Bach rounds off his Libro Primo with the most joyful of all the works in the most jubilant of key... more Bach rounds off his Libro Primo with the most joyful of all the works in the most jubilant of keys, that of E major: this lesson is devoted to the opening movement, the Preludio. Bach was later to use the material in two cantatas: those arrangements give us a clear picture of the affect Bach had in mind here. Detailed observations on musical and technical issues form the bulk of the lesson, with clear tips on solving the technical problems of specific difficult passages. We are encouraged to view the single line as polyphonic, a special exercise providing technical tips on highlighting this aspect of the movement.
This lesson looks at how the way of playing the solo works of Bach evolved through the nineteenth... more This lesson looks at how the way of playing the solo works of Bach evolved through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The author expresses respect for the great artists who perform in a more traditional way but notes that times are changing, with today’s students having more available stylistic options. Both the title and title page of Bach’s book are discussed in detail and the question of symbolism here and elsewhere in the work is explored. A history of the book and the Bach revival from Mendelssohn to modern times follows. Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, and Fritz Kreisler added piano accompaniments. The philosophy of bringing Bach’s music stylistically “up to date” was a constant, the first editions liberally changing bowings and adding fingerings reflecting contemporary playing style. Not until modern times were editions available showing what Bach actually wrote. By that time the tradition of playing Bach in a Romantic way firmly embedded.
This interlude outlines the historical and cultural background to French Baroque music, arguably ... more This interlude outlines the historical and cultural background to French Baroque music, arguably the hardest Baroque style to approach. A study of attitudes, conventions, and etiquette within Louis XIV’s court at Versailles and an account of Louis’s achievements in the arts provide the reader with a foundation for the understanding and performance of the music itself. The stylized, proscribed behavior at court is reflected in the aesthetics of French musical style and in the French concept of ornamentation, radically different from that of the Italians that some considered lacked sophistication. French ornamentation is written down in the form of agrémens, little ornaments indicated by specific symbols. Little deviation from the written text is normally allowed. The lowly social status of the violin in France accounts for the dearth of violin music in the early Baroque period, one reason for the Concerts Royaux of Couperin to be selected for discussion here.
Bach’s contact with French culture dates from his schooldays in Lüneberg and was to last all his ... more Bach’s contact with French culture dates from his schooldays in Lüneberg and was to last all his life, so the French influence in his music and the consequences for historical performance practice cannot be ignored. After the devastating Thirty Years War, many German rulers looked to the court of Versailles for cultural regeneration: French culture became fashionable and French musicians, many of whom Bach knew personally, exerted an influence on German musical life. The entire body of Bach’s work, instrumental and vocal, is permeated with the rhythms of dance. The dances in his suites, many of which originated as French court dances, were not composed to be danced to, but many nevertheless conform sufficiently to the structure and conventions of the dances to merit investigation. Comparative examples are given of dances from other partitas that are so different in character that they cannot be considered in the light of historic dance.
The lesson starts by comparing two paintings. One, purely decorative, depicts a vase of flowers. ... more The lesson starts by comparing two paintings. One, purely decorative, depicts a vase of flowers. The other, Rembrandt’s portrait of Homer, is meaningful in many ways: to describe it merely as “beautiful” is to miss the point. So it is with music. Johann Mattheson, in Der Vollkommene Capellmeister, gives us a detailed insight into what he calls the “science of melody.” The composer chooses a required affect and turns it into a written composition; the performer studies the written page and, perceiving the affects, turns it into sound. In the lesson’s exercise, “Becoming conscious of the ever-changing affects,” the reader is charged with identifying affects in a movement by Handel on a bar-by-bar basis. Punctuation is another essential aspect of literary and musical texts and is crucial to a rhetorical way of playing. There are two types, written and implied. The reader is asked to identify the punctuation in the Handel movement.
The sociocultural backdrop and the agréments having been described and explained, this lesson is ... more The sociocultural backdrop and the agréments having been described and explained, this lesson is mostly taken up with observations on the first two movements of the seventh Concert Royale. Couperin’s intention was perhaps to capture the melancholy mood of Louis XIV before steering it away from the gloom, much as today’s music therapists do. The danger of playing agréments in a ‘correct’ but non-expressive way is raised: raw emotion has been distilled and channeled into exquisitely crafted vessels but must nevertheless be conveyed. Varying the character of the agréments to suit the context is important if we are not merely to repeat formulae. Another danger is that the agréments will arrest the flow of the music. The Allemande is marked “Gayement” and has a lively, playful quality. In a Postscript, notes inégales are considered to be unequal in dynamic as well as rhythm and an exercise explains how to practice them.
This interlude proposes a way of harnessing powers of expression from a work of art, a sculpture ... more This interlude proposes a way of harnessing powers of expression from a work of art, a sculpture by Bernini, and a mystical text, the autobiography St. Teresa. Imitating the pose of a painting or sculpture, internalizing the emotions with which the artist has painstakingly struggled to endow that work, allows us a glimpse into a world that is not ours, into a time and a place that is far distant but which we, as artists and students of that age, must struggle to understand and make our own. Some may find such an idea too fanciful; others may protest that it is out of place in a book on how to play the violin. But part of a teacher’s job is surely to inspire and it is my hope that some may find the concept enriching, revealing or, at the very least, diverting.
Textual similarities abound between the Bourée and the Gigue in Bach’s Partita III in E Major, gi... more Textual similarities abound between the Bourée and the Gigue in Bach’s Partita III in E Major, giving the movements a strong element of unity. As the combined movements are a mere sixty-eight bars long, they may be considered as a pair, the first leading almost attacca into the second. The choreography of both movements is discussed. The metric structure of the Bourée is identical to that of the Gavotte. Syncopation is a common feature and there is a strong element of it throughout this movement. Bach wrote some forty-two movements with the title of Giga, Jig, Jigg, or even (BWV 815) Gique, composed in any of seven time signatures. Of the two examples in Sei Solo, both are clearly of the Italian kind, even though Bach calls this one a “Gigue.” Possible reasons for this are discussed. As ever, it is in the Observations section that the minutiae are discussed, for details are of the essence in this music.
Background information on how the Concerts Royaux came to be written and performed comes from Cou... more Background information on how the Concerts Royaux came to be written and performed comes from Couperin himself, who is quoted at length. Various sources speak of the difficulty of describing ornaments by writing: nevertheless, most of the lesson is devoted to definitions and detailed information on the ornaments [agréments] found in the seventh Concert Royal, with detailed descriptions drawn from the sources on their execution, illustrated by facsimiles and transcriptions. The Tremblement, with its three parts (appuy, battemens, and point d’arrest) is analyzed and discussed, with a number of variations illustrated. The pincé (simple and double), the port de voix (simple and double), the tierce de couler, and the petit silence are also defined with commentaries both original and source-derived. There are discussions on notes inégales (an exercise for which appears in the next lesson) and on the appropriate pitch. An addendum illustrates relevant ornaments found elsewhere in Couperin’...
In this interview granted to Marcus Held, Walter Reiter discourses on his ideas regarding the fie... more In this interview granted to Marcus Held, Walter Reiter discourses on his ideas regarding the field of knowledge known as Early Music. Having witnessed and actively participated in the consolidation of this movement in the 1960's and the 1970's, the violinist, chamber musician, teacher and director talks about the challenges and the successes of teaching and thinking music from previous times in the contemporary world. Furthermore, he presents his recently published book, The Baroque Violin & Viola: a fifty-lesson course (Oxford University Press, 2020) and, in the end, narrates his experience of teaching Early Music in Cuba.
<p>The influence of Lully on the formation of a national French style is outlined. Muffat c... more <p>The influence of Lully on the formation of a national French style is outlined. Muffat codified Lully's insistence on bowings that suited the articulation and character of each dance: the greatest skill of the Lullists was that even with many repeated down-bows, nothing unpleasant was heard. A bowing based on Muffat is suggested for the start of the Sarabande and a bowed Sarabande by Montéclair is reproduced to demonstrate other bowing possibilities. The detailed Observations section highlights the subtlety and sophistication of Couperin's music, including the extraordinary ending, in which the two parts descend slowly in parallel notes but with contrary rhythms.</p>
The interpretation of early seventeenth-century sonatas involves the use of specific skills forei... more The interpretation of early seventeenth-century sonatas involves the use of specific skills foreign to today’s conservatory-trained musician. Developing basic improvisational skills entails learning to dare: as a warm-up, specially devised note patterns are applied to a simple scale and transposed into other keys. The art of playing divisions is defined as “the spontaneous dividing up of a single note into several shorter notes.” Numerous sources help us to learn this skill, as they did at the time. Ganassi’s Fontegara is recommended as an initial source to develop fluency in divisions within specified intervals; suggestions are given as to how to practice them. The importance of learning to read seventeenth-century music from facsimiles is emphasized and the old ‘diamond’ notation explained. Divisions underwent a stylistic evolution toward 1600: Bassano’s divisions and cadences, more appropriate to the early sonata repertoire, are thoroughly explored and Virgiliano’s Rules are quot...
<p>After biographical details (including an alleged murder), we discuss "stylus fantas... more <p>After biographical details (including an alleged murder), we discuss "stylus fantasticus" at length; although present in the previous two sonatas, it is most clearly discernible here. Quoting Athanasius Kircher and Johann Mattheson, we conclude that the implication for performers is that there are sections where no boundaries or limitations exist as to what we can do to make the music come alive: dynamics, tempo, rubato, bow strokes, ornamentation, tone color, and double stops are all in the service of enhanced expression. Extreme examples are quoted, including <bold>t</bold>he "unmeasured preludes" of Louis Couperin. The subject of accidentals was far from an exact science at this time and is most relevant to this sonata: a discussion on this topic, known as musica ficta, is timely. The Observations section draws on accumulated knowledge from previous lessons: there are detailed suggestions for many passages and sections as well as for ornamentation, rhythmic alteration, and slurs.</p>
As no treatise on violin playing exists from this time, the Preface to Giulio Caccini’s Nuove Mus... more As no treatise on violin playing exists from this time, the Preface to Giulio Caccini’s Nuove Musiche (1602), emphasizing music’s “power to move the affections of the soul,” is an invaluable source of information on contemporary expression. Caccini shuns long, distracting passaggi, advocating instead specific expressive devices. These include the intonatio, the “growing and diminishing of the voice” and exclamations of varying intensity. A gruppo enhances a cadence and a cascata is a series of freely falling notes. Rhythmic alteration adds interest to equal notes and sprezzatura implies, among other things, “not submitting oneself to strict rhythm.” Some of these devices are here ‘translated’ into terms of violin technique by means of exercises: the trillo, an ornament on a single note, translates as a bow vibrato or staccato. Caccini’s annotated madrigal “Deh, dove son fuggiti” is reproduced in full as a piece pointing the way to the earliest violin sonatas.
Technical information on the basic bow stroke of the giga and dynamic variation within it are the... more Technical information on the basic bow stroke of the giga and dynamic variation within it are the subject of two exercises. The sarabanda is contrasted with that of Corelli (Lesson Seventeen) and the student encouraged to realize the figured bass of this and other movements. Rhythm contains emotional information just as harmony does: altering the rhythms of a melody line by Pergolesi and comparing their impact demonstrates this point. Vivaldi uses syncopations, hemiolas, and ambiguities of time signature, and he tussles with the bass to give his corrente rhythmic interest, so maximizing the rhythmic impact is the purpose of Exercise 87. Last, the student is encouraged to read the by now familiar sonata from the original 1709 edition as a preparation to reading seventeenth-century notation in upcoming lessons. As usual, the lesson is packed with detailed observations of the text and technical and musical information.
This lesson concludes our investigation into Couperin’s Concert Royale with detailed “Observation... more This lesson concludes our investigation into Couperin’s Concert Royale with detailed “Observations” sections on the Fuguéte, Gavote, and closing Siciliéne. The Fuguéte (Little Fugue) is light-hearted and playful. If the purpose of inégalité is to make the music sound more graceful, one must not lose sight of the overall line of the music or focus too much on each individual pair of notes. Lightening the pressure on the up-bows is another important consideration. The gavotte was a popular dance throughout the Baroque period. Varying tempi are described by the sources, but a gradual slowing of tempi over the last three movements of this Concert seems to be the composer’s intention in order to send Louis XIV to sleep. Advice is given on how to remember tempi in the heat of performance. Background information on the Siciliéne is given and the term “lourer” explained.
The final ornamentation module deals with examples by Giuseppe Tartini, Georg Philipp Telemann, J... more The final ornamentation module deals with examples by Giuseppe Tartini, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz, and Carlo Zuccari. Tartini’s treatise on ornamentation contains a clear and systematic approach to ornamentation, dealing with grace notes, trills, vibrato, turns, and mordents, and giving many examples of embellished cadences. Telemann’s Methodical Sonatas contain embellished slow movements in both French and Italian styles. They are categorized, and an exercise is devised for assimilating them. Quantz wrote one of the most comprehensive interval-based ornamentation tables of the entire Baroque period, relevant above all to the Style Galant and including note-by-note instructions for performance. Examples are given with these instructions reproduced. He also composed an Adagio with instructions for almost every note: these have been transcribed from the instructions for ease of study. Quantz also offers advice on cadenzas, of which two are reproduced. To conclude, ...
Brief biographical information on Giovanni Battista Fontana precedes comparisons with his contemp... more Brief biographical information on Giovanni Battista Fontana precedes comparisons with his contemporaries, the emerging breed of professional violinist-composers. Notes on appropriate pitch and bow hold for this and the following sonatas are included. Although it is debatable to what extent the conventions of mensural notation and the tactus are applicable to the solo sonata, lengthy explanations of these topics are given, and there is also a section on tempo relationships and proportional notation. The transcription in modern notation is practical for the purpose of the book, but students are encouraged to learn to read the facsimile: more symbols are explained to that aim, and the controversial issue of coloration is discussed. The structure of the sonata is that of a palindrome. Knowledge gained from the previous three lessons is widely applied in the “Observations” section, with an exercise on understanding the time relationship between sections. Suggested ornamentation is mostly...
Bach rounds off his Libro Primo with the most joyful of all the works in the most jubilant of key... more Bach rounds off his Libro Primo with the most joyful of all the works in the most jubilant of keys, that of E major: this lesson is devoted to the opening movement, the Preludio. Bach was later to use the material in two cantatas: those arrangements give us a clear picture of the affect Bach had in mind here. Detailed observations on musical and technical issues form the bulk of the lesson, with clear tips on solving the technical problems of specific difficult passages. We are encouraged to view the single line as polyphonic, a special exercise providing technical tips on highlighting this aspect of the movement.
This lesson looks at how the way of playing the solo works of Bach evolved through the nineteenth... more This lesson looks at how the way of playing the solo works of Bach evolved through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The author expresses respect for the great artists who perform in a more traditional way but notes that times are changing, with today’s students having more available stylistic options. Both the title and title page of Bach’s book are discussed in detail and the question of symbolism here and elsewhere in the work is explored. A history of the book and the Bach revival from Mendelssohn to modern times follows. Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, and Fritz Kreisler added piano accompaniments. The philosophy of bringing Bach’s music stylistically “up to date” was a constant, the first editions liberally changing bowings and adding fingerings reflecting contemporary playing style. Not until modern times were editions available showing what Bach actually wrote. By that time the tradition of playing Bach in a Romantic way firmly embedded.
This interlude outlines the historical and cultural background to French Baroque music, arguably ... more This interlude outlines the historical and cultural background to French Baroque music, arguably the hardest Baroque style to approach. A study of attitudes, conventions, and etiquette within Louis XIV’s court at Versailles and an account of Louis’s achievements in the arts provide the reader with a foundation for the understanding and performance of the music itself. The stylized, proscribed behavior at court is reflected in the aesthetics of French musical style and in the French concept of ornamentation, radically different from that of the Italians that some considered lacked sophistication. French ornamentation is written down in the form of agrémens, little ornaments indicated by specific symbols. Little deviation from the written text is normally allowed. The lowly social status of the violin in France accounts for the dearth of violin music in the early Baroque period, one reason for the Concerts Royaux of Couperin to be selected for discussion here.
Bach’s contact with French culture dates from his schooldays in Lüneberg and was to last all his ... more Bach’s contact with French culture dates from his schooldays in Lüneberg and was to last all his life, so the French influence in his music and the consequences for historical performance practice cannot be ignored. After the devastating Thirty Years War, many German rulers looked to the court of Versailles for cultural regeneration: French culture became fashionable and French musicians, many of whom Bach knew personally, exerted an influence on German musical life. The entire body of Bach’s work, instrumental and vocal, is permeated with the rhythms of dance. The dances in his suites, many of which originated as French court dances, were not composed to be danced to, but many nevertheless conform sufficiently to the structure and conventions of the dances to merit investigation. Comparative examples are given of dances from other partitas that are so different in character that they cannot be considered in the light of historic dance.
The lesson starts by comparing two paintings. One, purely decorative, depicts a vase of flowers. ... more The lesson starts by comparing two paintings. One, purely decorative, depicts a vase of flowers. The other, Rembrandt’s portrait of Homer, is meaningful in many ways: to describe it merely as “beautiful” is to miss the point. So it is with music. Johann Mattheson, in Der Vollkommene Capellmeister, gives us a detailed insight into what he calls the “science of melody.” The composer chooses a required affect and turns it into a written composition; the performer studies the written page and, perceiving the affects, turns it into sound. In the lesson’s exercise, “Becoming conscious of the ever-changing affects,” the reader is charged with identifying affects in a movement by Handel on a bar-by-bar basis. Punctuation is another essential aspect of literary and musical texts and is crucial to a rhetorical way of playing. There are two types, written and implied. The reader is asked to identify the punctuation in the Handel movement.
The sociocultural backdrop and the agréments having been described and explained, this lesson is ... more The sociocultural backdrop and the agréments having been described and explained, this lesson is mostly taken up with observations on the first two movements of the seventh Concert Royale. Couperin’s intention was perhaps to capture the melancholy mood of Louis XIV before steering it away from the gloom, much as today’s music therapists do. The danger of playing agréments in a ‘correct’ but non-expressive way is raised: raw emotion has been distilled and channeled into exquisitely crafted vessels but must nevertheless be conveyed. Varying the character of the agréments to suit the context is important if we are not merely to repeat formulae. Another danger is that the agréments will arrest the flow of the music. The Allemande is marked “Gayement” and has a lively, playful quality. In a Postscript, notes inégales are considered to be unequal in dynamic as well as rhythm and an exercise explains how to practice them.
This interlude proposes a way of harnessing powers of expression from a work of art, a sculpture ... more This interlude proposes a way of harnessing powers of expression from a work of art, a sculpture by Bernini, and a mystical text, the autobiography St. Teresa. Imitating the pose of a painting or sculpture, internalizing the emotions with which the artist has painstakingly struggled to endow that work, allows us a glimpse into a world that is not ours, into a time and a place that is far distant but which we, as artists and students of that age, must struggle to understand and make our own. Some may find such an idea too fanciful; others may protest that it is out of place in a book on how to play the violin. But part of a teacher’s job is surely to inspire and it is my hope that some may find the concept enriching, revealing or, at the very least, diverting.
Textual similarities abound between the Bourée and the Gigue in Bach’s Partita III in E Major, gi... more Textual similarities abound between the Bourée and the Gigue in Bach’s Partita III in E Major, giving the movements a strong element of unity. As the combined movements are a mere sixty-eight bars long, they may be considered as a pair, the first leading almost attacca into the second. The choreography of both movements is discussed. The metric structure of the Bourée is identical to that of the Gavotte. Syncopation is a common feature and there is a strong element of it throughout this movement. Bach wrote some forty-two movements with the title of Giga, Jig, Jigg, or even (BWV 815) Gique, composed in any of seven time signatures. Of the two examples in Sei Solo, both are clearly of the Italian kind, even though Bach calls this one a “Gigue.” Possible reasons for this are discussed. As ever, it is in the Observations section that the minutiae are discussed, for details are of the essence in this music.
Background information on how the Concerts Royaux came to be written and performed comes from Cou... more Background information on how the Concerts Royaux came to be written and performed comes from Couperin himself, who is quoted at length. Various sources speak of the difficulty of describing ornaments by writing: nevertheless, most of the lesson is devoted to definitions and detailed information on the ornaments [agréments] found in the seventh Concert Royal, with detailed descriptions drawn from the sources on their execution, illustrated by facsimiles and transcriptions. The Tremblement, with its three parts (appuy, battemens, and point d’arrest) is analyzed and discussed, with a number of variations illustrated. The pincé (simple and double), the port de voix (simple and double), the tierce de couler, and the petit silence are also defined with commentaries both original and source-derived. There are discussions on notes inégales (an exercise for which appears in the next lesson) and on the appropriate pitch. An addendum illustrates relevant ornaments found elsewhere in Couperin’...
In this interview granted to Marcus Held, Walter Reiter discourses on his ideas regarding the fie... more In this interview granted to Marcus Held, Walter Reiter discourses on his ideas regarding the field of knowledge known as Early Music. Having witnessed and actively participated in the consolidation of this movement in the 1960's and the 1970's, the violinist, chamber musician, teacher and director talks about the challenges and the successes of teaching and thinking music from previous times in the contemporary world. Furthermore, he presents his recently published book, The Baroque Violin & Viola: a fifty-lesson course (Oxford University Press, 2020) and, in the end, narrates his experience of teaching Early Music in Cuba.
<p>The influence of Lully on the formation of a national French style is outlined. Muffat c... more <p>The influence of Lully on the formation of a national French style is outlined. Muffat codified Lully's insistence on bowings that suited the articulation and character of each dance: the greatest skill of the Lullists was that even with many repeated down-bows, nothing unpleasant was heard. A bowing based on Muffat is suggested for the start of the Sarabande and a bowed Sarabande by Montéclair is reproduced to demonstrate other bowing possibilities. The detailed Observations section highlights the subtlety and sophistication of Couperin's music, including the extraordinary ending, in which the two parts descend slowly in parallel notes but with contrary rhythms.</p>
The interpretation of early seventeenth-century sonatas involves the use of specific skills forei... more The interpretation of early seventeenth-century sonatas involves the use of specific skills foreign to today’s conservatory-trained musician. Developing basic improvisational skills entails learning to dare: as a warm-up, specially devised note patterns are applied to a simple scale and transposed into other keys. The art of playing divisions is defined as “the spontaneous dividing up of a single note into several shorter notes.” Numerous sources help us to learn this skill, as they did at the time. Ganassi’s Fontegara is recommended as an initial source to develop fluency in divisions within specified intervals; suggestions are given as to how to practice them. The importance of learning to read seventeenth-century music from facsimiles is emphasized and the old ‘diamond’ notation explained. Divisions underwent a stylistic evolution toward 1600: Bassano’s divisions and cadences, more appropriate to the early sonata repertoire, are thoroughly explored and Virgiliano’s Rules are quot...
<p>After biographical details (including an alleged murder), we discuss "stylus fantas... more <p>After biographical details (including an alleged murder), we discuss "stylus fantasticus" at length; although present in the previous two sonatas, it is most clearly discernible here. Quoting Athanasius Kircher and Johann Mattheson, we conclude that the implication for performers is that there are sections where no boundaries or limitations exist as to what we can do to make the music come alive: dynamics, tempo, rubato, bow strokes, ornamentation, tone color, and double stops are all in the service of enhanced expression. Extreme examples are quoted, including <bold>t</bold>he "unmeasured preludes" of Louis Couperin. The subject of accidentals was far from an exact science at this time and is most relevant to this sonata: a discussion on this topic, known as musica ficta, is timely. The Observations section draws on accumulated knowledge from previous lessons: there are detailed suggestions for many passages and sections as well as for ornamentation, rhythmic alteration, and slurs.</p>
As no treatise on violin playing exists from this time, the Preface to Giulio Caccini’s Nuove Mus... more As no treatise on violin playing exists from this time, the Preface to Giulio Caccini’s Nuove Musiche (1602), emphasizing music’s “power to move the affections of the soul,” is an invaluable source of information on contemporary expression. Caccini shuns long, distracting passaggi, advocating instead specific expressive devices. These include the intonatio, the “growing and diminishing of the voice” and exclamations of varying intensity. A gruppo enhances a cadence and a cascata is a series of freely falling notes. Rhythmic alteration adds interest to equal notes and sprezzatura implies, among other things, “not submitting oneself to strict rhythm.” Some of these devices are here ‘translated’ into terms of violin technique by means of exercises: the trillo, an ornament on a single note, translates as a bow vibrato or staccato. Caccini’s annotated madrigal “Deh, dove son fuggiti” is reproduced in full as a piece pointing the way to the earliest violin sonatas.
Technical information on the basic bow stroke of the giga and dynamic variation within it are the... more Technical information on the basic bow stroke of the giga and dynamic variation within it are the subject of two exercises. The sarabanda is contrasted with that of Corelli (Lesson Seventeen) and the student encouraged to realize the figured bass of this and other movements. Rhythm contains emotional information just as harmony does: altering the rhythms of a melody line by Pergolesi and comparing their impact demonstrates this point. Vivaldi uses syncopations, hemiolas, and ambiguities of time signature, and he tussles with the bass to give his corrente rhythmic interest, so maximizing the rhythmic impact is the purpose of Exercise 87. Last, the student is encouraged to read the by now familiar sonata from the original 1709 edition as a preparation to reading seventeenth-century notation in upcoming lessons. As usual, the lesson is packed with detailed observations of the text and technical and musical information.
This lesson concludes our investigation into Couperin’s Concert Royale with detailed “Observation... more This lesson concludes our investigation into Couperin’s Concert Royale with detailed “Observations” sections on the Fuguéte, Gavote, and closing Siciliéne. The Fuguéte (Little Fugue) is light-hearted and playful. If the purpose of inégalité is to make the music sound more graceful, one must not lose sight of the overall line of the music or focus too much on each individual pair of notes. Lightening the pressure on the up-bows is another important consideration. The gavotte was a popular dance throughout the Baroque period. Varying tempi are described by the sources, but a gradual slowing of tempi over the last three movements of this Concert seems to be the composer’s intention in order to send Louis XIV to sleep. Advice is given on how to remember tempi in the heat of performance. Background information on the Siciliéne is given and the term “lourer” explained.
The final ornamentation module deals with examples by Giuseppe Tartini, Georg Philipp Telemann, J... more The final ornamentation module deals with examples by Giuseppe Tartini, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz, and Carlo Zuccari. Tartini’s treatise on ornamentation contains a clear and systematic approach to ornamentation, dealing with grace notes, trills, vibrato, turns, and mordents, and giving many examples of embellished cadences. Telemann’s Methodical Sonatas contain embellished slow movements in both French and Italian styles. They are categorized, and an exercise is devised for assimilating them. Quantz wrote one of the most comprehensive interval-based ornamentation tables of the entire Baroque period, relevant above all to the Style Galant and including note-by-note instructions for performance. Examples are given with these instructions reproduced. He also composed an Adagio with instructions for almost every note: these have been transcribed from the instructions for ease of study. Quantz also offers advice on cadenzas, of which two are reproduced. To conclude, ...
Brief biographical information on Giovanni Battista Fontana precedes comparisons with his contemp... more Brief biographical information on Giovanni Battista Fontana precedes comparisons with his contemporaries, the emerging breed of professional violinist-composers. Notes on appropriate pitch and bow hold for this and the following sonatas are included. Although it is debatable to what extent the conventions of mensural notation and the tactus are applicable to the solo sonata, lengthy explanations of these topics are given, and there is also a section on tempo relationships and proportional notation. The transcription in modern notation is practical for the purpose of the book, but students are encouraged to learn to read the facsimile: more symbols are explained to that aim, and the controversial issue of coloration is discussed. The structure of the sonata is that of a palindrome. Knowledge gained from the previous three lessons is widely applied in the “Observations” section, with an exercise on understanding the time relationship between sections. Suggested ornamentation is mostly...
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