| Variant title |
Interpretation of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries |
| Contents |
Expression -- Tempo. The tempo of dance movements -- Conventional alterations of rhythm -- Ornamentation. The appoggiatura ; The shake or trill ; The tremolo, close-shake ; Mordent, beat (open-shake, sweetening) ; The turn, single relish ; The slide, elevation, double backfall, wholefall, slur, bearing ; The springer (or spinger), accent, acute, sigh ; The "Anschlag" or Doppelsvorschlag ; The arpeggio, battery, broken chord ; Expressive rests ; Tempo rubato (in English, "stolen time") ; Acciaccatura, pincé etouffé ; Compound ornaments ; Divisions -- Thorough bass -- Position and fingering -- The musical instruments of the period. The virginals ; The clavichord ; The organ ; The lute ; The viols ; The viola d'amore ; The violins ; The wood-wind instruments ; The brass instruments ; Combinations of instruments -- Index of signs. |
| Abstract |
One of the most influential figures in the twentieth-century revival of early music, Arnold Dolmetsch (1858-1940) was the first to apply academic attention to the issue of authentic historical performance. His groundbreaking study first appeared in 1915 and remains a landmark of musicology. An outstanding musician, teacher, and maker of Baroque-style instruments, Dolmetsch sought the correct interpretation of Baroque music in order to heighten its expressive intent and emotional impact. In this study, he quotes extensively from both familiar and lesser-known treatises of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, adding enlightening comments to each quotation and providing illuminating conclusions. Topics include tempo, rhythm, ornamentation, figured bass realization, wrist positioning, and fingering, and musical instruments of the period. More than a text on performance practices, this classic offers glimpses of what Baroque music meant--both as an art and a science--to musicians of the era. |
| General note | "Washington paperbacks WP-51." |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliography (page 473) and indexes. |
| LCCN | 76075611 |
