La Folia and its ensemble performance: an approach to interpretative editions

HIP often provides interpretative and stylistic guides, particularly with regard to Baroque music, for student, teacher, adjudicator and professional player alike. But what of when HIP norms overlook a creative and performing tradition extending centuries? This presentation focuses on the ensemble performance of Corelli’s La Folia Op5/12, highlighted by Jordi Savall in his influential album for it’s historical significance in the development of La Folia. Although the HIP influences and the implications for La Folia appear straight forward, utilising Hamilton’s and Milsom’s research, the presentation discusses how philosphically, returning La Folia to it’s historical example is at once both historical and deeply anachronistic.  It explores from a hybrid performer-researcher perspective, an alternative historically inspired approach (identified by Milsom) and emphasised through the history of La Folia: the performer as co-creator. The legacy of performers such as Geminiani, Ferdinand David, Hubert Leonard, Nathan Milstein, Fritz Kreisler together with Hamilton’s observations on interpretative editions and recordings (many of which themselves reference other performers’ versions of La Folia) are utilised to show how engagement with these can be used as the basis for inspiring artistry and enhancing connection to this tradition.

Imogen Coward is a multi-instrumentalist, adjudicator, founding director of Camerata Academica of the Antipodes, and researcher specialising in editing, interpretative editions, and string pedagogy. She received her PhD in Musicology from the University of New England (UNE) and her research on style and string repertoire has been published by University of Otago, Cambridge Scholars Press and the popular press.

Taliesin Coward is a multi-instrumentalist, magician and researcher specialising in interpretation theory, virtuoso performance practice and entertainment magic history. He received his PhD from UNE for research into shared performance techniques of virtuoso musicians and master magicians.

Jemma Thrussell is a cellist, viola da gamba and violone player, and researcher specialising in historical performance practice. She received her Master of Music (Performance) in historical cello from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Sydney and is currently a Doctoral Research Fellow of the Early Music department of the Hochschule fuer Kuenste Bremen, Germany.

Leon Coward is a multi-instrumentalist, resident composer for Camerata Academica of the Antipodes and researcher specialising in multisensory film design, and creative process. His work has been presented internationally including for the TATE gallery, and as art-director/composer for the award-winning Canadian short-film 2BR02B (dir. Marco Checa Garcia).