Award Date

12-1-2024

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

First Committee Member

Tod Fitzpatrick

Second Committee Member

Kimberly James

Third Committee Member

Richard Miller

Fourth Committee Member

Jennifer Bellor

Fifth Committee Member

Jonathan Lee

Sixth Committee Member

Tim Gauthier

Number of Pages

72

Abstract

This study explores one of the French cantatas, Semel , composed by lisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729) to provide an analysis of her sophisticated text painting and a performance guide for singers. The cantata genre originated in Italy and by the early-eighteenth century, it flourished in France as well: approximately eight hundred French cantatas were composed between 1700 and 1730. lisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre was among the French composers who adopted the genre, along with Jean-Baptiste Morin (1677–1745), Nicholas Bernier (1664–1734), Fran ois Couperin (1668–1733), and Louis-Nicolas Cl rambault (1676–1749). In 1715, Jacquet de La Guerre published the third volume of her Cantates fran oises, dedicated to her new patron, Elector Maximilian Emanuel II of Bavaria (1662–1726), who resided in France. This book contains three secular cantatas: Semel , L’Isle de D los, and Le Sommeil d'Ulisse, all of which were based on mythological stories. These cantatas were written for solo soprano, but each used different instrumentation. In addition to the three secular cantatas, she also added a short comic duet, Le Raccommodement comique de Pierrot et de Nicole, for soprano and bass with basso continuo. My investigation will focus on Jacquet de La Guerre’s first cantata, Semel , including an analysis of the music and of Jacquet de La Guerre’s masterful text painting. I also provide a singer’s performance practice guide for Semel , including tempi recommendations, identification of stylized French dances, instructions for rhythmic alterations, suggestions for ornamentation, an overview of seventeenth-century French pronunciation, and interpretations of Jacquet de La Guerre’s often ambiguous intentions regarding instrumentation.

Keywords

French Baroque; French Cantata; Performance Guide; Performance Practice; Secular Cantata; Semele

Disciplines

Education | Music | Theatre and Performance Studies

File Format

PDF

File Size

3,100 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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