Reconstructing zarzuela performance practices ca. 1900: wax cylinder and gramophone disc recordings of Gigantes y cabezudos

Moreda Rodriguez, E. (2020) Reconstructing zarzuela performance practices ca. 1900: wax cylinder and gramophone disc recordings of Gigantes y cabezudos. Journal of Musicology, 37(4), pp. 459-487. (doi: 10.1525/jm.2020.37.4.459)

[img] Text
235174.pdf - Accepted Version

920kB

Abstract

This article makes an initial contribution to the largely unexplored field of historical performance practice in zarzuela by examining the earliest surviving recordings of Manuel Fernández Caballero’s Gigantes y cabezudos (1898). One of the greatest successes of the género chico subgenre of zarzuela during the early years of commercial phonography in Spain, it is also the zarzuela of which the most recordings made before 1905 have survived: nineteen, made on wax cylinders by local gabinetes fonográficos and on disc by Gramophone. Both the thriving género chico culture and its singing practices, as well as the technological, commercial, and cultural aspects of the early recording industry in Spain, are discussed to consider how recordings related to live performance in this particular context, what the value is of these recordings as documents of performance practice, and what questions they open up for further study of performance practice in zarzuela.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Moreda Rodriguez, Dr Eva
Authors: Moreda Rodriguez, E.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
Journal Name:Journal of Musicology
Publisher:University of California Press
ISSN:0277-9269
ISSN (Online):1533-8347
Published Online:07 October 2020
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California
First Published:First published in Journal of Musicology 37(4): 459-487
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record