conceived by a maestro and written-down for a pupil to sing,
but sometimes originating in the pupil’s own improvisations. What they reveal about the art of
melody is just as relevant to sonatas and concertos as arias.
To reconstruct how solfeggi were used, I will present evidence drawn from the following: (1)
hitherto unremarked performance indications that regularly appear in manuscripts; (2)
contemporary solmization and its founding principles; (3) a broad range of contemporary vocal
repertory and singing treatises; and (4) consideration of the practical demands and pedagogical
purposes of individual solfeggi.
In these sessions, we will bring a dead language back to life. We will learn how to sing (yes, together)
an eighteenth-century solfeggio as an apprentice of the time would have sung it. What implications
this may have for modern musicology, music theory, and pedagogy will be explored in a closing
discussion.
Knowing how to “speak” galant melody explains how castratos managed to amaze audiences by
singing the same aria five or six times in completely different ways, and how composers could write
an opera in a matter of days. The secret lies in understanding how the same basic cantus firmi,
learned in the first weeks of training, were sung for up to six years.
During the practical workshops, students will be shown how to apply their new skills in solfeggio to a
set task, which they will select from the following: 1. solmize a given melody and prepare a
performance edition for singing it the eighteenth-century way; 2. compose your own solfeggio to a
given cantus firmus (not as hard as it sounds); 3. analyse a given short composition by identifying its
note names (lettura) and vocalisations, and describe what these findings might tell us.
Program
Monday, 5 March: KU Leuven (“MATRIX,” Minderbroederstraat 48, Leuven)
10.00 - 12.00: Introduction and Workshop 1
14.00 - 16.00: Workshop 2
Tuesday, 6 March: KU Leuven (MATRIX)
10.00 - 12.00: Workshop 3
14.00 - 15.00: Workshop 4
Wednesday, 7 March: Conservatorium van Amsterdam (Oosterdokskade 151, room 4.06)
10.00 - 12.00: Introduction and Workshop 1
14.00 - 16.00: Workshop 2
Thursday, 8 March: Universiteit van Amsterdam (Nieuwe Doelenstraat 16, room 3.01)
15.30 - 17.30: Lecture