SamB.2021CLC12

Today, the bulk of my work was organizing my research, while doing more in-depth research. I read several essays talking about the group of songs of which the Cavatine is a part. This was only partially helpful, as at most there was a paragraph talking about the specific piece. In this one , they talk somewhat in-depth about the piece, which is helpful, but it is (as seems to be a theme about my research into Raff) too short, though helpful. In this essay , there is only one sentence with any value: " as it proves an ideal showcase for the violinist’s imaginative use of rubato, glissando, and color. " In all, doing any sort of research into this song and composer specifically feels like an exercise in futility, so I did some research into romantic music in general, but made little progress. Many of the sources that I do find seem to be either locked behind a paywall or in german. Perhaps I will be able to get more information this week. 

 The bulk of my work today was searching for sources on Joachim Raff, or the Cavatine he wrote. There is a frustratingly little amount of anything about him. In the Enjoyment of Music, for example, he isn't even mentioned, while he has 6 pages in Famous Composers and Their Works . The most exhaustive source I could find on him was Raff.org , but it is difficult to verify their sources, as many are in german. Raff.org seems to be trustworthy and has a large amount of information, so it may be my largest source. They also seem to have a partial-copy of Joachim Raff: Portrait of a Life. Raff seems to have dragged himself out of poverty, but as a result, much of his compositions were written primarily for money, and 'drudgery. I will begin to do focused research on the Cavatine soon after I have finished the research on his life.