Abstracts for the Fall 2019 Meeting
0 Comments Published by AMSGNY President on Monday, September 30, 2019 at 11:43 PM.
Borrowed Instrumental Sounds: Mandolin Attachments in American Pianos
William E. Hettrick
Most examples of “musical borrowing” illustrate the reuse of recognizable compositional patterns (melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, etc.), but a more basic type is the artificial appropriation of acoustical timbres. Imitation of existing instruments began early in the history of the organ and led eventually to electronic sound-reproduction in modern times. Sonic mimicry was also realized in the traditional piano through a device known generically as the “mandolin attachment,” featured in certain American instruments beginning in the mid-1890s. Documented in numerous patents (generating lawsuits) and suited to the upright piano, it consisted of flexible strips hanging alongside the strings with attached metal strikers that vibrated against these strings when struck by the hammers. The fad was brief but intense. Fourteen American piano manufacturers offered their own proprietary attachments in their instruments, and eight independent dealers also sold them. Pianos thus equipped were touted as imitating a variety of string instruments, as well as percussion and unlikely winds. Practice in authentic historical performance techniques was even claimed for the harpsichord and clavichord effects. The device subsequently gained renewed popularity during the twentieth century in player-pianos and pianos contained in orchestrions made by more than sixty companies in the US and Europe.
Is Titipu full of goo? No! -- Musical Borrowings(?) in
The Mikado
Jeff S. Dailey
One of the most masterful works of British music, The Mikado further cemented the joint talents of Gilbert and Sullivan into the annals of musical theatre, its initial run of 672 performances in 1885-1887 being the longest in London at the time. Although sounding uniquely like Sullivan, the music of The Mikado draws upon a variety of sources, which this presentation will examine. Of special note is the influence of Charles Gounod, who, after living for five years in England during the Franco-Prussian War, exerted a strong effect on British music.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Sued
Lawrence Ferrara
Musical borrowing – simply defined as the use of an element or elements from an earlier work in a new work – has been reported for centuries in Western art music. Musical borrowing over the last century in popular music often resulted in music copyright litigations. For example, the opening melody of “Avalon”, a 1920 popular song co-written by Al Jolson, is similar to the opening melody of Puccini’s “E lucenvan le stelle” from Tosca (1900). Puccini’s publisher sued and in a settlement, purportedly received $25,000 from Jolson and his co-writers. Within the broad context of musical borrowing, this presentation explains the role of the musicologist as an “expert” in music copyright litigations and assesses musicological evidence regarding alleged “copying” in recent well known litigations.
Putting Haydn and Beethoven to Work: Plagiarism, Promotion, or Affectionate Tribute?
David Hurwitz
The advent of the compact disc in the late 1970s led to the appearance of an extraordinary range of little-known pieces by unfamiliar composers of all periods. Some of these recordings reveal a striking amount of surprising and often flagrant borrowing from more famous works—of melodies, formal procedures, and even entire movements. This discussion specifically probes the implications of possible connections between three composers now considered to be “minor” (Franz Krommer, Giovanni Simon Mayr, and Saverio Mercadante), and two uncontestably “big names:” Haydn and Beethoven. The evidence for these connections comes from recordings of hitherto unknown works and suggests many possible interpretations, from the existence of common sources of melodic inspiration, to early efforts at popularizing the “classics,” to cases of outright plagiarism. All of these examples have the potential to change the way we think about these composers, both great and less great, as well as the musical culture that nurtured them.
Tonal Distortion in Radiohead
Christopher Doll
From the unconscious use of conventional pitch and rhythmic patterns, to the deliberate borrowing of fragments of older songs, intertextuality is ubiquitous in the world of popular music. This paper develops a notion of “tonal distortion” that supports intertextual claims about Radiohead’s music—specifically, that the band’s songs often evoke recognizable structures only to defamiliarise them, an expressive strategy not unique to Radiohead but striking here in the originality of its implementation.
Fall 2019 Meeting--Musical Borrowings--October 19, 2019
0 Comments Published by AMSGNY President on Monday, September 23, 2019 at 7:43 PM.
The fall meeting will take place on Saturday, October 19th, at New York University. We will meet in room 220 in the Silver Center, 32 Waverly Place. The theme of the meeting is Musical Borrowings.
12-1 PM--Papers
Borrowed Instrumental Sounds: Mandolin Attachments in American Pianos
William E. Hettrick (Hofstra)
Is Titipu Full of Goo? No! -- Musical Borrowings(?) in The Mikado
Jeff S. Dailey (Collectio Musicorum, Inc.)
1-2 PM--Keynote Speaker with Discussion
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Sued
Lawrence Ferrara (NYU)
2-2:30 PM--Refreshments and Fellowship
2:30-3 PM--Remembering Bob Judd--A Tribute
3-4 PM Papers
Putting Haydn and Beethoven to Work: Plagiarism, Promotion, or Affectionate Tribute?
David Hurwitz (Classics Today)
Tonal Distortion in Radiohead
Christopher Doll (Rutgers)
