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 and 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.

​Here are some simple but effective ways to ornament this old French noel "Ou s'en vont ces gays Bergers". Reminder, the notation is in French violin clef, which is like reading bass clef for us! 

For this music, "standard" ornaments like little trills are great to add, as Rippert has already indicated(+). Mordents are also useful, which I marked on the downbeat of bar 1. These bring a nice brilliance and spark to the music, which reflects the "cheerful shepherds" and also the immense expectation of seeing Jesus. But beyond these, we can also add in "real notes" which will be in the style of the "double", a sort of variation on the melody with more extended ornamentation.

​Look for neighboring notes and see how you can weave in and out of the melody notes with them. You may also look into 3rds and sometimes even 6ths, but in this case we don't want to get too complicated, as we do want to stay in the rustic character of this piece. Watch out for the harmony too.

Most importantly, 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. Or whatever character the music is requiring. This will help guide you to ornament in a way that sounds effortless and natural, not drawing attention to itself but simply delightful to hear.
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Is it OK to write down the ornaments? Absolutely! The more you do it, the more you'd be developing your vocabulary, so why rob the chance for you to learn and have fun at the same time?

❓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.

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.
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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.