reger, "espressive e marcato"
Moderator: kcleung
Re: reger, "espressive e marcato"
Could pf be an abbreviation for "poco forte"? (Just a thought, it could also be craziness . . . .)
bsteltz
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sbeckmesser
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Re: reger, "espressive e marcato"
Espressivo and similar "expressive" expressions tend to mean -- especially in a late-Romantic German context -- some marked ("marcato") and plainly audible change of dynamics, especially within a phrase. It would not be sufficient only to "think" dynamic changes and play "straight" through the passage at the dynamic level of the preceding or following passages. This is a common fault of orchestral players (and conductors) when encountering such passages. Often you would be hard-pressed to tell that a passage was marked "expressive" for all the changes you could actually hear. Composers don't take the trouble to write such instructions only to produce no results.
The changes must be clearly audible, both on a sheer decibel level and as a change in tone color that occurs on acoustic (i.e. not electronic) instruments as their loudness level changes. And this doesn't mean simply to play louder, or softer, but to distinctly and distinctively vary the dynamic level within the phrase, possibly even to the point of exaggeration. This can be seen as the late-19th-century version of "rhetorical" Baroque articulation that is all the rage in historical performance practice right now. On instruments capable of it, like the strings, playing expressively would also include introducing or increasing pitch-bending techniques such as portamento and vibrato. Remember that up through the early 20th century vibrato was considered an ornament and not contiuously applied to string playing.
In any case, the passage must "stick out" of the surrounding music by some means that does not include varying the tempo (there are other code words more applicable for that).
--Sixtus
The changes must be clearly audible, both on a sheer decibel level and as a change in tone color that occurs on acoustic (i.e. not electronic) instruments as their loudness level changes. And this doesn't mean simply to play louder, or softer, but to distinctly and distinctively vary the dynamic level within the phrase, possibly even to the point of exaggeration. This can be seen as the late-19th-century version of "rhetorical" Baroque articulation that is all the rage in historical performance practice right now. On instruments capable of it, like the strings, playing expressively would also include introducing or increasing pitch-bending techniques such as portamento and vibrato. Remember that up through the early 20th century vibrato was considered an ornament and not contiuously applied to string playing.
In any case, the passage must "stick out" of the surrounding music by some means that does not include varying the tempo (there are other code words more applicable for that).
--Sixtus
Last edited by sbeckmesser on Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: reger, "espressive e marcato"
Thank you for that. If the word can be taken in a slightly looser connotation than just shortened or accented, it would help a lot. I am part way through scanning the clarinet part -- haven't started the piano part yet, so it will eventually be uploaded so everyone can see the passage. (I seem to be having problems with the bottom of the scan being greyer than the top, and it isn't ambient light seepage -- I've tried laying a black bag over the scanner to block all light. But then that's probably for a different forum.)
bsteltz
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sbeckmesser
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Re: reger, "espressive e marcato"
I forgot to mention that such markings as "expressive" should always be interpreted in their historical context. If, for example, Couperin or another of the Baroque French harpsichord composers had actually marked a passage "expressive" (and as far as I know, none did) what would have resulted would have been some rhythmic alteration -- some type of rubato or slight shift in note values to defocus the rhythm. That's because virtually the only expressive tool a harpsichordist has is very fine-grained control of what note happens when (e.g. how rapidly a chord is broken into a rapid arpeggio).
By the late 19th century, fine-grained control could extend to dynamic levels as well and this is probably what Reger and other romantics (such as Brahms) were intending with the word "espressivo". (Seeing Reger's musical context will probably confirm this.)
For how the term was interpreted slightly later, you should also take a glance at how dynamics are handled in a piece by Webern, whose music became progressively more specific in its demands, leaving less and less for the performer to independently decide, a trend in music that continued unabated until John Cage showed up. While it makes for a very busy looking score (see Webern's Op.5 here at IMSLP, for an early example) such hyper-specificity is actually necessary as the phrases get progressively shorter and therefore more burdened with emotive content.
This is also seen in Berg's Op.5 for Clarinet and Piano (available at IMSLP too). Look at the similar way he handles dynamic markings. Nearly every note for the clarinet occurs within a crescendo or decrescendo context. Most musicians will already perform many of these phrases this way, but Berg wants to make sure you do by making the expression explicit. Zero in on PDF page 4, second system, second bar. What his "espress" means at this point in a phrase that is already slowing down is made clear by the swell (<>, probably the most straightforward and non-controversial interpretation of "espress") in the middle of which also is a short fermata ("kurzer Halt"). He's here varying, explicitly, both rhythm and dynamics to underline this moment. The last three notes at the end of the bar are not only in a new steady tempo but are also marked "ohne Ausdruck" (without expression) within the context of a decrescendo hairpin. What this means here is that he doesn't want you to throw in the expressive short-term note-to-note dynamic fluctuations he asked for earlier in the same bar! Just a gentle decrescendo, if you please. You might also consider making the tone "white" (vibratoless) at this point too. All this in only one bar! By comparison, a piece by Reger would seem like a Cage-ian excercise in indeterminacy.
What all of this adds up to is that the term "espressivo" interpreted as a short-term inflection of dynamics (such as a swell) in no way contradicts other indications, such as those for overall dynamic level, articulation, or for tempo.
We're all looking forward to seeing the Reger score!
--Sixtus
By the late 19th century, fine-grained control could extend to dynamic levels as well and this is probably what Reger and other romantics (such as Brahms) were intending with the word "espressivo". (Seeing Reger's musical context will probably confirm this.)
For how the term was interpreted slightly later, you should also take a glance at how dynamics are handled in a piece by Webern, whose music became progressively more specific in its demands, leaving less and less for the performer to independently decide, a trend in music that continued unabated until John Cage showed up. While it makes for a very busy looking score (see Webern's Op.5 here at IMSLP, for an early example) such hyper-specificity is actually necessary as the phrases get progressively shorter and therefore more burdened with emotive content.
This is also seen in Berg's Op.5 for Clarinet and Piano (available at IMSLP too). Look at the similar way he handles dynamic markings. Nearly every note for the clarinet occurs within a crescendo or decrescendo context. Most musicians will already perform many of these phrases this way, but Berg wants to make sure you do by making the expression explicit. Zero in on PDF page 4, second system, second bar. What his "espress" means at this point in a phrase that is already slowing down is made clear by the swell (<>, probably the most straightforward and non-controversial interpretation of "espress") in the middle of which also is a short fermata ("kurzer Halt"). He's here varying, explicitly, both rhythm and dynamics to underline this moment. The last three notes at the end of the bar are not only in a new steady tempo but are also marked "ohne Ausdruck" (without expression) within the context of a decrescendo hairpin. What this means here is that he doesn't want you to throw in the expressive short-term note-to-note dynamic fluctuations he asked for earlier in the same bar! Just a gentle decrescendo, if you please. You might also consider making the tone "white" (vibratoless) at this point too. All this in only one bar! By comparison, a piece by Reger would seem like a Cage-ian excercise in indeterminacy.
What all of this adds up to is that the term "espressivo" interpreted as a short-term inflection of dynamics (such as a swell) in no way contradicts other indications, such as those for overall dynamic level, articulation, or for tempo.
We're all looking forward to seeing the Reger score!
--Sixtus