So for this exercise, I am going to try it with both my book chapter and an article. This is partly because Belcher recommends maintaining several writing projects at once. While I might not be able to keep up 2 pieces of writing for the whole 12 weeks, this may help me gain headway with another piece of writing allowing me to switch out my book chapter if I ever get stuck/bored. So here we go…
Week 2 day 1
Book
What type of book is this?
This is definitely a humanities book. It focusses on one particular area of history.
Is my book type not recommended?
This particularly question doesn’t fit with a book publication.
What is new about my book?
John Potter in his ground-breaking article The Tenor-Castrato Connection discussed the influence the castrato voice had on the tenor and showed how singing technique for the tenor voice developed throughout the 19th century. He used a combination of contextual musicology and analysis of treatises to justify his reasoning. My book will show the castrati actually had an even bigger impact on the female soprano voice, long before the tenor. I focus my study on Venanzio Rauzzini and though one publication has already been dedicated to this castrato, he didn’t not address Rauzzini’s teaching nor his relationships with women, which were constantly under scrutiny. My approach uses a combination of treatise analysis, contextual history, critical history but also Helen Berry’s approach – microhistory – where I move beyond written texts to recover the relationship that developed between Rauzzini and his students including the process of training.
What revisions do I need to make?
My methodological approach and premise of the for the book are not clear in the introduction. While it summarises a lot of literature, it is trying to deal with contemporary and historical issues all at once, which muddies the actual study. The overall argument and direction needs to be clear. The story needs to be clear. My voice needs to be mine.
My book is about?
My book is specifically about Rauzzini and the women in his circle, but it also hones in on larger issues of scandal, marketing, style, technique. training, skill and genius. While training is a big part of the study and was clearly important in the late 18th century, reputation, and networks are also a big part of the study. One could have all the training in the world but be a flop if they haven’t develop the correct relationships. Microhistory could be a potential method for this study – focussing on an individual – but social history could also be a valid approach.
What I learned from this experience?
I learned that I need to have a clear idea of methodology and approach. This isn’t clear in my thesis and is partly the downfall of the study. While I am inspired by other authors, I need to make sure that whatever methodology I choose it is consistent. I am a little worried that the study is dealing with 2 different issues and I need to ensure the narrative flows from one chapter to another to make a convincing story-ark.
Original abstract
Though the castrato has been absent from the operatic stage since the nineteenth century, this voice is often described as the mysterious link in understanding the vocal techniques attributed to bel canto. The mystery lies in the fact that the voice of the operatic castrato cannot be heard by modern ears; and yet its legacy can be seen in the vocal tuition of several successful opera singers at the turn of the nineteenth century. What is unusual about this period is that some of the most successful singers of the day, including Nancy Storace, John Braham and Elizabeth Billington were British and shared the same vocal teacher. The castrato Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810) began his career as a primo uomo on the continent and while he established himself in various areas of musical activity, his main contribution and legacy was as a vocal teacher. During his residency in Britain from 1774 until his death, he trained several leading British professional singers who were the stars of opera in London and on the continent. They each demonstrated a use of techniques associated with the castrato vocal aesthetic and popularised a new vocal style, which can be traced to Rauzzini.
Through this thesis, I will draw attention to the importance of Rauzzini’s impact on vocal teaching practice in Britain and his wider influence on the development of vocal style. I will demonstrate that Rauzzini should be considered part of the vocal teaching canon to which Pier Francesco Tosi (c.1653-1732), Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) and Manual García II (1805-1906), three other foreign vocal teachers, who were resident in Britain, already belong. By examining exactly what the expected vocal aesthetics were for all singers, castrato, non-castrated male and female during the period in which Rauzzini was active, I will demystify the castrato technique and provide a more tangible understanding of what this encompassed, demonstrating that many of these techniques were learned, performed and popularised by other voice types such as the female soprano and the male tenor.
Revisions after partner work
This is a task for day 3 of week 2!
Article
What type of article is this?
Again, it is a humanities article.
Is my article type not recommended?
It is, but there isn’t a lot of guidance from Belcher on this type of article.
What is new about my article?
There are a couple of things it is trying to suggest. number one is that I suggest the songs were included in Ramsay’s Gentle Shepherd because the headmaster was experimenting with a more integrated, arts-led learning strategy. This builds on what previous scholars have said about him using theatre as a more innovative form of education. Number two: I suggest Lesley was campaigning for a music master that had more strings to his bow than just music. This ultimately led to the hiring of David Young, who would become rector of the grammar school. Number 3: I suggest the songs were common tunes in circulation because the current music master in the employ of the school was more familiar with this colloquial repertoire. Number 4: the current music master was dismissed because of his political affiliation, which worked to the headmasters benefit since he could employ a music master with a diverse range of skills.
What revisions do I need to make?
There are perhaps too many ideas here. While integrative arts teaching is building on previous scholarly work, but tying in music as well, I am not entirely confident in this area and more work needs to be done to make it solid. In some ways I can see how it all ties together, but I am worried there are several disparate ideas emerging and not one succinct idea. That being said, I don’t think one or two of the ideas is enough for a whole article… I need to have a solid understanding of previous research into theatre, music and provide solid evidence of the two being used in an innovative teaching strategy proposed by the headmaster for it to carry any weight. The argument perhaps falls down with the introduction of David Young who did not incorporate music or theatre into the boys general education, though he himself was a polymath master.
What I learned from this experience:
Ultimately, my writing partner pointed out that this article isn’t quite as strong as the book abstract, partly because I haven’t been thinking about it for as long. It needs a more time to develop.
Original Abstract
Allan Ramsay’s The Gentle Shepherd was an undeniable success. It has a rich performing history that spans two centuries with further evidence demonstrating a national and international reach. It was performed throughout the Scotland, England, North America and even Australia by professional and amateur companies. Most of these performances typically took place in an indoor theatre, particularly in later 19th-century performances where The Gentle Shepherd’s musical and rhetorical framework was standardised to its recognisable model. However, the early performance history of this work is not as neatly packaged, with Ramsay even making significant changes to the text creating a 22-song ballad opera out of the original work, which was mainly spoken though did include 4 songs. Who performed this work in either iteration? Where and in what way was the performance carried out? New evidence found at The John Gray Centre in Haddington provides more in-depth information regarding these very questions. In this paper, I will discuss the reason why these questions must be asked of The Gentle Shepherd’s first performances, particularly since Ramsay was heavily involved in its initial production, and how this information can extend its performance possibilities in the 21st century.
Revisions after partner work
This is a task for day 3 of week 2!
Research Adventures 