BAROQUE MUSIC, THE APPOGGIATURA
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Baroque music, the appoggiatura
In the world of Baroque music, there are many types of appoggiaturas, as well as rules that apply to each of them. When interpreting music from this period, if we want to be rigorous, it is logical to have some prior knowledge of harmony, because the relationship between harmony and the correct way to interpret the appoggiaturas is direct. On the other hand, if this knowledge has already been acquired, it is advisable that, before approaching the interpretation of a Baroque score, we invest some time in understanding the rules that relate each appoggiatura to its correct execution, because it depends on it that our interpretation is adapted to the style of the period.
Appoggiaturas were used by composers of the time to emphasize the dissonances in each melody. In order to make these melodies pleasant and elegant (what was then called “gallant”), Baroque composers were aware that they had to add more consonant harmonies than dissonant ones. And in this context, they also knew that what the appoggiatura brought to their compositions was excitement and variety, a kind of punctual alarm for the listener. And I say timely, because for Baroque musicians, the excess of consonant sounds was not pleasing; they said it tired the listener.
According to Johann Joachim Quantz in his Method for Playing the Traverse Flute, there are two types of appoggiatura: notes to be played on the strong beats (what were then called “good notes”) and notes to be played on the weak beats (“bad notes”), or passing notes.
● Fig. 1: Method of playing the traverso by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773). Source: http://www.jobterhaar.nl/QuantzOnPayingTheFluteEspanol.pdf
If the appoggiatura is intended to ornament a dotted note, it is divided into three equal parts, two of which are covered by the appoggiatura and one by the real note (the one that accompanies the appoggiatura), or in other words, the duration of the dotted note.
● Fig. 2: Method of playing the traverso by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773). Source: http://www.jobterhaar.nl/QuantzOnPayingTheFluteEspanol.pdf
The same is not true for the notes before a pause. It is interesting to see how the values are stretched (see Fig. 3). The rule is that in the case of rests after decorated notes with appoggiaturas, the value of the real note remains the same, while that of the appoggiatura replaces the value of the rest.
Fig. 3: Method of playing the traverso by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773). Source: http://www.jobterhaar.nl/QuantzOnPayingTheFluteEspanol.pdf
In addition to these two examples, there are other shorter ornaments, such as the mordent (or pincé) and the grupet (or doublé), which were used by French Baroque composers, as they said, to give the musical work a more joyful or lively character.
Finally, the development of good taste in ornamentation is something that must be taken into account when interpreting appoggiaturas. This means that a Baroque performer assumed that, apart from the rules implicit in each ornament, he was free to decorate that ornament as he saw fit. In this sense, in Italian Baroque music, passing notes were used, as well as scales connecting intervals (or tiratas) and trills, as long as the musician respected the main melody and avoided saturating the melodies with unnecessary ornamentation. This is explained with great clarity by Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) in his treatise for the flute:
Hi, I’m Maite, this blog’s author, violin teacher and modern/baroque violin specialist. Read more