Expressing Sadness
Sadness is one of the most common expressions in 17th-century French vocal music. It is therefore very useful to know which ornaments are suitable in expressing passion like sadness, grief, sorrow, pain… etc.
Bacilly listed several ornaments suitable for expressing sadness. Some of the ornaments appeared for the first time in his treatise and he did not explain those much, but most of them we have already discussed in the previous chapter.
The style of movement most appropriate for doleful expressions of sadness and grief can be expressed by many different types of vocal agréments. The plaintes and accents, certain langueurs which are realized in a descending pattern from one long note to another supporting the voice very lightly, the tremblement étouffé, similarly a very slow cadence, above all the demi-ports de voix which are executed while ascending by imperceptible degrees, certain pronunciations peculiar to singing and to declamation such as the capital M (as well as others about which I shall speak later on this treatise) which the singer extends for some time before proceeding on to the following vowel (and which has been commonly called gronder)… (Bacilly 1668)1
The first of which Bacilly listed was the plaintes and accents. In the previous chapter, we have already discussed that the accent was sometimes also called the plainte, because it has a plaintive nature, but Bacilly disagreed with the name because he thought that it could also be applied in some other expressions. Therefore, they belong to the same type of ornament.
The second ornament was the langueur, which Bacilly did not introduce formerly in his treatise, but here he described it as “a descending pattern from one long note to another supporting the voice very lightly”, which reminds me of the chûte (the ‘fall’) in Montéclair’s treatise. La chûte is also a descending pattern of notes which is executed with pressing a higher note for some time and then falls gently as if dying on a lower note. Therefore, if I interpret it correctly, Bacilly’s langueurs was later defined by Montéclair as the chûte.
The third and fourth ornament is the tremblement étouffé and the similar slow cadence. As the cadence was also called the tremblement by Bacilly, I consider the tremblement étouffé and the slow cadence as one group of ornaments with variation. The tremblement étouffé, discussed in the previous chapter that Bacilly gave an obscure instruction on the execution, is possible to be realised as tremblement feint as suggested by Neumann.2 The slow cadence will be a tremblement executed in a slow way, not too lively and vigorous.
The fifth ornament is the demi-port de voix that is ascending with imperceptible degree. It is possible that it could be the port de voix perdu variant suggested by Bacilly, that begins like a normal port de voix with and appuy but the upper note is shortened and is barely graced.
The sixth ornament is the gronder. It is worth noting that Bacilly was suggesting that the gronder was an ornament. The gronder is a special technique that allows suspension of a consonant before sounding the following vowel.3 Consonants like /m/, /f/, /n/, /s/, /dʒ/ and /v/, can be suspended and give greater tension to the expression of the words.
Apart from Bacilly, Montéclair also suggested that some agréments were more suitable in expressing sadness, for example the chûte and the sanglot.
The chûte gives a beautiful ornament to sad songs. (Montéclair 1736)4
Figure 23: Montéclair’s description on La Chûte. (Montéclair 1736, pp. 80)
As previously mentioned, the chûte is similar to Bacilly’s langueur, and since both authors agreed that this ornament is suitable sad songs, it is possible that the two ornaments are the same one.
The sanglot is used in the most acute pain, in the greatest sadness, in the laments… (Montéclair 1736)5
The sanglot is the last ornament mentioned by Montéclair that was best in expressing sadness, pain, and laments. It is an ornament that requires deep inhalation to the chest and is heard as a violent breath. The sanglot is not only suitable in sad songs, but also in other opposing extreme expressions, like anger, contentment and joy.
These were the ornaments suggested by Bacilly and Montéclair that were suitable in expressing sadness, however, there are many more ornaments that were suitable in other kinds of emotions.
Below is a list summarizing the possible ornaments used in sad songs:
1. Accent/ plainte
2. La Chûte/ Langueur
3. Tremblement étouffé
4. Very slow cadence
5. Demi-port de voix (port de voix perdu)
6. Gronder
7. Sanglot
Musical Expression in 17th- and early 18th- century French vocal Music
This chapter aims at exploring how ornamentation helps the expression in 17th- and early 18th-century French vocal music. Some ornaments were used more often in certain types of songs, and some did not have a specified character. These will be discussed in this chapter.
Throughout this chapter the primary references I have consulted include the 1668 treatise Remarques by Bacilly and the 1736 treatise Principes de Musique by Montéclair. The contemporary reference includes Dennis Shrock’s 2013 book entitled Performance Practices in the Baroque Era: as Related by Primary Sources.
Remarks
In relation to this discussion of the expression in French vocal music, Bacilly specially warned singers not to commit a widespread error of singing inconsistently: softer now and then without any cause.
Somehow they [singers] manage to convince themselves that this vocal variety is a considerable adjunct to the art, at one point singing as loud as possible and at the next singing so softly that the listener cannot hear it, especially on tremblements and cadences. (Bacilly 1668)6
This practice was used greatly on instruments to express passions of tenderness and anger; but for the voice, which has the ability to express through the pronunciation of the text, for example with gronder, it is not necessary to express with too much a variation and fluctuation in dynamics, otherwise it would be too pretentious.
For this reason, this practice is nothing but an affectation, especially when it is used at the wrong time, for example, in ports de voix, which often appear on words requiring a great deal of force and volume. A like situation is the final note of a melody and also the note that follows a tremblement or cadence. (Bacilly 1668)7
Although it was not specified what kind of expression the ports de voix and the tremblement was suitable for, Bacilly stated that the two types of ornaments often appeared on words requiring great emphasis, and they demanded ‘foreground settings rather than being hidden’.8 Therefore, Bacilly disliked this practice of fluctuating the volume without consideration of the nature of the ornament, and he advised that the change of volume had to be gradual and appropriate when it is done.
I must reemphasize that in these situations (the notes following cadences and ports de voix) the moderation of volume must be gradual rather than in the form of an extra and completely superfluous accent. Many people call this erroneous device a “hoquet [hiccup],” which seems to express its ugliness better. (Bacilly 1668)9
Bacilly also spoke of the ‘movement’ of a song, that was not related to the tempo ‘mesure’, nor whether the song was a dance or not. The ‘movement’ referred to the expression of the song, that gave spirit to the song and had a goal of evoking and exciting the attention of the listeners. Though the ‘movement’ we have discussed above, whether it is for sadness, anger, happiness or tenderness, the aim is to ‘inspire the heart of the listeners with whatever passion the singer might wish to evoke’10
I have no doubt at all that variety in the measure, whether fast or slow, contributes a great deal to expression in singing; but there is without doubt still another quality, more purified and spiritual, that always holds the listener in suspense. And this quality, which is movement, makes the singing of a mediocre voice less annoying than that of a beautiful voice that lacks expression. (Bacilly 1668)11
1. Expression in the 17th century
a. Sadness
b. Tenderness
c. Happiness
d. Anger
2. Remarks
3. Conclusion
Expression is not one of the “measurable” musical elements, but it nonetheless played a very important role in the 17th century. Composers and performers in this period were both trying to communicate a desired expression through musical elements in the composition. While composers tried to suggest and encrypt a particular emotion in the music, performers tried to understand, decode, and reveal the composers’ emotional intent through their performances. Shrock gives an overview of how expression was conveyed and portrayed in the Baroque era:
To achieve this end composers utilized specific keys or modes, melodic intervals, and rhythmic patterns to express various emotions. The “affects,” as they were termed, were the basis behind the choice of the various elements of music for the purpose of expression.
It was an ideal of emotional, character, and dramatic communication. As such, performers were encouraged to use means to realize this effect and to create the deemed atmosphere that would enable a listener to feel the same passion, that passion the composers apparently had as their intent. (Shrock 2013)12
Performances in the 17th century were text-oriented, as we have discussed previously, and it was not enough to solely have the intelligibility to communicate the text clearly with the audiences, but also the “affects” behind it. Wistreich agrees with the importance of the expression in 17th-century vocal music:
[…] most new kinds of vocal music encouraged singers to convey intense expressions of strong feelings, engage in dramatically convincing and affecting role-play, or to display feats of occasionally staggering vocal virtuosity, and often to combine all of these. (Wistreich 2018)13
In order to convey such emotion in a performance, it was necessary for 17th-century singers to make use of all the musical elements in the song, so that the listeners can understand and share the same passion in the music. Shrock believes that all the elements enter into expression, including ornamentation:
All the elements of musical performance, therefore, entered into expression. Sound quality, tempo, articulation, metric accentuation, rhythmic alteration, and ornamentation were utilized to convey particular emotional states of being. (Shrock 2013)14
To formulate the right character or emotion is a must in a performance. In terms of ornamentation, we need to regulate the degree of presence, absence, type and amount of embellishment in the music to portray the desired expression.
The 17th-century French expression was thought to be less extreme compared to other nations, especially to the ‘rivalry’ country, Italy. Mersenne expressed in his 1636 treatise that the Italians had so many passions in their songs that the French were deprived of. The French were fond of tickling the ear and having a continuous sweetness in the song:
As to the Italians, in their recitatives they observe many things of which ours are deprived, because they represent as much as they can the passions and affections of the soul and spirit, as, for example, anger, furor, disdain, rage, the frailties of the heart, and many other passions, with a violence so strange that one would almost say that they are touched by the same emotions as they are representing in the song; whereas our French are content to tickle the ear, and have a perpetual sweetness in their songs, which deprives them of energy. (Mersenne 1636)15
It seems that the French did not like to have too much a variety of the expressions as the Italians. Bacilly similarly mentioned in his treatise that excessive or too severe emotions like anger were not permitted in the music, because ‘sweetness in the songs’ has to come first always.
Lightning, Thunder, Stars, Purgatory, Hell, and thousands of other similar words are all available for musical interpretation in Italian airs… The very use of such expressions would be considered barbarous in French airs, which can accept only sweet, flowing terms and familiar expressions. (Bacilly 1668)16
Although the French preferred certain sweet expressions more than the others perhaps, fortunately, we could still find some traces of instructions on expressing other passions with ornamentations in Bacilly’s and Montéclair’s singing treatises.
Conclusion
In this chapter we have discussed several ornaments of which expressions were explicitly written out by authors during the period in question. Expressions like sadness, tenderness, happiness and anger have been discussed and listed with ornaments respectively. However, there are more ornaments, including those we have not discussed in detail, for example, port de voix, trait, pincé, couladé, flaté… etc., that were not associated with any expression. It does not mean that they cannot be used in certain passion, but it is up to the taste and interpretation of the singer to decide how and when to use it appropriately.
There are various ways in expressing passion in singing 17th- and early 18th-century French vocal music. Ornamentation is only one of them. We should always look into other musical elements, for example, the harmony, as Jean-Philippe Rameau later suggested in his 1722 treatise how different chords represented different passions that are ‘sad, languishing, tender, pleasant, gay and surprising.’17 However, due to the scope of this research, these will not be discussed further. Modern singers are encouraged to research more about other ways of expressing exciting passions in 17th- and early 18th-century vocal music.
Expressing Tenderness
The definition of ‘tenderness’ in French vocal music is rather ambiguous. In Bacilly’s wordings, tenderness is somehow the same expression as sadness. After listing a number of agréments appropriate for ‘doleful expression of sadness and grief’, he concluded that ‘all these ornaments can be used with great effect for tender expressions’.
The style of movement most appropriate for doleful expressions of sadness and grief can be expressed by many different types of vocal agréments… all these ornaments can be used with great effect for tender expressions. (Bacilly 1668)18
In Montéclair’s treatise, Gilles Aufray translated les airs tendres to love songs, because obviously Montéclair is comparing the use of accent in plaintive airs and in tender airs.
The accent is an inhalation or a painful raising of the voice, which is more often used in plaintive airs than in tender airs (love songs).19
The tender expression here perhaps does not mean the same as Bacilly’s tenderness, but more like the French favourite sweet, loving, sentimental affection. For this kind of tenderness, Montéclair suggested using sanglot and less accent (but not never). He also pointed out that tremblement doublé was often found in tender airs which had a lot of passages, another more complex ornament introduced by Montéclair.
List of ornaments in tender airs:
1. Tremblement double where there are many passages
2. Less accent
3. Sanglot
Expressing Happiness
In expressing affections like contentment, happiness, joy and ecstasy, Bacilly and Montéclair both suggested appropriate ornaments such as: doublement du gosier and sanglot. Montéclair additionally wrote that the accent was never used in happy airs.
Concerning the movement for gay and joyful expressions, there is nothing so effective as the doublement de gosier about which I have spoken at sufficient length in the preceding article. It is performed just as I indicated; a single note which is articulated twice rather than once; however, it is performed so lightly and delicately that it hardly appears so. (Bacilly 1668)20
The sanglot is used… in contentment, and even in joy. (Montéclair 1736)21
It [The accent] is never done in gay airs… (Montéclair 1736)22
List of ornaments in happy airs:
1. Sanglot
2. Doublement du gosier
3. NEVER use accent
Expressing Anger
Although anger was the expression least liked by the French and was considered barbarous in the 17th century, Montéclair gave instructions about angry airs in his treatise in the early 18th century. The only suggested ornament was the sanglot. Montéclair advised not to use the accent and the coulé.
The sanglot is used… in anger… (Montéclair 1736)23
It [The accent] is never done in… those expressed by anger. (Montéclair 1736)24
When the words express anger, or when the song is of a fast tempo, one does not add a coulé to the descending thirds. (Montéclair 1736)25
List of possible ornaments in angry airs:
1. Sanglot
2. NEVER use coulé
3. NEVER use accent