On 7 January 2025, Enrico Coden, doctoral candidate and university assistant at the Anton Bruckner University, led the workshop Historical Acting Techniques for Musicians: Suggestions for Rhetorical Performance at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). The event was aimed at students of the Historical Performance Practice Minor and offered a practical approach to historical declamation.
In the theoretical introduction, Coden explained how historical acting techniques can be reconstructed through artistic research and what role the connection between musical performance and declamation played in the 18th century.
In the practical part, the participants tried out three central aspects of these techniques: modulation of the voice and punctuation, posture and gestures, and the expression of affects. Finally, these elements were integrated into the interpretation of an instrumental piece of music in order to explore the potential of rhetorical performance.
You can find out more about Enrico Coden’s research project here.
