dr_hab._milosz_aleksandrowicz

Dziedzina nauk humanistycznych 
Dyscyplina: nauki o sztuce

PROFIL ORCID

 

My scientific researches are focused on the theoretical and practical aspects of the 17th and 18th centuries music. Until obtaining the PhD degree in the area of humanities (musicology) my scientific interests was concerned on the religious composition of French composers lived in the times of Louis XIV, with particular reference to the musical legacy of François Couperin and Jean Philippe Rameau. I focused on these problems in my master's thesis (The harmonic structure of the François Couperin's Organ Masses in context of the of early keyboards tuning concepts, promoter: dr hab. Jan Chwałek) and PhD dissertation (Great motets of J. Ph. Rameau in the light of his "Treatise on harmony", 1722, promoter: dr hab. Maria Piotrowska).

 

My PhD dissertation, which I defend in 2007, is a multi-faceted hermeneutic-musical scientific view on the Rameau's religious compositions, with particular reference to the theory of harmony developed by the composer in 1722-26. In this study I show how the harmonic structure of the Rameau's Great motets is related to the theoretical concepts of his early harmonic system. The publication, which largely grew out of the issues raised in the doctoral thesis, is a comprehensive monograph devoted to the early theory of harmony. The title of this book is: The theory of harmony of Jean Ph. Rameau. Traité de l'harmonie (1722). Nouveau systême de musique théorique (1726), Lublin 2014. 

 

In my next articles, published in Polish scientific journals, I focused on research problems regarding music theory of the 17th and 18th centuries with particular emphasis on French-language sources. The starting point when discussing these issues was the content of the theoretical treatises on music published at that time. These texts are an extremely valuable source of knowledge on many aspects of the theory and practice of monodic and polyphonic music. My research in this area can be reduced to three main thematic blocks:

 

(1) music theory and principles of the seventeenth century counterpoint

 

(2) theory of latin liturgical monody and rules of polyphony formed on the basis of plain chant repertoire

 

(3) instrumentology and performance practice of baroque keyboard music

 

The first group of articles includes the following publications: 'The music system of Joseph Sauveur. Principes d'Acoustique et Musique (1701)', 'Notes on tuning keyboard instruments in 17th century. Traité de l'accord de l'espinette (1650) by Jean-Denis', 'The rules of the 17th century counterpoint in the approach of Salomon de Caus. Instutution harmonique (1615)';

 

The second group of articles are: 'The art of singing in 17th-century France. Traite de la methode ou l'Art de bien chanter (1671) of Benigne de Bacilly', '18th-century, "new" system of notation of liturgical monody. Démotz de la Salle and his Methode de plain-chant selon un nouveau systeme (1728)', 'Rhythmic interpretation of the liturgical monody in the 17th century. Pierre-Benoît de Jumilhac and his La science et la pratique du Plain-chant (1673)', 'The Rules of the improvised vocal religious polyphony. Louis-Joseph Marchand's Traité du Countrepoint Simple (1739)', 'Plain-chant performance practice in the 18th century. François de La Feillée and his Méthode nouvelle pour apprend parfaitement les règles du plainchant (1754)', 'Theory and practical practice of the liturgical monody in the 19th century. François-Joseph Fétis and his Méthode élémentaire de plain-chant (1843)'.

 

The third group of my publications includes the following articles: 'Pipe organ in the post-Tridentine liturgy on the basis of based on Caeremoniale episcoporum (1600)', 'Remarks on the construction of 17th-century pipe organs, Raisons des forces mouvantes (1615) by Salomon de Caus', 'Construction and selected technical solutions of the 18th-century pipe organ according to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1751-1780)', 'The art of playing keyboard instruments in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Monsieur de Saint-Lambert and his "Les principes du clavecin" (1702)', 'Art of "organ accompaniment" in France at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Jacques Boyvin and his Traité abregé de l'accompagnement pour l'orgue et pour le clavessin (1705)'.

 

I am also the author of several entries in encyclopedias: Camille Charles Saint-Saëns (Catholic Encyclopedia KUL, T. XVII), Claudin de Sermisy (Catholic Encyclopedia KUL, T. XVIII), Alexander Utendal (Catholic Encyclopedia KUL, T. XIX), Adrian Willaert (Catholic Encyclopedia KUL, T. XX), Philippe de Vitry (Catholic Encyclopedia KUL, T. XX). My published popular science articles: 'Polish organ music of the 19th and early 20th centuries'. in: "Qui habitat in adiutorio Altissimi", 'Musical hermeneutics or Ars interpretandi. Memories of Professor Maria Piotrowska'.

 

teoretyczne_podstawy

Currently, I continue my researches on the French musical sources from the 17th and 18th centuries. I also began the researches on the French-language music texts and writings published in the 19th century. These are usually theoretical treatises, musical manuscripts or ecclesiastical prints. In my research work on these sources, I use the hermeneutic method developed by dr hab. Maria Piotrowska (Department of Musical Hermeneutics, Institute of Musicology, Jean-Paul II Catholic University of Lublin). This means that in all my publications, including the postdoctoral thesis (Theoretical foundations of French liturgical polyphony of the 17th century), the research problem outlined in the title is discussed so that in the reader's mind takes place the process of intellectual reconstruction of the "Historical world" (is a hermeneutic term).

 

teoria_harmonii_1

An scientific area, that I consider to be particularly important in my research, is translation work into Polish extensive fragments of 17th-century French-language theoretical treatises. These translations are usually included as an annex to my articles. For example, the Traité de l'accord de l'espinette (1650) by Jean Denis, Traité abregé de l'accompagnement pour l'orgue et pour le clavessin (1705) by Jacques Boyvin or the first and second book of the Jean Ph. Rameau's Traité de l'harmonie (1722) and Nouveau systême de musique théorique (1726). These are the first translations of these texts in to Polish. In these publications, the original French texts are printed in parallel with the Polish translation, thanks to which a reader who speaks French and who wants to become more familiar with the linguistic subtleties of the 17th and 18th century French language can also conveniently refer to the original text.

 

A full list of my publications is available there.

Autor: Miłosz Aleksandrowicz
Ostatnia aktualizacja: 31.10.2018, godz. 13:30 - Miłosz Aleksandrowicz