Symposium 2004

Performance Practice of Baroque Vocal Technique

Andrea Bontrager
Senior

When approaching a performance, accomplished musicians often consider the historical context from which a piece originates. They most often think of such considerations in the application of that context as it pertains to early music that is, the Baroque era or earlier. For any era, such historical considerations are called performance practice, and may include the use of vibrato, ornamentation, dynamic levels, tempi, instrumental timbres, performance setting, and balance. Vibrato and ornamentation are two important areas of consideration that vocalists must explore when aiming to give an authentically Baroque performance.

'Ideal' Baroque Vocal Technique: The Assumed Ideas

            Over the past several years, some amateur musicians have developed specific ideas about 'correct' performance practice of Baroque music. In an essay concerning the issues of Baroque music performance, Michael Sartorius notes that:

performance to a major degree reflects the spirit of the times, and some of today's 'authentic' performances have less to do with historical accuracy, attempting rather to produce a performance which, in John Eliot Gardiner's words, will 'excite modern listeners.' (Sartorius)

As a result, audiences today want a sound that contrasts with the full, constant vibrato used in singing today, such as is found in straight-tone singing, and a sound that contrasts with twentieth century minimalism, such as is found in ornamented melodies.

Amateur voice teachers, amateur singers, and amateur listeners often associate straight-tone singing with correct Baroque performance practice (Almirena). This idea is probably an outgrowth of the way scholars understand correct delivery of Renaissance polyphony: that perfectly clear intonation was essential to effective performance of those contrapuntal and imitative lines (Lejeune). In The Interpretation of Music, Thurston Dart writes: 'it is very unlikely that any vibrato was used in the ensemble singing of earlier times; the few theorists who mention it condemn it' (51). In light of the intricate counterpoint employed by Renaissance and late medieval composers, it is natural that clear intonation would have been vital to the clarity of their multi-voiced compositions. David Wulstan suggests that in singing the decorated Baroque songs, singers surely had to provide contrast between trilled and untrilled notes: 'Baroque singers could hardly have sung in such a way that trills were indistinguishable from the surrounding gelatinous wobble' (179). Singers today, in an effort to project their voices in huge performance venues have to use their voice in way that produces, in most cases, a large vibrato. Large vibratos can make it difficult, at times, to hear a distinct pitch, and therefore trills (alternating quickly between two adjacent pitches) are also difficult to hear. Thus, it is easy to idealize a pure vocal quality so that there is a clear contrast between trilled and untrilled notes. Contrast is, after all, one defining characteristic of Baroque era musicÑthus, the amateur assumption has a reasonable basis.

In regards to the decoration of Baroque music, amateurs often think that Baroque music is extremely ornamented. This practice is a more recently acceptable practice: scholar Ronald Roseman says that as recently as the 1960s, even cadential trills were not acceptable in performance of either instrumental or vocal literature of the Baroque. The melodic ornamentation practiced today, however, enhance emotional intensity, therefore giving life to the composer's desired affection (Glover).

Baroque Vocal Technique: The Ideas of the Experts

            There are several ideals to the Baroque aesthetic. Perhaps one of the most important is the importance of conveying a specific emotion. This is in accordance with the 'Doctrine of the Affections,' a dominant philosophy in the Baroque era that grew out of Descartes's 1649 treatise, The Passions of the Soul (Seaton 153). Sartorius notes that text clarity is also important to Baroque vocal composers. The development of the monodic song style is evidence of the importance of text. Furthermore, it is important that performers have a respect for and connection to the music. This can only come from a deep connection to the music as a result of spending hours with the text and music in order to fully explore the structure, mood, and harmonies of a piece. After that deep connection exists, the music should flow from a singer with ease.

Considering again the use of vibrato, remember that amateur musicians often associate a straight-tone vocal production with early music. In order to achieve that, some teachers encourage a type of singing that involves placing the larynx high in the throat in order to eliminate the vibrato (Jones). L≥jeune believes that 'a voice without any vibrato loses the essential qualities of expression that allow it to convey emotion.' One can deduce that, according to L≥jeune, stripping the voice of vibrato would contradict the major premise of Baroque musical purpose: conveying emotion. While this point is debatable, of greater concern to singers is that singing as such, with a high larynx, will take 15 to 20 years off the end of a singer's vocal life. In a comprehensive examination of the Italian singing technique, Antonella Nigro notes that a healthy straight-tone vocal production can create impeccable intonation. Jones reminds his readers, on the other hand, that a straight-tone timbre resulting from high-larynx singing can be 'harsh, unflattering, and often under-pitched.' That would not have been acceptable in the Baroque, nor should it be acceptable now.

Writings from the Baroque era that describe proper use of vibrato exist. Ludovico Zacconi, author of Prattica di Musica (Venice, 1596), wrote:

The tremolo is not necessary in music; but to perform it, besides demonstrating sincerity and boldness, embellishes the cantilenas. [It] should be succinct, and graceful; because the excessive and forced is tedious, and annoys. (qtd. In Nigro XV-XVI)

As a natural phenomenon, Zacconi recognizes that the vibrato is a constant presence rather than a technique for emphasis or ornament (Nigro XVI). Another Baroque writer, Giovanni Maffei, outlined rules for singing (1562), one of which is 'that one push the breath little by little with the voice' (qtd. in Nigro XVI). Giulio Caccini of the Florentine camerata says that maintaining correct pitch is absolutely necessary (610). Nigro concludes that Zacconi's 'tremolo' is essentially the same as today's vibrato, and explains that there is a difference between occurring naturally and occurring 'in oscillations so wide (owing, usually, to efforts to increase the volume of the voice) as to impair intonation and sound-quality' (XVI). She suggests also that Maffei's breathing technique is much like the modern breath-control technique, which does produce a vibrato involuntarily (XVI). Nigro agrees with Jones that fixing the voice in a straight tone by high-larynx singing is an unnatural and unnecessary vocal abuse (XVII). Certainly, Baroque composers, performers, and audiences would have condemned a musical expression that resulted in a forced sound or compromised intonation.

            Beyond vibrato is the issue of ornamentation. Piano professor Martin Kauble says that 'Baroque art is considered excessively decorative, dramatic, flamboyant and emotional' (Kauble). In the preface to his treatise Le nuove musiche, Caccini insists that all ornamentationsÑincluding all crescendos, decrescendos, and 'exclamations, trills, gruppi'Ñshould be used discriminately for expression (609-610). Kauble and Roseman say that composers 'outlined' melodies, fully expecting performers to ornament them and extend cadences with coloratura ornamentation and cadenzas. It was perfectly acceptable for singers (and instrumentalists) to adapt and adjust melodic material to their personal styleÑand they were fully aware of that style because of their extensive training in techniques of improvising cadenzas and ornamental material to all genres in which they performed (Almirena). Giovanni Bontempi wrote Historia Musica (1695), of which Nigro included an excerpt in her essay:

The schools of Rome obliged their pupils to devote an hour of each day to singing difficult and awkward pieces for the sake of acquiring experience. Another hour to practicing the trill. Another to practicing the passaggi. Another to literary study and another to training and exercises in song, in the hearing of the Maestro and in front of a mirror so as to develop the habit of making no unsuitable movement, And all these were the activities of the morning. After midday, half an hour would be devoted to theoretical instruction, another half-hour to counterpoint over a cantus firmus, one hour to receiving the parts for the counterpoint and putting them up on the 'cartella' another hour to literary study; and the remainder of the day to practice in playing the clavicembalo, and composition (qtd. in XX-XXI)

Such rigorous training certainly provided singers with ample expertise in ornamentation. This is why it is important, when performing a Baroque piece, to understand its underlying harmonies, mood, and structure before attempting to add ornamentation.

Caccini explains that embellishments in 'good singing,' in addition to their expressive value, are additions of grace (613). Each performer, he says, must ornament in a way suited to his or her own voice (612). Roseman categorizes ornamentation into two groups: standard embellishments (i.e. trills and mordents) and free ornamentation (expansions of the original melodic material). He suggests applying standard embellishments according to the following guidelines: (1) add trills at virtually all important cadences (unless otherwise specified, or if the text calls for simplicity); (2) add long trills or half trills fairly freely at non-cadential notes; (3) add appoggiatura freely to 'heighten the poignancy and warmth of the music by creating dissonance,' although these are most effective on strong beats (Roseman). It is important to ensure that the movement of the bass line is in proper counterpoint with the ornamented melody that is, without parallel fifths, octaves, or parallel dissonant intervals (Roseman).

Performers must add free ornamentation carefully as well (Roseman). The most important guidelines for free ornamentation that Roseman gives include (1) do not ornament a theme during its first statement; (2) a performer should embellish only repeats of phrases or sections; (3) ornamentation should grow in complexity as the movement progresses; and (4) if ornamentation is written, the performer should accept it as a suggestion. Roseman makes it clear that, in general, 'The ornamentation should follow the general shape of the composer's original line and maintain the affect of the piece' (Roseman). Caccini cautions singers to maintain in their singing and ornamentation a sprezzaturaÑa carelessness of sorts, that causes audiences to wonder whether the performer speaks or sings, while passing over several dissonances and consonances in relation to the sustained bass note as he or she expresses an affection (608). However, Roseman cautions against over-embellishing: 'You should not feel that you must ornament elaborately. That is totally alien to the spirit of Baroque playing, which is one of freedom and personal expression.' An over-embellished piece would lose the sprezzatura of which Caccini writes. Again, it is the emotion of the piece that is important; all the embellishments should contribute to composers' intended affections.

Caccini insists that singers perform all melodies and ornamentation with grace. To provide more ease of performance, he suggests that the pitches that composers write are not absolute pitches: ' a master of this art, when singing solo with a stringed instrument should choose a pitch level at which he can sing with a full, natural voice, in order to avoid going into forced tones' (616). Thus, singers should adapt music to a key that provides a comfortable range for their vocal instrument. This 'full, natural voice' that Caccini prefers to 'forced tones' is what singers find in comfortable parts of their range, requiring little breath outside of what the singer can use for conveying emotion. One way that Caccini suggests employing the breath for expressive effect is in crescendos and decrescendos. One specific case he gives is to begin the first note softly, applying a crescendo to that note, so that the piece begins in a 'stylish manner' (Caccini 611).

Applying Performance Practice: Begli occhi (Strozzi) and Ah! Spietato! (Handel)

            Barbara Strozzi, born in Venice in 1619, was a composer of the early Baroque era (Rosand 606). She also performed with excellence on the lute and as a vocalist (Archer x). She published eight volumes of madrigals, motets, ariettas, arias, and cantatas for voice and continuo (Rosand 606). She was an accomplished singer and lutenist as well (Archer x). Her songs are settings of poetry by her father, Giulio Strozzi, and many others who were associated with the mid-seventeenth-century world of Venetian opera (Rosand 607). In following the Baroque traditions, Strozzi's music is highly emotive and full of contrasts. Contrasts are evident in instrumental timbre (voice versus continuo accompaniment), and in tempo changes between textual phrases (compare text in Appendix 1B with the line markings in the musical score of Appendix 1A). She creates emotion with dissonance at key cadences, as determined also by the poetic lines, for example, in measures 9-10, measure 20, and measures 36-37. Strozzi also creates emotion by carrying over a Renaissance practice of word painting; for example, the words 'si pungente e mortali' (so sharp and deadly) have angular melodic lines in both voices that descend, reflecting a fall.

            In terms of Baroque performance practice, one must consider whether ornamentation and vibrato are appropriate for this piece. Strozzi wrote already-ornamented melodies with unfigured bass, and this piece has no markings of further suggested ornamentation, whereas a few of her other compositions have trills marked occasionally (Archer x). Gail Archer, editor of Strozzi's Opus 3 for Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era, suggests that Strozzi notated all the ornamentation that she intended, and, since Strozzi wrote an unfigured bass, she preferred clarity and simplicity of expression (x). Consequently, adding much ornamentation to Strozzi's work would thwart her intentions. A singer could add a few trills, for example, the mezzo-soprano in measure 42 on the first A, or the soprano in measure 43 on the first DÑbut care should be taken to preserve the clarity of Strozzi's harmonies.

            The opera Amadigi originated in a much later part of the Baroque. Written in 1714, Handel used the recitative and da capo aria styles he learned while traveling in Italy during 1706-1709 (Amadigi). Ah! Spietato!, a da capo aria, follows Baroque tradition. It has an emotive nature, evidenced in dissonance and text painting, and it is organized into two sections that contrast in tempi and in emotive ideas. The first section begins with the words 'Ah! spietato!' (Ah, cruel one!), with a descending melodic line that resembles a sigh (mm. 1-2). The second section, in contrast, is more playful, with its quick tempo, as the character tries to show that the listener does not 'realize that/You scorn a loving soul,/Whom you wish to betray' (Kagen 26). This piece is different from Strozzi's in that the overriding ideas determine the sections of the music, rather than the individual literary phrases. In Handel's composition, both sections iterate the text twice; the second iteration is a variation of the first. This allows further exploration of the text, and the da capo structure allows an even deeper emotive exploration, since that is when the singer can begin to ornament.

In following with the suggestions given by Roseman, singers should not ornament the aria Ah! Spietato! during its first statement. The repeated section (the Largo) is the section for singers to ornament. One possibility for ornamentation on the repeat is added in blue markings directly on the music in Appendix 2. The ornamentation begins by simply filling in intervals that Handel outlined with grace notes and note values that become part of the regular rhythm: in m. 2, the F# to the E is in rhythm (as rhythmically notated above the staff); in m. 3, the E and F# are grace notes. Many of the ornamental notes increase the dissonance, thereby adding to the emotion of the piece. Adding cadential trills is necessary, as Roseman and Caccini suggest; this works well on the C# in measure 12 and the D# in measure 27. These cadences are both at the end of the first entire phrase, which Handel wrote twice (' Che per te mi fˆ languir!'); it is no accident that the trill should be on the same word. The second repeat of the first entire phrase (mm. 14-28) should be more extensively embellished than it is in the first 13 measures of the repeat. Therefore, a singer can add more appoggiatura (mm. 18, 20) and more complicated extensions of the melodic line by using triplets (mm. 21, 22, 23, 25). The use of triplets may detract slightly from the sad affect of the largo section, but after hearing the Allegro section's more playful agitation the triplets seem acceptable and fitting.

The question of whether or not to use vibrato in both of the aforementioned pieces seems rather mundane in light of earlier discussion. Zacconi, Jones, and Nigro affirm that the use of a vibrato, when forced, has the potential to compromise pitch clarity and intonation. Jones, Nigro, and Caccini all clearly say that such compromise is undesirable in performing Baroque music. At the same time, both Jones and L jeune caution against high-larynx singing in order to stop vibrato completely, for reasons of vocal health. One can deduce, then, that the most desirable performance practice of Baroque music in regards to the use of vibrato is to maintain a clear, resonant tone that is free and graceful, not forced in any way so as to avoid wide oscillations in tone and pitch. Furthermore, Archer explains that Strozzi wrote in an already-ornamented style that calls for simplicity beyond what is written on the page. Likewise, in the Handel aria, the use of vibrato in relation to performance practice should be considered, but singers should not compromise the beauty of the music by straining the voice in unnatural ways.

Baroque Vocal Technique: Performance Practice

            When considering the performance practice of Baroque pieces, singers must consider the emotion of the piece. Emotion is a key determinant of appropriate ornamentation of a piece, which individuals should discover according to their vocal instrument. Emotion should also help direct the use of vibrato, but no singer should have so wide a vibrato as to compromise pitch clarity or intonation. Singers also should not limit or stop vibrato by techniques that are abusive to the voice. In order to fully understand the mood, harmonies, and structure, singers must study and learn the piece so that it integrates into their full awareness of experience. It is only then that ornamentation of all kinds and the most natural vibrato can emerge in the true baroque spiritÑshowing a respect and an affection for the music.

 


Bibliography

 

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