Music Research topic....HELP!

[ralessi]

  For a class, I need to figure out a music topic to research and present with no real restrictions.  It just can't be on contemporary music and cannot be on a composer....I was going to use Music in torture as a topic, but it's just too hard to research.  I need something that will be interesting and somewhat unique but not too difficult to research.  All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Cheers!
Rick

[pianistimo]

cannot be on a composer or contemporary music.  hmm. 

perhaps a subject that sustains enough interest for you to get the project done.  papermaking was an interesting subject in the classical era - because you have that as an identifier of authentic manuscripts.  perhaps something to do with authenticating music?  check out sotheby's and various places that have people authenticating things.  it's really interesting.  instruments, signed music, etc.

once i found some sousa marches at a flea market signed by what looked like sousa.  of course, i didn't know his signature (it was quite rounded) - so i stupidly gave it to someone to authenticate.  i never got it back.

i'm really tired tonight - due to helping my son on some geography project - but what comes to mind is that 'grosse fugue' by beethoven that was recently purchased and put into julliard's library.  it was authenticated - and there was an article i found and posted - i'll see if i can find it again.  anwyay - there are telltale signs of almost all composers by handwriting, ink, paper, etc.  it's curious to me.

sometimes people ask - why didn't this or that manuscript get published?  well, one common reason was that the composer knew he/she was plagarizing and was using that piece to just learn how to do something.  or, it was written by a fake trying to pass for that composer. 

[pianistimo]

another topic that comes to mind is 'period instruments.'  they used to have whole 'families' of flutes and such.  you just picked a size.  nowdays, much less of a choice.

there's some great stuff in the nyc metropolitan museum of art.