Mozart’s Orchestral Cantabile Style: Eighteenth-Century Origins of String Performance Practices
by
David Bowser
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto
©Copyright by David Bowser (2015)
Mozart’s Orchestral Cantabile Style: Eighteenth-Century Origins of String Performance Practices
David Bowser Doctor of Musical Arts (2015) Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto
A stylistic change in mid-eighteenth-century compositions inspired a decidedly lyrical
concept of string playing characterized by connected bowing manner, sustained tone and legato
phrasing. At the same time, string instruments and particularly bows were adapted to the
changing performance style and became standardized. Mozart’s letters and other historical
documents suggest that vibrato and portamento were characteristic to some degree of the string performance style of the late eighteenth century. While Roger Norrington contends that vibrato was not a feature of orchestral string performance before the mid-1930s, historical texts, score indications, string teachers and scholars imply that string vibrato saw a longer evolution over centuries. The instrumental cantabile style in Mozart’s music is inspired by the voice and its qualities. Two characteristics have bearing specifically on performance practices of the orchestral string repertoire: the voice possesses an innate sense of connectivity and a natural tendency to vibrate.
This study examines compositional style and corresponding performance practices in orchestral string playing in the eighteenth century and traces the evolution of string vibrato into the twentieth century. It explores the stylistic changes during the mid-eighteenth century, tracking the development from old to new styles and the emergence of melody, the origins and development of the High Classical style of Mozart and Haydn, and the implications of this
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stylistic evolution for eighteenth-century performance practices, especially as they relate to
compositions of Mozart. Included are an analysis of historical texts and treatises referring to
string vibrato, a survey of current scholarly opinion, and a discussion of string vibrato indications
in scores composed in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. This study examines
research on vocal vibrato by vocal scientists and pedagogues while appraising Mozart’s
statement that “the voice trembles naturally” and that “people imitate it…on stringed
instruments.” Finally, this research addresses Norrington’s claims and investigates indicators of
orchestral string vibrato application revealed in archival footage of Bruno Walter conducting in
rehearsal, and in early twentieth-century archival films of German, French and British orchestras.
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Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Mary Ann Parker for sharing her expertise and offering continuous guidance and unwavering support.
I am grateful to Dr. Gillian MacKay, Dr. Robin Elliott, Dr. Katharine Rapoport and Maestro Timothy Vernon for their encouragement and interest in this research.
I extend my thanks to the very knowledgeable and obliging archivists who assisted me in viewing and reviewing many hours of film footage. In particular I wish to recognize the kind assistance of David Parrett (Deutsches Bundesarchiv), Doris Hartmann (Deutsches Bundesarchiv), Werner Nowak (Landesarchiv Berlin), Günter Krenn (Film Archiv Wien), and Georg Wasner (Österreichisches Filmmuseum)
Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for their love and support.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ...... 1 Chapter 1: Eighteenth-Century Style and Mozart’s Cantabile ...... 5 I. Changing Compositional Style in the Mid-Eighteenth Century ...... 5 German empfindsam aesthetics ...... 5
Sensibility and Empfindsamkeit ...... 7
Learned and galant styles ...... 8
“Mozart was not an innovator” ...... 9
II. The Hasse Era ...... 12
“Digli ch’io son fedele” ...... 12
Mozart’s “Se al labbro mio non credi,” K. 295 ...... 14
III. Graun, “the Father of our Music” ...... 15
Der Tod Jesu ...... 16
“Ein Gebet um neue Stärke” ...... 18
Harmonic Expansion ...... 21
Periodic Structure...... 22
Simplification of Rhythm ...... 23
IV. Changing Performance Style in the Eighteenth Century ...... 23
“Ordinary Manner” ...... 23
Articulation ...... 24
Bowing Techniques ...... 25
V. String Instruments in the Eighteenth Century ...... 26
Mozart’s Violin ...... 26
Tourte Bow ...... 27
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VI. Mozart’s Expressive Style and Corresponding Performance Practices ...... 28
Eighteenth-Century Style Categories ...... 28
Vocal Works Composed for Aloysia Weber Lange ...... 30
Doubling the voice: “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben,” from Zaïde ...... 31
Finale of Act 4 of le Nozze di Figaro: “In tuono suppliche vole.” ...... 32
“Tamino mein! o welch ein Glück! – Pamina meine! o welch ein Glück!” ...... 33
“Tenerezza dell'espressione” ...... 33
Cantabile Viola in Così fan tutte ...... 34
Mozart’s Church Music ...... 34
Elevated Expression in Die Zauberflöte ...... 35
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 ...... 36
Andante versus Adagio ...... 40
Chapter 2: Indicators of Historical Vibrato Applications ...... 43 I. Current Opinion and Scholarship addressing String Vibrato ...... 43 Ornamental Embellishment in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries ...... 44
Eighteenth-Century Treatises ...... 45
Leopold Mozart’s Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule ...... 48
Tone and “endless melody” in the Nineteenth Century ...... 50
Influential Teachers: Joseph Böhm, Louis Spohr, Charles de Bériot, Joseph Joachim .....51
II. Solo versus Ensemble Performance ...... 53
Configuration of the Orchestra ...... 55
Concert Halls and Expanding Audience ...... 55
III. The Science and Nature of the Voice ...... 56
Connectivity and Vibrancy ...... 56
Scientific Evaluation of Vibrato ...... 57
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Breath and Muscular Antagonism ...... 58
Vibrato Compared to Straight Tone ...... 59
Legato and Portamento ...... 60
Thomas Edison Research ...... 61
Mozart’s Letters: “The human voice trembles naturally” ...... 62
Mozart’s Cantabile ...... 64
IV. Vibrato Indications in Scores ...... 65
Rossini...... 65
Glinka, Wagner, Joachim and Tchaikovsky ...... 66
R. Strauss, Debussy, Mahler, Elgar and Bartok ...... 67
Holst and Berg ...... 68
Chapter 3: Evidence of Performance Practice Traditions ...... 70 I. Bruno Walter ...... 70 “The Moral Quality in Music” ...... 71
Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll: “Everybody sings” ...... 72
First Movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2: levels of “espressivo” ...... 73
Final Movement of Mozart’s Linz Symphony No. 36: “Play cantabile” ...... 74
“Singing” Tradition Created by Joseph Joachim ...... 74
II. The Inventions ...... 76
Mills Violano-Virtuoso ...... 76
Hupfeld Phonoliszt...... 77
III. The Problem with Early Recordings ...... 77
Technical Limitations of Acoustic Recording ...... 78
Early Electronic Recording Techniques ...... 79
Magnetic Tape and Post-War Technology ...... 80
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IV. Film Evidence ...... 81
Overture to Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Bruno Walter (1930) ...... 82
Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss Jr; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karl Böhm (1930) ...... 83
Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss Jr; Berlin Staatskappelle conducted by Erich Kleiber (1932) ...... 83
Second Movement from Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Max von Schillings (1931) ...... 83
Prelude to Die Meistersinger by Richard Wagner; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Leo Blech (1933) ...... 84
First Movement from Symphony No. 6 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Hans Knapperbusch (1930) ...... 84
Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faune by Claude Debussy; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Hans Knapperbusch (1930) ...... 84
Overture to William Tell by Gioachino Rossini; Staatsoper Orchester Berlin conducted by Max von Schillings (1930 or 1932) ...... 84
Overture to Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner; Sächsische Staatsorchester Dresden conducted by Fritz Busch (1933) ...... 85
Act 1 of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner; Bayreuth Festspiele Orchester conducted by Karl Elmendorff (1934) ...... 85
Overture to Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber; Paris Symphony conducted by Felix Weingartner (1930) ...... 85
Fourth Movement from Symphony No. 40 by W. A. Mozart; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Bruno Walter (1930) ...... 86
Trio from Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 by Edward Elgar; London Symphony conducted by Edward Elgar (1931) ...... 90
Tone Vibrato and Phrase Vibrato ...... 92
Conclusion ...... 94
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Table of Figures
Chapter 1 Figure 1.1 -- J. A. Hasse, “Digli ch’io son fedele” ...... 13 Figure 1.2 -- C. H. Graun, “Ein Gebet um neue Stärke” ...... 19-20 Figure 1.3 -- W. A. Mozart, Piano Concerto K 488, Adagio, manuscript ...... 37-39
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INTRODUCTION
In their letters, Mozart and his father describe an ideal sound concept in clavier and violin playing in terms of “singing quality,” “cantabile playing” and “singing style.”1 As
Wolfgang wrote from Paris on June 12, 1778:
The human voice trembles naturally—but in its own way—and only to such a degree that the effect is beautiful. Such is the nature of the voice; and people imitate it not only on wind-instruments, but on stringed instruments too and even on the clavier.2
Comments like this one on the origins of vibrato and its application to instrumental performance suggest that late eighteenth-century instrumental playing imitated vocal melodic expression. If we consider the implications, there are significant conclusions relating to performance practice, especially of second or "characteristic" themes and the themes of slow movements. For example, it seems likely that to some degree, vibrato is an element of melodic expression in the orchestral cantabile style.
A decade ago, conductor Roger Norrington wrote an essay in which he stated that “no
German orchestra played with vibrato until the 1930s,” provoking discussion of the performance practice among scholars, orchestral string players and conductors.3 He included the claim that “the Berlin Philharmonic does not appear on disc with serious vibrato until 1935 and the Vienna Philharmonic not until May 1940!”4 His recordings with the Stuttgart Radio
Symphony Orchestra illustrate his capacity for persuasion toward the non-vibrato.5 But his approach is not universally embraced. In 2008 Norrington took over the BBC Proms concert series and insisted on an interpretation of Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory (from Pomp and
1 Emily Anderson, Letters of Mozart and his Family, (London: MacMillan and Co. Ltd., 1938), Vol. 1, 34, Vol. 2, 1112. 2 Ibid., Vol. 2, 816. 3 Roger Norrington, “The Sound Orchestras Make,” Early Music 32/1 (2004): 2. 4 Ibid., 4. 5 Various, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Norrington, SWR Hässler Classic (2000-2013).
1 Circumstance No. 1, 1901) totally devoid of vibrato. The criticisms were fierce6 but Norrington’s response reveals his motivation.
Here come the ouches and squirms, the fuss and hubbub. I was expecting it, I'm throwing a hand grenade at musicians who simply have to accept they must transform their way of playing if they are to play as composers intended.7
By abolishing vibrato, Norrington is purporting to fulfill the composers’ intent and to perpetuate the practice of past eras despite the writings of Mozart and others.
If orchestral vibrato did not exist before the twentieth century, as Norrington claims,8 the stylistic consequences would have an impact on the way modern and period orchestras play the majority of orchestral music, including the Mozart repertoire. It would suggest that
Mozart’s “singing tone” in string playing lacked vibrato. If, however, there is evidence that orchestral string players, especially in German and Austrian (and British) orchestras applied vibrato prior to 1935, interpretative notions must be reviewed.
This thesis will determine whether vibrato is to some degree organic to the sustained expression of late eighteenth-century melody and characteristic of Mozart’s singing tone in the
6 Amelia Hill and David Smith, “Vibrato wars whip up a musical storm over last night of the Proms” The Observer, (Sunday, August 3, 2008).
2 orchestral cantabile style. The first chapter investigates changes in compositional style in the mid-eighteenth-century and corresponding innovations in orchestral string performance practices. It compares features of compositional style in works of the early eighteenth century, as illustrated by Johann Adolf Hasse’s Cleofide (1731), and works of the mid-century, as represented by Carl Heinrich Graun’s Der Tod Jesu (1755). Tracking the development from old to new styles and the emergence of the High Classical style of Mozart and Haydn, the chapter explores the implications of this stylistic evolution for eighteenth-century performance practices, especially as they relate to compositions of Mozart.
The second chapter presents an analysis of historical treatises, letters and other documents from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries which address string vibrato. The discussion refers to research and opinion of current scholars, and an investigation into vibrato as a written indication in scores and parts. This analysis examines the significance of an evolution from ornamental vibrato to phrase vibrato application.9
The final chapter addresses directly Norrington’s hypothesis of a very recent evolution of orchestral vibrato. Empirical evidence is compiled from recorded rehearsals and early film footage as well as mechanical musical inventions from the early twentieth century. Archival recordings and video of orchestral rehearsals with Bruno Walter reveal practices likely favoured by the conductor in the nineteenth century. Especially relevant, research into early audio recording technology reveals challenges to accurately assessing string performance practices.
Thus, early twentieth-century film footage of performances by European orchestras provides visual evidence for this investigation of orchestral string vibrato performance practices. Archival
9 Many writers use the term “continuous vibrato” to describe the twentieth-century application of the performance practice. This is a misnomer as there are passages in all periods of music where vibrato is not applied such as very fast scalar or technical passages, short notes in slow and fast tempi, multiple stops, harmonics etc. The term ‘phrase vibrato’ will be employed in this thesis referring to vibrato which enhances a phrase rather than a single note as an ornament.
3
films of German, French and British orchestras from 1930-1934 are selected from the
Landesarchiv Berlin and the Deutsches Bundesarchiv, and several excerpts can be found in the
1995 documentary, The Art of Conducting or the 2010 DVD, Great Conductors of the Third
Reich.
4 CHAPTER ONE: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STYLE AND MOZART’S CANTABILE
Changing Compositional Style in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
This discussion of eighteenth-century orchestral string performance practices aims to
identify possible practices related to the emerging singing and cantabile styles of
instrumental composition of the mid-eighteenth century. Such practices are impacted by the
evolving vocal forms and melodic characteristics in opera and church music, coupled with the
artistic values of the Enlightenment which emphasize emotional expression and the empathic
transmission of feeling from performer to listener. Eighteenth-century theorist Heinrich
Christoph Koch instructs that “the proper aim of music is to awaken feelings.”1 His
contemporary, critic Johann Georg Sulzer relates that “The fine arts have two ways of
unleashing man's sensibilities. One way is to follow Horace’s dictum, that in order to move
someone, you should be moved yourself. The other is the animated depiction or performance
of something by which sensibilities may flow forth.”2 In Aesthetics and the Art of Musical
Composition in the German Enlightenment, Thomas Christensen attests to the ubiquity of
“Horace's famous maxim: ‘Si vis me flere, dolendum est primum ipsi tibi’ (If you would have me weep, you must feel grief yourself). Horace's exhortation to affective empathy was a mainstay of German empfindsam aesthetics.”3
Neal Zaslaw observes that “much of the music made by the generation between J. S.
Bach and Wolfgang Mozart was lighter, shorter, and simpler—moving away from the
seriousness, complexity, and monumentality of some of the music of the previous generation.”4
1 Nancy Baker and Thomas Christensen, Aesthetics and the Art of Musical Composition in the German Enlightenment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 144. 2 Ibid., 31. 3 Ibid. 4 Neal Zaslaw, Mozart’s Symphonies: Context, Performance, Reception (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), 262.
5 The predominance of accompanied melody in mid-eighteenth-century instrumental compositions
reflects a change in musical tastes away from the learned contrapuntal style of the High Baroque
toward a new style of musical expression. Italian opera had dominated musical culture in the first
half of the eighteenth century, yielding lyrical instrumental styles and phrase structures. The
vocal origins of expression in instrumental music are reflected in the definition of melody offered by Sulzer which depicts the singing characteristic even if instrumental music is inferred.
“Melody is the succession of tones that comprise the singing part of a composition in so far as it is to be differentiated from the accompanying harmonies. It is the essence of a composition.”5
Trends in vocal text setting in the first half of the eighteenth century included shorter texts with increased textual repetition, fragmented phrasing, syllabic rhythms contrasted by ornamented and expanded melismatic passages, and sequential patterns. In the second half of the century, these trends were tempered by an increased periodicity of melodic structure and a consistently quasi melismatic style, sustained notes, legato and longer phrase structures.
This chapter will explore the stylistic changes during the mid-eighteenth century, tracking the development from old to new styles and the emergence of melody, the origins and development of the High Classical style of Mozart and Haydn, and the implications of this stylistic evolution for eighteenth-century performance practices, especially as they relate to compositions of Mozart.
Mozart’s musical output spans a period of significant stylistic development in the eighteenth century and is characteristic of a change in musical taste and corresponding performance practices across Europe. His early works are representative of homophonic galant style and the elevated importance of melodic expression in the middle of the century, while his later works epitomize the fusion of old and new styles, combining contrapuntal and melodic-
5 J.G. Sulzer, Allgemeine Theorie der Schöne Künste vol. III (Leipzig: Weidemann, 1771), “Melodie,” 370.
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thematic structures identifiable in the High Classical style. Considered in light of this
transformation, the possible consequences for performance practices include a more sustained
string tone and connected phrasing, as demanded by melodic expression, and an increased
importance of timbre and tone shading in the expression of emotions and feelings.
Enlightenment philosophy emphasizes, among other things, the sentiments and emotions expressed in a musical performance, the aim of which is to elicit the same in the audience. Sulzer asserts “the principal, if not indeed the sole function of a perfect musical composition is the accurate expression of emotions and passions in all their varying and individual nuances…Every piece of music must have a definite character and evoke emotions of a specific kind.”6 Thus, there exists a palette of expressive colours, dynamics and tones to depict temperaments and character themes. Further, it is melody rather than counterpoint that expresses best mid-eighteenth-century sentiments, with clarity of texture and the inventive
exploitation of conventions of the new empfindsamer Stil. It is described by Leonard
Ratner as follows:
Sensibility and Empfindsamkeit apply to an intimate, personal style, often sentimental in quality. Classic musical criticism constantly refers to Empfindungen, feelings and sentiments.7 C.P.E. Bach was the principal representative of this style. His keyboard music has rapid changes in mood, broken figures, interrupted continuity, elaborate ornamentation, pregnant pauses, shifting, uncertain, often dissonant harmonies—all qualities suggesting intense personal involvement, forerunners of romantic expression, and directly opposed to the statuesque unity of baroque music.8
In 1802, Heinrich Christoph Koch contrasted the characteristics of the strict or learned
style, associated primarily with church music, with the galant or free style of composition
6 Ibid., vol. I, “Ausdruck in der Musik,” 271. 7 Heinrich Koch, Musicalisches Lexikon (Frankfurt am Main: Bey Ugust Hermann dem jüngern, 1802), 533. 8 Leonard G. Ratner, Classical Music: Expression, Form and Style (New York: Schirmer, 1980), 22.
7 applied in theatre, chamber9 and symphonic music.
The strict style, which is also called the bound style or the fugal style…is distinguished from the free style principally 1) By a serious conduct of the melody, using few elaborations. The melody retains a serious character partly through frequent closely-bound progressions which do not allow ornamentation and breaking-up of the melody into small fragments,…partly through the strict adherence to the main subject and figures derived from it. 2) Through the frequent use of bound dissonances (suspensions)… 3) Through the fact that the main subject is never lost sight of, as it is heard in one voice or another; this ensures that each voice partakes of the character of the principal part and shares directly in the expression of the sentiment of the piece. Because of these characteristics, the strict style is best suited for church music…the fugue is the principal product of this style…
The free, or unbound style, which is also called the galant style, is distinguished from the proceeding 1) Through many elaborations of the melody, and divisions of the principal melodic tones, through more obvious breaks and pauses in the melody, and through more changes in the rhythmic elements, and especially in the lining up of melodic figures that do not have a close relationship with each other, etc. 2) Through a less interwoven harmony 3) Through the fact that the remaining voices simply serve to accompany the main voice and do not take part in the expression of the sentiment of the piece, etc.10 All kinds of individual sections of large vocal works, such as arias, choruses and such; all ballet and dance music, as well as introductions, concertos, and sonatas that are not in the style of the fugue, are included among the compositions in the free style.11
Frederick Neumann describes these two styles in the context of the High Classical period of the
late eighteenth century:
In the music of the galant style, the structure of melody became much simpler…and polyphony yielded to homophony. After this wide swing of the pendulum the advent of
9 Zaslaw, 9: Zaslaw points out that the author of the Report on the Present State of the Musical Establishment at the Court of His Serene Highness the Archbishop of Salzburg in the Year 1757, thought to be Leopold Mozart, “considered oratorios to be ‘chamber’ music, reflecting a traditional division of music into categories ‘church,’ ‘chamber,’ and ‘theatre.’ ‘Chamber music’ in this sense had nothing to do with modern notions of one instrument or voice per part.” 10 These observations made in 1802 reveal a contrast in the treatment of the subject or thematic material in the two styles, one contrapuntal with equal expression among voices, and the other in a homophonic texture serving melodic expression. Point 3 under Koch’s definition of the free style implies an instruction relevant to orchestral performance practice application. With expression concentrated in the melody, “the remaining voices simply serve to accompany the main voice and do not take part in the expression of the sentiment of the piece”. Each voice in the textural hierarchy requires a careful degree of performance practice application relative to its role. Vibrato, for example, may apply to the melodic expression to a greater degree than to the accompanying figures. This practice is described by Galeazzi in 1791. (See Chapter 2, Solo versus Ensemble Performance, page 53.) 11 Heinrich Koch, Musicalisches Lexikon, 1451-1453.
8 the high Classical style brought a partial reversal…a new kind of free-spirited, unrestrictive polyphony returned, and melodic designs became more varied and freer in form. It is indeed this reappearance of polyphony in a new form, this synthesis of Baroque textural elements with galant melodic forms, that is one of the main features separating the high Classical from the pre-Classical, galant style.12
In his book The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Charles Rosen contends
that Haydn and Mozart developed on their own what is today referred to as the classical style:
“the work of Haydn and Mozart cannot be understood against the background of their
contemporaries.”13 He asserts that “a style of such power or integration did not exist before the
work of Mozart and Haydn in the late 1770s. Before then the scene was more chaotic with
many seemingly equal rival forces…the lack of any integrated style.”14 Modern scholars tend to disagree, acknowledging the contributions of Johann Christian Bach, Carl Phillip Emmanuel
Bach, Niccolo Jommeli, Carl Heinrich Graun and others to the stylistic characteristics of the second half of the eighteenth century. While Mozart was supremely imaginative and uniquely talented, his musical language is founded on the conventions of his time. Nikolaus Harnoncourt opines that
All composers of his time spoke the same “language.” Mozart was not an innovator in his art, as were Wagner and Monteverdi; he did not want to reform music. In the tonal language of his time he found the resources to say and express everything he wanted. Everything that we believe we recognize as “typical Mozart” is also found in the works of his contemporaries. Mozart’s personal style of composition cannot be defined, it does not distinguish itself from the style of his age – except by its incomprehensible greatness. Without inventing or using the musically unprecedented, the completely novel, he could, employing the same resources as any other composer of his age, convey insights with his music as no other.15
During Mozart’s travels throughout Europe the young composer was exposed to the
stylistic trends of the leading composers of the day. Given his talents, it can be inferred that he
12 Frederick Neumann, Performance Practices of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (New York: Schirmer, 1993), 286-287. 13 Charles Rosen, The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, rev. ed. (London: Faber, 1976), 22. 14 Ibid., 47. 15 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, The Musical Dialogue, Translated by Mary O’Neill (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1989), 84.
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absorbed many of these influences in developing his personal style and used some to please
local audiences. His Paris symphony, K. 297 (1778) demonstrates his willingness to incorporate
local stylistic characteristics, even if his personal views lack diplomatic subtlety. “I can answer
for its pleasing the few intelligent French people who may be there -- and as for the stupid
ones, I shall not consider it a great misfortune if they are not pleased. I still hope, however, that even asses will find something in it to admire; and, moreover, I have been careful not to neglect the premier coup d’archet – and that is quite sufficient.”16
Mozart’s exposure to music across Europe began during the grand tour of his childhood
from July 1763 to November 1766. The subsequent trips to Vienna, Brno and Olomouc from September 1767 to January 1769 were closely followed by three tours of Italy from
December 1769 to March 1771, from August to December 1771 and again from
October 1772 to September 1773. He journeyed to Munich in 1775, and Paris and
Mannheim in 1777-78. Mozart listened, assessed and synthesized the music of others as part of his musical education. This exposure was encouraged by his father in order to develop a richness of musical culture, limitless musical ability and understanding of regional trends to favour possible employment. While abroad Mozart witnessed performances of operas by composers such as Johann Christian Bach (Adriano in Siria – London, 1765), Jommelli (Armida abbandonata – Naples, 1770) and Hasse (Ruggiero – Milan, 1771).17 There can be little doubt
that these experiences sparked Mozart’s inspiration as well as his judgement. He undoubtedly
rejected certain stylistic trends of his elders in favour of those of his own generation. Jommelli’s
music, for example, he deemed “beautiful but too serious and old-fashioned for the theatre.”18
16 Anderson, Vol. 2, 817-818. 17 Eric Weimer, Opera seria and the Evolution of the Classical Style 1755-1772 (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1984), 9. 18 Marita McClymonds, Niccolo Jommelli: The Last Years (Berkeley: University of California, 1978), 153.
10
Despite the geographical expanse separating them, these composers represent a
synchronized stylistic change as identified by Eric Weimer in his monograph Opera Seria and the Evolution of Classical Style 1755-1772. Weimer’s discussion concentrates primarily on rhythmic characteristics identified in the “first vocal section” of 641 operatic arias spanning two decades. The arias exemplify the trend toward the lyrical melodic style of the mid-century. A clarity of texture issues from slower harmonic rhythm, use of slightly longer note values with less ornamentation and sharing of melody between the voice and orchestra, increasing the lyrical role of the latter. The use of repeated notes in the bassline maintains the harmonic pace without sacrificing rhythmic impulse. Weimer describes the resulting “singing Allegro” which was at its height of evolution during the mid-eighteenth century. “In fast works, the melody could employ increasingly longer note values, thus the ‘singing Allegro’; the bassline, if it were to remain fast, repeated the same pitch, thus the “Trommelbass.”19 Furthermore, greater
structural clarity is achieved through an increased sense of symmetry and proportioned
dynamic contrasts which relate to the melodic and textual phraseology. While a study
concentrating on mid-eighteenth-century vocal repertoire may appear remote to the late
symphonies of Mozart, Weimer assures us that the expansion occurring in the arias of the mid-
century “derived not from the text but from forces that were simultaneously shaping
instrumental music as well.”20 In particular, works by revered composers, Johann Adolf Hasse
and Carl Heinrich Graun illustrate the change in compositional style in the mid-eighteenth
century.
19 Weimer, 27. 20 Ibid., 16.
11 The Hasse Era
Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) was born in Bergedorf, Germany but trained in Italy.
He started his career as a singer in Hamburg and in his mid-twenties he moved to Naples.
After his first successes as an opera composer he relocated to Venice. He married the acclaimed
soprano Faustina Bordoni who performed in the premiere of his opera, Cleofide (1731) in
Dresden where he was being wooed for the position of Kapellmeister. After some initial resistance to the idea of moving to Saxony he eventually became Kapellmeister in Dresden in
1733 at the start of what would be known as the “Hasse Era” in that city.21 Cleofide marks the
start of that musical relationship and the premiere was a resounding success.
The style of Hasse’s operatic music combines nota e parola text-setting (whereby each
note corresponds to one or more syllables) and florid ornamentation. The style is consistent
with his Italian education and the elevated status of singers, one being his famous wife. In
Cleofide’s aria “Digli ch’io son fedele”, the Alla breve metre is marked Adagio. There are few
opportunities for sustained tone as the melody is made of short, syllabic introductory
statements in rhetorical presentation followed by extended florid melismas in fast rhythms. The
aria begins with three statements of a measure each, the second and third of which are on the
same repeated text, each somewhat sequential in design, shape and length. Rests separate the
statements and appear consistently on beats two and four throughout the aria. The bass line of
repeated eighth-notes provides both a tempo of rhythmic regularity and harmonic support for
the florid melodic structures. The words “m’ami” receive extended melismatic treatment.
In “Digli ch’io son fedele” the rhythm is highly varied with eighth-notes and sixteenth-
notes as the main features, interspersed with dotted and Lombardic rhythms, syncopations,
grace-notes and trills. The phraseology is expansive depicting the nobility of the character, but
21 J. A. Hasse, Cleofide, foreword by Zenon Mojzysz, trans. by John Coombs (Hamburg: Carus, 2006), vii.
12 Fig 1.1 Johann Adolf Hasse: "Digli ch'io son fedele" (1731) Adagio jŸ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ # r œ œ œ ‰ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ ‰ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ œ œ Flauto # # œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ œ œ. œ j œ œ œ r j œ œ œ r j œ nœ œ# œ # C œ . œœ ‰œ œ. œ. œ œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œœœ j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œœ. œ œ. 2 Oboi & œ œ. œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ. œ œ œ œ J œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œœ. œ œœ. œ J J œ ‰ 3 ÿ J J Archi ÿ p f œ Bc œ œ œ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ œ œ œ œ ? # ## C œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ CLEOFIDE K r r œ œ œ œ r œ œ œ j r rK j j j œ œœ œ œ œ . & œ œ . œ œ J J ‰ œ . œ œ‰œ œ . œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œœœ œ œ# œ‰œ DiJ - gli ch'io sonJ fe ---de le, diJ gli ch'èilR mioJ teJ --soJ ro, di - gli ch'èil mio te --so ro, cheœ m'a ------œ œ œ œ mi,J cheJ
3 3 3 8 Ÿ 3 3 3 # . Ÿ Ÿ œ œ œ œ œ ## # œ. œœœ œœ œ œ j j œœ œœ j j œœœœ j j œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œœ œ j œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ ‰ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J J J J œ œ œ ÿ ÿ ÿ œ œ œ œ œ p f p ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ # œ j j ? ## # œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 15 j j j # # r r r r r j j œ œ œ j j r U # # œ œ. œ œ r œ œ œ œ r r j r œ œ œ . œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & J œ# . œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ œ ≈ œ œ œ œ. œ œ# . œ J ‰ œ# . œ œ‰ œ œ œ œŒ m'a- mi, ch'io l'aJ -- do ro, cheR nonR di-- spe rianœ -cor,œ che non di------spe ri,J cheJ non diR --- spe rianR cor, cheJ non di-- spe ri anR - cor. 3 3 3 3 3 3 15 œ Ÿ œ Ÿ œ U œ # ## œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ & # œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ#œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ. œ œ J ‰J poco‰J U f œ œ f ? # # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # # œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ J œ ‰ J œ œ œ œ œ 13 the ornate melismatic extensions do not yet hint at the cantabile sostenuto of Mozart’s
sentimental arias such as “Porgi amor” from le Nozze de Figaro or “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd
schön” from Die Zauberflöte. Rather, the florid style illustrates that the virtuosity desired and
expected of singers was more a consideration than ever. The contrasting simplicity of the
accompaniment at the most florid vocal passages emphasizes this hierarchy. The role of the
orchestra had not yet grown to match the emotional support of the text or even the reflective
orchestral codetta which concludes arias such as “Ach ich fühl`s” from Die Zauberflöte or “Or
sai chi l’onore” from Don Govanni.
Mozart was well acquainted with Hasse’s music as evidenced by his letter written in
Milan on November 2, 1777: “There is a performance of Hasse’s opera today, but as Papa is not
going out, I cannot be there. Fortunately I know nearly all the arias by heart, and so I can see
and hear it at home in my mind.”22 While in Mannheim in February 1778, Mozart composed his
concert aria “Se al labbro mio non credi,” K. 295 for the famous tenor Anton Raaff (1714-1797).
Using the text from Hasse’s opera Artaserse (1760),23 Mozart aimed to provide Raaff a certain
comfort level by integrating familiar features of the Hasse era in his music. The aging German
tenor had enjoyed a successful career performing, among other works, operas by Hasse, and
Mozart was hoping to have Raaff premiere the title role of Idomeneo. His success in that
endeavour was likely in part due to his accommodation and respect for the singer.
In his article “Raaff’s Last Aria: A Mozartian Idyll in the Spirit of Hasse,” Daniel Heartz describes Mozart’s “relentless effort to do everything in his power to please Raaff,”24 even
adopting an older compositional style. Heartz compares Mozart’s “Se al labbro mio” of 1778 to
22 Anderson, Vol. 1, 299. 23 Ibid., Vol. 2, 735. Emily Anderson indicates the librettist was likely Giovanni Claudio Pasquini. 24 Daniel Heartz, “Raaff’s Last Aria: A Mozartian Idyll in the Spirit of Hasse,” Musical Quarterly, vol. 60, no. 4 (Oct. 1974), 518.
14 Hasse’s setting of the same text, an insert aria for Arbace composed for the Naples production of Artaserse in 1760. The melodic design of the first phrase of the vocal line in Mozart’s version
features rhythms, intervals and text-setting strikingly similar to Hasse’s version. “Hasse begins
his melody by moving up the tonic triad to the fifth degree, then falling by stepwise motion. The
correspondence with Mozart’s opening may or may not be a coincidence, and the question is
the more involved since we know Mozart was trying to capitalize on Raaff’s affections for an
older aria on the same text.”25 Another characteristic of Hasse’s arias which Mozart integrated
in his concert aria is the 3/8 middle section. Heartz suggests Mozart purposefully referred to an
earlier style of composition to suit Raaff’s vocal qualities and tastes. “Allegretto 3/8 middle
sections in a common-time aria represent a fashion that was long out of date. They were, in
fact, a trademark of the great J. A. Hasse, although not his exclusive property, it goes without
saying. An example, one from an incredible number of Allegretto 3/8 middle sections that could
be adduced, will show many features in common with Mozart.”26 Mozart’s middle section
resembles the older style, and “a comparison with Hasse’s middle section gives the impression
that Mozart is trying to be different, but not too different, that is, not too unlike what Raaff was
used to singing.”27
Graun, “the Father of our Music”
Like Hasse, Carl Heinrich Graun (1701-1759) was a favoured composer of Frederick the
Great and the works of both composers were among the most frequently performed in Berlin
“with almost exclusive royal privilege.”28 Also like Hasse, Graun was a singer (tenor) of German
origin, born in Wahrenbrück. He was educated in Dresden and immersed in Italian opera seria.
25 Ibid., 536. 26 Ibid., 530. 27 Ibid., 536-539. 28 Baker and Christensen, 51.
15
He was Kapellmeister to Frederick from his ascension to the throne in 1740 until Graun’s death
19 years later.
One of his most praised works, Der Tod Jesu, described by Sulzer as a “lyrical
oratorio”29 was composed in 1754 and premiered in Berlin the following year. This musical
setting of a sacred libretto by Karl Wilhelm Ramler (1725-1798) is first mentioned in a notice by
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, the well-known critic and theorist, in his Historich-kritische
Beyträge announcing the publication of Graun’s score:
A poem by Ramler composed by Graun needs no further recommendation. Splendid choruses, moving arias that are fitted to the most expressive words; well worked-out fugues; duets where art and taste vie for superiority, emotion and fire in composition; recitative that seizes the heart, fine and noble melody, full of majestic harmony – these are the essentials of a beautiful church composition and the characteristics of Graun’s muse.30
Shortly after Graun’s death in 1759, Marpurg published an obituary and a laudatory poem
describing Graun as “the father of our music.”31
In 1783 Heinrich Christoph Koch published his Versuch einer Einleitung zur
Composition where he outlines eighteenth-century compositional procedures. He presents the
aria “Ein Gebeth um neue Stärke” from Graun’s Der Tod Jesu as his example of Anlage or
“design.” He explains that he used this particular section because it was “in everybody’s
hands.”32 Graun’s music was held in the highest esteem by his discerning colleagues and his
works were regarded as models of mid-eighteenth century compositional design and style.
However, critics observed a combination of serious and light styles not typical in sacred
29 Carl Heinrich Graun, Der Tod Jesu, foreword by Herbert Lölkes, translated by John Coombs (Stuttgard: Carus, 2003), i. 30 Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, HIstorisch-kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik Vol. V (Berlin: J. J. Schützens, 1761), 247. See also Carl Heinrich Graun, Der Tod Jesu, ed. Howard Serwer, Collegium Musicum Yale University, Second Series, Vol . 5, intoduction (Madison: A-R Editions, Inc., 1975) viii-ix. 31 Marpurg, Vol. IV (Berlin: J. J. Schützens, 1759), 398. See also Graun, ed. Serwer, viii. 32 Heinrich Christoph Koch, Versuch einer Einleitung zur Composition, 3 vols. (Leipzig: Bey A.F. Böhme, 1782- 1793), I, 59. See also Graun, ed. Serwer, ix.
16
compositions at the time. Howard Serwer, in the introduction to the Collegium musicum edition of Der Tod Jesu, refers to the observations of Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758-1832), director of the
Sing-Akademie of Berlin. Zelter
wrote a pamphlet about Graun’s Der Tod Jesu in which he observed that there was some criticism of the general style of the work and for this reason others had attempted settings of Ramler’s poem; but none, he said was as successful as Graun. Zelter felt that the style of the arias and even the last chorus was unsuitable for church. This was to be explained by the fact that Ramler and Graun had intended their work to be simply a sacred cantata (geistlische Cantate) in a style “midway between a serious church style and a…lighter chamber style.”33
Similarly, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung regarded the work as a combination of the dramatic with the contemplative – that is, what we would describe in more concrete terms as a combination of oratorio with a secular cantata, the latter being akin in style to opera: “…in the choruses he used the true oratorio style, though popularized as much as possible; in the arias and the like he used the style and even the external form of true serious opera, though ennobled as much as possible. But in the recitatives, since these included both categories simultaneously, he lavished all the riches of his art, so that the recitatives might appear as a suitable link between both.”34
Der Tod Jesu, which typified early Classical music and became commonly known
through generations of concert hall and church performances in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, began its performance history with an impressive premiere performance in Berlin’s
Domkirche. According to Zelter, “the cathedral organist Schale played the organ, Carl Philip
Emmanuel Bach was at the harpsichord, the Concertmaster [Johann Gottlieb] Graun led the
violins, Agricola gave the beat and sang the tenor part, the latter’s wife, née Molteni, and her
sister sang the two soprano parts, and the bass part was sung by a baritone named Wreden.
The composer was in the audience.”35 Serwer suggests that “Johann Joachim Quantz, the flautist who as the King’s private teacher occupied a privileged position, did not play with the
33 Carl Friedrich Zelter, untitled pamphlet describing the first performance of Graun’s Der Tod Jesu (n.p., n.d., [circa 1807?]), p. 3. See also Graun, ed. Serwer, ix. 34 Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung XIV (1812), col. 784-785. See also Graun, ed. Serwer, ix. 35 Zelter, Pamphlet, p. 2. See also Graun, ed. Serwer, ix.
17 orchestra.”36
The soprano aria “Ein Gebet um neue Stärke” in 3/4 metre, marked Allegretto, is
in a pastoral singing style. Replacing the early eighteenth-century technique of providing the
motivic features in a series of fragments, the orchestral introduction presents the vocal
material in its entirety. The vocal line is presented by the orchestra before the singer’s first note and contains the textual phrase structure and repetition therein. The introduction begins with a four-measure phrase featuring legato ascending quarter notes, which is repeated. The third
measure has two consecutive Lombardic rhythms, the only stylistic remnant of the first half of
the eighteenth century. After the initial lyrical theme, four measures of rising sixteenth notes in the violins introduce the brilliant style punctuated by statements of four quarter notes in the lower strings. The first vocal section is in the same structure.
The vocal line begins with two measures of quarter notes and two rising fourths, each slurred over a single vowel. This ascending legato vocal gesture is used in slurred interval leaps of a third, fourth, sixth and seventh throughout the melody. The legato melodic design also
features sustained notes, often on a weak third beat tied to the first beat. In the B section, a
single vowel is sustained over eight measures of gently syncopated legato melody. This music
has the characteristics of the Classical style and indeed features the principal components of
Mozart’s compositional style. By observing that the music of Graun is like Mozart’s we learn
that, in fact Mozart’s music is like Graun’s.
The characteristics of Graun’s music which were adopted in the singing compositional
style of the second half of the eighteenth century included slower harmonic tempo,
simplification of rhythm, less frequent ornamentation, longer articulation, more sustained note
values, often with fewer rests, and greater importance of legato. String performance practices
36 Graun, ed. Serwer, x.
18 Fig 1.2 Carl Heinrich Graun: "Ein Gebet um neue Stärke" (1754) Allegretto œ Violino I # œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Flauto traverso I 3 œ œ œ œ œ œ. œœ. œ œŒ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œœ. œ œ œœœœ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ ‰ œ & 4 œ J J f Violino II p œ œ œ œ # 3 œœœ œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ œ œ œ j Flauto traverso II & 4 œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œœ. œœ. œ œ Œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ. œœ. œ œœœœœ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ# ‰ œ p f Viola # ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ B 43 Œ Œ Œ œ œ œ œ Œ Œ œ œ a2 p f Fagotto I, II œ œ ? # 3 ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. Œ œ Œ œ 4 œ œ Œ œ œ Œ œŒ œ p f Soprano # & 43 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ œ Basso continuo ? # 3 ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ œ 4 œ œ Œ œ œ Œ Œ œŒ Œ œ p f
12 œ Ÿ Ÿ # œ œ œœœ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œ œ# œ œn œ j œ œ œ œ j œ œ œœ œ & œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œn œn œ œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ÿ p ÿ f œ Ÿ œ Ÿ # œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ œ j œœœ & œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œn œn œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œn œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ÿ p ÿ f Ÿ œ Ÿ B # œ œ Œ ˙. ˙ ˙. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ œ œ œ œ 12 p f ? # œ . ˙. œ Œ ˙ œ# œ œ ˙. ˙. #˙. ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 12 œ œ œ p f # & ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
œ . ? # Œ ˙ œ# œ œ ˙. ˙. #˙. ˙. ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ p f
24 # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œŒ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ# œ œ & œ œ œ J œ œ œ p f p f œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ# œ œ œ œ & œ Œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ Œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ p f p f # œ ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ B œ Œ Œ Œ Œ œ œ œ œ Œ 24 p œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . œ j Œ ? # œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ Œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ Œ Œ œ. œ œ œ ˙ Œ J 24 p Œ Œ Œ Œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. & ∑ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œŒ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œŒ Œ œ œ œ Œ Ein Ge --bet um neu e Stä-- rke, zur Voll end-- ung ed ler Wer- ke, teilt dieJ Wol- ken, œ ? # ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. ˙. œ œ ˙ Œ œ œ Œ œ œ Œ Œ œŒ p
19 2
35 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ & ‰ J œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ p # œ œ j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ# œ œ œ p œ œ œ# # ˙. œ œ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ B Œ œ œ œ œ Œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ. œ# œ. œ œ ˙ 35 j œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ˙ œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ ? # . J œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ œ 35 Œ Œ # œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ˙ œ œ œ# œ œ teilt dieJ Wol- ken, dringt zum Herrn, dringt zum Herrn, und der Herr er --hört es gern, er hört es
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46 œ œ œ # œ œ# œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ œ j j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J & œœ œ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œ œ œ œ œ J J œ# œ œ œ J J œ# J J f p # œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ œ œ# œœ œ# œ œn œ œ œ œ# œ œ œn œ œ œ# œ œ j œ œ œ# j j œ œ œ# œ œ œ & œ œœ œ œ œ ˙. œ œ œ J J œ œ œ œ œ J J œ J J œJ f p # . . B œ œ œ ˙. ˙. ˙ ˙ ˙. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 46 j j j j j f j j œ #Œœ pŒŒœ œ œ Œ ŒŒœ œ #Œœ j œ œ œ œ#œ œ# j j œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ? # œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙. œ œ œ J J œ œ œ œ œ J J J J J J 46 Œ ŒŒ Œ ŒŒ Œ J J œ # œ œ œ œ œ œ j œ œ œ œ j j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & œ# Œ ŒŒœ œ œŒ ŒŒ œ# œ# œ œ œ œ œ J J œ# œ œ œ J J œ# J J J gern, der Herr er - hört
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57 Ÿ œ œ# Ÿ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & J J ‰ œ# œ ‰ œ œ œ ‰ œ# œ œ œ œ œ œ# œ J J poco J œ œ œ f f # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ j Ÿ œ œ œ œ œ Ÿ œ œ œ œ œ & J œ# J ‰ œ# ‰ œ ‰ œ# œ œ# œ œ œ œ# J œ œpoco J œ œ œ f Ÿ f # Ÿ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ B œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ# œ Œ j œ J poco 57 j j j Ÿ œ œ œ œ œ œ j Ÿ f œ œ œ œ ˙ ? # J J ‰ œœ# œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œœ# œ œ œ# J œ œ J Œ ‰ ‰ J ‰ 57 Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ & J J ‰ œ# œ œ œ œ ‰ œ# Œ es gern, derJ Herr er- hört es gern, derJ Herr er- hört es gern. œ œ ? # œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ Œ œ œ œ œpoco œ f
20
of the singing Allegro and the Andante cantabile are intricately related to these features of
eighteenth-century melodic style. The cantabile melodic structure, like the vocal style to which
it is inextricably linked, may have an impact on string techniques including bowing, fingerings,
shifts, portamento, articulation, sustain and vibrato.
Weimer identifies harmonic expansion as “a process which lasted at least fifty years,
retarding harmonic change and elongating phrases.”37 He points out that the gradual
polarization of tonic and dominant harmonies evolved into standard convention by 1720,
providing the roots of the second “character” theme and sonata form itself. Harmonic rhythm
became slower over the following decades under the influence of the Italian style.
Just as composers with the least exposure to opera in Italy maintained a more “baroque” harmonic rhythm, all composers who received their training in Italy and worked primarily in Italy or southern Germany shared in the evolution of a slower, more “classical” harmonic rhythm… The slow pace and continuity of this development argues strongly that the mid-eighteenth century was not a time of stylistic chaos. As far as the composers investigated here are concerned, we see a fairly linear progression from the brief, clipped ABB themes and hasty cadence composed by Feo, Hasse, Leo, and others in the late 1730s to the longer, more lyrical ABB themes and more monumental cadences composed by [Johann Christian] Bach, Jommelli, di Maio, and others in the 1760s and 1770s. No doubt other aspects of style – melodic style and wind orchestration – which seem to have arisen as natural outgrowths of harmonic expansion saw similarly gradual and consistent development…What makes the simultaneous retardation of harmonic rhythm and retention of various phrase and cadential formulas so intriguing is its continuation into mature works that Mozart and Haydn composed in the early 1780s.38
In his detailed study Haydn’s String Quartets, Opus 50, Dean Sutcliffe observes that a new system of tempo emerged during this era whereby the old eight-eight pace was replaced by the alla breve metre with two main beats per measure. “Whereas at the time of Op. 17, for instance, Haydn would have felt the pulse in terms of four per bar, involving quite elaborate subdivisions of each beat, there is now an increasing sense of movement by the whole or half-
37 Weimer, 16. 38 Weimer, 41-42.
21 bar…The end result is that the music seems to move more quickly and lightly, and the sense of
phrase is expanded.”39
Retarded harmonic change and elongated phrases were related to the symmetrical
melodic structure most often employed in the galant style of composition. Increasingly and
especially in instrumental genres where musical sound rather than texted melody incites
feelings, the period, adapted from traditional rhetoric, served as the preferred model of thematic structure for eighteenth-century composers, offering not only a symmetrical unity but opportunities to deviate from it. Leonard Ratner observes:
Periodicity represents the tendency of classic music to move toward goals, toward points of punctuation…Its importance in the 18th century arose from 1) the firmness of its basic features – a solid opening, an area of continuation, and a conclusive ending; 2) a flexibility that allowed countless options in length and internal arrangement; 3) its adaptability to typical 18th-century musical procedures – cadences, rhythmic action, melodic patterns.40
The symmetrical period, while the model structure, was subject to manipulation by
imaginative eighteenth-century composers. The flexibility and adaptability of the periodic
structure to which Ratner refers permit invention and creative manipulation of the musical
components which can upset symmetry. By means of extension, compression, rearrangement
of functions, digression, interruption and the strategic use of deceptive and inconclusive
cadences, etc. infinite combinations of musical variables are possible within the periodic
structure. When applied with genius and good taste, these combinations charm the listener by
deviating from expected conventions.
The two chief aspects of 18th-century musical period structure—a firm point of arrival and complementary internal arrangements—provided classic composers with rhetorical resources that they could manipulate with more effectiveness and greater variety than was possible at any other time in the history of western music. Without these
39 W. Dean Sutcliffe, Haydn: String Quartet, Opus 50, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 67. 40 Ratner, 33.
22 two resources, the classic style as we know it could not have achieved its unique fusion of elegance and eloquence.41
In the second half of the eighteenth century, as structural proportions expanded and a
more lyrical compositional style emerged, a less ornate style of melodic expression was
preferred. Similarly, a simplification of melodic rhythm occurred after the mid-century, a move
away from Lombardic rhythms and highly ornate and articulate rhythmic structures in favour of
dotted rhythms, syncopations, triplets, and gruppetti of one eighth-note and two sixteenth-
notes. Decorative figures such as multiple grace-notes, mordents, and other localized
decorations were used less frequently. Appoggiaturas remained the principal ornament along
with a somewhat more measured use of trills and grace notes. “Digli ch’io son fedele” by Hasse
illustrates the ornate style where nota e parola writing and dotted rhythms are decorated with
grace-notes, frequent trills and appoggiaturas. Graun’s aria “Ein Gebet um neue Stärke” exemplifies the less decorated and more lyrical style at the dawn of the Classical period. Mozart
was specific when notating ornaments and used moderation selecting those best suited to a
cantabile style. “By far the commonest specific ornaments in Wolfgang’s music are single-note
appoggiaturas and trills. Mordents and turns are comparatively few.”42
Changing Performance Style in the Eighteenth Century
The prevalence of melody and the singing style in the mid-eighteenth century coincided
with a change in bowing technique whereby legato articulation and phrasing influenced the
“ordinary manner” of bowing. According to the violin expert Robin Stowell,
the so-called “ordinary manner” of bowing in the mid-eighteenth century involved a non- legato stroke, borne out by Leopold’s description of the “small, if barely audible, softness” at the beginning and end of each stroke. The changing demands of musical taste
41 Ratner, 36-37. 42 Robin Stowell, “Leopold Mozart revised: articulation in violin playing during the second half of the eighteenth century,” Perspectives on Mozart Performance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 148.
23 were gradually prompting the development of a more expressive, vocal style, in which legato playing was assigned a new importance.43
Articulation was modified to better imitate the connectivity of the voice. “With the highly
articulated style of the Baroque and early Classical periods gradually adopting a more
legato character in late eighteenth-century performance, the so-called ‘ordinary manner’ of
playing became a principal element of change.”44
This change in performance style is especially relevant to cantabile passages. Tartini
instructs that “in cantabile passages the transition from one note to the next must be made so
perfectly that no interval of silence is perceptible between them.”45 Referring to the cantabile
style as “the greatest beauty in music,” Leopold Mozart advises:
Singing is at all times the aim of every instrumentalist, because one must always approximate to nature as closely as possible. Where the Cantilena of the piece demands no break, therefore, one should take pains not only to leave the bow on the violin when changing the stroke, in order to join one stroke with another, but also to play several notes in one stroke, and in such a way that those notes which belong together run into each other, and are only differentiated in some degree by means of forte and piano.46
Stowell writes “the change of emphasis in articulation practice effected during our period thus involved the clear, distinct mid-eighteenth-century style of playing gradually giving way to a late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century manner founded on a legato approach as a general rule. This legato style, in which the shortest notes were performed as distinctly as possible, applied not only in slow pieces, as in earlier traditions, but also in fast movements…
Bow-changes were to be made as imperceptible as possible.”47 Adjustments in bowing
technique were needed to meet the expressive requirements of the Andante cantabile and
43 Ibid., 129. 44 Ibid., 130. 45 Giuseppe Tartini, Treatise on Ornaments in Music, ed. E. R. Jacobi and trans. C. Girdlestone (New York: Celle, 1961), 55. 46 Leopold Mozart, Versuch einer Gründlichen Violinschule (Augsburg: L. Mozart, 1756), chap. 5, par. 14, 107-108. 47 Stowell, 132.
24 singing Allegro movements. Stowell identifies changes in bowing technique and grip for the
“singing” style:
Index-finger pressure was to be exerted between the second and third joints and the little finger rested on the stick for additional control, the hand apparently adopting a position nearer the frog than formerly. Many of the revised editions of Leopold’s treatise from 1787 onwards place increased emphasis on freedom of the bow arm and hand, the requirement of keeping the right arm near to the body, and the recommendation to tilt the violin slightly towards the E-string side (1787), confirming the need for greater wrist participation in the “ordinary” bow-stroke for the cultivation of the singing style. Furthermore, the adoption of the so-called “Geminiani grip” for greater left-hand accuracy and facility overall (1769-70), especially in double stopping, and the more advanced left-hand position recommended to facilitate extensions and avoid too many shifts (1787 and 1806), also assisted greatly towards a cantabile goal.48
Other adjustments in string technique relate to fingerings and shifts. “Comfort and economy of shift…seem to have been prime considerations in the selection of fingerings, but the higher positions were increasingly used ‘in the interests of elegance when cantabile notes occur close together and can be executed easily on one string.’”49 These technical adjustments in string playing served an increasingly legato vocal concept of melodic expression.
The sustained tones and legato phrasing of Mozart’s cantabile are consistent with this transition in performance practice in late eighteenth-century string playing, a trend toward a more literal instrumental imitation of vocal expression through longer note values and their connectedness. With sustained tone come opportunities for phrase vibrato, and with legato come opportunities for expressive portamento. Ultimately, the cantabile style is about melodic expression. The revised playing techniques and changing expression in string playing brought about alterations in the design of the bow, culminating in Tourte’s design in 1785.
By the time of Wolfgang’s death, the Tourte-model bow was rapidly being acknowledged as the tool best equipped to meet the aesthetic ideals of the period. Its particular merits, among them a capacity for greater tonal volume and accentuation (especially in the upper part of the bow), a greater capacity to sustain long phrases, a wider range of bow-strokes
48 Ibid., 132-133. 49 Ibid., 148.
25 (including ‘bounding’ strokes), and a greater capacity for smooth bow-changes, were fast being appreciated and exploited.50
This period of transition toward an increasingly lyrical style of composition and performance
coincided with a standardization of bows and instruments.
String Instruments in the Eighteenth Century
String instruments in the eighteenth century had almost completely evolved into the
modern standard. Koury recounts that by the beginning of the eighteenth century violins and
violas were standardized “undergoing only slight changes as time went on; most importantly,
near the end of the century, the necks of old violins were slightly lengthened and the
fingerboards raised to accommodate a higher bridge.” Cellos and basses were less
standardized. “Bows were probably unstandardized until Tourte ‘perfected’ his model in 1785.
Even then, some time would pass before a standard model became established in orchestral
playing.”51
Wolfgang Mozart’s violin is preserved at the Salzburg Mozarteum. The early eighteenth-
century Mittenwald instrument with a Steiner label was a superior instrument. Steiner was
among the most respected violin makers of the eighteenth century. Peter Walls, who has
inspected the instrument thoroughly, reports that Mozart’s violin has “a fingerboard which I
estimate would allow him to reach the d’’’, a note which appears once in the Rondo of the D
major concerto, K.218.”52
Many scholars have suggested that the comparably light and short bow of the Baroque
era is not conducive to vibrato application, but rather favoured an expression dominated by the
50 Ibid., 137. 51 Daniel J. Koury, Orchestral Performance Practices in the Nineteenth Century: Size, Proportion and Seating. (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1986), 7. 52 Peter Walls, “Mozart and the Violin.” Early Music 20/1 (1992), 7-9.
26 right hand. The bow in the eighteenth century was not standardized and Walls points out that
“When Mozart was first playing the violin, bows must have been in use which had a pike’s or a
swan’s head and – consequently – with the distance between the hair and the stick significantly greater at the heel than at the point.”53
Leopold Mozart confirms the lack of standard bow in his treatise: “The weight of a violin bow contributes much, as does also to no less degree its length or shortness. A heavier and
longer bow must be used more lightly and retarded somewhat less; whereas a lighter and
shorter bow must be pressed down more and retarded more.”54 His comments evidence
consequences to tone production related to the qualities of a bow. The standardization of bows
began in Wolfgang’s lifetime and “By the end of Mozart’s life professional violinists would have
been using bows with an overall length of about 720mm, a pronounced reverse camber or
inward curve, and a fairly substantial head high enough to make the separation of hair from
stick at the point greater than – or at least equal to – that at the heel.”55 The bow perfected by
Tourte in France would become the standard internationally in the nineteenth century but
significantly, “There were ways in which Mozart could have learned about Tourte’s innovations.
The Mannheim violinist Friedrich Johann Eck heard Viotti play in Paris in 1782 and was so
impressed that he returned in 1785 to have lessons with him. In 1786 Eck was in Vienna. He took the Viotti E minor Violin Concerto to Mozart, who added trumpet and timpani parts. Eck could just possibly have been one of the earliest customers for the Tourte bow as we know it.”56 Walls offers the “First violin part of opening of Haffner Symphony as an example of a
Mozart composition suggestive of a later bow with greater strength and capacity for tone.”57
53 Ibid., 14. 54 L. Mozart, Versuch, 199. 55 Walls, 17. 56 Ibid., 21. 57 Ibid., 23.
27
The standardization of the bow occurred during a period of general improvement in the
calibre of musicians and may have contributed to the stylistic features of the second half of the eighteenth century. In 1787, Koch states,
Skill on the instrument is a highly necessary characteristic to every player. It is undeniable that in this specialty music has made giant strides in the past eighteen to twenty years…There are even entire orchestras where all parts are played by musicians every one of whom is an accomplished soloist.58
Notation, too was becoming more detailed and consistent, and increasingly, articulation
and dynamics were notated in the score. Stowell points out that “although articulation
markings were notated inconsistently throughout the eighteenth century, they appear to have
been added more regularly, if not totally reliably, from c. 1750.”59 Performance and notation practices were becoming more precise as a more lyrical string style emerged. A greater variety
of tone colour, articulation and style categories became available.
Mozart’s Expressive Style and Corresponding Performance Practices
Ratner identifies musical style categories within the broader eighteenth-century galant
style. Listed are military and hunting, French overture, pastoral, Turkish, Sturm und Drang,
fantasia, brilliant and singing styles. “References to the singing style are found in Koch, 1802,
and Daube, 1797. The term indicates music in a lyric vein, with a moderate tempo and a
melodic line featuring relatively slow note values and a rather narrow range...The term singing
allegro is presently used to designate a song-like melody set in quick tempo; it is accompanied
by steadily repeated rapid notes or by broken chord figures, as in the first four measures of the
finale of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, K. 551, 1778.”60
58 Heinrich Christoph Koch, “Introductory Essay on Composition, Vol. II, Part 1” (1787), trans Nancy Kovaleff Baker, Aesthetics and the Art of Musical Composition in the German Enlightenment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 153. 59 Stowell, 133.
28
He elaborates by identifying in Mozart’s compositions shifts and contrasts of style
categories within a passage which combines topics from old and new styles, legato and
articulated phrases, varying textures as well as references to well established conventions.
Referring to the first movement of the Prague Symphony, K. 504 (1786), he writes “Such quicksilver changes take place throughout the movement, creating a large-scale rhythm of varied
moods, exhilarating and effervescent”61 and lists the changes by measure:
Measures 1. Singing style, alla breve 37-40 2. Brilliant style, learned 41-42 3. Fanfare I 43-44 4. Singing style, learned 45-48 5. Alla breve, brilliant style 49-50 6. Brilliant style, learned 51-54 7. Brilliant style, modified stile legato 55-62 8. Fanfare II 63-65 9. Brilliant style 66-68 10. Cadential flourish (new material) 69-70 11. Singing style 71-74 12. Alla breve, brilliant style 75-76 13. Learned, brilliant, Alla breve 77-87 14. Storm and Stress 88-94 15. Singing style, later set a learned style 95-12062
Musical character categories are rooted in Italian opera and the character archetypes.
The temperament of a singer had a logical impact on the character, vocal tone and colour, and
was a resource for composers which shaped musical compositions and style. Mozart tailored his
vocal compositions to the strengths of the singer. “I like an aria to fit a singer as perfectly as a
well-made suit of clothes.”63 He would assess the singer’s temperament and technical abilities to emphasize the attributes and cover up the flaws. He respected the dramatic integrity of the
60 Ratner, 19. 61 Ibid., 27. 62 Ibid., 27-28. 63 Anderson, Vol. 2, 736.
29 text, but the vocal instrument itself informed the melodic length and shape. Similarly the
singer’s temperament may have influenced the character of the melody.
In her essay, “Ich bin die erste Sängerin, Vocal Profiles of Two Mozart Sopranos,”
Patricia Lewy Gidwitz observes that “a singer’s vocal style can determine the character of a specific role and on occasion…a composer might turn the spirit of the drama on the vocal style of the singer.”64 Mozart’s preference for the soprano voice and the cantabile style inspired the
works he composed for Aloysia Weber Lange. These works, such as “Vorrei spiegarvi o Dio,”
K. 418 and the Mass in c minor, K. 427, reveal to us the strengths of Lange’s singing. Gidwitz
describes Lange’s as “a voice of great flexibility, with predilection toward portamento singing.
As Mozart appreciated from the very first, she seems to have been particularly at ease in the
upper reaches of her range over light scoring, while the chest voice is generally avoided.
Especially characteristic are scales rising effortlessly into the third octave. Salti often introduced
by gruppetti are carried out within a sustained line. Her style embodies what we think of as
Mozartean cantabile.”65
Mozart himself describes the singing of Lange and his K. 418 aria in a letter to his father dated February 19, 1778:
I only wish you could hear her sing my new aria about which I wrote to you the other day; I say, hear her sing it, for it is absolutely made for her. A man like you who really understands what portamento singing is, would certainly find complete satisfaction in her performance.66
Gidwitz states that Mozart “expressly identifies her with cantabile, and cantabile with
the art of singing.”67 “Vorrei spiegarvi, o Dio” is marked Adagio alla breve and consists of long
64 Patricia Lewy Gidwitz, “Ich bin die erste Sängerin: Vocal Profiles of Two Mozart Sopranos”, Early Music, Vol. 19, No. 4, Performing Mozart’s Music I (Nov., 1991), 566. 65 Ibid. 66 Anderson, Vol. 2, 750. 67 Gidwitz, 575.
30 phrases, connected articulation with few rests, legato and portamento connections, and leaps,
over a vast vocal range. “Mozart provides Lange with a singularly soaring melodic line. Here is portamento singing – connected, shaped, carried on the breath – that must have been both inspired by Lange’s abilities and realized to Mozart’s satisfaction.”68 The vocal capacity of
Aloysia Weber Lange seems to have impacted Mozart’s late compositional style. His admiration
of her portamento is remarkable and his compositions reveal that he encouraged the practice
to some degree.
Mozart was above all a dramatist, adept in all genres whether opera, church music,
concerto or symphony. While the emphasis of this research remains orchestral string
performance practices, expressive string passages selected from all genres warrant
consideration. Examples of the sustained and legato singing style of orchestral string writing
which Mozart exploits in his later works are many and may be considered in several categories.
First, the accompaniment of solo vocal melodies where the vocal line is doubled or supported
by a string texture emphasizes the link between vocal expression and string performance
practices. The best examples are found in Mozart’s sensitive settings of the most expressive
texts at highly dramatic, often intimate moments in his operas.
In the main theme of the aria “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben,” from Zaïde, K. 344
(1780), Mozart sets the intimate text to a tender melody in slow tempo (Tempo di Minuetto
grazioso69) with sustained note values, expressive ascending sixth and octave intervals and
gentle ornamental figures. The melody is doubled by the first and second violins who play in
octaves over supporting lower strings. This purely cantabile style invites legato and the larger
intervals even suggest portamento. The intimate and adoring character of the sustained melody
68 Ibid., 570. 69 The meaning of the Minuet tempo indication became variable in interpretation, similarly to the Andante as discussed on pages 40-41.
31
encourages both vocal and string vibrato. Without vibrato, large intervals cannot become
connected as natural vibrato enhances the capacity for legato. Portamento without vibrato
becomes a glissando and does not relate to the singing style observed in the works composed
by Mozart for Aloysia Weber Lange. (See Chapter Two, “Science of the Voice.”)
In the Finale of Act 4 of le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (1786), the scene of the Count’s apology (“Contessa, perdono”) and the Countess’s forgiveness (“più docile io sono, e dico di sì”)
provides the denouement of the entire opera. In a scene of profound dramatic tenderness,
Mozart depicts the acts of repentance and forgiveness with such touching sincerity that the
buffo is momentarily suspended. The Andante of this music permits a certain freedom of tempo
given the dramatic function and expressivity of the scene. Legato, vibrato, evenness and
lightness of bow, seamlessness of bow-stroke and warmth of tone are essential to the
sentiment expressed in the text, especially in the first eight measures but also in the tutti
which follows, as all characters forgive and are forgiven. In the strings, all notes are slurred,
whether the expressive ascending sixth and seventh intervals in the Count’s apology, or the
ascending fifth interval of the Countess’s forgiveness (and the ascending fourths which follow in
the tutti), or indeed the sustained melody and accompaniment of the entire passage. With a
straight tone the character of this tender music is limited to an indifferent emptiness rather
than the fullness of quiet expression suggested by Mozart’s indication in the score above the
Count’s redeeming melody: “In tuono suppliche vole.” Here, degrees of performance practice
application must be guided by good taste, as Mozart’s verbal instruction cannot be interpreted
with exaggeration if the music and drama are to be realized with the honesty and seeming
simplicity of the text and melody. Too little expression in performance will result in a coldness
and harshness foreign to Mozart’s setting of this intimate moment while any excess will
32
undermine the sincerity of the character’s motivations thereby reducing one of the most
exquisite passages in all musical drama to parody.
Another dramatic high point where strings underline the text and sentiment occurs in
Act 2 of Die Zauberflöte. Pamina and Tamino declare their adoration for each other in a
moment of truth: “Tamino mein! o welch ein Glück! – Pamina meine! o welch ein Glück!” Here the strings, although they are not doubling the melody, contribute to the intimate and expressive moment with melodic voice leading in supporting harmony and sustained expression
and require a tenderness of execution implicit in the dramatic eight-measure phrase, marked
Andante. What may appear in the libretto as a rather uninspired exchange of vows is elevated
to the most sublime truth of emotion through Mozart’s apparently simple setting. In Die
Zauberflöte, the dichotomy between Papageno’s naive comedy and Sarastro’s ritualistic
reverence is anchored by the decidedly honest and good-hearted characters of Pamina and
Tamino and any indifference in the treatment and execution of this passage depicting love and
gratitude undermines the sincerity of the characters and the truth of the drama.
Observed most easily in slow, reverent, quiet passages, tenderness in string playing is
often called for in Mozart’s operas to match the vocal qualities of his text settings. It relates to a
style of theatre favoured by Metastasio who admired “la nobiltà della frase, l'armonia del verso
e la scelta tenerezza dell'espressione.”70 Grove refers to a performance style con tenerezza as
“rather more sentimental than that called for by dolce (sweet), but on the whole having much the
same meaning and use in music.”71 This expression cannot be achieved by bowing alone, as
Norrington suggests. Vibrato, even if in the tempered degree of a quick and shallow
70 Pietro Metastasio, Epistolario Scelto (Venice: Tip. Di Alvisoplo, 1826), Ep. 0295 (Letter), 17. 71 "Teneramente." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.
33 application,72 and legato connectivity are essential to the sensitivity of these remarkable dramatic moments where the truest of human emotions are expressed.
Another category of sustained legato string writing employed by Mozart, often in operatic works, is that of the inner voice of the string section. While other parts activate a rhythmic ostinato or contribute to accompaniment figures with shorter note values often with staccato articulations, Mozart sometimes gives the inner voice, played by the violas, a cantabile sostenuto melodic support to the vocal line serving a cohesive function. In Così fan tutte (1789),
Don Alfonso’s aria “Vorrei dir” is animated by the pulsating sighs and pants provided by all strings except the violas who play a sustained melodic line which threads the aria from start to finish. Here the need for sustained tone and vibrato is doubled by the dramatic irony of the character, never satirical but layered with meaning behind meaning, a dramatic theme throughout the entire opera.
Equally, in the quintet “Di scivermi ogni giorno” the violas accentuate the lyrical while the other strings imitate the tears of departing lovers. After several measures the vocal lines take on the cantabile established by the violas in a phrase suggestive of portamento singing.
Further, in the trio “Soave sia il vento,” the viola part maintains the legato cantabile while the other strings emulate the weeping of the sisters as, they believe, their fiancés sail off to military duty.
No less expressive or vocal in style are melodies found in Mozart’s church music. The
“Laudate Dominum” from Vesperae solonnes de Confessore, K. 339 illustrates the sustained and connected melodic style of intimate Mozartean expression of religious devotion. The quietly ascending melodic contour demands of the singer a free legato which depends on a natural and equally free vibrato. A straight tone from the singer cannot serve this melody, as it creates
72 See the description of Bebung on page 46.
34
laryngeal tension and impedes gentle, unforced tone, just intonation, and legato expressiveness
all of which contribute to the sincerity and tender sensitivity of Mozart’s setting. (See page 59.)
The melody is seamless and long with sustained melismas devoid of rests or articulated notes in the antecedent and only brief rests as for vocal breaths at the end of sub-phrases of the
consequent. The sustained legato style is remarkable and the quiet devotion of this music provides an unusually understated and therefore highly personal and intimate setting of the text imploring God’s mercy. As the first violins introduce the entire melody and then double the voice upon its first entrance, it is clear that the vocal style applies to the orchestral strings as well as the vocal line. This example suggests that ascending melodies sustained without breaks of articulation, breaths or rests, require the vibrant tone. Indeed the natural tendency of the voice is at the core of the expression and inspiration of such compositional creativity. A detailed study of the vocal instrument will be presented in Chapter Two.
Mozart’s choral works provide another context in which orchestral string style and cantando performance practices are illustrated. Ave verum corpus, K. 618 (1791), one of Mozart last compositions, illustrates the cantabile style linked to the composer’s most sincere expression. In a slow tempo (Adagio alla breve), the slurred articulation in the strings including the first violin melody is in a completely connected legato style of the most singable cantabile.
Yet another category of orchestral string writing which warrants the expressive performance practices of vibrato and legato consists of cantabile works relating to a certain sentiment or elevated expression. For example, in the operatic genre, the “Marsch der Priester” from Die Zauberflöte exemplifies the Andante cantabile that is later exploited in Sarastro’s aria
“O Isis un Osiris” (especially at his phrase on the text “so lohnt der Tugend…”). The understated benevolence and sacred reverence of the March demand a similar sincerity to the declaration
35 of love by Pamina and Tamino discussed above. The sacred is depicted by Mozart with warmth of tone and noble legato. This sound concept is anticipated even in the slow introduction of the overture, after the initial tri-chord statement.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 (1786) provides superb examples of the Classical singing style in string playing in a purely instrumental composition. The final rondo movement, Presto alla breve, features lyrical passages and connected articulation, but it is mostly in a witty brilliant style. The first and second movements illustrate best Mozart’s cantabile style. In the opening singing Allegro in common metre, the lyrical four-measure antecedent phrase has no rests, staccato articulation, ornamentation or other lift of the bow, but rather maintains a continuity and fluidity of bow-stroke. Mozart’s precise notation of slurs indicates a minimum of two notes, whether long or short, per bow. The maximum is four quarter notes on a single bow-stroke in the third measure. The cantabile style recalls Leopold’s instruction of seamless bowing and a singing tone is clearly inherent in the design. The consequential phrase has more variety of articulation, notably the rising scale of staccato notes in the violins. But even here it is in the context of a cantabile style: the lower strings take on the lyrical identity and, after the scale, the violins resolve the phrase on a legato figure which is passed to the bass line. The phrases are dove-tailed, the melodies are in very sustained rhythms and the articulation is connected. This music provides every opportunity for phrase vibrato, portamento and sustained cantabile playing.
In the Adagio movement in 6/8 metre, after the initial theme is played by solo piano,
Mozart inserts an orchestral side theme before the modulation bridge appears, as though reversing the conventional order of the components in concerto composition. This “transition theme” is in sentence form and, despite its lyricism, has a serious character reminiscent of the
36 Fig 1.3 W. A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488, Second Movement
37 38 39
Baroque largo. It requires exceptional sustain and singing quality in its execution and is
supremely expressive. The first violins play on the string for 47 beats in slow tempo over eight
measures, 2+2+4. In F# minor, long strains of unornamented string melody in full note values are slurred together with no rests or articulations, but one staccato eighth-note,73 to interrupt the flow of tone. The sustained tone intensifies the draw of the melody toward its completion at the cadence and lacks the fragmented and articulated conventions of traditional rhetorical structure.
This example is significant in the discussion of legato, portamento, sustained tone,
phrase vibrato and variants of tempo. The Adagio tempo indication in K. 488 produces an
eighth-note pulse, an emphasis of the sub-beat in the compound 6/8 metre, resulting in a slow
pulse on the larger rhythmic units of dotted-quarter notes. The slow tempo enhances the
cantabile melodic expression and contributes to the sustained lyrical style. Editors began
replacing the Adagio indication of Mozart’s second movement with Andante. The expressive
Classical cantabile style emerged during a period of flux in the meaning of the Andante tempo
indication. The ambiguity forming around the term during Mozart’s lifetime occurs during the
early stages of a gradual retardation of tempo lasting into the nineteenth century. Harnoncourt
confirms:
It was precisely at the time of Mozart that the change in meaning began which transformed andante into a slow tempo, a shift which reversed the significance of these modifications. Around 1813, Beethoven wrote to an English “melody-supplier”: “If andantinos are included in the melodies you send me in the future for composition, I would ask you to indicate whether the andantino is intended to be slower or faster than andante, since this expression, like many others in music, has such an imprecise meaning that andantino can at time approach allegro, but at other times be almost an adagio.” In 1833, Carl Gollmick wrote in his critical terminology: “The literal translation of andante to mean walking has resulted in serious misunderstandings. Andante belongs definitely to the slow tempos.” It is clear that the meaning accepted today had already asserted itself,
73 This staccato articulation does not appear in Mozart’s autograph manuscript but it is likely what was played.
40 and concern was felt that it could be misunderstood in accordance with the old usage of the 18th century.74
The slowing trend of the Andante and variable pacing of the Minuet75 accommodate singable cantabile themes in instrumental music in the late eighteenth century. Lyricism influenced slow and fast tempi in the late works. As the Andante cantabile was considered a somewhat slower tempo, the singing Allegro, too was only as fast as its lyricism would permit, as it was melodically conceived with the vocal style in mind. Quantz associates Andante with the slower tempos in his instructions emphasizing the important relationship between tempo and character of expression:
Hence in playing you must regulate yourself in accordance with the prevailing sentiment, so that you do not play a very melancholy Adagio too quickly or a cantabile Adagio too slowly. Thus the following kinds of slow pieces, that is, the Cantabile, Arioso, Affetuoso, Andante, Andantino, Largo, Larghetto, &c., must be very clearly distinguished from a pathetic Adagio. As to tempo or movement, you must judge the requirements of each piece by the individual context…76
While Mozart’s Adagio tempo is clearly intentional and well-suited to the melody and character, the editorial change of tempo indication in the second movement marks a trend modifying the general meaning and feeling of the Andante toward the slow cantabile espressivo. The lyricism and quasi tragic character of the Adagio from the A major concerto requires an unrushed tempo, the most connected legato, seamless bow-strokes, and warm sustained tone with phrase vibrato.
This music illustrates passages of the finest Mozartean cantabile style and when compared to the melodic styles of the early to mid-century, it signals the evolution of the High
Classical style. The fragmented phrasing, short articulation and ornate rhythms in the first
74 Harnoncourt, The Musical Diaogue, 96. 75 As illustrated by “Ruhe Sanft” from Zaide. See page 31. 76 Johann Quantz, On Playing the Flute. Translated by Edward R. Reilly. (London: Farber and Farber, 2001), “On the manner of Playing Adagio,” par 7.
41 half of the century gave way to a more sustained and connected legato style in the second half, with a notable impact on string technique and performance practices.
42 CHAPTER TWO: INDICATORS OF HISTORICAL VIBRATO APPLICATIONS
Current Opinion and Scholarship addressing String Vibrato
Modern scholars tend to agree that string vibrato in the early eighteenth century
remained an occasional ornamental embellishment of a note rather than a tone enhancement applied to an entire phrase. More contentious is the historical evolution toward phrase
vibrato. Clive Brown summarizes a popular view regarding eighteenth-century string vibrato:
There seems to have been a broad consensus among the great majority of musical authorities that the basic sound should be a steady one and that vibrato, along with other ornamental techniques, should occur as an incidental colouring or embellishment on particular notes. The modern concept of continuous vibrato as a fundamental element of tone production began to evolve, under Franco-Belgian influence, only towards the end of the nineteenth century; but it was not until the early decades of the twentieth century that this new aesthetic began to be firmly established and widely accepted. Eberhardt’s Der beseelte Violin-Ton was the first treatise to deal with the mechanism of vibrato on string instruments, clearly identifying left-hand vibrato rather than the bow with the production of a fine and individual tone quality.1
This theory of a very recent evolution can be questioned. That Eberhardt (1910) was the first to
write an entire treatise specific to phrase vibrato does not pre-empt previous existence of the
practice. He is not inventing a new style when he says “artistic finish in playing is impossible
without a correctly made vibrato.”2
That vibrato existed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in some form and to
some degree is evident. Frederick Neumann compiles the earliest commentary and historical
opinion on vibrato in his monograph Performance Practices of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Centuries. In a discussion of instrumental vibrato he first cites French musicians, such as Basset
(first name unknown), a lute specialist who contributed to Marin Mersenne’s 1636 publication
Harmonie universelle. He indicates that in lute playing "the violent shaking of the hand without
1 Clive Brown, Classical and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 521. 2 Ibid, 525. See also Siegfried Eberhardt, Der beseelte Violin-Ton (Dresden: Gerhard Kühtmann, 1910), translated as Violin Vibrato: Its Mastery and Artistic Uses (New York: Carl Fischer, 1911).
43 allowing the finger to leave the string…was used infrequently, in reaction to its overuse by the older generation. Here we have testimony of a fashion swing.”3 Left-hand techniques in lute playing may relate to ornamentation on bowed instruments, if only remotely, but it is interesting to consider that vibrato use may have waxed and waned over the history of instrumental performance. In his 1687 treatise L’Art de toucher le dessus de basse de violle,
Danoville (first name unknown) employs the term “battement” for vibrato which “has tenderness and fills the ear with sad and languishing sweetness.”4 In the same year, in his
Traité de la viole, Jean-Jacques Rousseau uses the word “langueur” to mean the one-finger type of vibrato (as opposed to the two-finger type he refers to, however, as the “battement”) and recommends its use “any place (en toutes rencontres) where the length of the note permits it and that it is done for the full extent of the tone.”5 This surprisingly liberal description is interesting in that vibrato, albeit an embellishment of a single note at a time, is not limited to a very brief ornament as is often suggested by modern musicologists.
An early mention of string vibrato in Italy is found in the 1542 viol treatise of Sylvestro
Ganassi, Regola rubertina. “At times one trembles with the bow and with the fingers of the hand around the neck in order to achieve an expression appropriate for sad and aggrieved music” indicating, according to Neumann, “a combination of left-hand (pitch) and right-hand
(intensity).”6 The emotional impact of vibrato is emphasized by the English violist, Christopher
Simpson, in his Division-Violist of 1659. He refers to vibrato as a “close shake” describing it as “a ‘feminine’ grace that is used to express love, sorrow or compassion.”7 Specific to violin
3 Neumann, 500. See also Mersenne, Harmonie Universelle: Traité des instruments à cordes (Paris: S. Cramoisy, 1636), 3: 80-81. (All translations are by Neumann unless otherwise indicated). 4 Ibid. See also Danoville, L’Art de toucher le dessus de basse de violle (Paris: C. Ballard, 1687), 41. 5 Ibid., 501. See also Jean Rousseau, Traité de la viole (Paris: C. Ballard, 1687), 100-101. 6 Ibid., 502. See also Sylvestro Ganassi, Regola rubertina (Venice: Ganassi, 1542), pt 1, chap. 2. 7 Ibid., 504. See also Christopher Simpson, The Division-Violist: or an Introduction to the Playing of a Ground…(London: printed by William Godbid and sold by John Playford, 1659), 9.
44
playing and referring exclusively to left-hand vibrato, Giuseppe Tartini dedicates an entire
chapter of his treatise of ca. 1750, Regole per...il violino and “shows how the speed of the
vibrato can be varied, being even, slow, fast or accelerating according to needs of the
‘Affekt’.”8
In Germany, Martin Agricola makes early reference to left-hand vibrato in his Musica
Instrumentalis deudsch (1545). Discussing Polish violins, his poetic verses depict melody
sweetened with “free trembling.” (“Auch schafft man mit dem Zittern frey / Das süsser laut die
Melodey.”)9 Similarly, Johann Crüger states in his Synopsis Musica (1654) "It would be more
praiseworthy and more agreeable to the listener if on the violin they would make use of a
steady, sustained, long bowstroke together with a fine vibrato."10
More pertinent to Mozart and the eighteenth century, Clive Brown refers in his Classical
and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900 to other frequently quoted musical authorities
spanning Mozart’s lifetime who mentioned string vibrato. In light of his treatise, The Art of
Playing on the Violin (1751) written five years before Mozart’s birth, Francesco Geminiani is
noted as being the first to encourage “vibrato ‘as often as possible’ even on short notes, since
when made on short notes ‘it only contributes to make their Sound more agreeable.’”11 It must not be assumed, however, that frequency of use implies a degree of application found in modern interpretations of romantic music. Just as Mozart was preparing his move to Vienna,
Johann Adam Hiller (1780) encouraged application of the Bebung, an appreciably subtler application which
8 Ibid., 503. See also Giuseppe Tartini, Regole per arrivare a saper ben suonar il violin… (Venice: Tartini, ca 1750), 15-16. 9 Ibid. See also Martin Agricola, Musica Instrumentalis deudsch (Wittenberg: Georg Rhau, 1545), fol. 42. 10 Ibid., 506. See also Johann Crüger, Synopsis Musica (Berlin: Crüger and Christoph Runge, 1654), 189. 11 Brown, 524. See also Francesco Geminiani, The Art of Playing on the Violin (London: Geminiani, 1751), 8.
45 consists in not holding a long tone steadily, but allowing it to weaken and strengthen somewhat, without its thereby becoming higher or lower. On string instruments it is most easily done by a back-and-forth rocking of the fingers that stop the strings.12
This description echoes the writing of Johann Quantz who refers in his treatise, On Playing the
Flute (1752) to the battement or Bebung as “a good vibrato that is not too quick.”13
German cellist, J.J.F. Dotzauer (1783-1860) informs that “to shake or tremble with the finger on long notes is indeed an old ornament [Manier], nevertheless, introduced infrequently and in the right places -- which is a matter of good taste -- it ought not to be wholly rejected.
This ornament even has precedence before that vibrato [Tremolo] which comes from the bow, particularly when the latter is a result of nervousness.”14 Here it seems Dotzauer is referring to the seventeenth-century ornament described above, which has by the eighteenth century become less fashionable. It may be that the quick and shallow Bebung, which enlivens the string thereby enhancing the tone of several notes or of an entire phrase, was gradually replacing the ornamental vibrato embellishment. In any case, not everyone approved. John
Gunn makes the following assessment in his treatise, The Art of Playing the German Flute
(London, 1793):
The Modern refinements in the performance of music, however multifarious and complicated they may be thought, have certainly not increased the number of what may be called graces, but on the contrary, have considerably reduced their number, and greatly simplified them. The performers of the old school had much more of what may be called graces of the finger, than the modern, which cultivates more the expression and powers of the bow, and the management of tone. There was formerly in use a numerous list of graces, some with and others without characters to represent them, and for the most part discontinued.
Among these was the dumb shake [i.e. close shake], on stringed instruments, corresponding to what the French call flattement on the flute, and in our language, I think,
12 Ibid.,, 539. See also Johann Adam Hiller, Anweisung zum musikalische-zierlichen Gesang (Leipzig: J. F. Junius, 1780), 75-76. 13 Quantz, Ch. XVII, section 2, par. 32. 14 Ibid, 528. See also Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, Méthode de violoncelle/Violonzell-Schule (Mainz: B. Schott, ca. 1825), 28.
46 called Sweetenings,…producing a trembling palsied expression, inconsistent with just intonation, and not unlike that extravagant trembling of the voice which the French call chevroter, to make a goat-like noise; for which the singers at the Opera at Paris so often have been ridiculed.15
Gunn’s lament of the fading “old school” seems to support the theory that there was a
fashion change in the eighteenth century from the isolated embellishment of a single note with
variable, suggestive subtlety to a sustained vibrato application, perhaps even phrase vibrato.
Robert Bremner expresses conservatism regarding vibrato application and ornamentation in
general due to concern for intonation. In Some thoughts on the performance of Concert Music
(1777) he suggests that “every tone should be as void of ornament as if produced by an open string.”16 In the 1770s, the Italian violinist, Francesco Galeazzi was against vibrato use but
affirms its existence, observing vibrato as
a vacillating pitch and a certain continual trembling not unpleasant to those people [who do it]; but these are most genuine discords which can please only those who are accustomed to them and which should be entirely banned from music by anyone equipped with good taste.17
His comments again underscore a change in practice and attitude regarding string vibrato. In
England at the turn of the nineteenth century, John Jousse expresses similar contempt for the
“obsolete grace” in Theory and Practice of the Violin (1811). As his comments appear to be
primarily associated with the old style of composition where equal expression among parts is desirable, he recommends only occasional application on sustained tones:
Though for the sake of variety, the Tremolo might at times be introduced on a long note in a single melody; yet if it be introduced in a piece of harmony, in which the beauty and
15 Ibid, 527. See also John Gunn, The Art of Playing the German Flute (London: Gunn and Birchall, 1793), 18. 16 Ibid, 526. See also Robert Bremner, “Some Thoughts on the Performance of Concert Music,” published as preface to J.G.C. Schetcky, Six Quartettos for Two Violins, a Tenor, and Violoncello op. VI. To which are prefixed some thoughts on the performance of concert-music by the publisher (London: R. Bremner, 1777); reprint in Neil Zaslaw, “The Compleat Orchestral Musician,” Early Music, 7 (1979), 46. 17 Ibid., 527. See also Francesco Galeazzi, Elementi reorico-practci di musica, con un saggio sopra l’arte di suonare il violin annalizzata, ed a dimostrabili principi ridotta, vol 1 (Rome: Pilacchi Cracas and Michele Puccinelli, 1791- 6), 171.
47 energy of the performance depends on the unified effect of all the parts being exactly in tune with each other, it becomes hurtful and disgusting.18
Georg Simon Löhlein in his treastise, Anweisung zum Violinspielen (1774) cautions “one
must not be too liberal in its use”19 yet indicates vibrato notation in the form of a series of dots
above sustained notes in one of the practice pieces.20 Louis Spohr in his Violinschule (1832)
recommends vibrato “in strongly accenting notes marked with fz or >.” He warns that students
“should guard against using it too often, and in improper places.”21 He also describes the
technique of accelerating and decelerating vibrato rate in dynamic crescendo and
diminuendo.22
Leopold Mozart’s Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule (1756) is undoubtedly one of
the most valuable sources of eighteenth-century violin performance practice. Peter Walls
attests to the importance of the treatise. “The Violinschule was not regarded as outdated even
late in the 18th century…Four editions appeared before the end of the century, one of them
revised by Leopold, and it was translated into Dutch and French (in the latter case without
Leopold’s knowledge).”23 Leopold Mozart describes the natural phenomenon of vibrato and its
execution on the violin, and recommends its application on long notes and final notes of
phrases especially, warning against overuse.
The Tremolo is an ornamentation which arises from Nature herself and which can be used charmingly on a long note, not only by good instrumentalists but also by clever singers. Nature herself is the instructress thereof. For if we strike a slack string or a bell sharply, we hear after the stroke a certain wave-like undulation (ondeggiamento) of the
18 Ibid, 527. See also John Jousse, Theory and Practice of the Violin (London: Goulding, Phipps, D’Almaine and Co., ca. 1805), 48. 19 Ibid, 525. See also Georg Simon Löhlein, Anweisung zum Violinspielen, mit pracktischen [sic] Beyspielen und zur Uebung mit vier und zwanzig kleinen Duetten erläutert (Leipzig and Züllichau: Frommann, 1774), 4th ed., rev. Johann Friedrich Reichardt (Leipzig and Züllichau: Frommann, 1797), 51. 20 Ibid, 547-548. See also Löhlein, 68. 21 Ibid, 519. See also Louis Spohr, Violinschule (Vienna: T. Haslinger, 1832); trans. John Bishop as Louis Spohr’s Celebrated Violin School (London: R. Cocks, 1843), 163. 22 Ibid, 549. See also Spohr, 176. 23 Walls, 22.
48 struck note. And this trembling after-sound is called tremolo, also tremulant [or tremoleto].
Take pains to imitate this natural quivering on the violin, when the finger is pressed strongly down on the string, and one makes a small movement with the whole hand; which however must not move sideways but forwards toward the bridge and backwards toward the scroll; of which some mention has already been made in Chapter V. For as, when the remaining trembling sound of a struck string or bell is not pure and continues to sound not on one note only but sways first too high, then too low, just so by the movement of the hand forward and backward must you endeavour to imitate exactly the swaying of these intermediate tones.
Now because the tremolo is not purely on one note but sounds undulating, so would it be an error if every note were played with the tremolo. Performers there are who tremble consistently on each note as if they had the palsy. The tremolo must only be used at places where nature herself would produce it; namely as if the note taken were the striking of an open string. For at the close of a piece, or even at the end of a passage which closes with a long note, that last note would inevitably, if struck for instance on a pianoforte, continue to hum for a considerable time afterwards. Therefore a closing note or any other sustained note may be decorated with a tremolo [tremoleto].24
Leopold’s description of vibrato technique in 1756 seems to match that of modern schools, yet he calls it an ornament and reserves it for certain places. It is difficult to determine what he may have meant by “where nature herself would produce it,” but he guides us suggesting vibrato on long, emphatic notes of the melody. As longer note values are characteristic, for example, of slow movements and second themes in fast movements, among other contexts,
Leopold’s instruction may be seen as insinuating the application of vibrato even if discreetly, in such phrases. However, Leopold does not seem to endorse phrase vibrato with the enthusiasm of Geminiani.
It is evident that since the sixteenth century, there have been string vibrato techniques in degrees of application with varying fashion and taste. Opinions vary among the masters themselves. However, there can be little doubt that vibrato existed in some form. Caution against overuse and misuse is well reasoned but not proof of a lack of vibrato. Rather the
24 Leopold Mozart, A Treatise on the Fundamental Principals of Violin Playing, Translated by Editha Knocker (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951. Originally published 1756), 203-204.
49
opposite, it implies a current use of vibrato to some degree. The distinction between the
seventeenth-century ornamental embellishment on one note and the eighteenth-century
Bebung which may treat more than one note is key, and may signify the beginning of the
evolution of phrase vibrato. In the nineteenth century the production of tone, legato phrasing,
portamento and vibrato were likely essential to Romantic expression as suggested by character
indications in scores such as “passionata” and “wild.” The Romantic concepts of the artistic
genius and individual expression were emerging, inspired by the music and temperaments of
Beethoven, Wagner and Berlioz. Grand proportions in compositional structure and
instrumentation evolved. Programmatic music with nature as a recurring theme became most
popular, whether in the pastoral character of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 or the mysterious
and magical forest music of Weber’s Der Freischütz. Other composers, such as Berlioz in
Symphonie fantastique and Chopin in slow movements of his piano concertos, created dreamy
or fantastical soundscapes projecting the artist’s experience, often in works with free form and
melodies with sustained long notes. Equally, the suave Viennese waltz style of Johann Strauss
Jr. invites discussion of string tone as does the expressive contrast of dynamics and intensity in
Mahler’s string music, as illustrated by the Adagietto from Symphony No. 5. Perhaps more than
anyone else, Wagner consistently composed long sustained melodic structures requiring a
consideration of tone quality and legato manner of string playing. “What Wagner seems to
have valued above all in Beethoven's symphonies -- perhaps as prototype for his own ideal of
‘endless melody’25 – was a musical texture in which every moment was compelling and
meaningful, ‘always enthralling through so vivid a movement that the listener cannot escape its
25 Thomas S. Grey, Wagner's Musical Prose: Texts and Contexts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 251-54; Klaus Kropfinger, Wagner and Beethoven: Richard Wagner's Reception of Beethoven, trans. Peter Palmer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 103-10.
50 impression, but rather, strained to extreme attention, must grant melodic significance to every
harmonic note, indeed every rhythmic pause.’"26
The predominance of sustained notes and legato passages in nineteenth-century
musical language contributed to a performance style whereby tone colour and melodic
phrasing are essential to expression. At the same time, the sound concept for strings in the
nineteenth century was increasingly vocal in character. Theorist and musicologist John Parsons
writes that “..for nineteenth-century teachers, critics, and theorists the use of the metaphor of
the human voice to explain musical expression on the violin was the dominant mode of
pedagogical, critical, and analytical discourse.”27 In L’Art du Violon (1834), Pierre Baillot states
that vibrato “gives the sound of the instrument a close analogy with the human voice when it is strongly touched with emotion.”28
In the first half of the nineteenth century in Germanic Europe, two violin teachers,
among others, had a significant influence on the next generations of violinists. The Hungarian
violinist Joseph Böhm (1795-1876) contributed to the Viennese school of violin playing in the
nineteenth century. He played in the Court Orchestra and was Director of the Vienna
Conservatory, and violin professor there from 1819 to 1848. His many students
included Edouard Reményi, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Jakob Dont, Georg Hellmesberger, Jakob
Grün, Sigismund Bachrich, and Joseph Joachim. Böhm was a student of Rode, who was taught
by Viotti. In 1799, Viotti’s playing was described as having a “Somewhat strong tremulando” in
the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung29 suggesting vibrato was a feature to some extent in the
26 Margaret Notley, “‘Volksconcerte’ in Vienna and Late Nineteenth-Century Ideology of the Symphony,” Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 50, No. 2/3 (Summer - Autumn, 1997), 430. 27 John Parsons, Review: Theory and Practice in Late Nineteenth-Century Violin Performance: An Examination of Style in Performance, 1850—1900.by David Milsom (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003) Music and Letters 86.3. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 492-493. 28 Brown, 530. See also Pierre Baillot, L’Art du Violon (Mainz: B. Schott, 1834), 138-9. 29 Brown, 762. See also Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, I (1798-9).
51 technique of this line of violin instruction and performance. German violinist, composer and
conductor Louis Spohr (1784-1859) also had a significant impact on playing style especially
among German violinists, given that he maintained a private studio teaching approximately 200
students over his career. As mentioned above, in his treatise Violinschule (1832), Spohr’s
instructions regarding vibrato application address tone and the enhancement of accents and
dynamics.30
In the mid-nineteenth century, Charles de Bériot encourages a varied approach to
vibrato application with a range of degree of application. In his treatise Méthode (1858), he
writes “Vibrato (son vibré) is an accomplishment with the artist who knows how to use it with
effect, and to abstain from it when that is necessary; but it becomes a fault when too
frequently employed. This habit, involuntarily acquired, degenerates into a bad shake or
nervous trembling …”31
Robert Philip draws attention to more recent string specialists and their views regarding string vibrato use at the beginning of the twentieth century. In their publication Violinschule
(1905) Joseph Joachim and Andreas Moser warn pupils “against the habitual use of the tremolo,
especially in the wrong place” and to “use the vibrato only where the expression seems to
demand it”32 suggesting the practice had gained prominence at the end of the nineteenth
century. They refer to Spohr’s treatise as authoritative. The performance practice in the early
twentieth century is described by Leopold Auer, a student of Joachim, in his treatise Violin
Playing as I teach it (1921): “The vibrato is an effect, an embellishment; it can lend a touch of divine pathos to the climax of a phrase or the course of a passage, but only if the player has
30 Ibid,, 519. 31 Ibid., 531-532. 32 Robert Philip, Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental Performance 1900-1950 (Cambidge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 99.
52 cultivated a delicate sense of proportion in the use of it.”33 Siegfried Eberhardt (1910),
mentioned above, goes further, insisting that “vibrato acts as the main function of the entire
technical equipment of the violinist.”34 And the more moderate Hans Wessely (1913) writes in
a letter to Fritz Kreisler:
None will gainsay the enormous importance of this invaluable asset, without which violin playing is lifeless and void. Moderation, however, must be the invariable rule. The “vibrato” must correspond to the various shades of the phrase in which it is being used and thus, like the painter’s brush, be capable of delineating the many hues of colour which the violinist feels to be the emotion and reflection of his innermost soul.35
This seems an apt description of phrase vibrato.
Solo versus Ensemble Performance
Further complicating the discussion of vibrato in eighteenth-century string playing is the debate around solo versus ensemble playing. Neal Zaslaw suggests that vibrato is appropriate for solo playing but not for ensembles, citing a rather cynical view of ripieno playing offered by
Francesco Galeazzi in 1791. “It is worth observing that expression is one thing when you play in a full orchestra but something different when you play solo. Expression in the whole orchestra is reduced almost entirely to the lowly, practical mechanics of performing at the right moment the pianos and fortes that are notated in the music.”36 David Boyden avoids discussion of
orchestral vibrato and simply concludes that “It is unlikely that orchestral players used it at all.”37 There is, however, no evidence that vibrato was forbidden in orchestral playing. As today, many young musicians were taught to play without immediate concern whether their destiny was as a soloist or orchestra member. Again as today, musicians may have taken
33 Ibid., 522. 34 Ibid, 101. 35 Ibid. 36 Zaslaw, Mozart’s Symphonies, 473. 37 David D. Boyden, The History of Violin Playing and its Relationship to the Violin and Violin Music (London: Oxford University Press, 1965), 389.
53
liberties as soloists while in turn adjusting to expressive compromise in ensemble playing but
there is no reason to believe this resulted in a total elimination of vibrato. If phrase vibrato was applied in solo playing it was likely employed to some degree in orchestral performance also.
Further, given the small numbers in many eighteenth-century ensembles, there may not have been a significant division between solo and orchestral playing.
As Philip points out in his discussion of orchestral string musicians of the early twentieth
century, “then as now, students simply learned the violin or cello in the style of the day,
whether they were in the end destined for a career as soloists or in orchestras.”38 Surely this would apply to string players in Mozart’s day. The idiosyncrasies of remarkable soloists most likely did not typify ensemble playing, but the all-or-nothing argument seems illogical. Why would Mozart sacrifice altogether a core element of the singing tone in ensemble playing?
Would players not rather be trained to control vibrato to a degree and limit its application to appropriate passages, as Leopold Mozart instructs in his treatise? Should a cantabile theme in orchestral playing not have the vocal characteristics so desirable in instrumental playing? It is unlikely that orchestral players were of a different musical training or tradition than soloists, but rather possible that vibrato was applied to a lesser degree. In sonata form, for example, some degree of singing tone especially in a slow introduction, the second theme of Allegro movements and slow movements generally offers expressive contrast to the Allegro passages, as these passages are most often characterised by the long tones described by Leopold Mozart.
Other factors have influence on this discussion. Daniel Koury points out that, as the classical style of W.A. Mozart and F.J. Haydn evolved from the Stil galant and empfindsamer
Stil, the configuration of the orchestra evolved to that which is today referred to as the
38 Philip, 179.
54 classical orchestra.39 While Haydn still led his orchestra from the keyboard in the 1790s, the
harpsichord was phased out of the orchestral sound texture in the second half of the eighteenth century. Increasingly, orchestras were being led by the first violin. No longer anchored around a keyboard instrument, the textures of the new style with an emphasis on phrasing inspired by vocal melody, resulted in the seating of first and second violins on opposite sides of the bass for an antiphonal effect. As the eighteenth century progressed, concert halls were constructed as a new middle class audience grew, requiring larger orchestras and the need to project sound. This would impact the number of players and the execution of performance, possibly influencing the practice of phrase vibrato.
Considering historical writings and modern scholarship, it is reasonable to conclude that vibrato in the eighteenth century existed in an application beyond the ornamentation of a single note. Scholars acknowledge the existence of string vibrato but there is division of opinion regarding its function and application. The discussion above suggests that vibrato as an embellishment of a single note is an application which predates the “singing tone” or cantabile style described by Mozart, and was considered an old practice in the second half of the eighteenth century. Whether advocating or dismissive of phrase vibrato, historical writings support the probability that phrase vibrato was applied in string playing before the twentieth century. While the questions of degree and good taste remain elusive, Norrington’s absolute dismissal of vibrato lacks historical rationale. Further evidence is required to arrive at a decisive conclusion.
39 Koury, 6.
55 The Science and Nature of the Voice
In his celebrated treatise, On Playing the Flute, under the chapter entitled “Of Good
Execution in General in Singing and Playing,” Quantz summarizes the challenge for both singers and instrumentalists to perform with good taste:
Each instrumentalist must strive to execute that which is cantabile as a good singer executes it. The singer, on the other hand, must try in lively pieces to achieve the fire of good instrumentalists, as much as the voice is capable of it.40
The instrumental cantabile style in Mozart’s music is clearly inspired by the voice and its qualities. To understand a singing tone in string playing it seems logical that we must understand the singing voice. What are the vocal characteristics desirable in the expressive instrumental playing described by Mozart? Linked with immediacy to the singer’s emotions, the voice’s capacity to colour, emphasize, articulate and phrase has inspired expressions of equal impact on the listener through the instrumental cantabile style. Two characteristics issuing
from this transfer have bearing more specifically on performance practice of the orchestral
string repertoire: the voice possesses an innate sense of connectivity and a natural tendency to
vibrate.
Vocal pedagogue Richard Miller opines that “Legato singing is the most musical thing
possible. Connected vocal sound permits both depth and brilliance of sound while retaining
good vowel definition. Whether by a violin, a pianoforte, or a voice, beauty of timbre best
communicates emotion.”41 The connectivity in string playing is realized in a legato style and
most clearly demonstrated in the use of portamento, a practice which has waned in recent
decades. More easily detected in early recordings than orchestral string vibrato, portamento is
clearly evident in historical recordings of vocal and instrumental repertoire but has fallen out of
40 Quantz, par. 19. 41 Richard Miller, Solutions for Singers: Tools for Performers and Teachers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 200.
56
fashion since the mid-twentieth century.42 This illustrates that, again, fashion and trend have
had an impact on performance practice over time.43 In orchestral music today, string
portamento is reserved mostly for late nineteenth-century music, German, Austrian and Czech
repertoire, especially when a folk idiom is introduced.44
Vibrato is more controversial.
Vocal researcher and scientist, Johan Sundberg offers a scientific evaluation of vibrato
as a natural phenomenon of the singing voice, supporting Mozart’s assessment.
Almost all professional opera singers develop vibrato without thinking about it and without trying actively to acquire it…Physically, the vibrato corresponds to a periodic, rather sinusoidal modulation of the phonation frequency. The regularity of this modulation is considered a sign of the singer’s vocal skill: the more regular the vibrato, the more skilled the singer…it is characterized by two parameters: the rate and the extent of the undulations. The vibrato rate specifies the number of undulations per second. The extent describes how far each phonation frequency rises and falls during a vibratory cycle. The rate of the frequency modulation is generally considered to be constant with a singer…Generally, a vibrato rate of less than 5.5 undulations per second sounds unacceptably slow, and vibrato rates exceeding 7.5 undulations per second tend to sound nervous. However, it seems that the rate may be affected by the emotional involvement of the singer. The amplitude of the vibrato undulations varies with the loudness of phonation, according to Winckel (1953).45
Richard Miller, too, presents a modern definition of vocal vibrato, which in no way contradicts Mozart’s statement, as “desirable natural pitch variation, the result of neurological impulses during proper coordination of airflow and vocal-fold approximation; a laryngeal relaxant principle characteristic of cultivated singing.”46 According to Miller, the accuracy of
42 Philip, 180. 43 Despite the evidence, current performers of nineteenth-century music, self-proclaimed as historically informed, remain wary of string portamento and exclude it with little controversy. 44 For example, symphonies of Dvorak, Viennese waltzes of Johann Strauss Jr, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. 45 Johan Sundberg, The Science of the Singing Voice (Dekalb: North Illinois University Press: 1987), 163-164. See also F. Winckel, “Physikalische Kriterien für objektive Stimmbeurteilung,” Folia Phoniatrica (1953), 5 Seperatum, 231-252. 46 Richard Miller, Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 191. See also Scott McCoy, Your Voice: An inside View (Princeton: Inside View Press, 2004), 5.
57 the “centre pitch” depends on the quality of airflow and the freedom and availability of the
physical components involved in the production of vibrato:
Full vibrancy, the source of normal vibrato, cannot result if pitch variation is restricted. Fiberoptic studies reveal that not only the vocal folds oscillate during vibrato; motion takes place in the pharyngeal wall, the epiglottis, and, to some extent, the base of the tongue. This motion is a major component of the relaxation process that comes from coordinating breath energy with vocal-fold responses, and is essential to professional vocalism.47
While the laryngeal muscles must be relaxed and available for vibrato to occur, the
airflow must be energized and free. Vocal expert Scott McCoy describes the singer’s breathing
apparatus and the phenomenon of muscular antagonism: “Muscular antagonism occurs when
two or more sets of muscles contract in opposing directions…Muscular antagonism is important
in breathing for singing, where the muscles of inspiration are contracted to resist the action of
the muscles of expiration.”48
Experts agree that vibrato is a natural, healthy and desirable characteristic of the voice.
While “the precise source of the phenomenon of vibrato remains elusive,”49 the coordination
of airflow released through the dynamic relationship of muscular antagonism, vocal-fold
approximation and pharyngeal relaxation contributes to the normal occurrence that is vocal
vibrato. This is confirmed by Sundberg: “Variations in synchrony with the vibrato have been
observed in two systems, both of which affect phonation frequency; they are the laryngeal
musculature (mainly the cricothyroid muscles) and the breathing system.”50
Here, contrasting vibrato with straight tone is helpful.
In their 1971 publication, “Aerodynamic study of vibrato and voluntary straight tone
47 Miller, Solutions., 121-122. Interestingly he observes that “When vibrato is permitted to take full-swinging pitch excursion, it actually acts as a centering intonation device. Fully vibrant tone is squarely on pitch. Vibrato is essential to elite singing. It is an important element of resonant timbre, and should not be removed from the voice, except for an occasional coloristic effect.” 48 McCoy, 81. 49 Miller, Securing. 121. 50 Sundberg, 165.
58
pairs in singing”, John W. Large and Shigenobu Iwata explore the characteristics of the singer’s
vibrato in caparison to straight tone.
Vibrato and voluntary straight tone were juxtaposed in a task in which fundamental frequency and intensity were kept constant. The vowel a was sung by advanced student female singers in three different registers: chest register at 220 Hz, middle register at 440 Hz, and head register at 880 Hz. Air flow was recorded by a pneumotachographic system. It was found that fluctuations of air flow in vibrato were synchronous with the amplitude vibrato.51
The results seem to confirm that vibrato involves airflow fluctuations due to muscular antagonism in breathing and vocal-fold and pharyngeal response. Further, it suggests that this
is the voice’s natural tendency. The production of straight tone requires a muscular tension in
the breathing apparatus to hold the airflow at a steady rate of release, compromising the
dynamic relationship of muscular antagonism. The glottis responds with muscular rigidity sacrificing timbre, resonance, dynamic shading, intonation and agility:
The air flow rate for vibrato is usually 10% higher than that for straight tone in all registers. Such a result can be explained on the basis of the greater average glottal resistance resulting from the constantly working musculature necessary to inhibit the vibrato.52
The conclusion to be drawn is that straight tone requires muscular tension and is not a natural
tendency of the voice. By contrast, vibrato is a result of skilful and healthy vocal technique.
Mozart’s expertise should not be doubted, as his observation that “the human voice trembles
naturally” is scientifically validated by twenty-first-century technology.
A straight singing tone without vibrato sacrifices other desirable qualities of the singing
voice. Miller states that a conscious decision to remove vibrato “becomes a pitfall for both
legato and intonation.”53 “Legato has to do not only with the binding of one note to the next
51 John W. Large, Shigenobu Iwata, “Aerodynamic study of vibrato and voluntary straight tone pairs in singing.” Folia phoniatrica, 23(1) (1971), 50-65. 52 Ibid. 53 Miller, Securing. 115.
59
but with the constancy of vibrato – that is, with the ‘resonance’ that links them.”54 He insists that “unless the tone is vibrant, there can be no perception of resonance.”55 “Pitch centering is
guaranteed when the level of breath energy is proportioned to the demands of the pitch and
the phoneme. Only when vibrato is present does the tone gain freedom.”56 This essential point
of proportion of airflow to the “demands” is again coupled with the freedom and relaxation
characteristic of vibrato. Given that vibrato is a prerequisite for legato, Mozart’s admiration of
portamento singing mentioned in chapter one makes clear he also delighted in natural vibrato.
Miller reminds that “Vibrato is an indicator of a healthy production”57 and, as the
famed vocal pedagogue Manuel Garcia58 did a century ago, offers exercises to help students
develop a steady and healthy vibrato.59 In healthy voice production, vibrato, the “laryngeal
relaxant principal,”60 the “relaxation process that comes from coordinating breath energy with
vocal-fold responses”61 enhances timbre, resonance, phrasing, agility and intonation.
If the voice possesses a natural tendency to vibrate, one would expect to hear the majority of singers manifest the phenomenon in their performance. Singers in the twenty-first century, and indeed throughout recorded history, tend toward vibrato use. Recent notable exceptions include British soprano Emma Kirkby and Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc (the latter sings with some natural vibrato but with the pharyngeal effort to minimize it in favour of straight tone). Among today’s most acclaimed interpreters of the Baroque repertoire, two
54 Ibid., 116. 55 Ibid., 115. 56 Ibid., 116. 57 Miller, Securing, 117. 58 Manuel Garcia, Treatise on the Art of Singing, Edited by Albert Garcia (London: Leonard and Co, 1924), 63-65. Originally pubished as Traité complet de l’art du chant par Manuel Garcia. Paris: Schott, 1840 (part 1), 1847 (part 2). 59 Miller, Solutions, 122. 60 Miller, Securing, 191. 61 Miller, Solutions, 121.
60 Canadians, soprano Karina Gauvin and contralto Marie-Nicole LeMieux, both sing with rich tone inclusive of uninhibited vibrato in sustained and florid passages. (Often this wonderful
singing is accompanied by a contrastingly dry and colourless string sound devoid of vibrato.)62
There is evidence that the majority of singers of the early twentieth century, in several
countries, also sang with a measurable degree of vibrato. In 1921, Thomas Edison having
developed the science of acoustic recording, tested the technology in trial recordings of the
singing voice. He preferred the quality of straight tone and was in search of singers who could
satisfy his vocal tastes. The results were not what he expected, as the vast majority of singers
recorded (3778 of 3800) sang with vibrato.
A most interesting bit of research work in vibrato was done by the Edison laboratories just preceding the placing on the market of the New Edison in 1921. Assuming that vibrato was wrong and thinking, “If this defect could be eliminated, nothing would exceed the beauty of the human voice, but until this is done there will be only a few singers in a century, who can emit pure notes in all registers,” Thomas A. Edison had his agents in Europe and America make records of some thirty-eight hundred voices in an attempt to find soloists who could “sing pure notes, without extraneous sounds and the almost universal tremolo effect.” In spite of the fact that Mr. Edison had vibrato--or "tremolo" as he called it--examined from the standpoint that it was a defect and that "so far, there have been found no means for correcting it," the results of his research brought out the simple fact that, without the use of the more intricate examinations of wave forms which present mechanisms afford, vibrato was found to be practically universal among accepted artists of all nationalities, for out of the thirty-eight hundred examined only twenty-two were found who were apparently without “tremolo.”63 (emphasis added)
It is clear that vocal vibrato is a naturally occurring phenomenon and quite possible that vocal vibrato has been present in some form and to some degree throughout vocal history.
Mozart and his father expressed clearly that vibrato is naturally characteristic of the voice and that it is the duty of the instrumentalist to imitate it. The cantabile style in string playing,
62 Handel: Streams of pleasure, Gauvin, LeMieux, Cond. Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco. Naïve, 2011, V 5261. and Prima Donna, Gauvin, Cond. Alexander Weimann, Arion Orchestre Baroque, ATMA Classique, 2012, ACD2 2648. 63 Kenneth N. Westerman, “The Physiology of Vibrato” Music Educators Journal 24(5) (1938), 48. (Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for Music Education) http://www.jstor.org/stable/3385432 Accessed August 28, 2013.
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orchestral or solo, would therefore require its application to properly fulfil these instructions.
It is apparent from his letters that Mozart was aware of the phenomenon of vibrato in
the singing voice. Even as an adolescent, Mozart’s expertise is undeniable. Although his father
was considered a leading musical authority and pedagogue, young Mozart also took singing
lessons with the renowned castrato Manzuoli in London in 1764-65.64 While on tour he was exposed to some of the greatest composers and performers, and developed a profound understanding of the voice. Among his first compositions were vocal church music and opera, and his consequent vast output of vocal repertoire is considered a hallmark of his genius.
The excerpt below is from an often quoted letter written by Mozart to his father in Paris
on June 12, 1778. Mozart compares the singing method of two male voices thereby revealing
his views on the singing voice and the singing tone in instrumental playing.
Raaff is too much inclined to drop into the cantabile. I admit that, when he was young and in his prime, this must have been very effective and taken people by surprise. I admit also that I like it. But he overdoes it and so to me it often seems ridiculous. What I do like is when he sings short pieces, as, for example, some andantinos; and he has also certain arias, which he renders in his particular style. Well, each in his own way. I fancy that his forte was bravura singing—and, so far as his age permits, you can still tell this from his manner; he has a good chest and long breath; and then—these andantinos. His voice is beautiful and very pleasant. If I shut my eyes and listen to him, he reminds me very much of Meisner, only that Raaff’s voice seems to me even more pleasing. I am talking about their voices as they are at present, for I have never heard them in their prime. So all that I can discuss is their style or method of singing, which a singer always retains. Meisner, as you know, has the bad habit of making his voice tremble at times, turning a note that should be sustained into distinct crochets, or even quavers—and this I never could endure in him. And really it is a detestable habit and one which is quite contrary to nature. The human voice trembles naturally—but in its own way—and only to such a degree that the effect is beautiful. Such is the nature of the voice; and people imitate it not only on wind- instruments, but on stringed instruments too and even on the clavier. But the moment the proper limit is overstepped, it is no longer beautiful—because it is contrary to nature. It reminds me then of the organ when the bellows are puffing. Now Raaff never does this— in fact, he cannot bear it. Yet, so far as real cantabile is concerned, I prefer Meisner to Raaff (though not quite unconditionally, for he too has his mannerisms). In bravura
64 Ian Woodfield, “New Light on the Mozarts’ London Visit: A Private Conversation with Manzuoli,” Music and Letters 76(2) (1995), 204. AND Anderson, Vol. 1, 79.
62 singing, long passages and roulades, Raaff is absolute master and he has moreover an excellent, clear diction, which is very beautiful; and as I have already said, his andantinos or little canzonette are charming.65
This quotation offers insight. First, Mozart says he likes cantabile singing and that it has
a considerable effect on the audiences of the day. He warns, too, that it can be overdone,
implying a need for good taste. Mozart’s view is that a singer “always retains” his or her “style
or method of singing”, and it may be inferred that a singer’s technique, or flaws therein are
revealed with advancing age.
Meisner’s defect is on sustained notes, and is “contrary to nature”. The rhythmic
affectations on sustained tones described by Mozart were undoubtedly the result of muscular
contractions incompatible with beautiful free singing, and potentially unhealthy for the voice.
This is not a natural vibrato but an affect of flawed vocal technique perhaps exaggerated due to
the singer’s aging vocal apparatus.
Mozart observes that “The human voice trembles naturally”, and that it does this “in its
own way,” insisting on its uniqueness. Mozart associates this characteristic “nature of the
voice” with beauty. Yet overstepping the “proper limit” is “contrary to nature” and “no longer
beautiful”.66
Lastly, Mozart tells us “Such is the nature of the voice; and people imitate it not only on
wind-instruments, but on stringed instruments too and even on the clavier.” The qualities of
the singing voice are equally desirable in instrumental playing in Mozart’s time.
Mozart’s use of the term cantabile consistently refers to both vocal and instrumental
performance and, given his descriptions of the style and the characteristics of cantabile
melodies in the repertoire, it can be suggested that vibrato was a feature of the style. Mozart’s
65 Anderson, Vol. 2, 816-817. 66 Zaslaw removes from context Mozart’s phrase “contrary to nature” and applies it to vibrato generally, forcing an unfair interpretation against any vibrato use. (Mozart’s Symphonies, 32)
63
admiration of cantabile singing is clearly expressed in his descriptions of Aloysia Weber’s vocal
mastery. In a letter to his father, written in Mannheim, Feb. 7, 1778, Mozart reports “In my last
letter I forgot to mention Mlle Weber’s greatest merit, which is her superb cantabile singing.”67
In a letter to Leopold, dated February 19, 1778, he elaborates:
Everything you say about Mlle Weber is true, except one thing—that ‘she sings like Gabrielli’; for I should not at all like her to sing in that style. Those who have heard Gabrielli are forced to admit that she was an adept only in runs and roulades; she adopted, however, such an unusual interpretation that she won admiration; but it never survived the fourth hearing. In the long run she could not please, as people soon get tired of coloratura passages. Moreover she had the misfortune of not being able to sing. She was not capable of sustaining a breve properly, and, as she had no messa di voce, she could not dwell on her notes; in short, she sang with skill but without understanding. Mlle Weber’s singing, on the other hand, goes to the heart, and she prefers to sing cantabile. Lately I have made her practise the passages in my grand aria, because, if she goes to Italy, she will have to sing bravura arias. Undoubtedly she will never forget how to sing cantabile, for that is her natural bent.68
Again Mozart emphasizes the need for the ability to sustain in singing especially when
describing the cantabile style.
As modern vocologists have asserted, healthy sustain in singing incorporates a naturally
occurring vibrato. The ability to sustain in cantabile singing is fundamental and Mozart’s
compassion for the tenor Raaff is revealed in his sympathetic response to the latter’s
admission, “I can no longer sustain my notes.”69
In instrumental performance, Mozart prefers cantabile playing with an articulation that
is not too short. Describing the clavier playing of a young pupil in a letter to his father (Vienna,
June 27, 1781) Mozart laments that “…in cantabile playing she has not got the real delicate
singing style. She clips everything.”70 This statement confirms that the cantabile style issues
67 Anderson, Vol. 2, 693. 68 Ibid., Vol. 2, 718-719. 69 Ibid., Vol. 2, 534. 70 Ibid., Vol. 3, 1112.
64 from the singing tone and requires a suitable articulation, not excessively short.
Leopold, too favours this cantabile style in instrumental playing. In a letter to his son
(Salzburg, January 29, 1778) he compares two violinists visiting Salzburg from Linz.
Janitsch and Reicha…are both very fine players; they have an extraordinary facility and lightness in their bowing, sure intonation and a beautiful tone, and they play with the greatest expression. ..Janitsch plays in the style of Lolli, but his adagio playing is infinitely better. Indeed I am no lover of excessively rapid passages, where you have to produce the notes with the half tone of the violin and, so to speak, only touch the fiddle with the bow and almost play in the air. On the other hand his cantabile playing is very poor, for he is inclined to make sharp jerks and to indulge in allegro fireworks which to an understanding listener are really most offensive. Reicha has a better cantabile.71
Leopold distinguishes between cantabile and adagio styles, criticizing the less vocal characteristics of Janitsch’s playing, with “sharp jerks”, inhibiting a good cantabile.
Vibrato Indications in Scores
Norrington’s assertions that orchestral string vibrato is a performance practice unique
to the twentieth century are not supported by indications found in scores composed in the
nineteenth century. It was not long after Mozart’s death that composers began verbally
notating vibrato in scores of instrumental music.72 The use of the indication appeared in scores
in the early nineteenth century, and its meaning can be considered in the context of a
continuously changing string performance style. As early as 1816, “vibrato” was printed into
scores and parts as any other directive of the composer. Rossini wrote “vibrato” for the violins
in Act 1 of Otello, at the Allegro of No. 3. In Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto (1818) all strings are
marked “ff vibrato” in the Finale of Act 1 at measure 355 (Largo) and again at measure 399. Its
use is clearly not suggestive of a lack of vibrato before the indication was included, but acts as a
71 Ibid., Vol. 2, 671-672. 72 David Hurwitz, “Orchestral Vibrato Part One: Historical Context and the Evidence of the Printed Page,” Classics Today (2007), 21. http://www.classicstoday.com/features/ClassicsToday-Vibrato-part1.pdf Accessed Jan 25, 2015.
65 reinforcement of the expressive practice. In the overture to Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla
(1842), “vibrato” seems to take on a similar meaning to “cantabile.” The lyrical second theme is marked “cantabile” in the exposition, yet when it returns in the recapitulation, the indication
“vibrato” appears. This vibrato is not a localized event but applies to the tone colour for the duration of the passage, referred to in this paper as phrase vibrato.
Wagner indicated “vibrato” for strings at several moments in Act 3 of Tristan und Isolde
(1859). As Tristan sings, “mit leidest du, wenn ich leide: nur was ich leide…,” the violins, violas and cellos are marked “vibrato” and during Kurwenal’s “Wie ist’s um dich getan!,” the violins are to play with “vibrato” and “sehr gedehnt” (“prolonged” or “sustained”). The latter example underlines the long articulation of nineteenth-century bow strokes and the sustained tone characteristic of Wagner’s string writing. At Tristan’s “All mein Hab und Gut vererb’ noch heute,” the violins are again marked “vibrato,” and as Isolde sings, “…ewig kurze letzte
Weltenglück?” the violins are marked “vibrato” and “ausdrucksvoll” (“espressivo”).
Additionally, in Act 1 of Götterdämmerung (1874), when Siegfried sings “Günter, wie heist deine Schwester?” the violins play “vibrato” as they do in Walter’s “Prize Song” in Act 3 of Die
Meistersinger (1868).
Composers across Europe began prescribing varying degrees of vibrato application in their verbal instructions. In Joachim Raff’s Fourth Symphony (1871), the cello theme in the first movement, after letter B, is marked “cantando dolce espressivo”, and seven measures later,
“vibrato.” This suggests a layering of intensities of vibrato application. In Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades (1889), in Act 1, Scene 2, between figures 260-270, the cellos have the indication,
“molto espressivo, piangendo, vibrato.” Richard Strauss included the indication, “molto espresivo, vibrato” in his score of Macbeth (1890, Eulenberg Ed., p. 60). And in Der
66 Rosenkavalier (1911), at figure 327, he wrote “all strings always very soulful and vibrato” (“alle
Streicher stets sehr seelenvoll und vibrato”). Claude Debussy, in the Finale of La Mer (1905), at
figure 57, wrote “Sul G vibrato.”
Notably, Gustav Mahler wrote in the score of the Adagietto from his Symphony No. 5
(1902), “vibrato, mit innigster Empfindung” (“with innermost feeling”). And Edward Elgar, in
the second movement of his Symphony No. 2 (1910), gave the indication of “Nobilmente e
semplice,” at figure 85, followed by “molto espressivo , vibrato” at figure 86, in what may be
presumed to be two contrasting characters. In an example of application of vibrato by a soloist,
Joseph Joachim, despite the conservatism associated with him vis-à-vis vibrato, includes the
indication in his Concerto in the Hungarian Style (1861). In the first movement, 14 measures
before D, he writes “vibrato” perhaps to overcome the straightness of tone due to double-stops
and open G-string in part of the phrase.
In the early twentieth century, indications related to vibrato also included the antithesis,
“non-vibrato.” This effect, like the vocal equivalent, is striking, almost theatrical, for its colour
and tone, and was often employed to emphasize an unusual, even lifeless timbre. Bela Bartok
seems to have developed a more precise and layered spectrum of vibrato application, ranging
from no vibrato, to a standard level of application, to expressive application. In his Piano
Concerto No. 2 (1931) the second movement is marked: “tutto il pezzo con sord., non vibrato”
(“the entire piece muted, no vibrato”). In The Miraculous Mandarin (1918/24), seven measures
after figure 17, the violas and cellos are marked “f molto vibrato, espressivo.” These
instructions suggest that when no indication is given a standard level of phrase vibrato is
employed. In the third movement of his Fourth String Quartet (1928) there is a constant alteration of non-vibrato and vibrato in all parts. Gustav Holst gives an unusual instruction in a
67 footnote in the score of Neptune from The Planets, (1915): “The Orchestra is to play sempre pp throughout, dead tone, except for the Clarinet and Violin after fig. V.” The term “dead tone” was not necessarily standard but the idea of straight tone is evident especially as at their entrance both clarinet and violins are marked “dolce” in contrasting character.
Alban Berg used the experimental straight tone sound in Three Pieces for Orchestra
(1912-15). In the first movement, at figure 15, the cellos are marked “non-vibrato.” In his Violin
Concerto (1935), vibrato is linked with “espressivo” and contrasted with straight tone. At measure 160, the violins, violas and cellos play a phrase marked “espressivo” which is followed by a pianissimo chord marked “senza vibrato” and then a return to normal playing with
“vibrato” printed in all parts. In the second movement of the concerto at figure 135, the violas are marked “non-vibrato”, then two measures later “poco espressivo” and then in the next measure, “espressivo.” Further evidence that “espressivo” included vibrato unless otherwise indicated is found in the Concerto’s first movement at measure 28 where Berg instructs, “poco espressivo, ma non vibrato.”
The many indications related to vibrato in scores from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries suggest vibrato was a common performance practice among European orchestras.
Romantic compositional style and the verbal indications in scores related to vibrato and character in general may imply an increased intensity of vibrato application in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, teachers taught vibrato technique and endorsed its use while warning against overuse and generic application. Composers were notating vibrato and straight tone in their compositions with greater precision and purpose. Vibrato indications in scores contradict
Norrington’s assertion that straight tone was assumed by composers and that musicians “simply have to accept they must transform their way of playing if they are to play as composers
68 intended.”73
73 Hill and Smith
69 CHAPTER THREE: EVIDENCE OF PERFORMANCE PRACTICE TRADITIONS
Changes in string performance style in the second half of the eighteenth century seem to have initiated a trend toward legato playing and vibrant tone which extended into the nineteenth century. Historical treatises and other writings from the nineteenth century suggest a consistent use of vibrato into the twentieth century. Roger Norrington’s claim, however, that string players in European orchestras did not use vibrato before the mid-1930s implies that vibrato was never used in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. The empirical evidence provided by early twentieth century technology may assist in drawing a conclusion regarding
Norrington’s claim. Mechanical musical instruments invented at the turn of the century may reveal practices of live performance. Early recordings and films of orchestral performances may indicate common performance practices among string musicians whose careers bridge the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Audio recordings from the 1950s of Bruno Walter in rehearsal may provide insights into his stylistic preferences and practices, which he likely maintained over decades. These indisputable pieces of evidence will inform the discussion of orchestral string vibrato.
Bruno Walter
Roger Norrington cites Bruno Walter’s 1938 recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic as significant for its lack of vibrato. This assertion prompts discussion of Walter’s opinions and practices on the podium relating to vibrato.
Bruno Walter’s conducting career spanned six decades from 1894 to 1961. He learned the rehearsal techniques, conducting style and performance practices of Mahler first hand, and championed his repertoire as a true friend of the composer. He witnessed some of the earliest performances of Wagner operas and survived the cultural collision of Wagner’s expression with
70
classical conservatism. According to Walter, those who believed Wagner was a corrupter of
language and music dismissed his compositions as wicked and impure. “I knew quite well that
they were referring to sensuality, which I found interesting and by no means wicked.”1 One
wonders how such sensuality can be sustained without vibrato and portamento, among other
musical sensitivities. The rebellious passions stirred in him by the operas of Wagner created
conflicts with his colleagues, and even friends and family “for I grew up in that middle-class,
chamber-music-playing, anti-Wagnerian world.”2 But with his waning youth such liberal
responses to new musical ideas succumbed to an artistically conservative traditionalism. Walter
has been criticised for his “naivety in political matters and conservatism in artistic ones.”3 His
attitude towards atonality and serialism, for example, is revealed in an interview with Albert
Goldberg.
I am very hostile to everything that’s artificial, and this is in my mind atonality and the twelve-tone system. And let me just say this about atonality: if you want to speak correctly then you must speak in a grammatical way, you must use the laws of grammar… The immanent laws of music are not observed in the atonality, in difference, in contrast to the twelve-tone system where there is an over quantity of laws but very artificial ones…a compulsory kind of theory which I cannot accept.4
His views on jazz are equally rigid and conservative.
Jazz is an insult to me. I feel debased by listening to it. The use of, the monotony of the use of percussion, the shrieking, uninterrupted shrieking of the muted bass is really unbearable to me and I feel that the popularity of jazz gives a very distressing look into the civilisation of our time... Jazz is a danger because it appeals to the lower instincts of the listener, and this is characteristic for some tendency in our time which I only can regret.5
Walter exudes confidence in his opinions and bases them on his own experience: “I am so sure
1 Bruno Walter, Theme and Variations, an Autobiography, Translated by James A. Galston, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc, 1946), 40. 2 Ibid., 41. 3 Andreas Kluge. Liner notes to recording of Wagner Orchestral Music: Bruno Walter Edition, translation Stewart Spencer, p6. Sony Classical CD-SM2K 64 456, 1959/1994. 4 Bruno Walter: The Maestro, The Man, VAI DVD 4235, 1958. 5 Ibid.
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of the moral quality in music because my whole life has taught it to me.”6
Returning to the question of vibrato, one may ponder why a conductor with such
cultural morality and unquestioned authority, whose conservatism causes him to reject jazz as
immoral and atonality as contrary to nature, would accept performance practices other than those dictated by his own convictions and experience. One can conclude from the Maestro’s own comments that he would not. Why, then, would he allow, even encourage and reward, the application of vibrato in the orchestral string tone if he had ever thought it did not belong?
Indeed it would seem he believed vibrato had its place in orchestral string playing.
An archival audio recording from 1959 of Walter in rehearsal of Wagner’s Siegfried
Idyll7 reveals a tendency toward vibrato use in generating a “singing tone”. He is heard to
instruct “basses, vibrate” at measure 19 (on two occasions). Before beginning the work again
he asks the second violins and violas for “a little more singing” and calls out “everybody sings.”
At measure 29, Walter says, “sing, celli”. He stops the orchestra to demonstrate the cello line
singing it with vibrato and portamento. Indeed, whenever demonstrating a string phrase he sings with vibrato and portamento. These directions from the podium do not culminate in a straight string tone. The response to “sing” is a lightening of the bow, an increase in the speed of vibrato with some degree of deepening of pitch, and greater dynamic contrast. Referring to the viola phrase at measure 32, he instructs the violas to play with less vibrato and dynamic:
“Too much. Just espressivo”. Walter’s final comment, “just espressivo” puts into proportion the amount of expression required for a phase. Performance tradition places the quietest and
most intimate sound as dolce, followed by espressivo, and finally the more extroverted cantabile,
6 Ibid. 7 Wagner Orchestral Music: Bruno Walter Edition, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Sony Classical SM2K 64 456, Hollywood 1959/1994, track 1.
72 as evidenced by Brahms’ usage.8 Walter wants the viola part to be sung beautifully without upsetting the balance and protruding from the texture at measure 32.
Walter’s concept of the espressivo is further exemplified in a 1958 audio-visual recording of a rehearsal of the first movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 with the Vancouver
Festival Orchestra.9 Throughout the footage, Walter calls on the musicians to “sing”. But he
also demands degrees of expression saying here, “espressivo”, there, “not so espressivo”, and
then “dolce”. Most interestingly, he interprets Brahms’s frequent notation of hairpins over a
single note <> as “espressivo”. Orchestras often perform these with some kind of dynamic
swell, changing bow speed and often with straightened tone. Walter’s interpretation delivers a
warming effect with a gentle bow and vibrating left hand. Again, whenever demonstrating a
phrase Walter sings with vibrato and portamento.
Walter seems to desire a string sound akin to the human voice with all its expressive
capacity. But a very important factor in his interpretation is the degree. The singing tone must
always be present but the degree of vibrato, just like dynamic, depends on the music. In
discussing Mozart, Walter describes the
unique creative miracle vouchsafed us in Mozart’s work. With him, everything was dramatically true: nobility as well as baseness, kindness as well as malice, wisdom as well as stupidity, and he turned all truth into beauty. My task in Mozart performances had become clear to me: every characteristic and truthful detail must be given rigorous dramatic expression without impairment of the vocal and orchestral beauty. This beauty permitted no exaggeration in dynamics and tempos, in gesturing and action, in forms and colours on the stage. The problem therefore consisted in achieving all fullness of expression within the limits prescribed by beauty and in resolutely filling that beauty with musical and dramatic power without putting too great an earthly burden upon its unearthly lightness. In addition to this general problem, Mozart set his interpreters the
8 For example, in the first movement of his Symphony No. 2, Brahms indicates cantando for the main voice of the second theme in the recapitulation (played by the violas and cellos), while the accompanying string parts are marked dolce. Similarly, in the seventh variation of his Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Brahms gives the main part played by the violas the indication espressivo while the accompanying strings are marked dolce. 9 Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 2, Bruno Walter, Vancouver Festival Orchestra, 1958. Art of Conducting: Legendary Conductors of a Golden Age, Part 2. Hamburg: Teldec Video, 2002, 1995.
73 special one of doing justice to the stylistic differences in his creations. For, as I said before, every work is only sui generis.10
This echoes Mozart’s convictions regarding the beauty of artistic expression and the need to
understand parameters therein.
…passions, whether violent or not, must never be expressed in such a way as to excite disgust, and as music, even in the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear, but must please the hearer, or in other words must never cease to be music.11
In an audio recording of 1955 Walter rehearses the final movement of Mozart’s Linz
Symphony No. 36.12 He continues to insist that the musicians “sing” and when he
demonstrates a phrase with vibrato and portamento the musicians imitate him with the same
singing qualities including an intensified vibrato. When the concert master demonstrates how
to play a phrase, he too plays with vibrato. At the bridge (measure 28, rehearsal letter A)
Walter tells the orchestra to “play cantabile” and the first violins respond by playing the long notes with vibrato. But it is applied to a lesser degree than was observed in the Wagner example, suggesting a stylistic shading differentiating the two composers.
While the documented evidence is compelling, Walter’s interviews and writings reveal little about his opinion specific to the application of vibrato. In his autobiography, Theme and
Variations (1946), he attributes the orchestral string sound concept of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Opera House Orchestra to Joseph Joachim. “…the magnificent violin tone… [was] largely due to the tradition created by Joachim and continued by many of his pupils.” He describes Joachim’s “sublime absorption at singing phrases” which remained “a model to me throughout my life. So highly was his teaching regarded that, many years after his death, to be
‘a pupil of Joachim’s’ was the highest recommendation for a violinist wishing to become a
10 Walter, 217. 11 Anderson, Vol. 3, 1144. 12 Mozart: Bruno Walter Edition, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Sony Classical SM2K 64 474, New York 1955/1995.
74
member of an orchestra.”13 According to Hungarian violinist Carl Flesch, “Joachim’s medium of
expression, for instance, consisted of a very quick and close tremolo.”14 In his discussion of
Joachim’s solo playing, David Milsom compares Joachim’s sound in a recording of Bach’s G minor prelude to that of his student Marie Soldat-Roeger in a recorded performance of unaccompanied Bach Partita No. 3 (Largo): “Soldat uses a little finger vibrato on some longer notes, but then so does Joachim (and it is all too easy to simplify Joachim’s approach to the device by claiming, inaccurately, that Joachim uses no vibrato in this Bach performance).”15
Further comparison is made with Arnold Rosé, concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic
under Mahler (and the latter’s brother-in-law). “Rosé uses appreciably more vibrato in general,
particularly on the dotted crochets near the start”16 These observations cast doubt on
Norrington’s assertions regarding vibrato. The documented playing style of Joachim and Rosé suggests that Mahler himself was not ignorant of the expressive value of phrase vibrato. In his article, To Vibrate or not to Vibrate, that is the question…, Tomoyuki Sawado provides anecdotal evidence of Mahler’s practices regarding vibrato: “Herbert Borodkin, who played under Mahler in the New York Philharmonic, remembered that Mahler requested vibrato more than any conductors living around the 1960s.”17 Mahler’s assistant and friend, Bruno Walter
presents in documented rehearsals a similar basis for a reasonable conclusion in support of
phrase vibrato application before the twentieth century.
13 Walter, 27. 14 Philip, 99. 15 David Milsom, “Evidence and Incentive: Perspectives upon Joseph Joachim’s Performing Practices and the Viability of Stylistic Revival” Arts and Humanities Research Council (2007), 20. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/dm- ahrc/docs/Joseph_Joachim_Article/ Accessed August 18, 2013. 16 Ibid., 15. 17 Tomoyuki Sawado, “To Vibrate or not to Vibrate, that is the question: the evidence of early orchestral performances on film” (October 2013)
75 The Inventions
An unlikely source of evidence that vibrato was considered an integral characteristic in
string playing in the early twentieth century, and likely before, lies in mechanical instruments of
the period. The dawn of the twentieth century saw technological advancements and
mechanical inventions were shown at fairs and exhibitions in Europe and the United States.
Among these were two mechanical violin players evolved from the technology of the player
piano inclusive of the music roll mechanism: the Mills Violano-Virtuoso and the Hupfeld
Phonoliszt.
The Violano was invented in the United States in 1904 by Swedish inventor Henry K.
Sandell. In 1906 he sold the patent to the Mills Novelty Company, where he began a long
career. The Mills Violano was introduced to the world at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition in
Seattle, Washington, in 1909.18 The “Violano-Virtuoso” is an electronically powered, self-
playing violin which sounds when a circular bow is rotated in contact with the strings of a fixed
violin as dictated by music rolls. The music roll instructs mechanisms which stop strings on the finger board and engage the strings with bow strokes of varying duration and pressure. The 123
perforations on the music roll dictate the tempo, rhythms and pitches, articulation, dynamics, muting and indeed, vibrato. Vibrato is governed by the fourth line of perforations in early rolls and the 74th line in the majority of rolls. As instructed by the perforations, vibrato is produced
by a tremolo coil which oscillates when engaged with an electromagnet.19
In early style machines, the tremolo coil is connected directly to the feeder brush 4, and
the pulsating is produced by intermittent holes perforated in the music rolls. In later machines
the tremolo coil is wired to brush 74, and in later rolls this hole is punched almost
18 Mike Kitner and Art Reblitz, The Mills Violano-Virtuoso, (New York: Vestal Press 1994), 3. 19 Ibid., 38.
76 continuously.20 The change of position from line 4 to 74 on the music rolls and the
increased number of perforations may suggest that vibrato use increased during the production
of the Violano from 1909 to 1929. Alternatively, it may only have been the result of
improvement in the tremolo mechanics. The very fact that vibrato was included among the
characteristics of violin playing imitated in the Mills Violano as early as 1904 suggests strongly
that vibrato was applied by living string players of the time.
The Phonoliszt was invented by Herman Hupfeld in Leipzig in the first decade of the twentieth century and made available to the public in 1909. This pneumatically powered,
mechanical violin player contains in each cabinet a trio of violins standing on their ends and
arranged in a circle with strings facing outwards. A hoop of bow encircles the violins like a
barrel hoop and spins. Mechanisms press the violins against the spinning bow to engage the
strings of the violins as dictated by a music roll, in a manner similar to the Mills Violano
described above. Here again, a perforated line on the roll governs vibrato instructing the
mechanics to oscillate when engaged by the electromagnet. In this case, however, the entire
violin trembles against the more stationary hoop of bow.21
Again, the mere presence of vibrato mechanism in this automated instrument suggests
the use of vibrato among string players of the day in Germany. The consideration of vibrato in
the design of the Hupfeld Phonoliszt and the Mills Violano indicates that vibrato was a
characteristic of string playing worthy of the labour and expense at the factory.
The Problem with Early Recordings
Roger Norrington’s claim that straight tone without vibrato was the understood
20 Ibid., 39. 21 Herbert Jütteman, Mechanische Musikinstrumente: Einführung in Technik und Geschichte, (Frankfurt: Verlag Edwin Bochinsky, 1987), 304-307.
77 orchestral string sound concept desired by nineteenth-century composers themselves (and presumably earlier composers) is supported by early recordings, several of which he cites as
historically informative proof of practice.
The earliest recording by the Vienna Philharmonic that I know that features vibrato is music from `The Merry Widow' conducted by its composer Franz Lehar in 1940, and gorgeous it is. But listen to the Mahler Ninth recorded live by Bruno Walter in 1938 - no vibrato. Or you hear his `Marriage of Figaro' performance from the Salzburg Festival the year before - no vibrato… If a manner of playing was good enough to satisfy Brahms and Mahler, I need at least to find out what it sounds like.22
Analysis of vibrato performance practices on historic recordings presents challenges, as
the technology could not capture many subtleties. With string vibrato, one is left guessing as to
its application and the degree thereof, or even more problematic, one can assume erroneously
that the lack of documented evidence in recordings signifies the absence of the practice
altogether. This seems to be the case in Norrington’s assessment and the cause for his all-out
ban on vibrato. The problem in discerning orchestral vibrato on historic recordings is described
in detail by Timothy Day, former music curator of the Sound Archive at the British Library.
In the process of acoustic recording, which lasted until 1925 when a system of electrical amplification was devised, sound vibrations themselves caused a sapphire cutter to gouge out a groove in a disc of wax. This was an inefficient and ineffective way of capturing sound since only a very small amount of energy could be employed in actuating the cutting stylus... The human ear can encompass frequencies between 20 and 20,000 cycles per second; the acoustic recording process was limited to a range between 168 and 2,000 cycles, which means that it was unable to reproduce all the frequencies of notes below the E below middle C and of notes higher than the C three octaves above middle C. This does not mean that notes whose fundamentals lie outside that range were inaudible, but it does mean that the characteristic timbres and qualities of all sounds were distorted.23
Day specifically addresses orchestral strings in his analysis, where a significant limitation in
technology prevents a fair assessment.
22 Richard Dyer, "Sir Roger Norrington Still Conducts Challenges to the Tradition." Boston Globe, Aug 25, 2002. http://search.proquest.com/docview/405467990?accountid=14771. Accessed June 11, 2013.
23 Timothy Day, A Century of Recorded Music: Listening to Musical History, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 9.
78
String instruments were also difficult to record acoustically since they had less carrying power and required much more room to play than an oboe or a clarinet. It was not possible to contemplate recording more than a handful of string instruments and even these could easily become a “ghostly murmur.”24
A result of research in radio technology during the First World War, the earliest electric
recording techniques offered the significant convenience of more comfortable conditions for
musicians in the recording studio rather than the early huddle around the sound horn required
in acoustic sessions. A larger string section could be employed but the scope of frequencies
required for the assessment of string vibrato was still inadequate. By 1934 an electrically
amplified microphone system could capture a frequency range from 100 to about 8,000 Hz.25
The technology, while vastly improved, still could not capture the nuances of live performance or the enhancements of the acoustic of the venue. Day observes that the impediment to capturing such subtleties lies not only in the limited frequency range captured, but also in the surface noise of the discs themselves. “In fact, not very much of the particular quality of such an acoustic could usually be reproduced on record, the surface noise of the shellac disc being an important obscuring factor”26 Furthermore, the period of adjustment to
the new technology was lengthy and the quality of sound captured in these recordings despite
modest advantages over acoustic recordings is still wanting: “the engineers were learning how
best to use the microphone, and the tone of some of the earliest electrical records was
certainly tinny and strident.”27 Given these limitations such recordings cannot conclusively
24 Ibid., 10-11. Even in solo violin playing acoustic recording technology could not capture pitch and timbre adequately. “In order to overcome the difficulty with the violin, a German inventor called Augustus Stroh, who worked for the British Post Office, devised a violin which for the sound box substituted a diaphragm and a small metal horn or trumpet; this could be raised or lowered to project the sound straight at the recording horn. The Stroh violin was widely used for about ten years from 1904…But the Stroh apparatus certainly distorted the tone of the instrument.” 25 Ibid., 16. 26 Ibid., 18. 27 Ibid., 17.
79 validate an opinion on the application of orchestral string vibrato.
Day points out that only after the Second World War, “Decca produced recordings
which extended the frequency range to 14,000Hz, almost to the limit of human hearing.”28 But
it was not until the late-1940s that a standard recording technology was employed which could
provide a quality and clarity of sound approaching the live concert experience. The use of
magnetic tape to preserve recorded sound was a significant advancement allowing for a more
accurate result. “The kinds of recording tapes developed in the 1930s did not give better quality
than 78rpm discs but it was clear from wartime broadcasts that the Germans had perfected a
new kind of magnetic tape and the equipment was discovered when the Allies captured Radio
Luxembourg in 1944. Within three years American broadcasters and record companies were using tape to create masters and by the early 1950s everyone was using tape.”29 The arrival of
this advanced technology finally allows for an acceptably accurate assessment of orchestral
string vibrato, but only in the late 1940s. This is the era where Norrington observes vibrato
application. The earlier recordings he cites, however, do not provide adequate proof that the
practice was absent early in the century.
These observations put into doubt the validity of early recordings when assessing
orchestral string vibrato. In his book Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in
Instrumental Performance 1900-1950, Robert Philip avoids the topic of orchestral string
vibrato because the data is inconclusive. Norrington’s bias is perhaps exposed as the limitations
outlined by Day are not acknowledged at all in his discussions. The early recordings clearly
allow for a less than scientific evaluation, and the variables of recording quality, individual
28 Ibid., 19. “This development was the result of war work undertaken by a Decca engineer for RAF Coastal Command whose officers needed this response when listening to sonar buoys in order to distinguish between Allied and German submarines. Decca provided a set of training records for this work and then developed a microphone to catch airborne sounds.” 29 Ibid., 20.
80
perception and bias become significant factors. While early recordings need not be excluded
altogether, they do not reveal the whole truth and should only be considered along with other
more compelling evidence.
Film Evidence
While historic sound recordings are unreliable in assessing the presence or
degree of orchestral string vibrato due to poor sound quality resulting from technological
limitations, historic film evidence proves to be an invaluable resource. In the earliest extant
film footage of performing orchestras, string players can be seen applying vibrato. This visible evidence can be witnessed in film archives inclusive of early documentaries, public concerts and other events captured by the first cameramen. For this discussion film footage has been
selected from the Landesarchiv Berlin and the Deutsches Bundesarchiv, and several excerpts
can be found in the 1995 documentary, The Art of Conducting or the 2010 DVD, Great
Conductors of the Third Reich.
The observations below address the presence or absence of vibrato, the degree of
intensity of vibrato, and the shading from one degree of vibrato intensity to another as
evidenced in film footage. As sound recordings have already been categorized as inadequate
evidence in this discussion due to inconsistent quality and consequent poor dependability,
here, too the sound in the films does not take priority when identifying vibrato or quantifying
degree. Vibrato intensity therefore correlates to the visible physical intensity manifested by the
musicians in the production of vibrato, from which a possible resulting sound can be inferred.
However, due to persistent technological limitations in sound recording in the films, this study
does not explore the specific dynamic, resonant and pitch variables intrinsic to string vibrato.
81 The discussion of the potential function and impact of vibrato on the musical phrase is based on the visible intensity of vibrato, that is, the degree of left-hand movement executed by the musicians.
A film from 1930 entitled Das Weltkonzert features a performance of the overture to
Carl Maria von Weber’s Oberon by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Bruno Walter.30
The orchestra is seen from a distance at the beginning of the music and no accurate assessment
of performance practices can be made of the first phrases of the slow introduction. After the
opening sustained phrases, the musicians are in closer frame. They play the detailed spiccato and dotted figures at measures 11-15 without vibrato, which is typical of the dexterity and
technicality inherent to the passage. At measure 16, however, two cellos are in frame playing
their cantabile phrase with considerable vibrato and at measure 18, a third cello is visible also
playing with vibrato. In the Allegro con fuoco, in each sub-phrase of the antecedent, the fast,
articulated sixteenth-notes arrive at a dotted quarter-note. There is no time to vibrate on the
sixteenth-notes but the fortissimo dotted quarter-notes are played with vibrato to enhance tone,
length and dynamic.
At measure 61, the first violins are visible, and in preparation of the clarinet solo, they
sustain a pianissimo low E for four measures with a quick and shallow vibrato, an
enhancement of tone. The camera returns to the first violins for their entrance at measure 73,
marked dolce, overtaking the clarinet’s lyrical melody. The violins apply an ample degree of
vibrato both to the tone and phrasing, as well as a continuous legato and occasional
portamento. The violins, violas and cellos play two consecutive long notes each with crescendo
at measures 85-86. In the film these notes are played with much vibrato to emphasize the
30 Das Weltkonzert; Ouvertüre zu der Oper “Oberon” von C. M von Weber, 1930, Landesarchiv Berlin, film 1638.
82 crescendo and enhance tone and length. The melodic passage in the first violins in measures
80-100 is notated with frequent accents (>) on quarter notes and some half notes within a legato phrase. The violinists in the footage consistently enhance these accents with vibrato. In measure 139, all strings have a sforzando (fz) on a half-note (the first violins have a dotted
quarter-note) which is also performed here with much vibrato.
Other films reveal similar performance practices suggesting a well established manner
of playing in Germany and across Europe in the early twentieth century. Karl Böhm conducts
the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Johann Strauss Jr’s Blue Danube Waltz, filmed in
1930.31 The introduction cannot be assessed as the orchestra is not in frame until the start of the waltz proper. Here, the traditionally slow first three notes in measure 45 scored in the first violins and cellos, are played with very much vibrato as is indeed the entire melodic line of the waltz. In another performance of this work by the Berlin Staatskappelle with Erich Kleiber in
1932,32 the musicians play with a similarly intense application of phrase vibrato.
In a film from 1931, Max von Schillings conducts the second movement of Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic.33 At the start of the movement the cellos are off-
screen. At measure 15, the violins apply an intense vibrato and considerable portamento, for
example on the first two notes of measure 16. All strings visible on screen use vibrato in the
passage. At measure 22 the strings are seen to apply vibrato at the dolce pianissimo as well as in
the fortissimo phrase. The application to the melody appears to be both to enhance sustained tone
and emphasize expressive legato phrasing. Thus, accompanying ostinato rhythms, such as the
triplets at measure 30 are played without vibrato.
31 Botschafter Berlins – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester, 1930. Landesarchiv Berlin, film 0252 / 0831, 3:30. 32 Art of Conducting,Part 2, 3:35. 33 Töne, die nie verklingen, 1931, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film BSL 30420, 0:33.
83 In a performance in 1933 of Wagner’s prelude to Die Meistersinger under Leo
Blech,34 the strings of the Berlin Philharmonic perform with frequent and intense subito tone
vibrato to enhance short and sustained notes as well as liberally applied melodic phrase vibrato
related to legato and dynamic characteristics.
Early films suggest that vibrato application was the norm for the Berlin Philharmonic
around 1930. Indeed, it is not only in Germanic repertoire that we can observe vibrato application in the Berlin Philharmonic’s first filmed performances. A documentary film entitled
Botschafter Berlins – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester reveals performance practices of the Berlin Philharmonic in or before 1930.35 The Berlin Philharmonic under Hans
Knappertsbusch perform the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6. The opening notes of the second theme in the first violins are sustained and connected with a considerable application of tone and phrase vibrato. In the same film Knappertsbusch also conducts Debussy’s
Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faune. At their first entrance on a piano sustained note, the first violins play with a quick and shallow vibrato for tone and colour.
Other orchestras, too, have been captured in early films and illustrate a common and liberal application of subito tone vibrato and melodic phrase vibrato. In 1930 or 1932, the opening of the overture to Rossini’s William Tell was filmed as performed by the Staatsoper
Orchester Berlin under Max von Schillings.36 The shading of vibrato intensity among the cello
players in the introduction reveals melodic layers in a hierarchy of expression. The first player
uses a high degree of phrase vibrato, the second, a considerable degree. The others play with a
34 Great Conductors of the Third Reich: Art in the Service of Evil. New York: Bel Canto Society, 2008, 10:15. 35 Botschafter Berlins – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester, 1930. Landesarchiv Berlin, film 0252 / 0831. 36 Max von Schillings dirigiert das Orchester der Staatsoper im Konzertsaal der Singakademie, 1930, Landesarchiv, film 1637, 1:06. See also Das Weltkonzert I; Ouvertüre zu der Oper “Wilhelm Tell” von G. Rossini, 1932, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film BSP 11759. The Landesarchiv Berlin dates this film from 1930 while a copy in the Deutsches Bundesarchiv is dated from 1932.
84 moderate degree of vibrato application. The phrasing is always extremely legato with frequent
portamento.
In 1933, the Sächsische Staatsorchester Dresden under Fritz Busch perform the overture
to Wagner`s Tannhäuser.37 Again a high degree of vibrato intensity is visible in this
performance. At their first phrase at measure 16, the cellos play with much vibrato as do the
violins from measure 24. All strings play with considerable or even much vibrato on melodic
phrases to enhance legato (measure 158), on fp to enhance dynamics (measure 124), and on >
accents to enhance sustain and intensity (measure 133). Similarly, a year later, the Bayreuth
Festspiele Orchester under Karl Elmendorff performs a passage from Act 1 of Wagner’s
Götterdämmerung.38 In this excerpt also, vibrato is applied in high degree by the first and second
violins, suggesting an increased intensity of application in Wagner repertoire.
In 1930, the Paris Symphony under Felix Weingartner was filmed performing the
overture to Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz.39 The slow introduction begins with long
notes in the strings with crescendos. The entire string section is in frame in this excerpt. They
start playing at the tip of the bow, and intensify the tone on the up-stroke by increasing the
speed and intensity of vibrato. The long note requires the players to save bow and vibrato here is a tool to intensify the tone and volume of the note.
Among the many examples of early filmed orchestral performances there are two further illustrations which especially serve to unify this analysis with the earlier discussions of Mozart, Norrington and Walter. First, a documentary film from 1930 features a concert excerpt of the final movement from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 performed by the
37 Das Weltkonzert VI: Ouvertüre zu der Oper ”Tannhäuser,” 1933, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film M 29541, 10:01. See also Art of Conducting, 25:00. 38 Bayreuth bereitet die Festspiele vor, 1934, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film M 20659, R2, 2:24. 39 Art of Conducting, 15:35.
85 Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Bruno Walter. Second, in a documentary film
produced the same year by British Pathé Films in London, Edward Elgar conducts the London
Symphony in a studio rehearsal of the trio section from his Pomp and Circumstance No. 1.
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Walter, Berlin 1930 Mozart Symphony No. 40, fourth movement40
In this documented concert the camera pans the concert hall and audience, fixing often
on the conductor and in three significant excerpts, on the orchestra, filming from the back of
the stage. During these excepts only the left wrist of the associate concert master (who shares a
music stand with the concert master) and one cellist are visible, the former in profile and the
latter from behind. The wrist movements of the violinist, indicating vibrato application, are
clearly visible in this footage with occasional exceptions when another musician blocks the view. The cellist, however, does not exhibit any vibrato movement which is fitting his part which lacks long tones. While the following observations are based on the performance of one musician, it can be assumed, given his position in the orchestra and his proximity to the conductor and concert master, that he is representative of the other violin players at least.
Excerpt 1
This excerpt consists of the final measures of the first theme and the entire bridge of the exposition. Consistently, vibrato is played on half-notes and dotted half-notes with the same
apparent speed for both forte and piano dynamics. The intensity of execution seems to be
slightly more vigorous in the dotted half-notes played forte before the piano subito at measures
24-25, as though an accent, compared to the expressive vibrato of the slurred articulation at
measure 30.
40 Botschafter Berlins – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester, 1930. Landesarchiv Berlin, film 0252 / 0831, 1:35. See also Art of Conducting, 35:20.
86 Quarter-notes do not have vibrato worth mentioning. However, consecutive quarter- notes are always phrased toward a half-note which is played with vibrato. The running eighth- note passages do not have vibrato but end on longer notes, again with vibrato. Vibrato seems to be a tone colour which helps to sustain longer note values in an orchestral texture dominated by short articulations and running notes.
Excerpt 2
During the final cadential measures of the exposition, the musician’s wrist is blocked from view except for the very final measures. A slightly lower position of the left arm conceals the wrist behind a colleague. But this position resembles that taken by this player for a broad bow stroke without vibrato application rather than an engagement of vibrato tone, where in the case of this player a buoyancy is observed in the raised violin position. While a conclusion cannot be drawn regarding the two half-notes on high B flat, the building assertiveness with which Walter drives to the end of the exposition can explain a possible lack of vibrato. Only in the final measure of the first part can we see the left hand and the evident vibrato. This final half- note concludes the exposition but is the spring board for the quite dramatic modulation which
opens the development. The application of vibrato here is particularly interesting as it seems to
be prepared by contrast of straighter tones on previous half-notes and achieved with a slightly
lighter bow. At this transition in the structure, this expressive quality with vibrato is a further example of tone vibrato.
In the modulatory section of the development, no vibrato is used, even on the half-note high D flat (measure 126), the apex of the opening forte phrase. This is in contrast to the treatment of earlier similarly placed half-notes where vibrato is evident. (see Except 1 above)
The character here is stern and insistent until the piano contrast of woodwinds at measure 133
87 reintroduces thematic material in harmonic sequence, still piano. In these fragments of the theme vibrato is applied once again to the half-notes in question. The abstinence, therefore from vibrato in the modulation including the half-note in measure 126 adds to the contrast of character created by the surprising harmonies.
There are three thematic statements in the first violin part from measures 135-145.
Each contains the half-note which generally has been played with vibrato with the exception of the penultimate cadences of the exposition and the modulation of the development. These half-notes are all played with vibrato but not of the same intensity. Vibrato is applied most to the first B flat, slightly less to the second B flat, and less again with less dynamic to the third half-note, A flat. Here vibrato contributes to phraseology and enhances the hierarchy of statements within the passage.
At measure 146 the first and second violins play together rhythmically for three beats in a short statement derivative of the theme but not thematic in itself. The violins arrive on the down beat of measure 147 with half-notes a sixth apart in this isolated punctuation in the discourse. This rhythmic unison is exceptional to the texture and is a precursor to the forte passage which follows. At measures 155-156 the first and second violins play similar statements in counter-melody to the lower strings. Here they play in thirds with half-notes on the downbeats in a similar punctuation as the previous piano statement. No vibrato is applied during rhythmic unisons of violins in either piano or forte. The violins continue in true unison for measures 157-160 with two more half-notes. Vibrato is applied again on these half-notes as part of melodic material.
Excerpt 3
The second theme is treated quite differently from the first theme and transitional
88 sections of the structure. The vibrato is almost omnipresent in the second theme. It is not clear whether vibration continues on passing eighth-notes (ex. measure 249 and measures 251-252) but vibrato is applied consistently in the first seven measures of the theme, on sustained whole notes and half-notes enhancing phrasing toward the third measure mfp dynamic. This is a clear example of phrase vibrato application in Berlin in 1930. Vibrato also colours the last long note
(dotted half-note) of the first statement at measure 260. The eighth-note chromatic scale at measure 254 and quarter-note legato in the consequential phrase at measure 257-259 are played without vibrato, likely for clarity of pitch in chromaticisms. The violins return in a counter melody to the theme played by the woodwinds at measure 273. Slightly more vibrato is applied to the first note and the half-notes with grace-notes, perhaps to recall this characteristic of the theme. The quarter-notes between rests at the cadence closing the second theme are played without vibrato.
The entire section of eighth-notes which follows is played without vibrato, as indeed is the rest of the movement. There are four half-notes in the final eight measures of the finale.
Similar to the end of the exposition, the intensification of an assertive character is enhanced by a lack of vibrato and a particular strength and speed of bow stroke. Even the final note is played without vibrato; it has no transitional function or need to prepare the ear for contrast (as was observed in the last note of the exposition). The final note confirms the character established in the entire closing theme. Walter creates a thrilling breathlessness in the conclusion of the movement contrasting the expression of the second theme with the severe character of the closing theme given the assertive, predominantly straight, tone.
In the Mozart example vibrato is applied to longer tones only, half-notes and dotted half-notes in the first theme and bridge. The general texture of the music, its note-values,
89 articulation and tempo do not allow for the execution of phrase vibrato. In particular, the
melodic shapes are not typical of vocal music or cantabile themes in instrumental compositions.
The fast, articulated scales and arpeggiated triadic groups of eighth-notes are purely instrumental in nature. This example illustrates the subito application of vibrato. The treatment of the second theme, by contrast, with its long note values and vocal style, illustrates the application of phrase vibrato. Despite Norrington’s suggestion to the contrary, these findings confirm that Bruno Walter approved of vibrato and its application both on isolated notes and entire phrases as required by context and function of the musical passage.
London Symphony Orchestra, Edward Elgar, London 1931 Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance No. 1, Trio41
This footage of a rehearsal with Edward Elgar conducting the London Philharmonic
Orchestra was filmed at Abbey Road Studios in London 1931. The film begins with Elgar
arriving at the podium and greeting the orchestra, and shows a run-through of the Trio section,
known as Land of Hope and Glory, from his Pomp and Circumstance No. 1. The camera shots
capture the string players in most of the footage, usually strong in numbers, with the
concertmaster and other principal players often in view.
Excerpt 1
The orchestra’s first appearance on screen starts at the seventh measure of the Trio. On
a tiered stage there appear 15 string players whose left hand is visible to indicate the presence
and degree of vibrato: two first violins (concertmaster and inside player of the second desk);
two second violins (first desk); two violas (second desk, the first desk being blocked by the
conductor’s podium); five cellos in the middle of the orchestra; and four double basses in two
tiers at the back of the orchestra.
41 Master of the King`s Musick, H. M .V Studio, British Pathé, London, 1931.
90
In the score, the Trio has a general indication of Largamente. The first violins have the
anthemic melody with the indications of sul G, piano, legato e cantabile.42 In 2/4 meter, this
famous theme begins with an antecedent and consequential structure of two phrases of eight
measures each. In the film, during the seventh and eighth measures of the Trio, the first violins sustain the final note of the opening eight-measure antecedent phrase with a small degree of vibrato. Even less is used on the half-note in measure nine which begins the consequential phrase. This is followed by considerably higher degree of vibrato intensity during the rising melodic syncopation of measure ten. The half-notes in measures 11-13 are played with a slightly more moderate degree of vibrato with legato. In measure 14 there is once again an intensified vibrato in the descending melodic syncopated notes before a return to a moderate vibrato on the final note of the phrase. In the first violins, who play the melody, vibrato is present almost always and is varied by degree fluidly. The second violins and violas play quarter-note accompaniment, with very occasional vibrato.
The Elgar rehearsal reveals the performance practice in a work composed in 1901 and played under the baton of the composer thirty years later. Like Mozart’s second theme, this music is vocal in nature, with a symmetrical melodic structure, conjunct motion with few expressive leaps and an ambitus of less than an octave. Vibrato is applied to almost all notes in varying degree. This example illustrates the melodic application of phrase vibrato undoubtedly inspired by the qualities of the human singing voice.43 Elgar’s compound authority as composer
and conductor leaves little doubt that vibrato was desired and practiced when the worked was composed in 1901. Norrington’s Proms performance of Elgar, devoid of vibrato, is not
42 Edward Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance No. 1, (London: Boosey, 1902), 10. 43 In 1902, Elgar arranged the Trio from Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 adding contralto and chorus to words by A.C.Benson. Elgar concludes his Coronation Ode, Opus 44 with the revised music entitled, Land of Hope and Glory. There is little doubt that the composer identified the vocal qualities of this music.
91
authorized by any historical evidence. Quite the opposite, the facts revealed in this film
authenticate phrase vibrato application.
When isolated for the sake of quantification, the application of vibrato can be likened to that of dynamics. It consists of subito changes as well as gradual transitions from one level of
intensity to another on a spectrum. The degree of intensity depends on the cantabile
characteristics of the music, the dynamics and the character, all of which are enhanced by
vibrato or by its absence. Two main categories of vibrato application are apparent in the films.
Tone vibrato enhances isolated sustained notes, whether piano dolce or forte espressivo.
Further, it contributes to the dynamic, intensity and colour of accented notes in any tempo, whether soft > and sf accents or loud sfz and fz accents. Phrase vibrato enhances melodic
phrasing and dynamics with a hierarchy of intensities and emphasis. Legato connectivity and
phrase vibrato in melodic expression relate to vocal characteristics transferred to instrumental
performance. Vibrato, like dynamics, allows a range of colours and expression from non-vibrato
to much vibrato, either performed subito or modifying poco a poco. Speed of vibrato, depth
(pitch fluctuation), and intensity vary in the many degrees of application.
The frequency and intensity of vibrato application observed in archival films from the
1930s suggest that phrase vibrato was already a common performance practice predating
recording and film technologies. As audio recording technologies in the 1930s did not yet
capture a full spectrum of frequencies to permit a complete assessment of string performance practices, film evidence is key to the discussion of orchestral string vibrato in the early
twentieth century. The vibrato applications evident in the films resemble the
applications observed in the recordings of Bruno Walter rehearsing Wagner and Brahms in the
1950s, indicating that Bruno Walter maintained a performance practice over decades
92
interpreting works of Brahms and Wagner as he first heard them performed. Treatises and
scholarship on nineteenth-century performance practices suggest that vibrato (and portamento) were applied liberally. The chromaticism, large proportions, connectedness and continuity of phrasing of Romantic compositional style imply an increased legato and sustained tone coloured with varying degrees of vibrato.
93 CONCLUSION
Harnoncourt remarks that “Vibrato, which is intended to imitate singing, is as old as string instruments themselves.”1 Its exact origins on bowed string instruments is unclear but ornamental applications are documented in treatises from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. While Roger Norrington contends that vibrato was not characteristic of string performance before the mid-1930s, historical texts, score indications, string teachers and scholars suggest that string vibrato saw a longer evolution through centuries.
A stylistic change in mid-eighteenth-century compositions inspired a decidedly lyrical concept of string playing characterized by a more connected bowing manner, sustained tone and legato phrasing. At the same time, string instruments and particularly bows were adapted to the changing performance style and were standardized. It is likely that phrase vibrato and portamento were characteristic to some degree of the string performance style of the late eighteenth century, as evidenced in Mozart’s letters and other historical documents previously cited. Further, vibrato and portamento are organic to the singing voice, features which Mozart described and admired. Indeed, he promoted their application in instrumental performance in imitation of the voice.
It is probable that the performance practices established in the High Classical period were intensified by the romantic temperament of the nineteenth century. Treatises and vibrato indications in scores suggest that, since the eighteenth century, phrase vibrato has remained a feature of orchestral string performance. Early films dating from 1930-1934 reveal that string players in German, French and English orchestras applied vibrato similarly and in varying degrees. This evidence disproves Norrington’s claims that nineteenth- and early twentieth-
1 Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Baroque Music Today: Music as Speech. Translated by Mary O`Neill. (Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995), 109.
94 century orchestras played without vibrato. Among other examples, performances in 1930 by the Berlin Philharmonic under Bruno Walter and in 1931 by the London Symphony under
Edward Elgar illustrate a frequent and varied application of phrase vibrato. Finally, musical machines invented at the turn of the century to imitate the performance of string instruments support further the theory that vibrato was already an established practice in string playing.
A precursor to Romantic and twentieth-century performance practices, the eighteenth-century cantabile signals the influence of vocal expression on string playing, both in compositional style and performance practices. It is likely that, in addition to portamento, tone vibrato and phrase vibrato were features of this transfer of vocal expression to string performance. String vibrato is likely inherent to the singing tone of the late eighteenth century. Perhaps the greatest authority among eighteenth-century musicians, Mozart indicates that the singing style in instrumental playing is inclusive of the performance practice.
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FILMOGRAPHY
Art of Conducting: Legendary Conductors of a Golden Age, Part 2. Hamburg: Teldec Video, 2002, 1995.
Bayreuth bereitet die Festspiele vor, 1934, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film M 20659, R2.
Botschafter Berlins – Das Berliner Philharmonische Orchester, 1930. Landesarchiv Berlin, film 0252 / 0831.
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Das Weltkonzert; Ouvertüre zu der Oper “Oberon” von C. M von Weber, 1930, Landesarchiv Berlin, film 1638.
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102 Elgar, Edward. Pomp and Circumstance No. 1. Cond. Edward Elgar, London Symphony Orchestra. “Master of the King’s Musick” H.M.V. Studio, London, 1931. (British Pathé)
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Töne, die nie verklingen, 1931, Deutsches Bundesarchiv, film BSL 30420.
DISCOGRPAHY
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Prima Donna. Gauvin, Cond. Alexander Weimann, Arion Orchestre Baroque. ATMA Classique ACD2 2648, 2012.
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