JAVS Summer 2021

Book Reviews

Focal Impulse Theory , by John Paul Ito Reviewed by Laurel Yu

My first, almost immediate, question was, “what exactly is focal impulse theory?” Skim the book and you’ll see a section on body movement, so maybe this is like Feldenkrais. Not quite. Pulse is a word used in various ways throughout the book. Perhaps this is a performance guide on rhythm. Not quite that, either. Dive deeper to read about cognitive science and interpretation. Maybe this is an academic text on cognitive theories on how we interpret music. No, that’s not quite it, either. Focal impulse theory is an argument on the differences between what and how musicians organize pulse when distinguishing between larger and smaller beats. It’s backed with empirical data, studies, and a decoding of the word “feel.” This book is broken down into defining how pulse, interpretation of beats, and our concept of beats apply to performance practice. Many of the pieces that Ito uses to demonstrate his concepts happen to be viola works, making this book particularly relevant for violists. These include JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Schubert’s “Arpeggione” Sonata, Mozart’s Viola Quintet K. 406, and JS Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord BWV 1027. However, the focal (no pun intended) works lie with Brahms’s Sonatas, Op. 120. Ito is a music theorist professor at Carnegie Mellon University and also a trained violist, so I will forgive him for calling them the Brahms “Clarinet” Sonatas (however correct that might be). But, for the purposes of this review in a viola journal, I will refer to them appropriately as the Brahms Viola Sonatas! Alongside the book are supplementary audio and visual examples used as reference materials. At the time of this review, some of those links were not active. However, the links supply a valuable guide to the concepts displayed in each part of the book with quartet performance examples by the Verona Quartet and the Brahms Viola Sonatas performed by the author with pianist David Keep. Ito hypothesizes that focal impulse theory functions as a

Focal Impulse Theory , by John Paul Ito. Indiana University Press 398 Pages; $25.00 ISBN: 9780253049957

John Paul Ito introduces the central concept of his latest book, Focal Impulse Theory: Musical Expression, Meter, and the Body , with an anecdote familiar to musicians: a fellow musician stops during a rehearsal and suggests the music should feel in two rather than four. How and why does the suggestive, more prominent beat in two versus four make such a difference in musical interpretation? Throughout the rest of the book, Ito untangles the abstract and hazy notions around meter, pulse, and feel.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 37, 2021 Online Issue

76