PERFORMANCE PRACTICE FOR PERCUSSION IN FRENCH BAROQUE OPERA

Abstract

This performance-based dissertation is comprised of five recording projects. These recordings represent an exploration of the use of percussion in operatic music of the French Baroque era. The primary focus of this work is on the interpolation of percussion parts for works for which none were composed or notated. The five projects include three full-length operas, one program of operatic excerpts, and one program of French marches and mascarades that illustrate some of the source material that informs the rest of the recordings. Three of the projects are studio recordings and two are recordings of live performances. They are presented here in the order in which they were recorded. The recorded material is the primary document for this dissertation; this supporting document serves to guide the listener through the recordings and to provide additional information about each project.