*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?
0 Comments
Above (clockwise from top left): Ornamentation examples by J.S. Bach (Clavier-Büchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach), F. Couperin (Premier Livre de Pièce de Clavecin), J. Hotteterre (Premier Livre de Pièce 2nd edition), and Leopold Mozart (Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule)
So I got a question about ornamentation signs, and whether there's a difference between signs used in the baroque times versus later periods, or whether different instruments used different signs. Here's a short answer - the baroque times had indeed more of a system of signs, because the style of using little ornaments was more prevalent in baroque music. However, after the classical period, a lot of these ornaments went out of fashion and so we don't tend to encounter them in later music, with a few exceptions such as trills and grace notes. Sometimes if you look at modern reprints of earlier music, they may try to "spell out" the ornament by indicating with little notes instead of using the original sign. Unfortunately, the correctness of these are often a hit-or-miss. In addition, I believe the visual impact of notation is not to be underestimated. Signs convey much better and more efficiently the decorative nature of ornamentation. They are supplemental details of a main structure which enhance the expression of the music. This doesn't make them less important, but it's about every element having a very defined role in the entire composition. When the notes are spelled out, they often create a crowded, almost clumsy effect in the notation. We thus run into the risk of focusing on "getting the right notes" as opposed to internalizing the affect of the ornament. I certainly understand the need to have those notes written out so that the information is accessible for everyone, but perhaps a better and more pedagogical solution would be to use the signs (or as similar as possible) and include an explanatory chart with the work. AND with the right information of course! Which is exactly what baroque composers did! These signs are often similar to those used by other composers of the time, so with some experience in reading facsimile prints, we as modern-day players learn to recognize them. We come closer to the spirit of the music when we understand that expressive connection between notation and interpretation. Below: compare Rameau's original publication(1724) with Durand's(around the turn of the 20th century) of "Le Rappel des Oiseaux". 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. 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? I really enjoyed working with people in my last workshop "The Affect in Ornamentation" and thought to share a common question: "Am I allowed to do xyz?"
First of all, you're allowed to do anything! The more important question is, what is your goal? What does historical interpretation mean for you and how would you like to integrate it (if at all) into your interpretation? And mind you, there's not going to be a black-and-white answer and professional musicians are occupied with it all the time. If I can give an advice - stay curious and seek out information which will help you build your own confidence. Stay open and don't be afraid to change your mind about things - I've done so many times in my life with my own work and interpretations. Juggling with informed decisions IS part of the excitement of music-making. And ultimately, the goal is the path. ❓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. |
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:
|