John S. Powell is Professor Emeritus of Musicology. His main areas of research are: 17th-century French musical theater and opera, baroque musical performance practice, 17th-century French dance and stage gesture, and the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Jean-Baptiste Lully, André Campra, and Alessandro Stradella. Phone: (918) 853-2683 Address: 258 Danforth Street, unit 5 Portland, Maine 04102 USA
Early Music Performance & Research, issue 52, 2023
The opening scene of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, where the student of the maître de musique is show... more The opening scene of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, where the student of the maître de musique is shown composing a vocal lament, provides a valuable lesson in French 17th-century compositional process.
Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de Molière, 2022
Paper given at Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de ... more Paper given at Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de Molière (Valenciennes, 4-5-6 mai 2022)
This article addresses performance issues specifically related to the music of Marc-Antoine Charp... more This article addresses performance issues specifically related to the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, but equally applicable to that of his contemporaries. It also includes a translation of his "Enérgie des Modes" (i.e. affect of keys), his "Règles de l'accompagnement", and a bibliography of articles that address performance-related issues.
Lucien Durosoir: Un compositeur moderne né romantique, Actes du colloque (Palazzetto Bru-Zane, Venise, 19-20 février 2011), ed. Lionel Pons, Paris: Fraction, 2013
FASHIONING OPERA AND MUSICAL THEATRE: STAGE COSTUMES FROM THE LATE RENAISSANCE TO 1900, 2014
This is a link to the online article, published on the Cini Foundation website. The links to ima... more This is a link to the online article, published on the Cini Foundation website. The links to images are no longer functional, as the images no longer reside on my university's server. Therefore, I have uploaded my powerpoint presentation as a pdf file.
<https://www.cini.it/pubblicazioni/fashioning-opera-musical-theatre-stage-costumes-late-renaissance-1900>
Unlike the opera parodies performed at the Comedie-Italienne in the 1690s and collected by Evaris... more Unlike the opera parodies performed at the Comedie-Italienne in the 1690s and collected by Evariste Gherardi, Dancourt's Angelique et Midor and Renaud et Armide were performed during the premiere runs of their target operas - Lully's and Quinault's Roland and Armide, respectively. Undoubtedly prompted by Lully's opera monopoly and the draconian restrictions on music and dance that affected the musical repertory at the Combdie-Frangaise, Dancourt's parodies take a tongue-in-cheek view of the madness of opera in general, while specifically satirizing the themes, characters, and operatic situations found in Roland and Armide.
Early Music Performance & Research, issue 52, 2023
The opening scene of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, where the student of the maître de musique is show... more The opening scene of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, where the student of the maître de musique is shown composing a vocal lament, provides a valuable lesson in French 17th-century compositional process.
Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de Molière, 2022
Paper given at Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de ... more Paper given at Rencontres musicologiques de Valenciennes: Les intermèdes des comédies-ballets de Molière (Valenciennes, 4-5-6 mai 2022)
This article addresses performance issues specifically related to the music of Marc-Antoine Charp... more This article addresses performance issues specifically related to the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, but equally applicable to that of his contemporaries. It also includes a translation of his "Enérgie des Modes" (i.e. affect of keys), his "Règles de l'accompagnement", and a bibliography of articles that address performance-related issues.
Lucien Durosoir: Un compositeur moderne né romantique, Actes du colloque (Palazzetto Bru-Zane, Venise, 19-20 février 2011), ed. Lionel Pons, Paris: Fraction, 2013
FASHIONING OPERA AND MUSICAL THEATRE: STAGE COSTUMES FROM THE LATE RENAISSANCE TO 1900, 2014
This is a link to the online article, published on the Cini Foundation website. The links to ima... more This is a link to the online article, published on the Cini Foundation website. The links to images are no longer functional, as the images no longer reside on my university's server. Therefore, I have uploaded my powerpoint presentation as a pdf file.
<https://www.cini.it/pubblicazioni/fashioning-opera-musical-theatre-stage-costumes-late-renaissance-1900>
Unlike the opera parodies performed at the Comedie-Italienne in the 1690s and collected by Evaris... more Unlike the opera parodies performed at the Comedie-Italienne in the 1690s and collected by Evariste Gherardi, Dancourt's Angelique et Midor and Renaud et Armide were performed during the premiere runs of their target operas - Lully's and Quinault's Roland and Armide, respectively. Undoubtedly prompted by Lully's opera monopoly and the draconian restrictions on music and dance that affected the musical repertory at the Combdie-Frangaise, Dancourt's parodies take a tongue-in-cheek view of the madness of opera in general, while specifically satirizing the themes, characters, and operatic situations found in Roland and Armide.
This is a short sample from my recent critical/performing edition of Charpentier's Messe de Minui... more This is a short sample from my recent critical/performing edition of Charpentier's Messe de Minuit. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me. Also included is his Noëls sur les instruments.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more... more This is a short sample from my critical/performing edition. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
This is a short sample from my reconstruction of this incomplete pastorale. If you are intereste... more This is a short sample from my reconstruction of this incomplete pastorale. If you are interested in seeing more of this edition, please get in touch with me.
The music for Montfleury's play Le Mary sans femme most likely was written by Robert Cambert (ca.... more The music for Montfleury's play Le Mary sans femme most likely was written by Robert Cambert (ca. 1627-1677) for the first performance in c. 1664. This edition is based in part on an expanded revision of the original music, probably by Jean-Claude Gillier (1667-1737), prepared for a revival of the play in 1695. <https://doi.org/10.53610/DCAT5610>
This is a new edition of the tragédie-ballet Psyché as it was performed over 80 times by Molière'... more This is a new edition of the tragédie-ballet Psyché as it was performed over 80 times by Molière's company at the Théâtre du Palais Royal. In 2008 I published the version of Psyché that premiered during Carnival of 1671 at the Salle des Machines (Oeuvres complètes de Jean-Baptiste Lully, ed. Herbert Schneider and Jérôme de La Gôrce; Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2008). The present edition is based on a MS source that was not used in the previous edition, and which appears to represent the version of Psyché that was performed subsequently in Paris from August of 1671 through January of 1673. Most notably, it is the only source that preserves the music to the final chorus...the text of which Molière emended for the Paris performances (and had printed in the livret handed out for these performances).
This is an excerpt from Charpentier's oratorio, "The Denial of Peter". Please contact me if you ... more This is an excerpt from Charpentier's oratorio, "The Denial of Peter". Please contact me if you wish to see the complete edition.
This is a reconstruction of André Campra's first tragédie en musique. It survives in two version... more This is a reconstruction of André Campra's first tragédie en musique. It survives in two versions (with a revised 5th act), and its music is preserved in a printed reduced score and several 18th-century manuscript copies.
Throughout the 1660s, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, called Molière, created for the entertainment of Lo... more Throughout the 1660s, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, called Molière, created for the entertainment of Louis XIV a type of musical theater incorporating comedy, song, vocal ensembles, instrumental music, and dance. Premiered before the King and his court with much pomp and spectacle, these musical works often were subsequently performed (with more modest resources) for the Parisian public at Molière's own theater. These musical comedies survived as part of the repertoire of the Théâtre du Palais Royal, the Hôtel de Guénégaud, and the Comédie-Française, in spite of the oppressive restrictions obtained by Jean-Baptiste Lully in his attempt to gain a monopoly over musical theater in Paris.This study is a comprehensive overview of the musical life in Moliere's theater between 1660 and 1695, based on research conducted at Parisian libraries and archives. Original source materials consulted include: (1) financial documents and theatrical registers, (2) musical manuscripts and early p...
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Papers and Presentations by John S . Powell
<https://www.cini.it/pubblicazioni/fashioning-opera-musical-theatre-stage-costumes-late-renaissance-1900>
<https://www.cini.it/pubblicazioni/fashioning-opera-musical-theatre-stage-costumes-late-renaissance-1900>