Vol. 26.2 Spring2017
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TheThe NewsletterNewsletter ofof the the SocietySociety for for Seventeenth-Century Seventeenth-Century Music Music Vol. Vol. 26, 23, No. No. 2, 2,Spring Spring 2017 2014 President’s Message already happened or is about to happen. I must add that in my forthcoming retire- ment I look forward with much hope and confidence to the future of our Society. As often in the past, a group of dedicated and eminently capable people have emerged to take over its leadership, and I wish my suc- cessor, her colleagues on the new Govern- ing Board, and all the other people who give so much to our unique organization, my best wishes for the coming years. May they bring beauty, light, and comfort to “these distracted Tymes”! I’d like to close by playing for you a For these distracted Tymes—A sad paven happy galliard which Tomkins penned into Thomas Tomkins, 14 February 1649 his manuscript some pages later, even if you won’t be able to hear me except in your imagination: No. 50 (p. 111) of the n 14 February 1649, the seventy- He responded with a heart-wrenching 1955 Musica Britannica edition of his key- seven-year-old Thomas Tomkins dance of sorrow. board works. entered his Sad paven in the man- In our own distracted times, there no Lex Silbiger O 17 January 2017 uscript book in which during his last years doubt are moments when we wonder why he had been copying his new keyboard we pour so much of our energy into some- compositions (Paris, Bibliothèque na- thing as inconsequential to the current state tionale, Rés. 1122). The work’s title is usu- of the world as seventeenth-century music. ally connected to the beheading of Charles But let’s keep in mind that for most of I on 30 January 1649. That event probably us—as it was for Tomkins—music is what had not taken place a mere couple of we are about. It’s what we prepared for weeks earlier, as would seem from the over many years, and what (usually) we do In This Issue . dates (and as is suggested in most program well. It may be our most powerful means News of the Society notes), but rather during the previous year; to insert beauty and light into the darkness Tomkins likely was using “old style” dat- that threatens to envelop us—our way of President’s Message 1 ing, in which the new year did not start un- bringing a little comfort and joy to those George Houle: From Arsis to Thesis 2 til 25 March. The regicide—which, at least around us. WLSCM New Publications 2 for the time being, terminated the ancient It might be interesting for this newsletter SSCM Business Meeting 3 monarchy—undoubtedly came as a shock to feature a series of contributions by mem- SSCM 2017 Providence: Program 4 even to those who were not unqualified ad- bers on how they got into seventeenth- mirers of the king; for many Englishmen century music and why they have stayed Financial Report for 2016 6 it must have caused much distress and un- with it so long, when there are many more Artis musicae periti 7 certainty. As a musician, Tomkins had no fashionable (or more profitable) areas they JSCM New Issue 8 power to affect the unsettling course of could have moved to. Perhaps I shall set an Donors in 2016 8 events. Instead, he called upon the one example and offer such a contribution after power he did possess and which was cen- I retire from the SSCM presidency— tral to his existence: the power of music. which, by the time you read this, may have Vol. 26, No. 2, 17th-Century Music 1 Seventeenth-Century Music is the semi-annual George Houle: From Arsis to Thesis newsletter of the Society for Seventeenth- Century Music. In addition to news of the Stanford University Emeritus Professor Society, its members, and conferences, the of Music George Houle passed away on Newsletter reports on related conferences, 7 January 2017. A pioneer of the early musical performances, research resources, and music movement in America, Houle was grant opportunities. Please send inquiries or teacher and mentor to many of today’s material for consideration to the editor: leading performers and scholars of early music. Though he began his professional Esther Criscuola de Laix career as a studio oboist in southern Cali- A-R Editions fornia, at Stanford in the 1950s Houle fell 1600 Aspen Commons, Suite 100 under the spell of Putnam Aldrich and his Middleton, WI 53562 ideas on early music performance. After Phone: (608) 203-2567 earning a Ph.D. in musicology at Stanford, Fax: (608) 831-8200 he taught at Mills College, the University [email protected] of Minnesota, and the University of Col- Please note that information for the next issue orado before returning to Stanford to teach. must be submitted by 20 August 2017. From 1972–74 he directed the New York ISSN: 1054-6022 Pro Musica while on leave from Stanford. Houle’s overriding passion was the in- his later years he became an aficionado of Layout and Design tegration of performance and scholarship. the viola da gamba—an interest he pur- Donna Gorman and Ann Peter He guided many students through the sued along with his wife, Glenna, who sur- The Society for Seventeenth-Century Music is Ph.D. in musicology at Stanford, but he is vives him. Among Houle’s many publica- a learned society dedicated to the study and perhaps best remembered for his leader- tions, perhaps the most prominent are performance of music of the ship of the graduate program in the per- Meter in Music, 1600–1800 (Indiana Uni- seventeenth century. formance practices of early music. Many versity Press, 1987) and La Ballet de of his former students recall in particular Fâcheux: Music for Molière’s Comedy Governing Board (2015–2017) his emphasis on the study and performance (Indiana University Press, 1991). Alexander Silbiger, president of early dance. While his interests quite Duke University naturally led him to the Baroque oboe, in Stewart Carter [email protected] Wendy Heller, vice president Princeton University [email protected] Web Library Announces New Publications Maria Anne Purciello, treasurer University of Delaware The Web Library of Seventeenth- of the text by Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier [email protected] Century Music (ISSN 2330-2429) is (1662–1700), Giacomo Perti (1661–1756), Rebecca Cypess, secretary pleased to announce several new and forth- and Carlo Pollaroli (ca. 1653–1723), ed- Rutgers University coming editions in its open-access collec- ited by Rosalind Halton. tion of peer-reviewed scores. [email protected] Call for Submissions Monuments of Seventeenth-Century Gregory S. Johnston, chair, American Hein- The Web Library of Seventeenth- Music Volume 2: Italian Instrumental rich Schütz Society Century Music invites proposals for edi- Music continues to grow with eight University of Toronto tions of music to join the growing collec- sonatas by Innocentio Vivarino (ca. 1575– [email protected] tion available online. Editions are peer- 1626) and five canzoni by Serafino Patta. reviewed and made freely available online Arne Spohr, member-at-large Guided by Niels Martin Jensen, the anthol- for performers and scholars. Music must Bowling Green State University ogy brings together the editorial expertise have been composed between 1600 and [email protected] of scholars from around the globe to create 1700, and must not already be available in an unrivaled collection of small-scale Honorary Members a commercial edition or have been posted instrumental music that spans the entire Stephen Bonta online. Proposals for individual pieces, seventeenth century. Composers will Bruce Gustafson large or small, and even collections of include Giulio Belli, Salamone Rossi, Bia - Barbara Russano Hanning works are invited. Editions are peer- gio Marini, Giovanni Battista Fontana, Jeffrey Kurtzman reviewed on a continual basis, and submis- and many, many others. Valuable perfor - Alfred Mann† sions are welcome at any time. Further de- mance suggestions are provided by Jeffrey Carol G. Marsh tails about submissions may be found at Kurtzman. Margaret Murata http://www.sscm-wlscm.org or by writing WLSCM no. 31 will bring together Anne Schnoebelen to [email protected]. seven settings of Francesco Maria Paglia’s Alexander Silbiger Janette Tilley Kerala Snyder cantata text A voi che l’accendeste. The collection launches now with three settings 2 Vol. 26, No. 2, 17th-Century Music Society for Seventeenth-Century Music Informal Business Meeting 4 November 2016, Vancouver, BC Reports work together at A-R Editions, the transition should be very smooth. President’s Report President Alexander Silbiger called the meeting to order at 12:25 Report on the SSCM Archive p.m. and welcomed all those in attendance. He noted progress in Board Member at Large Arne Spohr presented an update on the a number of areas, including production of delayed issues of the SSCM Archive. The purpose of the archive is to ensure institu- Journal of Seventeenth-Cenutry Music and plans for the society’s tional memory within the Governing Board (to ensure continuity upcoming meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2017. and consistency in decision making) and within the society as a whole. All available minutes of past meetings of the Governing Vice President’s Report Board have now been archived, though minutes from a handful of Vice President Wendy Heller had nothing to report. President meetings are missing. Spohr has been working most recently on Alexander Silbiger thanked Wendy Heller for her leadership of the assembling an online photo archive, which will be made accessible Travel Grant committee.