Here's a question from one of my readers which perhaps others may find helpful.

The question is - What's up with the pluses and squiggles?😅 (Boismortier Op. 8)

The signs suggest different types of trills. The pluses tend to happen on longer note values and the squiggly lines on shorter ones. So I would interpret the squiggly lines as a shorter, quicker trill (4 notes), very superficial and played absolutely lightly (using hardly any air at all, in diminuendo). It should just sound like something fluttering in the air. For the pluses, there will be more room for a slightly longer appoggiatura (but with varying lengths depending on the instance), starting perhaps a bit slower and then getting faster as time permits, and overall a longer trill. Lentement does mean slowly, but it is still indicated in 4 (the C) so we want to feel 4 big beats.
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If you're having trouble with this rhythmically, try to see if you can feel both the big pulse as well as the 8th at the same time. The longer trills will benefit from that inner subdivision.

So last week I wrote some quick start-up tips on baroque ornamentation and the appoggiatura. I mentioned how it's always going to be a combination of historical information and personal interpretation. Let's see how this works in practice! 

Here's the beautiful opening of François Couperin's Premier Concert of his Concerts royaux. With the indication Gravement, we can understand the movement as having a sense of weight and seriousness (but still with a hint of tenderness as French music does!). I'll just concentrate on the first five measures - we can see how various appoggiatura lengths can be used and I'll go through my reasoning and analysis for each case. Depending on your screen size, you may want to open two browser windows to be able to refer to the music above. 

And before we start, I want to say it's my understanding that Couperin is a little vague regarding the appoggiatura between descending thirds (so-called tierce de coulée or other similar names) Although he seems to indicate in his L'Art de Toucher Le Clavecin that "the little lost note of the lower or upper appoggiatura" should be played on the beat, there are other instances where he diverges from this concept and have them as "passing".(as we often understand how the tierce de coulée is to be played) This will provide an interesting point to consider in the following passages.

The referred appoggiaturas are the ones that look like small 8th notes. 

#1 - The first A-appoggiatura is the typical port de voix (appoggiatura from below) followed by a mordent. It would make sense to place this on the down beat, not only does it create richness in sound with the base (also with mordent!), but also we already have the trill with termination beforehand with an A, so only this solution will give clarity and musical sense. The second A is what we'd consider as a tierce de coulée, and although you can certainly follow Couperin strictly by playing this on the 8th note value, there is a bit more elegance by playing this one as passing, especially since we already have the A-appoggiatura on the beat previously. Whether you play the appoggiatura as passing or on the beat, be sure to diminuendo, lighten up the sound and keep the A short. Compare yourself and see what you think. 

#2 - I'd play the E-appoggiatura on the beat (again achieving clarity and good separation from the previous E), either as an 8th or 16th note. I don't think I'd do anything shorter than that, in order to preserve the "serious" expression. The next two appoggiaturas are again interesting - they both seem like the tierce de coulées as we know them (and very typically happening in sequence). We COULD consider playing the C-appoggiatura on the beat (8th note value)to enhance the Gravement affect on this harmony (diminished chord), but then let the A-appoggiatura fall, making it passing and unaccented. We'd then play the mordent on the G on the beat, giving us that metric and harmonic support (7th chord in bass). It's otherwise a very common thing to have an appoggiatura on the beat followed by a mordent, but it feels a little awkward to do that here. 

#3 - G-appoggiatura definitely on the beat, and I'd play it as an 8th rather than 16th, perhaps also with mordent or even a little trill afterwards. I'd choose a longer appoggiatura here because it provides a nice relief after that fancy cadential trill happening before, again, thinking Gravement. Be sure to lean into the G nicely and then release on the A, even if you decide to do a mordent or trill on it. They must be very light and need only a wisp of air. 

#4 - It might be tempting to play the B-appoggiatura also a bit long (like a full 8th note), but we'd also have to consider the changing harmonies. In this case, a short appoggiatura is more suitable since we do want the C# to sound in the #6-4 chord. Again on the beat, with the same reasons like #1 and #3. Also, starting already from the turn after the A-mordent, all these short little notes help us gain a sense of moving forward toward the cadence.

So in just these measures, we've got a whole range of ways to determine and interpret just a little note, which in turn adds so much more expression and meaning to all these passages. Try them out and let me know what you think!

I was working with a learner on this air by Bacilly and I talked about freeing ourselves from the notation. This week I also had someone say to me that the Telemann Fantasies are like boring etudes.😅

I get it. As traditional classically-trained players, we learned to read notation and execute them correctly. If you look at the notes on the page, these pieces don't LOOK like they're of high quality. What do you do with all these notes?(how boring that they're only half notes, and who writes music with only 16th notes?!) Before I got into historical performance, I definitely felt the same way. However, dig deeper and go for expressing a gesture, a movement, a declaration of the text. Say"d'amour" a couple of times - to translate that into flute-playing, we'll want to go towards the "mour" (which sounds long and open-ended), and not accent on the "d'a". Also, retract the breath on the long note and make it disappear into nothing. Don't worry about playing exactly an 8th note in relation to the dotted quarter, or that notes need to sound their full value. We need to express the text, the meaning, but not notes or rhythm.

Likewise are the Telemann Fantasies super exciting! With a bit of knowledge in music theory and combining that with varied articulation, we can decipher these strings of notes and turn them into compelling phrases. They're like a crystal with a perfect construction of shapes and forms but also a little universe with fluid energy. Break the boundaries of notation, see them only as suggestions to get you to a place that's even more fascinating!

I reposted in Facebook an an earlier post which I've done here regarding Wilbert Hazelzet's phrase of "singing virtuosity", and I'm glad to know that people have enjoyed it! Some have asked whether I can elaborate further on that. I thought to continue to use this Blavet variation as an example. 

The theme is a very elegant, melancholy minuetto, with well-written melody and bass lines. They compliment each other perfectly in terms of counterpoint and create really quite a mesmerizing song. Jumping to this last variation, we'll want to preserve that similar affect we have in the theme, but with a slight virtuosic take. Blavet didn't indicate any slurs here, but I do feel in this case slurs would help me achieve that balance of having a sense of lyricism but still with some "action". In measure 2 and similar places, these speak for a 1+3 type of grouping, and in others it's just important that one hears the original melody coming through. A 2+2 type of grouping is also effective when you want to bring a bit of texture to the passage but still maintain a lyrical flow.

Notice the crescendo and decrescendo signs above - these help us maintain the overall line, and we need to make sure our airstream is absolutely constant, and that we're able to manage and release our sound flexibly. Again taking m. 2 as an example, we'll want to keep those static notes light (F# E F#) and have the main beat notes be slightly in the foreground. However, here's a thing that's easy to miss - make sure that these main beat notes don't sound all equal. It's easy to just do the 1+3 articulation and think we're done, but in fact, it's far more exciting to differentiate and bring out the hierarchy between these very notes.

We can practice this by first playing these notes and omitting the static ones. Can you create a beautiful line with them? Some notes will receive more emphasis while others should fall back (such as on a 3rd beat). Sing with these notes. Then insert the static notes back in and try to preserve that same singing quality in the passage, which means it should have a feeling of direction, flexibility, and balance between different elements in the melodic structure. The static notes on a weak beat should be played even lighter - as Wilbert would say, "Don't play!"

Looking back, that's a funny thing with my "don't squeeze" comment in the music. We need to prepare our air properly ahead as the line goes up. A high note that's short lends itself easily to constriction of the lips and throat (perhaps the whole body!). Open downwards when going up, raise the soft palate, open nostrils, yawn. 

For me, this movement has the elegance of flying. So, fly and SING.