Performing Musical Structure: crux-phi perceptions in Domenico Scarlatti's sonata K. 380
Nancy Lee Harper, Tomás Henriques · 2008
Aims. This study aims to look at the interpretative treatment of the crux - a proportional structural point in both halves of a Scarlatti sonata - and to determine a) if there is a relationship between structure and expression at the crux point, and b) if so, how the artists chose to express it. Although it was not possible to interview the artists represented in this study, it was possible to view their respective approaches to the crux placement through technological applications. Main Contribution. In our study of these ten performances, we found that there is a tendency for the occurrence of the crux to converge in absolute time, implying the existence of an underlying tempo-structure relationship. We distinguish, moreover, between two fundamental tempi: Surface Tempo and Background Tempo. The former encompasses the individual expressive and personal interpretation, while the latter relates to a deeper and more fundamental notion of time that aligns absolute time with musical structure. Implications. The musicological interdisciplinary implications of this study are twofold: 1) analytical tools scientifically allow a close scrutiny of how the performer communicates structure in music, specifically crux placement in a Scarlatti sonata; 2) performers, whose responsibility is to re-create and discover the sense of music, provide analysts with interpretative material regarding musical structure.