The specificity of improvisation parts in Italian baroque aria da capo

Abstract

Purpose of the Article. The main attention in the article is focused on the peculiarities of improvisation methods that were used in the third part and in the Cadenzas of aria da capo in baroque Italy. The characteristic features of vocal improvisation space in opera atr of Italian baroque have been explored and defined. In particular, the specificity of baroque ornamental improvisation in the aria's third part has been defined; the differences between baroque and renaissance improvisation have been clarified; the essence of the theory of affects (feelings, emotions) as an aesthetic and philosophical context of vocal art's existence in the baroque era has been defined; the peculiarities of an existing connection between the theory of effects and the main principles of the rhetoric of that time have been clarified; we have also found out how the rhetoric of the baroque era affected the disposition of Cadenzas in the context of musical structure's dramaturgy; the historical circumstances in which the genre discussed (that is, aria da capo) was formed have been described. Мethodology. We have used in our study as research tools the following methods: a comparative method (for comparing of improvisation stylistics of the renaissance and of the baroque era; of the Venice and Neapolitan operatic schools); a historical and stylistic method (for featuring of the historical context of the emergence and performing of arias da capo and of their Cadenzas and for characterizing of the essencial features of the epoch analyzed); an analytical and descriptive method (for the analysis of particular elements of improvisation in arias da capo, of the key principles of the theory of effects and their connection to baroque improvisation). Scientific novelty. The topic of the article is connected to the largely unexplored nowadays realm of music artists that, however, needs careful analysis and a systematic approach. The up-to-date research results in the sphere of vocal improvisation of the baroque era are presented and analyzed in the article. Conclusions. Improvisation in the space of aria da capo is a multidimentional, controversial, and ambiguous sphere of baroque vocal art. It cannot confine itself only by the sphere of performance but also deserves music scholars' regard.