Nikhil Hogan Show Nikhil Hogan Show

Professor Ewald Demeyere returns on the show to discuss his critical edition of Fenaroli's partimenti collection and discusses Fenaroli's approach to pedagogy and partimento realization.

In this episode, I am joined by eminent professors Robert O. Gjerdingen, Giorgio Sanguinetti, Peter van Tour, and Rosa Cafiero, in a special panel session about the subject of partimento. We discuss the history of its modern research, the definition of partimento, why partimento died out, the problem with modern harmony instruction in conservatories today, the practical applicability of partimento in modern times, the future of partimento, and more.

I talk to Professor Niels Berentsen about the beginnings of improvised counterpoint, the reconstruction of incomplete music by Johannes Ciconia, computational analysis of counterpoint, teaching 15th/16th century canon, improvisation in the classroom at the Haute école de musique, the long history of improvisation models, and more.
 

Niels has taught the theory and performance of medieval and Renaissance music at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague since 2011. He received his PhD from Leiden University in 2016. Since 2018 he is professor of improvised counterpoint at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Switzerland). As a researcher, Niels has investigated techniques of polyphonic improvisation in the 1300-1500 period.

Today we have a special episode dedicated to Solfeggio, featuring Professors Nicholas Baragwanath, Job IJzerman, Robert O. Gjerdingen, and Peter van Tour. The famed students of the 18th-century Neapolitan conservatories undertook an extensive 3-year course of hexachordal solmisation using guidonian syllables before they were allowed to touch an instrument. This excellent training preceded partimento and written counterpoint studies. We discuss all aspects of this pedagogy, whether it is worth learning today, its benefits, and answer numerous audience questions.

I'm delighted to share this interview recorded yesterday with the great Professor Robert O. Gjerdingen, focusing greatly on Music Schema Theory as revealed in his groundbreaking 2007 monograph "Music in the Galant Style". In addition, we discuss Roman Numeral Analysis, Harmonic Function Theory, Hugo Riemann, Tonality, Dahlhaus, and Schenker, and he answers numerous audience questions, enjoy!

0:00 Intro
0:36 Start
1:59 St. Pius X's Motu Proprio "Tra Le Sollecitudini"
5:16 How did the Council of Trent affect Gregorian chant?
5:54 What do you think of Organum and composers like Léonin and Pérotin?
6:45 Johann Joseph Fux
14:53 Knud Jeppesen
26:54 Did Palestrina improvise or play the organ?
28:39 Bach played on the accordion
30:36 The Lute
31:44 Exultate iusti by Viadana, sung by the Sistine Chapel in 1925
36:34 Historically Informed Performance Practice
39:33 Has improvised counterpoint pedagogy become more prevalent in today's university music curriculums?
41:29 Professor Schubert's YouTube Channel/s
43:07 19th century counterpoint
47:03 Nadia Boulanger
50:07 Counterpoint for modern composition
52:59 Wrapping Up
53:20 Outro