![]() ![]() Jean-Baptiste Lully, director of music at the court of Louis XIV, developed a style of writing for the voice that was ideally suited to the expression of the French language, less virtuosic than Italian opera, but very graceful and expressive. In baroque France the preeminent entertainment was opera, an elaborate spectacle of music, dance, and visual splendour. As in all vocal music, the singer must be fully aware of the text, especially when performing recitative, when cantabile singing gives way to a parlando, or speaking, style. details of articulation and nuance within phrases.īaroque music demands a well-controlled, flexible technique, with agile coloratura and supple ornaments.clarity, purity and transparency of sound.Some of the elements they have adopted, gleaned from treatises and the music itself, include: Nonetheless, over the past few decades many singers have explored and even specialized in baroque vocal technique and style. A discussion of the “baroque voice” has to be approached quite differently, for in this case we are not dealing with two different instruments or even an instrument which has undergone changes in construction. When introducing period instruments, one invariably begins the discussion with a comparison of the instrument to its modern counterpart. See below for detailed descriptions of baroque instruments. Where few original instruments survive in playable condition, as in the case of wind, brass and keyboard instruments, players turn to skilled builders who specialize in making instruments based on historical models. The others use fine modern reproductions. Most of the string players in Tafelmusik own original instruments, carefully restored as needed. Some are in original condition and can be studied by historians, restorers, instrument builders, and players. Many old instruments still exist in museums and in private collections. ![]() Playing on a period instrument unlocks many keys to understanding the composers’ intents. To understand what is implied in the scores and treatises, one necessarily has to understand the instruments they had in their hands and in their ears. Their connection with the instruments was intrinsic and practical. This is especially true for music of the 17th and 18th centuries, as the composers were performers. The third direct connection to the music we perform is the instrument for which it was written. ![]() Doing the work ourselves, when it’s possible and within our reach, is gratifying and informative, and we create our own editions whenever possible. Some of the music we play has been published in new editions, and we are grateful for the expertise of scholars in preparing these publications. Published scores have the great advantage of being more legible than many of the manuscripts! Some music was published, especially valuable if the composer was involved in the publication (for example, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which he arranged to have engraved). If an autograph score hasn’t survived, we look to manuscript copies by other musicians, the most common way to share music before the age of photocopiers and scans. A particularly intimate example is the title page of Part II of Bach’s autograph score of the St Matthew Passion, on which is a rosy stain from a glass, presumably a glass of wine that fortified him as he sat at his desk. One can find clues in scribblings in the margins, or sense their frustration in a page covered with strike-outs and corrections. One can get a hint of their frame of mind by the haste or care with which the notes are set down, and the character of the pen strokes. We see not only what they wrote, but also how they wrote it. When we are lucky, there is an autograph score, meaning a score written out by the composer themself. Making sure that it is as “authentic” a source as possible is vital. For music written before the end of the 19th century, before the age of recording, it is the only source. The score of the music is the direct connection to the composer. ![]()
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