Monuments of Solfeggi

FAIN: RQ-50344-08

Northwestern University (Evanston, IL 60208-0001)
Robert O. Gjerdingen (Project Director: November 2007 to June 2013)

Preparation for online free access of the scores and musical sound files of surviving manuscripts of 18th-century solfeggi, or vocal exercises, for voice and bass accompaniment. (36 months)

Monuments of Solfeggi is a project to prepare online editions of the surviving manuscripts used for melodic training in the time of Bach and Mozart. Unlike modern solfeggi (Italian, "vocal exercises") for voice alone, eighteenth-century solfeggi were duos for voice and bass accompaniment. Mozart himself wrote solfeggi, as did Haydn's teacher Porpora and the many other Italian masters of that era. Italian conservatories and city libraries have preserved numerous never- published manuscripts which, aside from their historical and theoretical interest, contain gorgeous melodies. Not only will the project provide scholars with access to these rare documents, but the addition of MIDI sound files will allow student musicians to match their developing vocal skills against the sound of a properly performed solfeggio. The project will build on the web infrastructure developed through the highly successful NEH-funded Monuments of Partimenti.

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