Maniera smorfiosa, a Troublesome Ornament: A Response to Elisabeth Le Guin

In her article " 'One Says That One Weeps, but One Does Not Weep': Sensible, Grotesque, and Mechanical Embodiments in Boccherini's Chamber Music", Elisabeth Le Guin poses an interesting question when observing that Boccherini includes an unusual number of performance directi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Musicological Society 2006-08, Vol.59 (2), p.459-461
Main Author: JEROLD, BEVERLY
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boccherini, Luigi (1743-1805)
Chamber music
Composers
Criticism and interpretation
Glissando
Melody
Musical criticism
Musical instruments
Musical ornamentation
Musical performance
Musical performances
String instruments
String quartets
Vibrato
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Summary:In her article " 'One Says That One Weeps, but One Does Not Weep': Sensible, Grotesque, and Mechanical Embodiments in Boccherini's Chamber Music", Elisabeth Le Guin poses an interesting question when observing that Boccherini includes an unusual number of performance directions: most theatrical, and certainly oddest, is the regularly appearing direction con smorfia or smorfioso, literally, "grimacing," "prissily," or "with a wry face." The passages adorned with this direction do not offer any immediate clues as to its "purely musical" meaning; they have no obvious commonalities as to melody, harmony, key, or tempo. Here, Jerold further details Elisabeth Le Guin's comment on maniera smorfiosa, a troublesome ornament.
ISSN:0003-0139
1547-3848
DOI:10.1525/jams.2006.59.2.459