Improvisation in style in the field of performance. Its absence as the crisis of a system

Abstract

This paper reflects on the virtual absence of stylistic improvisation in current performance practice. Through a historical-critical review, it examines its use in courtly and ecclesiastical contexts and its subsequent decline, associated with an ontological shift in the musical profession. From this juncture and its implications and taking the concept of the work-text as a central discussion point, the absence of "improvisation and its values" is presented as the crystallization of an underlying crisis within the current system of training and professional practice among musicians. This leads to a critical examination of the performer as a problematic figure, affected by various musical (in)competencies.