*Appoggiaturas are played on the beat. The reason for this is that they create a dissonance and thus harmonic richness. Keeping this concept in mind will help you navigate more easily through all the various ornaments - it's not so important to know all the "what", more important is understanding the "why". Whether you start from above or below the main note, make sure you stop the previous note with your tongue so that you can truly place the appoggiatura on the beat. This is a small but crucial difference that will bring so much more finesse and precision into your playing. When this technique is not practiced consciously, the appoggiatura easily slips into sounding before the beat, especially in fast movements. And when that happens, we lose clarity, harmonic interest, and rhythmic stability. In the beginning it may feel abrupt and like you're always stopping, but as you internalize this technique, it'll become natural over time.
*But you might be thinking about the tierce de coulée, which is used in French baroque music when you fill in descending thirds. As the name suggests, it's meant to be flowing and thus are played before the beat. It's also common to have consecutive falling thirds, in which case you'd have a string of tierce de coulées happening between beats. They can either be a sighing gesture or suggesting coquetry. Make sure you always release your air in this "falling" gesture, like you're not playing anymore but just letting the air go. *Don't worry too much about all the rules regarding length - I tend to simply go for the affect. Longer appoggiaturas can convey tenderness or also seriousness. Shorter appoggiaturas help to show liveliness. Keep in mind that they can be extremely short - it's sometimes an effective way to play trills if you want this kind of exciting, whirlwind effect. In any case, be sure to release your air after the appoggiatura - remember that we need to have both harmonic tension AND the release of that tension to make it musically effective. Coming from modern flute playing and the late 19th century style, many of us may have been taught to always sustain the sound. Baroque flute playing involves much more nuanced flexibility. Nudge with your air on the beat and then let go of it afterwards. I suggest practice going further than you think you should, see if you can achieve only a wisp of sound as your release. (but watch for intonation, lips ever so slightly forward as you retract the breath!) *Is it just like jazz? Well, maybe yes and no. I'm not a jazz player so I can't say for sure, but at the end it also has only to do with your concept of playing early music and what you want to do on the traverso. We all can play anything in any way we want - yes that's right! But you have to find the way that's in line with your purpose with the music. I personally find it's much more fun when I know I have choices, and that I'm conscious of those choices. So the so-called "rules" of early music actually help me gain insight into the composition, as well as freedom, in a way that makes sense to me. I thus create my own style and interpretation of earlier music based on a certain structure, which I find is a fascinating act of balance that feeds my creative interests. Think of it like poetry - you're still working within a particular language, but there's room for a personal dimension within that structure. What are your thoughts on baroque ornamentation?
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Many thanks to those who came out to our NFA talk last night! And for those who had to miss it, I'll share the YouTube link when it's up.
Here's a snippet of my part of the presentation, where I talk about not being afraid of irregularities in baroque music: Let's go back to the original meaning of the word "baroque", which has French and Portugese roots referring to an imperfect pearl. Although symmetry was important, baroque art also liked to celebrate a certain bizarreness. Take a look at that extravagant chalice from the Dresden royal treasures. We can find this parallel in music too. So for example, towards the end of Bach's Bourrée Angloise in his A minor Partita, I would recommend separating the E from the 16ths and make it a pickup to the next bar. This may sound odd and abrupt at first, and goes against how it's visually presented on the page (notes barred together), but it's actually more reflective of the harmony. You'd be actually showing Bach's humour and also enhancing the character of a bourrée. Compare playing this passage with that separation and without, and let me know what you think! Need some help with your German?
One online resource I like to use is https://www.vmii.org, which stands for Vocal Music Instrumentation Index. If you play J.S. Bach arias and need to understand the German text (which you should because you'll be even more amazed by Bach's ingenious qualities!), you'll be delighted to find high-quality English translations here. The site is well organized and also has a nice cataloging system which is easy to navigate. If I'm preparing a lecture, I direct my learners to here and also like to think through the translations myself, perhaps swapping out a word or two which I believe would represent better the nuance of the German language, not to mention also to just make sure that everything is correct. One word can make a big difference in the implied rhetoric, the emotion of the music! An example which shows up again and again in various translations is the aria "Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben" (St. Matthew Passion), which should translate to "Out of love, my Savior wants to die", not "will die". Practicing the art of translation is a fun thing for me! I've included here an earlier post plus an expanded section talking about the opening of Telemann's D major Fantasy:
Wilbert Hazelzet often said, "Don't play." We train ourselves so that we "don't play" in the end. This sounds so cryptic at first! But in the context of music-making, he's referring to how we should internalize everything so that we no longer feel like we have to "do something". The sound, the music just flows, emanates out of us. It becomes a part of us and is not something external. In passages that are challenging technically, I have often found it's much better to have the intention of "backing off" as opposed to "I have to get this". It's about working with paradoxes. We train to do something only to let go again. In this way, playing becomes more and more effortless and you expand your realm of expression. Also, you realize the difference between the notes you see on the page compared how they actually should sound. As an educator, I can't stress this enough, and I love seeing those "ah ha" moments with my learners when the light bulb goes on. For example, these dotted notes in the opening of Telemann's D major Fantasy all LOOK the same, but they certainly aren't. On a very basic level, we can say the notes on the main beats need more presence compared to the 16ths, but those main beats also have their nuances and not all beats are equal. We'll also have to temper our air on the low G#, for example, to accommodate the natural tendency of that note on the baroque flute, but at the same time still make it sound as a main beat. (this is a more complicated subject but to be continued!) In essence, try to get away from the notion that all notes need a full sound. Use historical articulation "türü" or "tüdü" which will bring out the gesture of that dotted rhythm much more musically. Not all notes will sound equally "clear", and that's just so beautiful.🩷🎶 Here's that (in)famous Nr. 26 in Bach's Christmas Oratorio III - so what's happening here is that the shepherds say to each other "Let us now go to Bethlehem to see what God has made known (the birth of Jesus)." It should show the joyful expectation of the people. The general performance tempo can vary quite a bit here and there are some very tricky passages for the flutes, which are in unison with the strings. So here are some of my tips for all flutists playing it this season, which I hope can help one or the other! - It's not a solo, but a musical backdrop that shows the excitement of the people. I personally don't think it should be super fast, but you may not have a say about that. There are many nice details in the entire passage, beautiful and surprising turns both in the harmonic and melodic material, which would be a pity to just rush and gloss over. The dynamic should be a very exciting piano, using articulation to delineate and carve out the fun shapes. Think of it like people chattering and getting ready to go to see something amazing. (perhaps also consider, the text says "go", and not "hurry" or "flee")
- Make sure to keep the air flow constant, smooth, and slow enough for sound production. Due to nerves, we can easily tense up in the throat and then the air becomes kind of "crumbly", resulting in a loss of sound and ending up with only dull-sounding articulation noise. This may be hard to control and comes with performance practice, as the air speed goes easily up when we're stressed!
- Don't forget to look up and breathe, always. |
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. ✨CONTRIBUTE!✨Yes I love the writing that I do! If you love them as well, how about consider showing your appreciation with a personal contribution? TOPICS:
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