oh dear

have achieved virtually nothing since that last post.

but i have tidied my desk.

random writing thoughts on bodies/music

2210

Well, I'm thinking of my article on bodies in sixteenth century music and I'm thinking about how daily music practice does in fact shape the body. I remember when I practiced singing every day my cheekbones were well defined. So my music practice shaped my face, shaped my physical appearance. Plus there must have been other ways in which my body was shaped--things not so visible to the eye, like stamina, larynx, that vocal agility (if only I could get it back). So, I'm wondering how sixteenth-century musicians bodies were shaped by their practice and in fact whether that is even viable as research questions. Well, I'm sure it's viable, I'm just not sure it's do-able.

But what sources could I look at?

Music treatises - Zarlino, Ganassi, that other guy. These might be places I could look for information on how bodies were instructed in 16th c. But I wonder if I will find anything?

What other possibilities are there?

Bodies come up in motets--there was that one I was looking at a number of weeks ago, Amo Christum.

4 minutes gone and I'm already running out of ideas.

Alessia mentioned to me the idea of the medieval body in relation to flagellation--all about opening the body to society.

Work on vocalising and bodies by not Nina Treadwell, erm. what is her name, must keep writing but her name is on the tip of my tongue Bonnie Gordon, that's it. Bonnie Gordon wrote a great piece on talking back and the ballo delle ingrate in which I seem to remember she discussed the early modern equation between open throat and sexual availability. I wonder whether that is a possible starting point? Or has it been done to death already?

What about the dialogue on Tarquinia Molza that Laurie looked at? There was that interesting comparison between the castrato singer and Molza which I think had something on bodies.

There's that new book/research paper on castrati tjat I must get hold of. Can't remember who that's by right now.

Gosh, this is very disorganised and still only 7 minutes in.

OK, poetry on musicking bodies - hah, that reminds me, I wonder if there's any mileage in that book in relation to early modern italy.

also that business about the book as the body, and the metaphor for how music works--I guess that's a philosophical thing. McClary's idea that when you sing from written music, your body is penetrated (McClary? Gordon deals with this too, I think) and you can't control your physical response. This seems to be denying the performer's agency. Is there any thing in sixteenth-century music theory, poetry, instruction mauals etc that discuss (however obliquely), the performer's agency?

Book as body, held in the hands of friends who in singing take the music into their bodies, first internalising it and then externalising it all sounds pretty cool *but* I don't think really describes what is going on. Surely they are not taking the music into their bodies in the way McClary seems to imply, but rather they are realising the music with their bodies--the music would not exist without their bodies--surely their bodies, the positions of the mouths, the angle of the neck, their stamina and physicality all impact and alter??? no, not alter, because that implies that the music exists already, but all impact upon how the music will sound or is sounded through, by, within??? their bodies. That is a more complicated model and doesn't suggest the passive performer model that McClary slips in to.

Elisabeth Grosz--I need to read that properly this time and consider different intellectual models and feminist theories of bodies.

The obsession with anatomy and the theatre of the body, the display of the body in anatomical diagrams (Talvacchia again) might be of relevance somehow but I wonder how. You see, that's all visual and what I'm really interested in is bodily knowledge, I guess.

Almost out of time and I am certainly out of ideas. I can see I need to spend a lot of time in the library and looking over different primary sources. Zarlino we have, Vicentino we should have.

2225

References:

Silvestro Ganassi, Title in here.
Bonnie Gordon, “Talking Back: The Female Voice in ‘Il ballo delle ingrate,’” Cambridge Opera Journal, 11/1 (1999): 1-30.
Elizabeth Grosz, Volatile Bodies.
Susan McClary, Modal Subjectivities.
Laurie Stras, 'Recording Tarquinia,' Early Music. (I think.)
Bette Talvacchia, Taking Positions.
Nicola Vicentino, Title in here.
Gioseffo Zarlino, Le institutione harmoniche.

New projects on the go

Since my last post, the conference has happened, I've finished my marking, and I've presented at another conference (all within two weeks of each other). It's been a busy fortnight indeed.

Projects on the go:

1. Revise friendship paper (asap)
2. Paper for Eros collection (by 1 aug)
3. Review of Courtesan's Arts for JSMI (by end June)
4. Review for M&L (by end Sept)
5. Revise Castellino paper to send to Linda, and to Libby (over summer)
6. That dang sprezzatura piece (quite urgent now)
7. Entry on gender in Irish pop for EMIR (negotiate new deadline)
8. Paper on female vocality & dialect song (find out about conf proceedings for Angels & Devils)
9. Conference version of friendship paper (by Aug 11)
10. Decide whether to produce collection of papers from my conf

That'll be enough to keep me going.....

Conference again

OK, I've done the round table.

Still to do:

Concert.
There's a problem with getting the chamber organ delivered and tuned in time for rehearsal; same issue w/ the harpsichord. I need to think about this some more.

Honan - too many weddings
ORH - not nice enough acoustic
St Vincent's Church poss alternative

I still don't have a script & am running out of time for this.

My Conf Paper.
I'll work on this from 3-5 today.

Keynote speaker's travel and accomm.
Need to contact the travel office again and remind them that I need quote urgently. Can't really make accomm reservation until the travel date is fixed.

Poster is done & ready to circulate.
Registration almost ready. Need quote for buffet lunch. Will go ahead with organising that anyway since I can do this even before venue is absolutely finalized.

Need to decide how many people we can take.

Think that's it for now.

my conference contributions

Conference to dos are rather longer than I made out.

I need to write & circulate the questions for the round table.

I need to write my own paper.

I need to write blurb to go with Deborah's concert.


So, let's start with the round table. I have Guido Ruggiero (history), Laura Macy (music), and Julia Hairston (literature). Only three. Art history isn't represented, but I guess it's too late now.

Kinds of questions I'm interested in:

1. Discussion over validity of the concept of sexuality/ies for this period. Obviously if same sex preferences and practices are historically contingent then different sex preferences and practices are also historically contingent. The term sexualities implies stable sexual identity but that might be inappropriate for the period. (What's that word, something about time/chronology??)

2. How do literature, art, & music contribute to these historically contingent sexual practices? (Regardless of whether they are sexualities?) We've heard (I hope) a fair bit about how they relate to practices of the time; do they have any regulatory function? How do they complement or undermine or otherwise relate to law?

3. What can the different disciplines learn from eachother? Is there an aspect of sexual practices that is (un)covered by examining literature/art/music, that isn't available any other way?

April

1. My own conference to organize
i Suzanne Cusick's travel and hotel--waiting for reply from travel agent; hotel yet to be reserved
ii Coffee/tea - ask Carmel
iii Venue problems for concert - perhaps switch to music dept for Fri or whole event? (Would mean organising lunch(es).)
iv Press release (talk to UCC PR folk?)
v Registration / concert tickets
2. Body/music seminar
i. Email colleagues
ii. Arrange time/place
iii. First topic???
3. Encyclopedia article on gender in Irish pop - negotiate new deadline
4. Holiday. We need a holiday.
5. Write Med & Ren paper
6. Journal article on sprezzatura to submit by June/July (before well-deserved holiday)
7. Book chapter for eros & euterpe will be due in August.
8. Book review for JSMI now due end of June
9. Marking marking marking
10. Admin admin admin
11. Think about proposals for AMS 2008!

Another wee update

1. My own conference to organize
i Book room - ask Carmel?
ii Arrange masterclass (confirm date and arrange travel and accommodation)
iii Suzanne Cusick's travel and hotel [waiting for reply]
iv Coffee/tea - ask Carmel
v Registration fee
vi Chitarrone--contact person RS recommended
vii Press release (talk to UCC PR folk?)
viii Honan Chapel for concert
2. Body/music seminar
i. Email colleagues
ii. Arrange time/place
iii. First topic???
3. Get funding to bring 'Fallen' to Ireland.
4. Conference proposal for Med&Ren 2007 (due date?)
5. Encyclopedia article on gender in Irish pop (what am I going to write?)
6. Holiday. We need a holiday.
7. Journal article on sprezzatura to submit by June/July (before well-deserved holiday)
8. Book chapter for eros & euterpe will be due in August.
9. Book review for JSMI now due end of June
10. Teaching teaching teaching teaching teaching - only 4 weeks left to go until this becomes marking marking marking
11. Admin admin admin
12. Think about proposals for AMS 2008!

A wee update

1. My own conference to organize
i Book room - ask Carmel?
ii Arrange masterclass (confirm date and arrange travel and accommodation)
iii Suzanne Cusick's travel and hotel [waiting for reply]
iv Coffee/tea - ask Carmel
v Registration fee
vi Chitarrone--contact person RS recommended
vii Press release (talk to UCC PR folk?)
viii Honan Chapel for concert
2. Body/music seminar
i. Email colleagues
ii. Arrange time/place
iii. First topic???
3. Get funding to bring 'Fallen' to Ireland.
4. Conference proposal for Med&Ren 2007 (due date?)
5. Encyclopedia article on gender in Irish pop (what am I going to write?)
6. Holiday. We need a holiday.
7. Journal article on sprezzatura to submit by June/July (before well-deserved holiday)
8. Book chapter for eros & euterpe will be due in August.
9. Book review for JSMI now due end of June
10. Teaching teaching teaching teaching teaching - only 4 weeks left to go until this becomes marking marking marking
11. Admin admin admin
12. Think about proposals for AMS 2008!

another to do

This is rapidly become a to-do list blog. Useful for me and I don't need to carry it around in a notebook.

Very excited about possibilities of putting on a great film & live music event next year (or later this year). Really hope I can make this work.

1. My own conference to organize
i Book room - ask Carmel?
ii Arrange masterclass (confirm date and arrange travel and accommodation)
iii Suzanne Cusick's travel and hotel [waiting for reply]
iv Coffee/tea - ask Carmel
v Registration fee
vi Chitarrone--contact person RS recommended
vii Press release (talk to UCC PR folk?)
viii Honan Chapel for concert
2. Body/music seminar
i. Email colleagues
ii. Arrange time/place
iii. First topic???
3. Get funding to bring 'Fallen' to Ireland.
4. Conference proposal for Med&Ren 2007 (due date?)
5. Encyclopedia article on gender in Irish pop (what am I going to write?)
6. Holiday. We need a holiday.
7. Journal article on sprezzatura to submit by June/July (before well-deserved holiday)
8. Book chapter for eros & euterpe will be due in August.
9. Book review for JSMI
10. Teaching teaching teaching teaching teaching
11. Admin admin admin
12. Think about proposals for AMS 2008!

To do (cont)

Still too many things to do.

1. Finish chapter for a book.
2. Propose a chapter for another book (eros & euterpe; due end of Jan).
3. Conference paper proposal for FTM9 (due Feb 1) (Didn't do this in the end.)
4. My own conference to organize
i Book room - ask Carmel?
ii Arrange masterclass (waiting for reply)
iii Suzanne Cusick's travel and hotel [waiting for reply]
iv Coffee/tea - ask Carmel
v Registration fee
vi Richard Sweeney (chitarrone) [waiting for reply]
vii Press release (talk to UCC PR folk?)
viii Honan Chapel for concert
5. Conference proposal for Med&Ren 2007 (due date?)
6. Holiday. We need a holiday.
7. Book review for JSMI
8. Encyclopedia article on gender in Irish pop (what am I going to write?)
9. Body/music seminar
i. Email colleagues
ii. Arrange time/place
iii. First topic???
10. Journal article on sprezzatura to submit by June/July (before well-deserved holiday)
11. Book chapter for eros & euterpe will be due in August.
12. Teaching teaching teaching teaching teaching
13. Admin admin admin
14. Think about proposals for AMS 2008!