182: Giovanna Barbati (Partimento and Improvisation on the Cello)
Nikhil Hogan Show
Today I speak to cellist and viola da gamba player Giovanna Barbati, whose repertoire extends from early to contemporary music and who has a special interest in improvisation. She appears frequently as a soloist, she plays her own music and has given the first performance of a number of works for solo cello. She has recently recorded the complete works for cello by Francesco Supriani (Da Vinci CD) with the ensemble Les amies Partimentistes. We discuss improvisation upon a ground, Francesco Supriani's diminution technique works, partimento and the cello, music theory/composition, and more!
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144: Sietze de Vries (Classical Improviser, Organist)
Nikhil Hogan Show
Professor Sietze de Vries, famed for his mastery in classical improvisation, joins the show to talk about his education, training, approach to music, music education, and demonstrates classical improvisation in multiple styles, and time periods.
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158: Nicholas Baragwanath (Hexachordal Italian Solfeggio)
Nikhil Hogan Show
Professor Nicholas Baragwanath, author of the groundbreaking "Solfeggio Tradition" (published by Oxford University Press), returns to the show to talk about Hexachordal Italian Solfeggio. This was the method of solfege instruction that was employed at the famed 18th-century Neapolitan Conservatories, using 6-note overlapping hexachords, instead of the usual 7-note systems we use today. Professor Baragwanath answers popular questions and demonstrates solfeggio in numerous settings, from beginner lessons to more advanced examples.
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157: Ewald Demeyere (Fedele Fenaroli's Partimenti and Pedagogy)
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.
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154: Partimento Panel (Gjerdingen, Sanguinetti, van Tour, Cafiero)
Nikhil Hogan Show
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.
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174: Niels Berentsen (1300-1500 Polyphony | Improvising Vocal Counterpoint)
Nikhil Hogan Show
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...
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167: Solfeggio Panel (Baragwanath, Gjerdingen, IJzerman, van Tour)
Nikhil Hogan Show
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.
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177: Robert O. Gjerdingen (Music Schema Theory)
Nikhil Hogan Show
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!
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156: Peter Schubert (Palestrina, Fux, Counterpoint)
Nikhil Hogan Show
Intro Start St. Pius X's Motu Proprio "Tra Le Sollecitudini" How did the Council of Trent affect Gregorian chant? What do you think of Organum and composers like Léonin and Pérotin? Johann Joseph Fux Knud Jeppesen Did Palestrina improvise or play the organ? Bach played on the accordion The Lute Exultate iusti by Viadana, sung by the Sistine Chapel in 1925 Historically Informed Performance Practice Has improvised counterpoint pedagogy become more prevalent in today's university music curriculums? Professor Schubert's YouTube Channel/s 19th century counterpoint Nadia Boulanger ...
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141: Job IJzerman (Harmony, Counterpoint, Partimento)
Nikhil Hogan Show
Intro Start Refinements in approach to teaching with "Harmony, Counterpoint, Partimento" since last interview Understanding the patterns in the book as "pure sounds" Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata K. 82 Thinking of cadences as schema and things that are polyphonic rather than modern terminology like PAC or IAC Joseph Haydn: "Surprise" Symphony No. 94 Thinking of 3-part harmony as complete instead of 4-part harmony missing a voice? Antonio Vivaldi: La Primavera Where do you typically take your musical examples from in the book? Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 43 ("Mercury"), 4th mvt How does...
info_outlineI’m very thrilled to speak to my guest today, guitarist, Nicola Pignatiello. He teaches at the Liceo Giordano Bruno in Rome and also at CESMI. This is the episode that all my guitarist audience members have been waiting for, and we will be diving deep into the topic of partimento on the guitar. He has recorded some really beautiful partimento realizations on the guitar that have received very positive responses from the partimento community and we will talk further about realizing partimenti on the guitar.
0:46 Background
1:41 Did you start with Classical Guitar?
2:07 Joining the conservatory at 15
3:08 What were your musical influences while growing up?
4:10 Was it 10 years of Conservatory?
4:25 Did you see yourself as a concert artist?
5:04 When did you discover Partimento?
5:50 Why did you take lessons with Enrico Baiano?
6:39 What recordings of Baiano did you like?
7:13 What happened in the lessons with Enrico Baiano?
8:01 What year was it when you discovered Partimento?
8:52 What made you think about combining partimento with the guitar?
10:53 How did you begin your development in partimento in 2005-2012?
13:47 When did people start playing 6-string guitars?
15:15 When in the 18th century did the 6-string guitar appear?
15:56 Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani and Ferdinando Carulli as representative of the 18th century style
17:35 What are the similarities between the Lute and the Guitar?
19:31 Were people realizing basso continuo on the baroque guitar or lute with strumming?
20:37 Why did you pick Giuliani and Carulli as models for partimento?
22:25 Solfeggi
22:48 What was in Giuliani’s style that had traces of the partimento lineage?
24:38 Mauro Giuliani outselling Beethoven’s piano sonatas
26:57 Does counterpoint easy to realize on the guitar?
28:41 Do you have to compensate when doing the Rule of the Octave on guitar?
30:15 How should someone start learning partimento on the guitar?
31:24 How similar are the different Rule of Octave versions among the 18th century guitar treatises
32:12 On having to transpose partimenti into more guitaristic keys
33:29 How do you prevent bad counterpoint on the guitar?
34:25 Cadences on the guitar?
36:14 When realizing figured bass, did the baroque guitar strum or using 3 voice textures?
36:51 Is that the same on the Classical guitar?
37:15 Learning with chord symbols on the guitar
39:00 Where Chord symbols originated from
40:26 Did they tolerate parallelism in guitar-type instruments because of the way they are constructed?
42:04 Did Fernando Sor have a method book?
42:52 What about dissonances on the guitar in partimento?
43:58 Bass Motions on the guitar
45:29 Nicola plays more Bass Motion examples
46:19 Bass Motions - Up a 4th down a 5th
47:06 Why is the guitar notated in treble clef?
48:00 What are some good treatises and manuscripts that would be relevant for partimento on the guitar?
48:43 Should we keep it to 2 voices on the guitar?
50:27 Is it heresy to try all these things on a non-classical guitar?
51:14 Can partimento be improvised on the guitar?
52:46 Free improvisation and composition on the guitar
53:52 How would you teach a young kid in the partimento-style of music education on guitar?
55:23 What about reading chords on the guitar in terms of Figured bass?
56:35 What about improvising on a very simple bass, how does that sound on the guitar?
59:24 How many ways can I color a simple progression on the guitar?
1:00:40 How do you development diminution on the guitar?
1:02:58 On the partimento bass lines being too difficult to realize on the guitar
1:04:41 How have your classical guitar colleagues reacted to your partimento realizations on the guitar?
1:05:51 What do you make of the rise in popularity in partimento over the last 2 years?
1:06:52 What do you think about South American classical guitar?
1:09:20 How do you analyze classical guitar literature?
1:10:59 Do you write figures or arabic numerals in circles when analyzing?
1:11:16 On the lack of historic models in realizing partimento on the guitar unlike the keyboard and the general difficulty
1:13:21 Felix Horetzky
1:13:57 Can you recommend any historically-informed classical guitarists?
1:15:47 On the passing of Julian Bream
1:17:06 Flamenco Guitar
1:18:21 Discussing Chord symbols and their related hand shapes
1:25:03 Wrapping Up