Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Music Honours

School

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)

Faculty

Faculty of Education and Arts

First Supervisor

Dr Jonathan Paget

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, the performance practice of baroque music has undergone many stylistic changes. Moreover, the rich resources of primary source material available to us in musical recordings of the period have only recently been realised. Bruce Haynes, in his book The End of Early Music, suggests that the twentieth century saw three principal schools of performance: romantic, modernist, and historically-informed. This study investigates Haynes' hypothesis through a comparison of fourteen recordings of Bach's Solo Violin Sonata in A minor BWV 1003, ranging from 1933 to 1999. Focus is made on eight predetermined observation criteria: tempo, tempo fluctuation, rhythmic alteration, accentuation, articulation, portamento, vibrato, and ornamentation. Each criterion is discussed with reference to the secondary literature and observations of each recording are compiled in a systematic fashion. Each of the three schools (romantic, modernist, and historically-informed) is profiled, and an attempt is made to compare and categorise each recording, where possible. The results are used to test the validity of Haynes tripartite model and also to shed further light on the ways that performance practices have changed across the century.

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