“Mass in C major” by Franz Schubert. Performance Landmarks

Abstract

The syncretic thinking of vocal-symphonic creation and performance synthesizes three elements with complementary implications at the level of musical expressiveness and architecture: choir, soloists, and orchestra. The composing and performing dramaturgy creates convergence spaces between the three components through: the synchronic performance itself, shaping horizontal and vertical levels of dynamics and generating the expressive image of the entire opus. By subordinating each component to the overall concept – correct intonation and tuning, rhythmic synchronization, fluidity of tempo and agogic, dynamic dosage, and expressivity must be the main objectives of musical performance, as the achievement of a professional concert is the balanced accumulation of all participants in decoding and performing the language of creation. Each performer’s personality must be subordinated to the overall performance concept, and integrated into the conductor’s expressive vision. Lastly, but also first of all, the science of conducting performance must start from a deepened knowledge of the musical essence from the tackled opus, and from the conductor’s ability to coordinate and valorize the entire vocal-instrumental ensemble at its highest potential.