Ornamentation in music from the 16th century to the mid-18th century, part 1

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Ornamentation in music from the 16th century to the mid-18th century, part 1

Journal Title: Notes Muzyczny - Year 2015, Vol 2, Issue 4

Abstract

Among important elements being part of ornamentation practices are small embellishment formulas and ornaments; selected ones will be presented in subsequent parts of this cycle of articles devoted to performance issues of early music. As intended by the author, the cycle was to constitute an overview of principles (gathered in one place) referring to these small ornaments and their development in chronological order from the 16th century to the first half of the 18th century in (subjectively) chosen most important historical sources. Ornamentation practices in the Renaissance period and throughout the first half of the Baroque period were connected with the diminution practice, as part of which small melodic and rhythmic figures such as groppo or trillo emerged over time. These in turn transformed into ornaments in a form of codified embellishment schemes marked with symbols above notes, which we know from the 18th century music literature. The first part of the article is at the same time an introduction to the notion of diminution from the perspective of the best known authors from that period – Silvestro Ganassi and Diego Ortiz; however, it mainly focuses on small embellishment figures described in Spanish, Italian and German sources, placing most of the emphasis on the ones presented in Giulio Caccini’s Le Nuove Musiche. The second part of the article is an attempt to systematize ornaments according to their categories, functions and influence on the music matter. It presents the proposals of classification of embellishments according to Franciszek Wesołowski and Frederick Neumann. In the subsequent parts of the cycle Neumann’s more elaborated and diverse categories will be adapted. He divides ornaments according to: their melodic construction – where we can single out large and small ornaments and melic and repercussive ones; their place in the rhythmic structure – dividing them into ones occurring in the place of the principal note (anschlagende Vorschläge) and ones preceding of delaying it (durchgehende Vorschläge); their function in the music texture – performed by connective and intensifying ornaments as well as melodic and harmonic ones. Next parts of the cycle will describe in detail more of the selected embellishments belonging to the group of small ornament formulas called agréments, which were commonly used between the end of the 17th and the mid-18th centuries, mainly in the context of French and German authors.<br/><br/>

Authors and Affiliations

Przemysław Wiśniewski

Keywords

EP ID EP517988
DOI -
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