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Interpreting François Couperin's Pièces De Clavecin

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Adapting French harpsichord repertoire to the piano: Interpreting François Couperin’s Pièces de clavecin Sarah Louise Stranger MPhil(Music) BMus(Hons) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2021 School of Music Abstract This research examines the translation of French harpsichord repertoire to the piano, with a specific focus on the interpretation of François Couperin’s Pièces de clavecin. Couperin’s keyboard music is considered highly idiomatic to the harpsichord and as a result, is not often performed on the piano. There are only a small number of pieces that are found in pianists’ repertoire with any frequency. The discourse among pianists on the performance of this repertoire on piano reveals a level of uncertainty. Where there is discussion of issues relating to interpretation, there is little attention given to the utilisation of harpsichord techniques and to how these affect the translation of this repertoire to a piano context. This project explores ways in which the translation of Couperin’s harpsichord repertoire to the piano is enhanced by increased expertise and experience on the harpsichord. This study combines practice-led research with a historically informed performance framework, and draws on autoethnographic and musicological methods to investigate two research questions: 1. For a pianist, how does the experience of learning this repertoire on the harpsichord guide and influence subsequent performance on a modern grand piano? 2. How does that experience specifically affect the transferral of more overtly harpsichord- idiomatic repertoire by Couperin to the piano? This research contributes to the understanding of contemporary performance practice of this repertoire by exploring the harpsichord’s sound, as well as a range of technical, physical, and kinaesthetic factors that relate to harpsichord technique. It then systematically explores the translation of those performance elements to a modern pianistic context. The research findings are displayed through embodied musical knowledge in performance and inform an interpretation of Couperin's keyboard music, documented by an audio recording. The exegesis culminates in a set of i recommendations for the interpretation of this music on the piano, exemplified through studies of three of François Couperin’s ordres. The research suggests that carefully calibrated use of the piano’s capabilities, such as dynamic and tonal variation, combined with the subtle articulations and agogic accentuation used when playing the harpsichord, produce a nuanced interpretation. This thesis makes a case for the translation of Couperin’s harpsichord repertoire to the piano and provides a contextualised exemplar upon which other pianists can model their own practice. ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. iii Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication. Other publications during candidature Conference abstracts 1. Stranger, Sarah. “Piano versus harpsichord: Can one inform the other?.” London International Piano Symposium, London, UK, 2018. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis. Research involving human or animal subjects Ethics approval was granted by the School of Music Ethical Review Panel under the approval number: SoM-ETH17-04/SS. An amendment was approved by the University of Queensland Humanities and Social Sciences Low and Negligible Risk Ethics Sub-Committee under the approval number: 2018001756. iv Acknowledgments Many thanks to my advisors, Dr Liam Viney and Dr Anna Grinberg, for providing support and insight throughout the duration of the PhD. Your advice during lessons and meetings was invaluable in the development of this project. I am thankful for the generosity of the Griffith University Conservatorium of Music and Peter Roennfeldt who provided me access to a harpsichord to practice on during 2018. Without this, experience on the harpsichord would have been much more difficult to obtain. I will be forever grateful to my family and friends. Thank you for your love, prayers and support during my study, and for putting up with my seemingly endless talk about the PhD. Finally, thank you to my partner, Huy, for being patient and understanding while I spent a considerable amount of time working on this study. I could not have completed this project without your constant support and encouragement. v Financial support This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and an Australian Government Research Training Living Stipend Scholarship. Research overseas was funded by the Nancy Jones Travelling Scholarship (University of Queensland). Additional funding to obtain research-related services was supported by the HDR Student School Scholarship. Keywords françois couperin, piano, harpsichord, artistic research, historically informed performance Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 190407, Music Performance, 70% ANZSRC code: 190409, Musicology and Ethnomusicology, 30% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 1904, Performing Arts and Creative Writing 100% vi Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................... x List of Figures ................................................................................................................... x List of Examples ................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1 — Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Exegesis Structure .................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2 — Context Review ............................................................................................ 6 2.1 Historically Informed Performance ....................................................................... 6 2.2 Opinions on adapting harpsichord repertoire to the piano ................................ 10 2.3 Recordings ........................................................................................................... 13 Different Approaches on the Piano ............................................................. 16 2.4 Literature ............................................................................................................. 19 Primary Sources ........................................................................................... 19 French Baroque Literature ........................................................................... 20 Harpsichord repertoire on the Piano ........................................................... 22 Chapter 3 — Methodology and Framework..................................................................... 25 3.1 Methods ............................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 — Understanding the French Baroque Sound .................................................. 31 4.1 Historical Background .......................................................................................... 31 4.2 Couperin and his Works ....................................................................................... 32 4.3 Couperin’s Harpsichords ...................................................................................... 35 Chapter 5 — Elements of Performance for Couperin’s Repertoire.................................... 38 5.1 French Baroque Performance Practices .............................................................
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