Exposition

Freedom of Speech. Understanding flexibility in the score (last edited: 2023)

Bart van Oort
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About this exposition

Flexibility in performance is an important element of the classical style and probably of all musical styles. While about 'freedom', this article is not about tempo rubato - tempo fluctuation - but about the subtle gesturing of musical figures, akin to pronounciation of words in speech: together with dynamics the most important tool for shaping a musical figure. This 'freedom of speech' is excercized independently of the rhythmical pulse and is supported by the historical sources. But in spite of that, the dominating performance style of the 20th century was the 'Strict style' - the antithesis of flexibility in performance. Sometimes also referred to as the 'Modern Style' or the 'Straight Style', it also manifested itself as the ’Sewing Machine Style’ in the early days of early music. Chapter I deals with the need for the rethorical classical style to be performed with speech-like diction and gesturing. Chapter 2 investigates the origins of the strict style and its influence on present day music life. Together with the strict style, the highly expressive piano technique of dislocation (striking the left hand and right hand not together) became more important, to the point of dominating performances. Chapter three is an attempt to answer the question whether there is a relation between the strict style and this (no less strict) technique of dislocation? The fourth and last chapter documents the (often coded but undisputable) historical directions and tools for a speech-like flexibility found in treatises between 1740 and 1990.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsrubato, flexibility, strict style, performance, piano performance, performance aesthetics, modern style, sewing machine style, articulation, messa di voce, dislocation, rhetorical style, historical performance, fortepiano, gesturing, speech, diction, shaping, agogic accents, KonCon Lectorate
date05/01/2021
last modified14/08/2023
statusin progress
share statusprivate
affiliationRoyal Conservatory, The Hague
copyrightBart van Oort
licenseAll rights reserved
languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1106005/1106006


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1106065 Schubert p 121 no 1 bo All rights reserved
1126534 Mozart 457:ii no 1 me All rights reserved
1126549 Mozart 457:ii no 2 me All rights reserved
1126734 Mozart 457:ii no 1 me All rights reserved
1126736 Mozart 457:ii no 2 me All rights reserved
1126747 Mozart 457:iii me All rights reserved
1126752 Mozart 457:iii me All rights reserved
1126790 Stravinsky Pleyela me All rights reserved
1126798 Stravinsky Pleyela 2 me All rights reserved
1127852 Petra Somlai Stravinsky_ Tango 2007 me All rights reserved
1127869 Petra Somlai Stravinsky Tango (mp3, 2007) me All rights reserved
1127921 Toos Onderdenwijngaard me All rights reserved
1127926 Türk §63 rubato me All rights reserved
1127931 Turk §63 me All rights reserved

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