Communication of (e)motion through performance: Two case studies

This paper examines the role of the communication of activity in the communication of emotion in music performance. The starting point is the hypothesis that performers are especially well able to communicate levels of activity and that communication of emotions is to a considerable extent based on this communication. Two case studies are reported that confirm that the ability of performers to communicate the activity of an emotional interpretation of a musical passage is stronger than the ability to communicate the valence of an emotional interpretation. In the first case study, the performers expressed discrete categories of emotions, but the two low activity emotions were strongly associated and happiness was not always reliably communicated. In the second case study, the communication of activity was much stronger than the communication of valence. The question is raised whether emotion in music performance exists without perception of activity and whether communication of emotion is sometimes rather communication of motion