This is the main flute aria in J.S. Bach's Magnificat, scored for two flutes, alto voice, and pizzicato continuo. It's quite a special aria in the entire work due to a number of compositional devices Bach uses to portray the text. I'd like to focus on the first two bars, which give us an idea for the rest of the piece.
The aria begins with a curious rhythm in the flutes, with ties from beats 1 and 3 which roll over to beats 2 and 4. There are also these staccato marks. Altogether, these characteristics raise a couple of questions, and a variety of solutions can be heard in different interpretations. How do we shape this motif? Should the 16th note on beat 2 (A in Fl.1, C# in Fl.2) be emphasized, like the melody goes towards it? What kind of "shortness" do the staccatos mean and should we apply them everywhere, including notes which don't have staccato marked? I'd like to begin by drawing attention to the text - there's an emphasis on "emptiness" in different contexts, represented by the words hunger and empty (perhaps empty-handed). Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent away empty. This leads me to think that a kind of light and airy way of playing would help illustrate the idea of emptiness. Notice also Bach chose using a pizzicato bass, the harmonies are not filled in with another continuo instrument but only derived through the voices. This also contributes to the overall "aerated" expression. Thus I don't think it's necessary to play the staccatos in a dry, literal sense, but rather Bach is just telling us to play those notes with light separation, separated from the next beat. In measure 1, since these staccato notes are the 8th notes of that "short-long" rhythm, it's a way to prevent us from playing them really to their full value. In measure 2, the staccato is again an indication for us to somewhat clip that note lightly, which will also help us to place the trill nicely and start the trill clearly. (a nice example of where we'd stop the air gently with the tongue) We can also use the bass pizzicato as our reference – a short note with a bit of ringing resonance. In this piece, this would be my general treatment of all notes which need to be light. Now, Bach uses another way to show "emptiness", which is with that opening rhythm mentioned earlier. Beats 2 and 4 are “missing” due to the tie from the previous note. Some interpretations choose to accent that off-beat (notes with asterisk marked above). If we look at the harmonies though, these notes are perfect examples of “escape notes”, which are non-harmonic notes that are first approached by step and then resolved through a leap. It’s a short “escape” before the resolution. Escape tones are generally unaccented. OK, so who says that? Can we just slap on a general rule to explain this case? Let's look at where the important dissonances are. Looking at the first flute part, the held G# creates a 6-5 suspension with the B natural in the bass on beat 2, the resolution being the F#. The same pattern applies afterwards – the held over E creates a 4-3 suspension, resolving on a D#, again against the bass B natural. Accenting the escape tones (A and F#) would not create a release of tension, which is necessary in order for these suspensions to be effective. Also, not all dissonances are created equal. In this case, the suspensions are in the foreground of the harmonic structure and are supported by the escape notes (but they're not less important, it always takes two to tango). Having the escape tones sound just slightly after the beat and in diminuendo is Bach's ingenious musical response to the concept of "emptiness", and it would be a pity to miss out on that. With these points in mind, I hope they shed light on how we can effectively shape this motif! Happy Halloween!🧡🖤
0 Comments
❓So a common question I get is asking about rules in historical performance. What are the rules for playing *fill in the blank*? I try to answer by saying: there are guidelines, and some are even pretty "set", but what's also necessary is to look at the context, listen, and make choices based on this process.
I thought to use a recent question I got as an example. The question concerns whether to place some of the ornaments in Hotteterre's Suite in D major on the beat or not. Let's look at the Sarabande "la "d'Armagnac". The circled ornament is a double port de voix, which occurs throughout the movement. But even if you didn't know anything about this ornament, there are usually other indications in the music which can help us to determine whether to play it on or before the beat. So in a sarabande, it makes sense to play it on the beat because of that characteristic sarabande emphasis on the second beat. Compare playing it both ON and BEFORE the beat, and you'll hear that playing before the beat won't give that clear rhythmic, LIFTING gesture. Also, what speaks for playing on the beat is that the ornament creates a slight dissonance with the C# in the bass, which adds harmonic richness and further enhances that second beat. A tierce de coulée (falling third) occurs, on the other hand, often at the ends of musical gestures, or kind of like "on the way to something". The general affect is also soft, flowing, maybe sighing, and so is usually played before the beat. Hotteterre's Menuet illustrates these concepts perfectly, and especially the string of tierce de coulées in the second line sets up an effective contrast against the rhythmically more obvious (and usual) opening phrase. In this second line, the thirds fall gracefully from the half note, avoiding a strong down beat and thus creating a metric displacement. Together with the bass line, we have for a short while here a very interesting juxtaposition of rhythmic details which makes this Menuet special! If you'd play the tierce de coulées here on the beat, the dance would lose these special qualities, become heavy, and go against the natural musical intentions. Now in the Prelude of this suite, we have something that sort of looks like it could be a tierce de coulée (see asterisk). What are some other clues in the music that can help us decide whether to play it on or before the beat? In this particular moment of the music, there's harmonic tension happening with that 7th chord underneath, and also since it's a Lentement in 2, placing the ornament on the beat helps contribute to the affect and metric structure. It should sound deliberate, a bit "heavy", and playing before the beat would then reduce the poignancy of the phrase. The same idea goes for the ornament after that. And see further in the next line, a tierce de coulée is appropriate after the G# as it brings a little closure before the leap up to the A, and it's also metrically the weakest part of the bar and naturally wants to fall from the preceding trill. Thus, better before the beat. So by looking at the context of the ornament we can also take some clues already about the expression, which would then help us to decide how we want to execute it. There's a musical meaning, rather than simply being a type of ornamentation with automatic "rules" on how it should be played. Here's another upload for the Solo of the Month group, this time the Presto from Tromlitz's Partita in G major - this was a great exercise for a couple of different reasons, from using the different F# fingerings to avoiding cracking on delicate notes on the keyed flute. And yes, I got water under the key on that G#😅
It's a bit tricky rhythmically to get the right swing, the piece definitely has an attitude! I'm not happy with everything yet, and I think partly is because I'm influenced by the word "presto" unnecessarily. Like I told my workshop participants lately, speed contributes to an affect, but speed itself doesn't express much. Although presto does mean "quickly", the piece sounds really fun (and above all, really fun to play!) when there's that rustic, burlesque character to it. To do so, you'll need just a bit of time to express those subtle rhythmic nuances, and rushing past them would simply be less than half the fun. The T R' T' tonguing creates rhythmic stability and interest, and also makes phrases sound much more effortless. Try this with equal tonguing (all t t t) and you'll immediately notice the difference! The application of diverse articulation certainly goes beyond baroque music.🎶 Here's an example of how I use ornamentation as a way to expand and increase intensity in expression.
This is from Johann Tromlitz's Partita II in G major, first movement. The clip shows the sequence going up towards the end. I added a "slide" (0:08) going up to the high C instead of approaching it directly(as written), since it gives us a chance to let our flute sound bloom, making the suspense afterwards even more effective. Then at 0:15, I added a turn going into the final trill (and always good to do trill with termination here), which gives us again a chance to spread our sound and do an effective crescendo through the notes. This creates a flourish effect and is a great way to end the movement, plus it adds style, elegance, and liveliness to the music. So I encourage you to find these kinds of passages and experiment to enhance expression through ornamentation. It makes music so much more fun and you won't want to go back! Studying the music of Couperin is a great way to understand baroque ornamentation, as he was so meticulous in indicating them. Most importantly, we can see how ornamentation also conveys affect - they give us clues about the music and thus has an influence on our interpretation. Let me get into this opening of Couperin's Allemande Fuguée, which is one of the great gems in our French baroque repertoire! I've indicated the segments of this phrase with the colored brackets above - the first in red, followed by another which is made up of two smaller components (blue brackets). The first segment (in red) begins with a series of mordents and ends with a little trill. Couperin didn't choose these ornaments just randomly, but rather he wanted to convey specific affects which would be best expressed with these ornaments. The leaps in the beginning ask for a more exuberant character, and the brilliance of the mordent does just that. Let your fingers spring away from the flute on each mordent and feel the energy behind the movement. It should feel lively, airy, and effortless, using little air to play and always lifting/tapering each time. Overall, we should also do a subtle diminuendo as we approach the little trill on the C#. Why a trill now instead of continuing with a mordent? Because it's the end of the sequence and the trill brings it to a nice gentle closure before something new starts afterwards. Trills often demonstrate flattery and are more suitable for softer expressions compared to mordents. Mordents are great for starting, highlighting; trills are great for ending, fading. Try replacing the last trill with a mordent and you'll hear the difference. (pretty mundane and not the perfect Couperin we know!) This opening is actually a little tricky for us flutists, especially as we approach the last mordent and trill. The D-C# combination (both as a trill and a mordent) involves moving two fingers, one of which is the 4th finger which is the weakest finger of all. It takes a bit of practice to make sure they sound effortless (especially in the trill). Again, it helps to use just the right amount of air and not more, try to see how light you can get it to sound and be sure to taper your air through the trill. Where the blue bracket starts is where the affect changes - we no longer have those leaps but rather conjunct motion. This is again a compositional technique for showing something more elegant. Notice also the slur marks in this passage, which we didn't have before and thus also refers to a softer expression. Leaps have the tendency to sound "rude" in the French baroque, unless the composer had specific intentions. And so, Couperin resorts only to flattering trills! The slurs help us to just let the notes roll off gently into the melody (how perfect is that right?!) Again, taper and lighten up your sound through those passages, it is the key to sounding really gayement, which in the French baroque style is playful, merry, but not too extrovert. Now here's something really fun - depending on how we play an ornament, they can still convey a variety of nuances. The first trill under the blue bracket (3rd beat of m. 1) can be seen as a slight variation of the opening motif due to the same pickup with the note A. It's also the start, the higher part of the phrase, and so we could play this trill more energetically. Make sure you separate both the pickup A and the A as an appoggiatura with the tongue (articulation silence, indicated by the 't). I'd play a short appoggiatura here for a more lively trill, because then to end the phrase, the second trill could be less lively and receive a slightly longer appoggiatura to close. Feel the flattery and sweetness in this. I'd also play this trill overall softer compared to the first one, thus setting up a nice contrast between an opening and closing gesture in this phrase. Shine a bit of light in the opening and tuck the sound gently in for the closure. By observing how to convey affect through ornamentation, this will help us to ornament on our own more effectively. For example in the following phrase, it would be nice to add a turn (tour de chant) which will help propel us into the next trill. It's the perfect compliment after what's again a somewhat "bold" gesture of a leap and mordent. It's a small detail which should not draw attention to itself but contributes greatly in the whole context. The result is then something that's flowing, elegant, and stylish of the French baroque style. Once we grasp these concepts, they increase our fun and enjoyment of this music➡️ the music then comes to life➡️win win! Watch the video below for some live demonstrations of how to practice this passage. |
ABOUT THE BLOG:I got inspired to document my own observations in flute-playing and music-making. Also, I thought it's important to pass on the teachings of the great Wilbert Hazelzet, as well as many other mentors who have influenced my artistic visions one way or the other. Enjoy this potpourri of tips, inspirations, and musings. TOPICS:
All
👉"Teddie Talks Traverso" on YouTube
WorkshopsTEACHING:I'm specialized in coaching historical and modern flutists. CONTACT ME directly to set up a session, in person or online. Archives
October 2024
|