Report by Simone Slattery, PhD, Churchill Fellow

2018 Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship ‘To develop new specialised skills in historical violin performance as both performer and educator’

Awarded by The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

1 INDEMNITY CLAUSE

THE WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST

Report by Simone Slattery, Churchill Fellow

2018 Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship: ‘To develop new specialised skills in historical violin performance as both performer and educator’

I understand that the Churchill Trust may publish this Report, either in hard copy or on the internet or both, and consent to such publication.

I indemnify the Churchill Trust against any loss, costs or damages it may suffer arising out of any claim or proceedings made against the Trust in respect of or arising out of the publication of any Report Submitted to the Trust and which the Trust places on a website for access over the internet.

I also warrant that my Final Report is original and does not infringe the copyright of any person, or contain anything which is, or the incorporation of which into the Final Report is, actionable for defamation, a breach of any privacy law or obligation, breach of confidence, contempt of court, passing-off or contravention of any other private right or of any law.

Signed: Date: 8/10/19

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Acknowledgements

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him… We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” ~ John F. Kennedy

My sincere thanks to the Winston Churchill Trust for recognising the value of the arts, and for providing the environment for me to follow my vision.

I feel deeply honoured to join such a prestigious and impressive list of Churchill Fellowship recipients and acknowledge the responsibility that comes with this honour. It is a particular privilege to receive the Dame Roma Mitchell Fellowship. Although I was not fortunate enough to meet Dame Roma, I know many wonderful stories about her and her ongoing legacy of support for the arts, which has changed the lives of many young South Australians like myself.

I am grateful to the many individuals who helped shape my trip through their guidance, wisdom, patience and inspiration. My professional musical community has broadened as a result of this trip and these new connections will continue to enrich my musical experiences both here in Australia and abroad.

My heartfelt thanks to my family and friends for supporting me through my various studies and adventures over the years. Nothing would ever be possible without you.

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Table of Contents

Page 1. Acknowledgements

Page 2. Table of Contents

Page 3. Introduction and Background

Page 4. Contact Details Key Words

Page 5. Executive Summary Report Overview Intended Audience Highlights

Page 6. Conclusions and Recommendations

Page 7. Itinerary

Page 8. Travel Report

Page 22. Conclusion

Page 23. Dissemination

Page 25. Appendix

Page 28. Bibliography

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Introduction and Background

My Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship focused on the study of Historical Improvisation from a performance and pedagogical perspective. As a performing violinist specialising in Historically Informed Performance (HIP), this is a topic that has been of interest to me for several years, but it is an area of music little discussed or utilised within Australian HIP musical circles. In centuries past, improvisation was an important part of performance. Music education nurtured the development of this skill through equal focus on composition studies and technical instrumental proficiency. From a young age students were immersed in the study of counterpoint, solfege, harmony, singing and composition, long before they strove toward instrumental virtuosity. The performers of the time were therefore also proficient , and vice-versa.

As teaching practices and musical tastes changed, particularly during the 20th centuries, so too did the level of detailed information and instruction on the composed scores. The increasingly descriptive (at times prescriptive) scores limited the scope of personal freedom for the performer, and removed the necessity and possibility for improvisation. And so the skill of improvising gradually declined and became all but lost until the early 20th century when the Jazz movement took up the baton.

Today, improvisation is considered the realm of jazz musicians, selected contemporary music performers, and a handful of brave and curious ‘classical’ musicians seeking to keep historical improvisation practices alive. For most performing classical musicians however, the concept of breaking free from the score and improvising a , for example, is an entirely daunting concept and best avoided if one is to maintain certain ‘professional standards’. What a dilemma: modern teaching practices focus so much more on technical perfection than complex musical understanding, which in turn has created an often unattainable expectation from modern audiences to hear ‘recording perfect’ live performances. Extraordinary technical feats are gained through this approach, but the broader musical knowledge lost along the way is being increasingly recognised by musicians, pedagogues, neuroscientists, physiologists and indeed also by our dwindling classical music audiences.1

Improvisation is now being acknowledged as fundamental to our understanding of how musical styles developed and changed, and perhaps more importantly, improvisation is being recognised as an effective teaching tool. It is, however, also an undeniably daunting topic for many performers today who have had little or no exposure to the art of improvisation, despite a lifetime of musical studies and practice.

My Churchill mission was to investigate ways to incorporate improvisation into current performance and teaching practices. This search took me to the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy, where I met and studied with a diverse array of

1 For further reading see the following article by Lieven Strobbe and Hans Van Regenmortal, ‘Music Theory and Musical Practice: Dichotomy or Entwining?: http://www.tonaltools.com/music- theory-and-musical-practice-dichotomy-or-entwining/

4 specialists in the field. The knowledge and information gathered through meetings, interviews, lessons, observations, workshops and courses has proved even greater than I had initially hoped and will be collated into a workbook for musicians and teachers around Australia. The following report summarises my Churchill Fellowship experiences and outcomes.

Contact Details

Simone Rose Linley Slattery, PhD

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +61 481 131 266

Web: www.simoneslattery.com

Key words music, violin, early music, improvisation, baroque, classical, performance, pedagogy, partimenti, ornamentation, historically informed performance.

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Report Overview - Executive Summary Simone Slattery, violinist, 2018 Dame Roma Mitchell Fellow

Introduction An investigation into contemporary performance and teaching practices of Historical Improvisation, with the following key research questions: • How much was improvisation utilised in performance of the baroque and classical eras and what was the role of improvisation? • How did that role change over time? • How was improvisation taught? • What brought about the decline of this practice? • How can historical improvisation techniques be used in contemporary performances and educational settings? • What is the validity of reintroducing historical performance and teaching practices today?

Intended audience This study aims to provide a useful practical and informative resource for performers and teachers of classical music, for any age or stage of development. Importantly, this resource will also be accessible and informative for a broad cross-section of musicians and musical genres, with many exercises focussing on the development of general aural and cognitive skills such as listening, memory, creativity, spontaneity and confidence building.

Highlights The study of a newly rediscovered teaching practice, called ‘Partimenti’, proved to be the highlight of my research trip. Partimenti, discussed at length in the main body of this report, was the primary compositional teaching method used for much of the 17th - 19th centuries to develop in students high levels of musical understanding and fluency. This method, forgotten until very recently, is as relevant today as it was in the 18th century. Partimenti provides students with musical structure and clarity in areas such as harmony, voice-leading, melodic variation and musical form, all of which are crucial skills for historically informed improvisation, or really, improvisation in general.

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Conclusions and Recommendations • Improvisation was a key element of music performance of the 17th-19th centuries, allowing performers to add individual expressivity, showcase virtuosity and add musical contrast to works through ornamentation, diminution, , preludes and fantasias. • Teaching practices of the time enabled the development of improvisation skills through intensive aural-based training from a young age. • One method in particular, ‘Partimenti’, was recently rediscovered and found to be highly effective in contemporary teaching practices. • This method is not yet widely known, and part of my dissemination process will involve encouraging further understanding and use of the method, while integrating many elements into my own performance and teaching practices. • Through observation, it is clear that improvisation studies can begin from the very first day of a child’s musical education and can be equally stimulating, challenging and eye-opening for a 5-year-old beginner as a 65-year-old professional musician. • Improvisation is generally feared in the classical music world, but does not need to be as inaccessible as it may seem. Re-introducing historical methods that were developed over hundreds of years brings a clarity and relative simplicity that can prepare a path for improvisation, while simultaneously informing deeper levels of musical understanding and awareness too often overlooked in current learning environments. • Improvisation allows performers to become creators of music, and not just re-creators.

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Itinerary

Date Place Personnel Activity

May 17 – June 1 , England David Dolan, Private lessons Doran Sherwin Interview

June 1 - 3 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Gerhard Landwehr Viewing historical bows

June 4 Cologne, Germany Midori Seiler Private lesson

June 5 - 10 Berlin, Germany Christoph Huntgeburth Private lessons

June 11 - 13 Halle, Germany Martin Erhardt Private lessons

June 14 - 17 Hannover, Germany Ashley Hribar Performance

June 18 - 30 Paris/Joigny, France Matthieu Camilleri Private lessons Guy Coquez Violin restoration

July 1 - 17 Basel, Switzerland Tobias Cramm Private lessons Ewald Demeyere Partimenti Course ‘MentiParti’ Peter van Tour

July 18 - 31 San Leo, Italy Enrico Onofri Summer Masterclass Course

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Travel Report

As an artists and performer I am always searching for new ways to engage audiences, to keep my creative field fresh and exciting for listeners, and to engage younger generations of musicians in this same quest.

There is evidence enough to suggest that classical music is in a rut. Audiences are dropping off and funding for music education programs is decreasing. For some time now I have been contemplating the use of past performance and pedagogical practices as potential methods for breathing fresh (300 year old) life into classical music platforms. In particular, the art of improvisation, which was such in integral part of the musical life of the past, and yet is so foreign and frightening to the majority of classical musicians today. So what exactly is ‘Historical Improvisation’? Essentially, it is an act of extemporisation, of spontaneous creation, inspired and informed by the styles and forms of the day. Improvisation can come in many guises: ornamentation, cadenzas, preludes, interludes, fantasias, and many others. It has the capacity to lift the musical experience for both performer and audience to greater heights, to add spontaneity, drama and expressivity to something that is otherwise just a recreation of an old manuscript and set of instructions. Without guidance or study, however, improvising also has the capacity to make even the most experienced and accomplished performer break into a nervous sweat. That is because improvisation is no longer part of the dialogue of classical music performance or education and hasn’t been for over 100 years.

In the 1960’s, a musical movement called the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) movement emerged, with performances and researchers attempting to bring music of the renaissance, baroque and classical periods back into fashion. It took time, study, patience, and a lot experimentation to get the HIP movement to where it is today, but there is no denying that it has steadily grown in both quality and interest, to the point that today there are numerous orchestras, festivals and various events specifically targeted at the increasingly large audience of early music lovers. In Australia there is a burgeoning scene, with an ever-increasing number of ensembles dedicated purely to the research and performance of ‘period’ repertoire. They include the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra (30 years old), Ironwood Ensemble (specialising in late-classical early romantic 19th century repertoire), Pinchgut (specialising in rarely heard period ) and Adelaide Baroque Ensemble (one of the oldest period bands in Australia, Adelaide Baroque turned 42 years this year).

Australia is home to musicians of the highest calibre, with some (mainly keyboard players) well-versed in the language of historical improvisation. In general, however, there is very little evidence of improvisation being widely utilised in performance contexts, and even less so in teaching practices. For most musicians, improvisation is like the musical elephant in the room - improvisation is recognised as an important part of period performance, yet it is still put in the ‘too-hard basket’. I am passionate in my wish to reduce the improvisational inhibition suffered by classical musicians.

To tackle this issue, I followed a broad investigative approach. My methods involved extensive one-on-one lessons with violinists, recorder and traverso players, cornetto players and keyboardists, complemented by courses in specialised performance and

9 teaching methods, lesson observation, interviews, concert attendance, library research and reading. The outcome is a collated guide for current and future colleagues and students. It is my hope that by providing a clear and concise catalogue of information and exercises, I will be able to illuminate a path for a new generation of HIP improvisers.

London: Upon reflection, one of the best decisions I made leading up to my trip was to go two weeks early to settle into the European time zone and to study and prepare for the coming two months. I spent this invaluable time in London, reading the primary sources relating to my topic, practising and attending concerts by some of Europe’s leading performers and ensembles.

The primary sources consulted during this period were: - Robert Gjerdingen’s Music in the Galante Style - the main resource for the study of Partimenti, discussed further in the Switzerland section of this acquittal. - Martin Erhardt’s Upon a Ground - a comprehensive set of instructions for beginners or professionals interested in improvisation using ground bass patterns. Martin Erhardt was one of my primary mentors during the trip (see the Halle section of this acquittal) - Treatises by L. Mozart, J. Quantz and C.P.E Bach - three of the key treatises from the baroque period, informing elements of style, articulation and phrasing, as well as useful guides for ornamentation, extemporisation and improvisation.

Although these two weeks were technically outside of my Fellowship period, I managed to fit in two consultations with improvisation specialists in London: Cornetto player Doron Sherwin and pianist David Dolan.

Doron Sherwin is widely considered the greatest improviser on the Cornetto (precursor to the modern trumpet). The son of a leading jazz improviser, and himself a specialist in the music of the renaissance and early baroque, Doron has the rare ability to improvise in almost any style. He performs internationally with several leading ensembles, including L’Arpeggiata Ensemble. I had the great privilege of performing with Doron and L’Arpegggiata in 2018 at London’s Wigmore Hall, and was able to hear the group perform again at this prestigious venue while in London on my Fellowship. Unfortunately, Doron does not consider himself a qualified teacher, so instead of giving me a private lessons, he agreed to a one-hour interview instead. This proved most informative and an excellent guide to begin my Fellowship journey. Key points from the interview: - Surround yourself with ‘fluent speakers’ of improvisation. - Memorise as much repertoire as possible. - Look beyond your instrument to the styles, treatise and repertoire of other instruments. - Study composition and counterpoint. - Remember that the composers of the past were also more often than not virtuoso performers, and vice-versa. - Learn to recognise what each musical moment requires. Sometimes only the slightest movement or variation can provide the greatest pleasure.

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David Dolan is a concert pianist and Professor of Classical Improvisation Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he teaches the various applications of improvisation to solo and ensemble performance students. David gave me an insightful lesson summarising his improvisation class techniques for undergraduate students, including useful exercises, games and techniques that can be used between students in a sort of musical dialogue or ‘ping-pong’. One of the most useful suggestions from this lesson was to aurally study the base lines of Bach’s solo violin Sonatas and Partitas and to then improvise around those bass lines. David’s exercises and techniques were mostly focused on early cognitive development and awareness, enabling students to create the mental space for the level spontaneity and deep listening required for true improvisation.

Concerts and events attended in London: - Sound Unbound: This 3-day festival event hosted free concerts in various locations around London’s Barbican Centre, featuring numerous musical genres, ensemble types, venues, sound installations, children’s play areas with interactive musical instruments, and an impressive list of solo artists, including Australia’s Genevieve Lacey. - Sam Lee - Singing with Nightingales and Absolute Bird: Sam Lee is a folk singer and storyteller, whom I admire for his innovative programming concepts. In Singing with Nightingales and Absolute Bird, Sam performs, tells stories and improvises along with the sounds of a Nightingale in the English countryside. - Frigg: a Scandinavian folk band that combines traditional folk melodies with improvised elements and a modern twist. - L’Arpeggiata: one of Europe’s leading period ensembles in a beautiful program of English songs performed at London’s Wigmore Hall. An excellent chance to hear the Cornetto improviser-extraordinaire at work. - Pekka Kuusisto with the London Philharmonia Orchestra: the charismatic violin virtuoso performed Stravinsky’s fiendish violinist concerto with ease and charm, followed by a thoroughly enjoyable improvised set combining electronic looped violin and live juggling. It is hard to think of another soloist who would be able to perform a concerto and an improvised electric violin set on the same night. - Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: one of England’s premier period music ensembles, featuring violin soloist Alina Ibragimova in an inspiring rendition of Strauss’s violin concerto, played on gut strings for the first time since the time of its composition.

Amsterdam: Using the Eurostar to travel from London to Amsterdam, my Churchill trip officially started with a two-day visit to Amsterdam, where I met with renowned period bow- maker Gerhard Landwehr. Gerhard has one of the biggest collections of period style bows in Europe, and it was fascinating to try a range of styles, including his ‘Bach’ and ‘Biber’ bows, and to feel the physical difference playing the repertoire of these

11 composers with bows made specifically for that purpose. Ultimately I resisted buying every available model, and instead selected a short bow designed for early renaissance repertoire.

Germany: aTwo weeks in Germany included lessons in Cologne, Berlin and Halle, numerous concert attendances, instrument museums visits and a concert appearance in Hannover.

Beginning in Cologne, I was fortunate to arrange a two-hour lesson with Midori Seiler, one of the finest baroque violinists in Europe. Midori teaches in Weimar, and performs with numerous ensembles throughout Europe as soloists and director, including with the Akademie für Alte Music Berlin and Anima Eterna Brugge. Her recently published recordings of Bach’s solo Sonatas and Partitas has received international critical acclaim. Together we worked on repertoire by Telemann, Schmelzer and Bach. Midori focussed on finding a relaxed physical stance while playing, revealing her trick of using a balancing board while practising. She emphasised the value of studying scores away from the instrument, finding the phrasing, harmonic structures and overarching form of each piece, undistracted by the technical challenges of playing the instrument.

From Cologne I travelled to Berlin, where I met with traverso (period flute) player Christoph Huntgeburth. Christoph also plays with the Akademie für Alte Music Berlin, among other leading European period orchestras, and is a professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin where he teaches both flute and improvisation classes. Over a six-day period in Berlin I had three one-on-one lessons with Christoph, each expanding upon the techniques learnt in the previous lesson. - Lesson one: in this first lesson we played through a series of exercises created by Christoph to engage beginner improvisation students in listening, spontaneity and quick response. These exercises are adaptable to various ages and experience levels, and had both of us in fits of laughter at various points. See Appendix Workbook Exercise 1. - Lesson two: this lesson focused on examples of the historical treatise and exercise books from the baroque period, in particular Hotteterre’s L’arte de Prelude. Using these historical guides, we worked our way through a series of cadential ornaments and extemporisations as described in the treatises. - Lesson three: in this lesson we contextualised the work of the previous two lessons by creating our own cadenzas, ornaments and preludes for selected standard baroque repertoire.

Other highlights from Berlin: - The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie Concert Hall. A once in a lifetime opportunity to hear this world-renowned orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim in the best concert hall acoustic I have ever experienced. - Freiburg Baroque Orchestra directed by historical keyboard player Kristian Bezuidenhout in an all-Mozart program. Freiburg Baroque have

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long established themselves as one of the premier period bands in Europe, and it was a privilege to hear them live performing in the smaller Berlin Philharmonie concert hall. Kristian led the orchestra with incredible style and grace and with an impressive palate of expressive musical colours. - Berlin Festival of Cultures. A somewhat rowdy conglomeration of different musical styles and genres performed throughout the streets of Kreuzburg. - A visit to the Berlin Instrument Museum revealed a fascinating selection of old instruments and bows, including pochette violins hidden within walking sticks. A wonderful insight into the ongoing experimentation and search for musical instrument perfection that was such a large part of the baroque period.

An hour south of Berlin is the small city of Halle (Saale), the hometown of much loved baroque Handel, where I spent two days with recorder player, keyboardists, vocalist and pedagogue Martin Erhardt. Martin teaches privately and at the Weimar Conservatoire, and is one of the leading improvisation specialists in Europe. He is a founding member of all’improviso, an ensemble entirely devoted to improvisation, and is the director of the annual Leipzig Improvisation Festival for Early Music. His recently published book Upon a Ground, which provided my preparatory studies for these lessons, has been widely recognised as a primary source for historical improvisation studies. Martin was incredibly generous with his time and gave me lessons throughout each day, with only a few small breaks for my brain to decompress from the overload of new information. Martin is an incredible resource of knowledge and experience, and he brought a clarity to this complex topic that I had never encountered before. This was my first taste of the potential accessibility of improvisation when taught with order and in a manner that enables the student to feel capable and excited to continue learning. Key points from the lessons: - Singing in canon - an excellent technique for developing listening and imitation skills. See Appendix Workbook Exercise 2. - Recognising bass patterns - one of the main weaknesses for a melodic instrument player like myself is our lack of awareness of the underlying harmony beneath the melody. Martin provided techniques for recognising patterns and creating improvised melodic lines on top. - Clausula/cadences - the cadence is one of the fundamental elements of classical music, providing the closure to phrases and sections or the conclusion of the entire work. Learning how to recognise and improvise around these cadences using the simple historical rules of the soprano, alto and tenor lines means that the vast majority of an improvisation is already in place. - Two-part improvisations - again Martin guided me to recognise patterns in the bass line, and in the process discovering areas for potential two- part improvisations using simple rules of imitation.

Other highlights from Halle: • A visit to the Halle cathedral, where I heard a performance on the organ that Handel first performed on. Unlike most organs around the world, this organ has

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been kept entirely in its original condition, including the tuning and pitch, and it was extraordinary to hear the authentic sound that was such a formative part of Handel’s early studies. • A visit to the Handel House Museum, where I was able to view numerous artefacts, manuscripts and documents related to Handel’s early life and career— an interesting insight into the musical education of the time. • I was fortunate to be in Halle at the time of the annual Handel Festival, and was able to attend a fascinating concert by acclaimed soprano Nuria Rial and Musica Alta Ripa.

From Halle I travelled to Hannover, where I spend three days with fellow Adelaidean, long-time collaborator, and fellow improviser Ashley Hribar. Ashley invited me to Hannover for a small residency at the Landesbildungs Zentrum für Blinde to create a new performance work for the young people living and studying at the centre. This was a perfect opportunity to put some of the skills I’d learnt in previous lessons into practice, and Ashley and I created a 35-minute performance piece that combined improvised elements with pre-composed works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The concert also included storytelling, using a sensory script to describe the feel, taste and smell of the Australian outback for the primarily blind audience. The concert proved a great success and Ashley and I are currently underway with plans for future sensory-style performances in 2020.

France: During a period of two weeks in Paris I met with violinist and improvisation expert Matthieu Camilleri, attended numerous concerts and museums, and had specialised work done on my 1726 Parisian violin.

Violinist Matthieu Camilleri is based between Paris and the small town of Joigny. He performs regularly with ensembles such as Concert Spirituel and Concert d’Astree, and has published numerous albums, including the solo violin works of Tartini. Matthieu studied at the Basel Schola Cantorum where he became deeply immersed in improvisation studies with Rudolf Lutz, who is regarded as one of the great master of period improvisation in the world. Matthieu is one of the most accomplished improvising baroque violinists I have met, and through his studies with Lutz and his own personal study and research, has developed an incredible skill-set and command of improvisation. He particularly specialises in improvising preludes and fantasias, where there is no determining factor other than what is created in the moment. In this way his approach is quite different to Martin Erhardt, who works more with existing bass patterns, such as ground basses. It was enlightening for me to work with a violinist who has searched for the best possible ways to use the violin to express both harmony and melody simultaneously. I spent a full day with Matthieu in Joigny, and again for two more hours in Paris a week later. Key points from the lessons: - Chord structures - Matthieu created a map of chord sequences and patterns that can act as an overarching structural guide for improvisation. See Appendix Workbook Exercise 3.

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- Modulation - how to add certain accidentals to shift from one key to another (a complementary technique to some of the exercises I did with Christoph Huntgeburth in Berlin) - Cadences - Matthieu emphasised the necessity for correct cadences to establish key and structure (a valuable complement to the cadence work with Martin Erhardt) - Hand positions - because of his personal study and experimentation, Matthieu has found efficient ways of playing chords on the violin that enable swift realisation of harmonies. This was a particularly enlightening aspect of our lessons, as Matthieu explained that many violinists are unnecessarily afraid of improvising because of the apparent difficulty of providing both harmony and melody (compared to a keyboard instrument). In Matthieu’s opinion violinists simply need to be more creative in finding comfortable hand positions and chord voicings to enable easy manoeuvring around the fingerboard. See Appendix Workbook Exercise 4.

Other highlights from France: - A concert of the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble playing Gluck’s opera Iphigenia, featuring Australian period oboe player Emma Black. - A concert of Gypsy Jazz music played by the Django Reinhardt All Stars, featuring impressive improvised solos from all the musicians onstage. - A visit to the Musée de la musique instrument Museum, where I found the older brother of my own violin, a 1714 Claude Pierray, and heard an improvised guitar and banjo set for young school children. - A day spent with highly regarded luthier Guy Coquez, who serviced my 1726 Claude Pierray violin and made a specialised baroque tailpiece for the instrument.

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1714 Claude Pierray violin

My new baroque tailpiece by Guy Coquez

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Switzerland: Over a two-week period in Switzerland, I attended a ten-day course, had several private lessons, and heard some inspiring concerts.

Keyboardist and pedagogue Tobias Cramm is based in Basel where he is active as a chamber musician and pedagogue. Tobias also studied improvisation at the Basel Schola Cantorum with Rudolf Lutz, and through him was introduced to a musical training method called ‘Partimenti’. Partimenti, as explained earlier in this report, was one of the predominant music education techniques used for much of the baroque and classical eras. It is primarily an aural-based system, where bass line patterns are matched with complementary upper parts based on aurally learnt patterns, such as ‘The Rule of the Octave’.2 This system was taught to many leading composers of the day, including Haydn and Scarlatti, and equipped students with a grasp of harmony, voice-leading and melodic shaping with such proficiency as to allow improvisatory ease and rapid compositional technique. Due to its aural nature, however, Partimenti was gradually phased out and was almost entirely forgotten until recently. Over the last twenty years, a handful of musicologists, performers and pedagogues have embarked on extensive research to bring Partimenti back to life. Tobias is one such musician who has been teaching the method for almost ten years now, with extraordinary results. One of Tobias’s star students is , who began Skype lessons at the age of four. Now twelve, Alma has built an international reputation as performer, improviser and composer, and is often described as ‘the next Mozart’ (watch a joint improvisation between Tobias and Alma here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubC3dktQ24).

I was fortunate to be able to attend mentiParti, a ten-day Partimenti course run by Tobias with guest teachers Peter van Tour, Associate Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and Ewald Demeyere, renowned performer and Professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp. The course entailed daily morning lectures, group exercises, individual lessons, composition classes, group singing sessions, and evening performances. I should note that Partimenti has historically been aimed primarily at keyboard players, and indeed I was one of only two course attendees who did not play the piano. However, I was convinced that many techniques could be transferable to the violin with a little creativity and experimentation, and that almost every element of Partimenti could be transferable to the teaching of any instrument. I prepared for this course by studying Robert Gjerdingen’s book on Partimenti, Music in the Galante Style, and with two preparatory lessons with Tobias.

This two-week period of Partimenti study was eye-opening, and provided me with new levels of comprehension of harmony, counterpoint, voice-leading and melodic structure in a context directly related to playing my instrument. All this equipped me with the necessary skills to embark on a deeper and more sophisticated study of improvisation, composition and general music analysis, while simultaneously giving me a wealth of ideas for future pedagogical endeavours.

2 See Robert Gjerdingen’s Monuments of Partimenti website for further details: https://wayback.archive-it.org/org-1018/20170928202539/http://faculty- web.at.northwestern.edu/music/gjerdingen/Partimenti/aboutParti/ruleOfTheOctave.htm

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Working with Ewald Demeyere

Improvisation lesson with Ewald Demeyere

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Haydn Trios performed alongside Tobias Cramm

The mentiParti gang on the beach in Basel

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Key points from two weeks of Partimenti study: - Regole/Numerati - music of the past was full of rules of construction and harmony, such as ‘the rule of the octave’ and the preparation and resolution of dissonance. By learning these rules aurally, students of Partimenti could ‘realise’ a bass line (fill in the harmony) without figured bass instructions (numbers written beneath the score that indicate the scale degrees to be played above the bass note to fill in the harmony). - Schemas - one of the main discoveries in the resurgence of Partimenti study is the use of musical cells or patterns. Robert Gjerdingen gave these various ‘schemas’ names, such as the ‘Prinner’, ‘Romanesca’ and ‘Fonte’, to help musicians grasp the concept more easily. Each Schema has a bass line, with aurally taught complementary melodic and harmonic relationships based on the rules of harmony as mentioned above. - Sequences - another large part of the Partimenti system is the use of sequences, such as ascending or descending bass patterns in various intervallic movements. As with the Schemas, these sequences suggest melodic and harmonic patterns, such as a sequence of syncopated dissonances and resolution. - Cadences - according to the rules of Partimenti and counterpoint, there are several cadence types, which students learn to recognise aurally and visually and harmonise accordingly. - Harmony and voice leading - Partimenti is closely related to the study of counterpoint, which demands a realisation of bass lines in a more linear fashion than what otherwise might appear to be a vertical set of individual chords. Voice-leading and understanding of the role of the inner voices is therefore a crucial part of Partimenti study. - Rhythm - there are harmonic patterns suggested by rhythmic values in a score. - Diminuti - diminutions refer to the ornamentation of an otherwise simple line by adding passing notes and filling in the rhythmic values. This was a key way to create variety and interest within a composition or improvisation. - Canon and fugue - similar rules to those described above can be used in the creation of canons and fugues. - Minuets - the minuet was a popular musical form in the baroque and classical periods and its composition and analysis can provide an informative challenge for students. - Studying existing scores - recognising Partimenti patterns and schemas within the scores of preeminent composers, such as Corelli, can be a useful way of analysing the harmonic structure of a work. - Partimenti is an integrated teaching method that enables students to not only re-produce music, but to produce their own.3

3 See Robert Gjerdingen’s website for extensve information on Partimenti: http://faculty- web.at.northwestern.edu/music/gjerdingen/index.htm

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▪ I created a ‘Churchill Minuet’ using the following Partimenti Schema pattern: Romanesca – Prinner – Modified Prinner (repeat) – Fonte – Monte – Fenaroli – Descending Thirds (repeat). View the video here: https://youtu.be/yKsmlfFJ8Fw

Other highlights from Switzerland: - A concert of baroque concertos in Zurich by Orchestra La Scentilla led by eminent baroque violinist Riccardo Minasi with some wonderful examples of improvised ornamentation and diminution. - A concerto in Basel by two of Europe’s finest Cornetto players, featuring extensive improvisations and diminutions throughout the program. One would be hard pressed to find a more impressive display of improvisation.

Italy: In the tiny mountain top village of San Leo, Enrico Onofri runs his annual summer Masterclass Course. Along with fifteen other period string players from around the world, I attended this inspiring course in the beautiful surrounds of the medieval fortress town. Enrico is one of the finest baroque violinists in Europe and I have wanted to study with him for many years. He is in high demand globally as soloist and director/conductor and has won numerous awards for his performances and recordings. Despite his busy touring schedule, Enrico is also a passionate pedagogue and finds time wherever possible to teach at the Conservatorio di Musica Vincenzo Bellini Palermo and in masterclasses around the world. At the San Leo Masterclass Course, each student received three one-on-one lessons, two chamber music coaching sessions, invited attendance at every masterclass session, and a final group concert directed by Enrico from the violin. Taking the opportunity to soak up as much information as possible, I observed approximately thirty hours of lessons during the week-long course. I gained a wealth of new performance and pedagogical insights, and filled an entire notebook with observations and ideas. This was an extraordinary and deeply inspiring end to my Churchill adventure. Selected notes from the course: - 17th century music - tactus and tempo relationships must be crucially observed in this repertoire. There should always be a steady overarching beat that determines how the smaller individual phrases are timed. Closely observe the intervallic relationships and use the bow accordingly: much more on the string playing, saving ‘jumping’ bows for larger intervallic leaps in a more vocal approach to articulation. - Italian baroque - the different regions of Italy had quite drastically different compositional and performance styles, which are too often overlooked in modern performance of Italian baroque repertoire, with everything influenced by the ‘Vivaldi’ effect. - Bowing - one of Enrico’s most impressive qualities as a player is his expressive use of the bow. Throughout the course he emphasised the need for vocal bow technique and articulation, for a relaxed right arm

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that uses natural weight to create a deep sound, more use of the lower half of the bow, and constant observation of the contact point on the string: the higher the position on each string, the closer the bow must be to the bridge. - Diminution and ornamentation - Enrico is a master of renaissance and baroque ornamentation and diminution. He recommended in-depth study of both Rognoni treatises on diminutions to learn the various patterns and where to apply them. Again he emphasised the necessity for understanding the different styles of each work and the context in which each piece was written. Corelli, for example, was writing in Rome in a more religious style that imitates the human voice. The ornamentation of his violin sonatas should therefore be very vocal, with linear stepwise passages rather than awkward jumping patterns that would be unnatural for a singer. Intervallic ornamentation does however work effectively in the works of Vivaldi and other composers based in Northern Italy.

Working with Enrico Onofri in San Leo

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Conclusion Five countries, ten mentors, two courses and twenty-four private lessons later, my Fellowship adventure came to an end. I am deeply grateful to the Churchill Trust for supporting this two-month period of immersive study and research, the rewards of which well surpassed my expectations. The experiences that shaped my Fellowship trip are invaluable to my ongoing development as a performer and teacher, having provided me with a rich source of knowledge to incorporate and pass on to the wider Australian musical community.

The topic of historical improvisation is still a ‘delicate’ one in today’s context. The majority of classically trained musicians are, understandably, wary of straying down this unfamiliar path. Currently, education systems and institutions are failing to recognise the value of improvisation in classical music training, and have for the last century at least. There are music schools worldwide offering improvisation classes, among them the Basel Schola Cantorum, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Yet, very few classical music students take improvisation studies to a high level.

Improvisation is a lifelong study that requires extensive personal research, study, and experimentation. This level of ongoing study and musical vulnerability (i.e. potential for ‘failure’) is not compatible with the modern-day musician’s life of rapid repertoire learning and expectations of CD-perfect performance standards. But, there is another truth: improvisation is fun! And neurological research shows clearly that improvising music positively sets the brain ‘on fire’.4 But to make it fun, accessible and rewarding, and to ensure the improvisations reach a high performance standard, there must also be a clear pedagogical learning path that can be followed. It is precisely this path that my Fellowship research has aimed to elucidate.

I constructed my research to ensure the findings would reach a broad spectrum of musicians, including varying ages, instrument types and musical/technical levels. I am confident that the research findings will be interesting and useful not only for classical musicians, but for performers and pedagogues of other genres as well, including jazz, folk, and contemporary. I have emerged from my Churchill Fellowship with a veritable ‘bag of baroque goodies’ and with a deeper conviction about the ideas that inspired the trip in the first place: that improvisation – a crucial element of Historically Informed Performance – can be reinstated by utilising historical pedagogical and performance techniques in contemporary teaching environments and can yield extraordinary results.

4 See this TED talk on the brain and improvising: https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv#t-51487 Further reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3957486/

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Dissemination The process of disseminating my research findings is multifaceted. The most immediate form of dissemination is through performance, which is my regular professional activity in Australia. Since returning to Australia I have performed in over 20 concerts, many of which have presented opportunity for the incorporation of musical and technical ideas gathered on my travels. In the performance context, I have a base from which to experiment with these ideas and refine my capacity for high quality improvisation, breathe fresh life into old repertoire and inspire a new generation of HIP players to do the same.

One of the great pleasures since returning from my trip has been sharing my research findings with musical friends and colleagues and experimenting with some of the exercises and techniques gathered on my travels. Through this level of collegial discussion and sharing of information, I am able to encourage other performers to experiment with improvisation in their own performance and teaching lives, and to provide a potential pathway for this process.

Through my private teaching practice, I am able to immediately put into practice the pedagogical skills acquired on my travels, adapting the ideas, exercises and techniques to the varying levels of each student. Over the coming years I will monitor the effectiveness of the ideas, and refine my pedagogical approach accordingly.

In the medium term, discussions are underway to bring Tobias Cramm to Australia in 2020 for a series of Partimenti workshops across Australia, which I will initiate, organise and act as assistant teacher. This will ideally include a workshop and presentation at the University of Adelaide Elder Conservatorium. I am also in the process of organising a series of solo performances across regional Australia that will incorporate extensive improvised elements, and plans are developing for a series of education workshops based around HIP improvisation techniques in various locations around Australia in 2020.

In the longer term, it is my great wish to incorporate my research findings into a more ongoing pedagogical practice, whether independently organised or through a university or similar institution. It is my strong belief that music education has divided theoretical/historical studies from performance studies. Improvisation, in particular HIP methods and techniques such as Partimenti, offer a unique opportunity for unifying and contextualising multiple facets of music making and understanding. Classical music education systems need to incorporate to this pedagogical potential.

Another long-term goal is the development of workshops combining improvised music with movement, for sufferers of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke and other debilitating diseases. The neurological and physical benefits of incorporating improvised music and movement are being increasingly recognised in enabling new movement and cognitive pathways to improve mental and physical health.5

5 Further reading: https://psywb.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13612-014-0020-9

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Finally, and perhaps most quantifiably, I am disseminating my research findings through the creation of a ‘Historical Improvisation Workbook’ for fellow performers and teachers both in Australia and abroad. This workbook, example exercises from which can be found in the appendix of this document, will provide information, ideas, techniques, exercises and suggested further reading. It is my hope that providing such a clear and concise resource on historical improvisation performance and pedagogical techniques will equip a new generation of musicians to experience the richness of past knowledge and the creation of music into the future.

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Appendix

Historical Improvisation Workbook

Example Exercises

Exercise 1: A mirroring exercise for 2 players

Pick a simple one octave scale (C, G or D major for example) For each scale degree, player one begins with a simple 3 note pattern, played within the interval of a third. This same pattern is repeated 3 times, and on the 2nd and 3rd repetitions, player two joins in. Player one then moves up a scale degree and plays a different 3 note pattern, which player two again joins on the 2nd repetition. Repeat this all the way up the one octave scale, and then swap players for the descent. On the next ascent, change to a four note pattern, always within the interval of a third and always repeated 3 times, with the second players joining after the first iteration. Each time you ascend the scale add another note, all the way until you’re creating a 9 note pattern. Example 3 and 4 note patterns:

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Exercise 2: Rules of the Canon

Creating canons is fun and easy once you know a few simple rules. Here is an example of the rules for improvising canons at the 5th below. Singer one guides the canon, at each new beat moving up or down in the following possible intervals: up a 2nd, down a 3rd, up a 4th, down a 4th. Singer two joins one beat later, starting a 5th below singer one’s starting note. Singer two then proceeds to copy singer one, always a 5th below and one beat behind. Try these canons first singing, and then with your instruments. Example:

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Exercise 3: Chord Sequence Map

The following chord sequence map provides a framework for possible key changes within an improvisation that ensure you will never be too far away from your home key. Simply add or detract necessary accidentals to move from one key position to another, i.e. if your home key is G major and you’d like to modulate to the dominant (V), add a C# to your improvisation.

IV I V ii vi iii

Exercise 4: Violin Chord Fingerings Chart

The following chart provides easy and fast fingering solutions for root position, 1st and 2nd inversion and diminished chords. Root position (or 5/3 chords): 1 2 2 0 1 1 etc 0 1 1

1st Inversion (or 6/3 chords): 1 2 2 1 2 2 etc 0 1 1

2nd Inversion (or 6/4 chords): 2 3 3 1 2 2 etc 0 1 1

Diminished 7th Chords: 3 4 4 2 3 3 etc 1 2 2 0 1 1

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Bibliography

Gjerdingen, R. (2019) ‘Monuments of Partimenti’, Available at http://faculty- web.at.northwestern.edu/music/gjerdingen/index.htm (Accessed on 8/10/19)

Limb, C. (2010) Ted Talk, ‘Your Brain on Improv’, Available at https://www.ted.com/talks/charles_limb_your_brain_on_improv#t-51487 (Accessed on 8/10/2019)

Miendlarzewska, E. and Wiebke, T. (2013), ‘How musical training affects cognitive development: rhythm, reward and other modulating variables’, frontiers in Neuroscience, Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3957486/ (Accessed on 8/10/19)

Strobbe, L. and Van Regenmortal, H. (2012), ‘Music Theory and Musical Practice: Dichotomy or Entwining?, Dutch Journal of Music Theory, Vol.17/ 1, Available at http://www.tonaltools.com/music-theory-and-musical-practice-dichotomy-or- entwining/ (Accessed on 8/10/19)