On 29 May 2003 at 22:03, John Howell wrote: > David W. Fenton asked: > >Do modern string players recognize phrasing at any level but bowings? > > Of course, but I would choose different wording. Any musical player > who has learned to do it will recognize and play phrasing without a > roadmap. . . .
That is, if the phrasing the composer intends happens to fit the conceptual models of appropriate phrasing that the performer brings to it. If the composer wants something *else*, something that is specifically different from the norm, what does the composer do? For instance, in Mozart's String Quintets, there are many passages with cross bar phrasing, e.g., all measures are straight 8th-notes, but the slurs start on the 2nd 8th and connect to the first 8th of the next measure (something of an upbeat phrasing). This is quite clearly and consistently indicated in the composer's autographs. The publisher André had brought out editions of several of Mozart's quintets before he acquired the autographs in 1800. After having done so, he brought out new editions that used readings from the autographs (and claimed so on the title pages). Some of these were entirely new editions (André had not published it before), others were new plates modelled on the old plates but with new editing (i.e., the line breaks and page layout are exactly the same as the previous edition, but it's definitely fresh engraving) and others re- used the plates from the previous edition and edited the plates themselves to incorporate new readings from the autographs. Now, as one would expect, the editions that follow the autograph most closely are the fresh, new editions, and the ones that depart the most are the ones that re-use the previous plates. But one of the things that is almost 100% consistent is that nowhere is Mozart's cross-the-bar slurring incorporated into the new editions. It seems that the André house editor decided one of two things: 1. Mozart's slurring was wrong/inappropriate. 2. Mozart's slurring didn't matter. Obviously with a modern edition, none of that would happen. But I think it *does* happen with modern performers, because they trust their inner musical sense more than what they see on the page (as oppposed to trying to make musical sense out of what's on the page). So, why should a composer trust performers to come up with appropriate or "correct" phrasings without having explicitly notatted them? > . . . More capable players will recognize it at several levels at > once. That's called musicianship, and it's something I try very hard > to develop in my students. But it does not require the use of slurs > to indicate those phrasings; in fact that would so clutter the music > that it would be unreadable. Slurs are bowing instructions. > > I also play viola da gamba, and I understand exactly what you mean > about both the bow and the musical style, but I've NEVER been aware > of any tendency in 19th century music to make a fetish out of > slurring everything. . . . It's the modern performers, not the period of music they are playing. The fetish is for legato as the default style, and minimizing the number of bow changes and hiding the audibility of the bow changes. To me, those efforts are giving up their greatest tool for expressivity, bow control. > . . . I will admit that when I ask my (modern) string > players to follow the kinds of bowings specifically described in 17th > and 18th century string manuals, like taking care to start every bar > with a downbow in a dancelike movement (which does require some > slurring, actually), . . . Slurring, or hooking (i.e., two separate bows going in the same direction)? Dance movements are *certainly* a place where you definitely need lots of compensating bow. > . . . they are uncomfortable doing it, but that isn't > because they want to slur everything. It's because they've been > (badly) trained to take the bowing as it comes rather than using it > to shape phrases. So, what's the notational solution for the composer who knows string bowing and knows what she wants to hear? -- David W. Fenton http://www.bway.net/~dfenton David Fenton Associates http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
