As part of the winter lecture series on musicology, the Ohio State School of Music will be hosting presentations on Broadway revue, music theory in the Classical period and contemporary trends in French music.
The first presentation, “Reconstructing a Broadway Revue: Creating a Critical Edition for the ‘Follies of 1908,'” will be held Monday, Feb. 1. The event will be presented by Ann Ommen van der Merwe, a visiting music professor from Miami University, and will focus on the “Follies of 1908.”
Broadway revue, which became popular in the early 20th century, is a variation of theater featuring songs, dances and comedy skits that are related to one another by common themes.
“This presentation seeks to emphasize the importance of music in these shows,” van der Merwe said in an e-mail. “Both songs and incidental music are used within scenes, and that is something few people recognize about this or any other Broadway revue.”
The presentation will feature performances and adaptations from the “Follies of 1908.”
“The audience for my presentation should come away with a better understanding of the Broadway revue as it existed in the early 20th century,” van der Merwe said. “They will also learn about a number of more specific issues, including common characteristics of sheet music from this time period, happenings in American politics and popular entertainment in the months leading up to June 1908 and the European origins of the revue.”
The next presentation, “Fifteen Modes versus Eight: On the Background of a Medieval and Renaissance Theoretical Conflict,” will be made by OSU Music Professor Charles Atkinson Monday, Feb. 8.
“My presentation will focus on the ancient Greek conflict between the systems of 13 or 15 modes and that of eight modes, whose principles were first explicated by the Greek theorist Klaudios Ptolemaios,” Atkinson said in an e-mail.
The musical system of 12 modes, which classifies melodies according to their last note or range, was developed by Swiss music theorist Heinrich Glareanus in 1547. Atkinson explains that Glareanus’ system of modes, which remains accepted by music theorists, was influenced by the early mode systems that were developed from the ancient Greek philosophers.
“Glareanus’ system was a late echo of the ancient Greek systems of 13 modes introduced by the Greek theorist Aristoxenos of Tarent [in roughly 330 B.C.] and of 15 modes introduced by Aristides Quintilianus [in roughly A.D. 300]. In fact, Glareanus’ system of 12 modes actually owes its greatest debt to the system of eight modes introduced by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius around A.D. 500,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson will explain the genesis of this musical conflict as the center of his presentation, and how it affected the development of Western music.
“The students will get some insight into the nature of the conflict between 13 or 15 modes and eight, and how this conflict and its ultimate resolution played itself out in Greek and Roman antiquity long before it was revisited in the Renaissance,” Atkinson said.
The final lecture, “Marseilles, the French City with a Bad Rap,” will be conducted by OSU professor Danielle Marx-Scouras Feb. 22.
The presentation will be about popular music and identity in modern France, focusing on Marseilles, the second-largest city in France. Marseilles is known in Europe for its hip-hop music culture that is steadily growing in popularity.
“I aim to show, through music and other material, how this multi-cultural city is really the future of France,” Marx-Scouras said.
All presentations will be held at 4:30 p.m. on their scheduled dates in Sullivant Hall, room 066.
