Le 30 juin 2017
de 14h30 à 15h00
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
amphithéâtre 4
Séance précomposée - Analyzing Mozart's Operas: External Stakes, Intrinsic Challenges
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : John A. Rice
Mozart’s operas are mostly absent from the repertory from which Robert Gjerdingen derived passages that exemplify the voice-leading schemata presented in his pathbreaking book. Nor are passages from Mozart’s operas among those discussed as examples of the application of his analytical framework. Scholarship inspired, in part, by Gjerdingen’s is filling the gap. This paper builds on that work by considering Mozart’s use of schemata in a single opera.
Le nozze di Figaro shows Mozart manipulating a wide array of schemata, along with many other musical parameters, to convey character, emotional states, and relations between people. Some schemata that appear often in his instrumental music, such as the Prinner, the Fonte, the Heartz, and the Meyer, are rare in Figaro; others, such as the Sol-Fa-Mi, the Ponte, and the Converging Cadence, are common. The paucity of some schemata and the ubiquity of others together play an important role in establishing the opera’s sonic world. More compelling, from the point of view of musical drama, is Mozart’s selective use of other schemata. The Countess enters with an Aprile, emblematic of her nobility and poise. In “Riconosci in questo amplesso,” the count and Curzio express their rage with the Le-Sol-Fi-Sol. The Marpurg Cadence helps to characterize Susanna, conveying consolation and hope, whether she addresses Figaro or the count. The Overture schema plays an important role not only in the overture but in “Se vuol ballare,” where it helps to communicate Figaro’s impetuousness and energy.
