Comparing Secco Recitative Accompaniment by Contemporary Cellists and Cellists in the 19th Century: A Study of Social and Cultural Assumptions

Hilary K. Metzger, Pôle Aliénor, Enseignement Supérieur de Musique et Danse en Poitou-CharentesFollow

Abstract

This article documents the behavior of current professional continuo cellists who accompany secco recitatives, addressing such issues as instrumentation, seating plans, harmonic realization, rehearsal protocol, leadership roles, critical feedback and (self)-evaluation. It summarizes and analyses the results of a questionnaire launched in the Spring of 2020 and answered by 105 professional continuo playing cellists around the world. By comparing the accompaniment practice of current continuo cellists to the performance practice of cellists who accompanied secco recitatives in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, this analysis brings to light the cultural and sociological factors that influence our changing expectations about appropriate instrumental roles in secco recitative accompaniment.

DOI

10.5642/perfpr.KVNP1046

Recommended Citation

Metzger, Hilary K. (2024) "Comparing Secco Recitative Accompaniment by Contemporary Cellists and Cellists in the 19th Century: A Study of Social and Cultural Assumptions," Performance Practice Review: Vol. 23: No. 1, Article 1. DOI: 10.5642/perfpr.KVNP1046
Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/ppr/vol23/iss1/1