Chats To 'Cello Students Part 8

The name "artificial" is used merely in contrast to "natural," they are only artificial in the sense that they are produced on an artificial or "made" basis, instead of being in the key of the open string.

If one was restricted to the use of natural harmonics it would be impossible to play scale pa.s.sages, or any pa.s.sages foreign to the key of the four open strings. However by causing the string to be shortened by the employment of a stopped note the pitch of the fundamental note may be raised to any desired height, the harmonics being produced exactly as before, on the fresh root thus formed; the harmonic being in the key of the shortened string. In playing artificial harmonics on the violoncello it is usual to employ the thumb for the stopped note, the third finger should then be caused to touch the string lightly at one of its nodal points, the distances of course being now calculated from the thumb to the bridge. Owing to the sometimes great length of string between the stopped note and the bridge it is often found impossible to use any but the smaller divisions, the form most often met with being harmonics produced by fourths, that is, the third finger touching the string at the interval of one fourth (stopped note) above the thumb: the harmonic thus produced will be two octaves above the pitch of the note stopped by the thumb. Whole pa.s.sages are written for this form of artificial harmonics. To the student who has thoroughly mastered octave pa.s.sages in stopped notes the technical difficulties presented ought to be easily conquered, as the same technique really suffices for both; the only difference being that whilst octaves are played across two strings--artificial harmonics by fourths are played with the same fingering and the same intervals on one string.

With respect to the bowing of harmonics, the peculiar manner in which the string vibrates during the production of harmonic notes must be taken into consideration. It is important to notice that the vibration of the string near the nodal points is the least intense (see double lines in diagram), whereas the part mid-way between the nodes vibrates with the greatest intensity; if the bow is caused to pa.s.s near one of these nodes it may possibly give a greater vibration to that portion of the string than is required, which would have the effect of displacing the natural division, and placing of the nodes, thus causing confusion or perhaps another harmonic than the one intended to be produced. It is general to give an all round rule that in playing harmonics the bow must always be drawn close to the bridge, the student will comprehend that the smaller the division of the string used to produce the harmonic, the greater need will there be to attend to this rule. The progression of harmonic notes should be clearly defined; in pa.s.sages composed wholly of harmonics it may sometimes be found advisable to use a down bow-stroke for each note, slightly striking the commencement of each harmonic; this will give the necessary attack, and will cause each note to ring out clear as a bell, providing the fingering is correctly managed.

Harmonics are indicated in various ways, sometimes causing much confusion and indecision as to what is really required; thus in a single composition it is possible to find the real notes which are to be produced being given with the word "harmonique" or "flageolet" or sometimes the sign O (usually employed for natural harmonics) added, the player to produce the harmonics as he pleases; again the position of the node which produces the harmonic will be indicated by a blank note, the pitch of the harmonic to be produced being left to fate and the performer. To indicate artificial harmonics it is usual to write the stopped notes as an ordinary pa.s.sage, then with the aid of blank notes the positions where the string has to be lightly touched are shown.

CHAPTER XIV.

SPECIAL EFFECTS--"TRICK STACCATO"--VARIOUS METHODS OF PRODUCING CHROMATIC SCALE Pa.s.sAGES--"SUL PONTICELLO" BOWING AND "BOWED"

HARMONICS--FLAUTANDO--PIZZICATO GLIDE AND GRACE NOTES!

SPECIAL EFFECTS.

There are various effects possible on the violoncello, which one often finds introduced in modern solo compositions, but on which most works on the art of violoncello playing are strangely reticent. Some of these effects may perhaps come under the head of trick playing, but as they are to be found in the works of such masters as Servais, Davidoff, Popper, etc., it will be advisable to devote a little time to their consideration.

Servais--who is credited with doing more by his compositions and playing towards giving the violoncello a firm standing as a solo instrument than any previous writer, and perhaps any subsequent player-writer with the exception of Popper--makes free use of most of the effects here treated.

The most common effect, generally known as "trick staccato," may be explained as follows:

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. 51.]

The left hand takes no part in the division of the notes, the third finger merely gliding from the highest note of the pa.s.sage, down to the open A string; the finger should press uniformly on the string, the division of the notes being accomplished by a nervous tremolo movement of the fore-arm which causes the bow to proceed in a series of rapid jerks.

The right hand wrist remains fixed, the pressure on the bow being almost uniform. The above kind of staccato must not be confounded with solid staccato. It is possible to attain a very high rate of speed in a pa.s.sage as Ex. 51 if executed as explained, but apart from this, the effect is entirely different than if performed with solid staccato, even if it were possible to play the pa.s.sage as rapidly with the latter form of bowing. Another kind of chromatic pa.s.sage produced wholly by a bow movement may be found in Davidoff's "Am Springbrunnen" and Popper's "Elfentanz." The following (Ex. 52) is taken from the latter work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. 52.]

The finger should glide along the string as previously explained, the division of the notes in this instance being accomplished by a rapid spiccato movement of the bow, producing a series of short detached strokes. In a pa.s.sage of this character it is impossible for either player or listener to discern whether the exact chromatic scale is actually played; the only method to approach anywhere near a faithful interpretation of the pa.s.sage, is by a correct division of the bow strokes in groups of fours, at the same time carefully regulating the speed of the gliding finger. It will be evident that the gliding must be more rapid when the lower positions of the instrument are reached than in the high positions; thus in commencing the above pa.s.sage (Ex.

52), the notes being nearer together in the higher positions than in the lower, the hand should move correspondingly slower; the movement becoming more rapid as the pa.s.sage proceeds.

A third method of producing a chromatic pa.s.sage--this time, however, with the left hand, without any a.s.sistance from the bow for the division of the notes--seems to be a speciality of Servais. It is introduced both in slow portamento effects and rapid chromatic pa.s.sages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EX. 53.]

The bow should be drawn as for a long sustained note, the division of the notes being caused by a series of rapid jerks performed by the left hand. The finger should sustain the pressure on the string during the whole pa.s.sage, the movement is similar to that explained as the method of producing the vibrato, with the addition of the forward or backward progression of the hand according to the requirements of the pa.s.sage.

The pa.s.sage may be played with any finger, but it is advisable to use the fourth finger for a descending pa.s.sage (see Ex. 53) and the first or second finger for an ascending chromatic run. It is also here impossible to attempt to play the real notes except in very slow pa.s.sages; to execute a rapid chromatic as above, the player should merely grasp the time of the semiquavers, and regulate the distances for each movement previously as explained.

The same effects as above examples are also possible in octaves, they are produced in a similar manner.

SUL PONTICELLO.

A style of bowing which seems to be either very little understood, or very much neglected, is "sul ponticello" bowing. In string quartets, orchestral music, etc., a very fine effect is possible if all the players execute it in a proper manner. The bow should be drawn quite close to the bridge, with only medium pressure applied, the stroke should be performed more rapidly than ordinary bowing. This bowing executed by a number of strings gives a very weird effect, the only objection to its use being that if great skill is not used, the string, instead of vibrating as a whole, will vibrate in segments, thus giving out one or other of the natural harmonics. It is stated that Paganini used to play certain pa.s.sages in harmonics after the above manner; harmonic tones may be produced on any stopped note, by the bow alone, as follows. The bow should be drawn very lightly across the strings near the bridge, the left hand fingers firmly stopping the notes; various harmonics may be produced with one fingering by slightly varying the position of the bow, moving it slightly nearer or away from the bridge.

Except for special pa.s.sages, which are really intended for this kind of ponticello harmonic playing, it is not advisable to introduce it; the slightest irregularity in the position of the bow on the string will alter the harmonic notes to a great extent.

FLAUTANDO.

Of more real use than the preceding, is the bowing sometimes styled _sotto voce_, or more properly "flautando"; the tone produced by this manner of bowing is of a beautiful soft flute-like character, and serves as a grateful change to a continued hard tone. It is accomplished by causing the bow to be drawn near the fingerboard, and without any pressure being applied; the strokes should be drawn much more rapidly than for the usual way of bowing, the change of bow-strikes being accomplished almost unheard. It is practicable for any sustained cantabile theme, especially if the tone is to be kept _piano_; great freedom in bowing must be obtained before anything like perfection be arrived at, the only objection to its introduction being the manner in which phrases are "chopped up" if bowed in this manner; this, however, is more apparent on paper than in the performance, as if the bowing is skilfully managed it is possible to reverse the strokes without any perceptible break in the tone, the phrase being as continued as if executed with one sustained bow-stroke.

PIZZICATO EFFECTS.

Various effects are possible in pizzicato playing, such as the close shake, the pizzicato glide; the latter if done well has a very good effect, especially in chord pa.s.sages, the fingers should glide to the next chord almost as soon as the strings are plucked. Grace notes are also possible in this manner; the string is plucked for the grace note, then the finger rapidly glides to the princ.i.p.al note during its vibration; the string only being plucked once for the two notes or chords.

CHAPTER XV.

DELIVERY--STYLE--"FORM" VERSUS "FEELING"--CONCEPTION--ESSENTIALS OF A "FINE" DELIVERY--ORCHESTRAL PLAYING.

DELIVERY, STYLE, ETC.

Up to the present chapter the student has been instructed how to interpret and perform that which he sees on the music sheet before him; to give a soulful and intelligent reading of any composition, he must look beyond the mere written notes, and see if it is not possible to discover some _meaning_, some effect which the composer has been unable to express in musical notation.

True music is conceived in the mind of the composer, in some more or less perfected form, before any attempt is made to transfer the ideas to paper. Of course each composer has his individual way of working, thus Beethoven never was without a note book in which he jotted down any bits of melody or any musical thought which occurred to his mind during his perambulations. Among these ideas may be found the leading themes from which some of his greatest compositions were afterwards developed.

Mozart gives us an instance in the extreme opposite direction; it is stated that this wonderful composer carried the whole of a sonata for violin and pianoforte in his mind without a single note being transferred to paper, the composer taking part in a public performance of the same with only a duplicate of the violin copy at the pianoforte.

The student must keep in mind that the composer writes his thoughts; perhaps the reader is unable to conceive the difficulty of transferring to paper the musical thoughts which come unbidden to the mind; to write the notes is simplicity itself, but how impossible to write a melody so that every inflection of tone power, every slight change in tempo, and more than this the exact sentiment which the music should convey. To some people--perhaps to some players--music is merely the sounding of a variety of combinations of sounds, in various rhythms; it expresses nothing more than that. Emotion, sentiment, must not be given a place in the musician's vocabulary, anything which does not appeal solely to the intellect we are told to consider vulgar and sensual. Luckily for the string player these superior people are in a minority, the mult.i.tude are yet swayed, and to the end will continue to be moved by a melody sung or played from the heart.

Perhaps it is possible to find a parallel in art; one contemplates a beautiful geometrical design; clever, intricate, graceful, but how much better are we for its contemplation? Has it conveyed any truth? Is it possible to move a crowd either to tears or laughter? Is it possible to awaken either warlike or peaceful feelings in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the observers? How much greater to portray feelings than forms, thus a picture which depicts love, hatred, happiness, misery or grat.i.tude, must be considered greater than a mere figure study. In landscape painting it is greater to reproduce _living_ nature than mere studies of trees, sky, etc.; thus the painter who makes us see the driving snow, the rushing torrent, the beating rain, the fitful gleam of sunlight or even the pa.s.sive stillness of the wood, conveys impressions to our minds, not only impressions of nature, but of certain states or moods of nature.

Compare some of the music by such as Romberg to that of Beethoven or Schumann; the first merely studies in sound, the latter brimful of thoughts, impressions, which appeal to the intellect of the performer, and test his musicianship by the manner in which they are expressed or overlooked.

The student should remember that all good music is composed with a strict observance of its effect on the listener; this does not mean that Beethoven wrote a scherzo for the sole purpose of causing people to feel jolly, any more than he wrote a funeral march or an adagio solely to make people sad. In all Beethoven's music, as in that of other great masters, the listener is purposely compelled to pa.s.s through various states of mind; where necessary the addition of a movement or section in quite a contrasting mood is purposely made, so that the mind of the listener is prepared for the ensuing movement. The composer writes what inspires him at the moment, but his greatness is shown in the manner in which these themes are contrasted and varied, so that the interest of the listener is sustained throughout the whole performance. This must be considered in the delivery of a musical composition. "It is the effect on the listener which one must constantly have in mind," no matter how turbulent are the feelings of the player, if the pa.s.sion does not find its way into the delivery, the audience will be quite unaware of the fact. How is this to be accomplished? In reading aloud or reciting, if one only observes the ordinary rising and falling of the voice at the division of the periods, marks of interrogation, etc., it would be hardly possible to say that one read with expression. There is something more than this school boy elocution required; does not an orator hurry an impa.s.sioned pa.s.sage, and drag a doleful one, does he not shout a command and whisper a tender sentence. So if the musician merely observes the rhythmical and dynamic effects, the performance may be correct, yet it will be void of soul, and of that force which carries along the hearer.

Exactly as in elocution, the performer must first grasp the intention of the composer before a soulful interpretation is possible; it is just this "conception," this grasp of the composer's meaning, this transforming of the groups of sound into a real living performance, which at once reveals the real genius. It is quite true that genius must be trained or it will fall into many errors and exaggerations, there are many who, guided by feeling alone, put such an amount of individuality and what is commonly termed expression into their performances, that the listener, led away by the rush of pa.s.sion, overlooks the many errors with which the performance abounds. It is for the student to cultivate a style which shall satisfy the most refined tastes, at the same time infusing as much of his own personality and feeling into the delivery as the nature of the composition will admit. It is a difficult matter to give any absolute rules for the guidance of young players, let us, however, consider what const.i.tutes a fine delivery.

The first essential is beauty of tone; it is recorded of Jenny Lind--an artist with a reputation more unique it would be difficult to find--that the quality of her voice was of such beauty that even the ordinary diatonic scale sung slowly, was enough to create the utmost enthusiasm.

One writer describes the pleasure experienced from hearing the _tone_ of her voice only, as that obtained by the sight of pure, brilliant colour; thousands who heard this great singer were melted to tears, even when the work was quite unintelligible to the majority of them; this was occasioned chiefly by the natural pathos in the tone of her voice, added to a personality as simple as sincere. The performer should always consider that "tone" is the fundamental matter with which he works; as a rule "tone" is generally thought to mean "big" tone, but this is not necessarily so; beautiful, sweet, brilliant tone should be the aim, big tone if possible, but never at the expense of quality, variety and phrasing.

The next matter of importance is a correct conception of tempo; as some writer has remarked, "it is possible to transform a scherzo into a funeral march by a wrong conception of tempo." This is a matter of great importance, but also a matter in which some of our finest players and conductors differ to an alarming extent. In the case of solo players this may be excused, as the tempo which may suit the characteristics of one player would perhaps be quite dull if adopted by a soloist with quite a different style. In the case of conductors, however, it is to be feared that much of this difference arises from a desire to be thought original, even at the expense of all tradition. In determining the tempo of a composition the character and general build of the work itself is the only guide.

The third essential is a faithful reproduction of all the dynamic effects marked by the composer, as well as all the varieties in tempo such as ritards, calando pa.s.sages, accelerandos, etc., etc.; beyond this may be again mentioned the different varieties of tone, the playing of certain pa.s.sages on one string in preference to another, artificial shifting for the purpose of a correct phrasing, the increasing or r.e.t.a.r.ding of the tempo other than marked by the composer; these latter liberties are only applicable to compositions of the lyric or romantic type, in the delivery of which it is needful to introduce the emotional element, and are not intended to be introduced in compositions which depend solely or chiefly on rhythm for their effect. Under the latter head may be cla.s.sed mazurkas, tarantelles, etc., and nearly all dance movements, except those of the sentimental type.

The fugue also comes under the same head, it is possible to express rhythm in musical notation but not emotion, and it must be remembered that the fugue is the outcome of a highly trained intellect, and not the outcome of inspiration in its independent sense. The fugue is really "paper" music, it is possible to write more than could possibly be imagined, this also applies in some degree to pieces of a highly contrapuntal nature. In concluding this part of our subject it may be recommended to the player to learn to antic.i.p.ate effects--to hear in advance that which he is about to play. "Expression is the manifestation of impression," if the performer is not sensitive to the generating causes of expression--if these make no impression on him, it will be impossible for him to feel what he is playing, this system of reading in advance allows the performer to thoroughly grasp the musical phrase, and to give it a sensible intelligent treatment. In playing at sight, or in the performance of concerted music, this is of great importance.

The foregoing remarks on individuality of interpretation do not apply to the performance of concerted music; in playing trios, quartets, and especially in orchestral work the performers must sink their own individuality, for the sake of the general effect: in orchestral playing, purity of intonation, a strict and decided division of the notes, and especially in large orchestras, what may be termed an exaggerated interpretation of the dynamics, must form the basis. All artificial shifting must be dispensed with, gliding along the strings must also not be indulged in, except in some unison pa.s.sages where all the players can decide to finger the pa.s.sage in the same manner; pa.s.sages marked "piano" must be played throughout "piano," and not as in solo work, be varied by slight crescendos, etc., according as the pa.s.sage rises or falls, etc. The reader will readily understand that a theme played pianissimo by a half-dozen 'cellos will have an entirely different effect than the same theme played by one instrument, even if the same body of tone is produced. A number of instruments playing in unison impart a grandeur to a pa.s.sage which is quite characteristic; it must be remembered that composers have this effect in their minds when writing for strings in the orchestra. The conception of the work and its manner of delivery rests entirely with the conductor, each player for the time being must accept his reading, and be as subservient to the will of the conductor as are the keys of a pianoforte to the fingers of the musician.

In concluding it is as well to remember that we are not all const.i.tuted alike; some are born to be leaders, they have will, individuality, originality; others are more fit to be lead, they can accomplish much under the guidance of some master mind, but if left to themselves are utterly useless.

To place a fine solo player in an orchestra would be equal to compelling the general of an army to serve in the line. The reverse is not always the case, there are many who although brilliant and successful in the orchestra are useless for any other branch of playing. Let each one perfect himself in the branch of art for which he is most suited; exactly as it is impossible for a musician to be "master" of more than one instrument, so it is impossible to arrive at perfection in every branch of music. There are many fine solo players who have had long experience with the orchestra, but they have been soloists in spite of this.