POEMS TO MUSIC: THE HISTORY AND STYLES
cod. 1006266

Academic year 2018/19
2° year of course - First semester
Professor
Paolo RUSSO
Academic discipline
Musicologia e storia della musica (L-ART/07)
Field
Attività formative affini o integrative
Type of training activity
Related/supplementary
30 hours
of face-to-face activities
6 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Learning objectives

At the end of the course students will be able to orient themselves in Italian literature destined to be set in music and in rhythmic and metric aspects of poetry. They will know the principal theoretical issues that have guided the reflection on the text and music relationship in Modern and Contemporary Italian literature (Knowledge and understanding). Will be able to identify the main styles of intonation of a poem between the sixteenth and twentieth century and the poetic choices of leading Italian songwriters. (Knowledge and understanding skills applied). They will also examine the critical texts, to identify the hierarchy of the topics discussed and identify further questions relevant to the advancement of knowledge (Making judgements). They will also be able to express the content of the discipline with specific language and technical competence, at least with regard to poetic, narrative, linguistic and formal structures. Even without requiring analytical skills and techniques in the field of music, however, it is necessary to acquire at least the main terms to describe the music that has been listened (Communication skills). The students will also be able to investigate the sources of songs, even not presented in the class, in order to identify the specific traits and the most useful for forthcoming studies (Learning skills).

Prerequisites

Knowledge of the Italian literature history and of the basis of Italian metrics. Knowledge in musical history and theory are not required.

Course unit content

The course studies the relationships that develop between poetic and musical structures whenever a poem is set in music. The basics principles that allow to read a poem under the rhythmic and melodic profile will be presented with examples from different age, genre and literary style and composition, from Renaissance polyphony to the Twentieth-century music and the Italian “cantautori”. The study will focus mainly on Italian literature and Italian music, but we will also use examples from other European literature.

Full programme

You can study:
Stefano La Via, Poesia per musica e musica per poesia. Dai trovatori a Paolo Conte, Roma Carocci, 2006 (Libro e CD ROM completi)

Or the following bibliography:
Paolo Fabbri, “Metro e canto nell’opera italiana”, Torino, EDT, 2007
and two of this program:
Programma A
Gabriello Chiabrera, “Le Maniere de’ versi toscani”, Genova, Pavoni, 1599 (digital copy in http://www.letteraturaitaliana.net/pdf/Volume_5/t116.pdf); Nino Pirrotta, “Scelte poetiche di Monteverdi, e Temperamenti e tendenze nella camerata fiorentina”, the both in “Scelte poetiche di musicisti. Teatro, poesia e musica da Willaert a Malipero”, Venezia, Marsilio, 1997, pp. 81-147 e 173-195; Stefano La Via, “Poesia per musica e musica per poesia. Dai trovatori a Paolo Conte”, Roma, Carocci, 2006, CD ROM on “La fida Ninfa” di Monteverdi pp. [81-107]; Lucia Cristina Baldo, Silvana Chiesa, “’Zefiro torna’”, in “Tempo e memoria: percorsi di ascolto fra letteratura e musica”, Alessandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2003, pp. 43-71

Programma B
Paolo Russo, “’Imitateurs inspirés de la corruption du gout’: travestimenti musicali nella ‘Cantate Française’”, in Id. “La parola e il gesto. Studi sull’opera francese nel Settecento”, Lucca, LIM, 1997, pp. 39-64; Jean-Michel Bardez, “I dibattiti sulla musica nel secolo dei lumi” e Walter Dürr, “Poesie e musica nel Lied con pianoforte del romanticismo tedesco”, in “Enciclopedia della musica”, ed. by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, IV: “Storia della musica europea”, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 588-605 e 548-872; Stefano La Via, “Poesia per musica e musica per poesia. Dai trovatori a Paolo Conte”, Roma, Carocci, 2006, CD ROM on “Erlkönig” di Schubert pp. [155-192]; Lucia Cristina Baldo, Silvana Chiesa, “’Auf dem Wasser zu singen’”, in “Tempo e memoria: percorsi di ascolto fra letteratura e musica”, Alessandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2003, pp. 95-118.
Programma C
Licia Sirch, “Notturno italiano: Sulla musica vocale da camera tra Sette e Ottocento”, in “Rivista italiana di musicologia”, 2005, XL, 153-226; Friedrick Lippmann, “Introduzione” and “Ritmo poetico e ritmo musicale. Il loro rapporto nello sviluppo stilistico della musica operistica italiana tra Sette e Ottocento”, in Id., “Versificazione italiana e ritmo musicale. I rapporti tra verso e musica nell’opera italiana dell’Ottocento”, Napoli, Liguori, 1986, pp. 11-34 e 265-323; Anselm Gerhardt, “Verdi, Wagner e la ‘prosa musicale’”, in “Otello”, Venezia, Teatro la Fenice, 2002 (http://www.teatrolafenice.it/media/libretti/62_8929otello_gv.pdf), pp. 127-148, Wolfgang Osthoff, “Il sonetto nel ‘Falstaff’ di Verdi”, in “Il melodramma nell’Ottocento. Studi e ricerche per Massimo Mila”, Torino, Einaudi, 1977, pp. 156-183; Costantino Maeder, “Il fiasco del Mefistofele fra idea e incompatibilità formale”, in “Il real fu dolore e l’ideal sogno. Arrigo Boito e i limiti dell’arte”, Firenze, Cesati, 2002, pp. 53-73.

Programma D
Lucia Cristina Baldo, Silvana Chiesa, “’Coro di Morti’” and “‘A Survivor from Warsaw’”, the both in “Tempo e memoria: percorsi di ascolto fra letteratura e musica”, Alessandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2003, pp. 167-192 e 193-216; Raffaele Pozzi, “Leopardi e l’ansia di rinnovamento: il Coro di morti (1940-1941) di Goffredo Petrassi”, in “Storia della lingua italiana e storia della musica: italiano e musica nel melodramma e nella canzone. Atti del 4. Convegno ASLI, Associazione per la storia della lingua italiana, Sanremo, 29-30 aprile 2004”, ed. by Elisa Tonani, Firenze, F. Cesati, [2005], pp. 131-142; Rossana Dalmonte, Nevia Lorenzini, “Funzioni strutturanti nel rapporto musica-poesia. ‘Passaggio’ e ‘Laborintus II’ di Sanguineti-Berio”, e Rossana Dalmonte, Fabrizio Frasnedi, “Musica, Analogia, Teatralità. Ancora su ‘Sequenza III’”, in Rossana Dalmonte, Nevia Lorenzini, Loris Azzaroni, “Il gesto della forma: musica, poesia, teatro nell’opera di Luciano Berio”, Milano, Arcadia, 1981, pp. 1-44 e 145-170
Programma E
Franco Fabbri, “La canzone”, in “Enciclopedia della musica”, ed.by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, I: “Il Novecento”, Torino, Einaudi, 2001, pp. 551-576; Lorenzo Coveri, “Linguistica della canzone: lo stato dell’arte”, Giuseppe Antonelli, “’Il complesso pop. Su una tendenza recente dei testi di canzone”, the bot in ”Storia della lingua italiana e storia della musica: italiano e musica nel melodramma e nella canzone. Atti del 4. Convegno ASLI, Associazione per la storia della lingua italiana, Sanremo, 29-30 aprile 2004”, a cura di Elisa Tonani, Firenze: F. Cesati, [2005], rispettivamente a pp. 179-190 e 219-232.
One of these books:
Marco Bico, Massimiliano Guido, “Paolo Conte: un rebus di musica e parole”, Roma, Carocci, 2011
Alessandro Bratus, “Bob Dylan, un percorso in sedici canzoni”, Roma, Carocci, 2011
Claudio Cosi, Federica Ivaldi, Fabrizio de André, “Cantastorie tra parole e musica”, Roma, Carocci, 2011
Elisabetta Cucco, “Vinicio Capossela, rabdomante senza requie”, Milano, Casanova e Chianura – Auditorium edizioni, 2005
Carlo Pestelli, “Bella ciao. La canzone della libertà”, Torino, ADD, 2016

Bibliography

The basic texts is Stefano La Via, "Poesia per musica e musica per poesia. Dai Trovatori a Paolo Conte", Roma, Carocci, 2006, with CD ROM.
In the windows displaying the complete program, you can find an alternative study program: is articulated in different topic and area of research. You can choose that alternative program instead of the book of La Via

Teaching methods

In relation to the number of students attending the course it will be organized either in seminar form, or, alternatively, with lectures and group discussions of video and audio examples: ample space will be dedicated to the direct experience of listening, from which the teacher will take the momentum for analysis, comments and insights. Being a master course, the teacher will consider, in the choice of the texts object of lesson, the lines of research that the students are following in their study path. During the lessons will therefore be proposed and explained the terminology necessary for a brief analytical description of the listening experience.

Assessment methods and criteria

The test consists of an interview on the bibliography indicated. The interview will test the understanding of the content of each text listed in the bibliography. You will also be required to listen and analyze the vocal music presented in the lessons. The lack of knowledge of the music indicated and the lack of an understanding of the minimum content of the course are cause for failure of the verification. The ability to express oneself adequately, to solve problems related to information retrieval and the decoding of complex texts, as well as the ability to make independent judgments will be evaluated on a scale of thirty degrees.
The ability to develop further knowledge and to ask the teacher pertinent questions, even during the test, will issue excellent results. Likewise, the ability of integrated readings and cross-connections between the texts listed in the bibliography will issue excellent results.

Other information

Audio and video media and computer on-line will be available.

2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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