The realisation of recitative by the Cello in Handelian Opera: Current and Historical Practices

DMA thesis

This thesis examines the author’s practice of the chordal realisation
of recitative by the cello in Handel opera. The realisation of recitative
has a long pedagogical history from 1774–1877; it is, however, rarely
part of current practice. The decline of realisation in the nineteenth
century and its consequences for current practice is considered.
The realisation of recitative first appears in cello pedagogy as a fully
formed practice. Its origins are unclear. The first chapter demon-
strates that the development of cello technique at the turn of the
eighteenth century provided Italian émigré composer-cellists with the
techniques to realise recitative. The use of the cello as a harmonising
instrument is traced through its repertoire from the late seventeenth
century to the unexpected pedagogical source of Geminiani’s The Art
of Playing the Guitar. An analysis of this important and neglected
source for the cello is offered. Opera manuscripts that appear to reveal
traces of realisation by the cello are examined. Initially promising
Handel sources are debunked. Handel harpsichord scores suggest
that the continuo group was more homogeneous than in current
recorded practice. This is considered alongside the poor acoustics of
eighteenth-century theatres, suggesting a motive for the realisation
of recitative by the cello. Cello methods from 1741–1877 are ana-
lysed. They reveal an increasingly elaborate practice of realisation
of recitative by the cello in the early nineteenth century. Tensions
emerge in the methods between Affekt, technique, and stagecraft. The
author’s own practice is described. Common techniques between
chordal realisation and current practice are examined. A method for
acquiring a vocabulary of chords is offered that improves on those
in the historical methods. Transcriptions of the author’s realisations
together with a report from rehearsals and performances of Handel’s
Agrippina at the Vlaamse Opera illustrate the author’s practice. The
thesis concludes with a response to critical reception to the author’s
practice.