Thoughts on NOTES INÉGALES
Illustrated by recordings, accessible both in Real Sound and
in MP3.
John Byrt believes that many baroque performances need this vital ingredient
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Baroque music and jazz certainly have a lot in common - improvisation is vital to both of them and so are the endless strings of running notes, which in the case of baroque music were only written down versions of what would have been improvised a century or so earlier. There is some evidence that these running notes - whether improvised in 1550 or written down in 1700 - would have been played unequally or inégal, though scholars differ over how widely this convention was used. The majority view is that the style was confined to French music, though since the beginning of the Early Music revival in the early 20th century there have always been some, like me, who thought notes inégales were by no means confined to France. Arnold Dolmetsch (1915) thought you could use inégales in Bach and Handel and this liberal approach was developed much later by a baroque violinist called Babitz (1952) who used a passage in Quantz's Flute tutor (1752) as evidence for applying inégales to Bach. This idea was supported by prominent Bach specialists like Mendel (1951), Sachs (1953) and Dürr (1955). Donington (1960) argued that it should be applied to Bach's French-style music in particular - I had a useful correspondence with him on this issue. Throughout his life he continued to support this wider application of the inégales convention.
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| Neumann's 1965 article, with its passionate defence of Bach's rhythmic purity, had certainly gone home. He had responded to the fears of a conservative majority for whom wall-to-wall notes inégales had been a nightmare scenario. Meanwhile Babitz's inégal Bach had failed to convince a distinguished panel of experts. As Arthur Mendel, the chairman of the panel, wrote afterwards, "To claim in print, as Babitz so often does, that one way sounds so much better than the other, seems to me futile, since the claim is so easily answered by the equally futile 'No it doesn't.' " He had a point. What were the opinions of a few individuals in the face of such a revolutionary proposal? The left would have to produce much clearer documentary proof if they were going to have a chance of overcoming the deep-seated misgivings of the right. The matter was emotive. In consequence the general endorsement of this thumbs-down to inégal Bach may well have been tinged with some unscholarly subjectivity. Furthermore Neumann's arguments were soon to be challenged in print by a number of his peers. But the result was unquestionable and its effect is still to be felt. For today no one plays Bach inégal any more. The pendulum has swung firmly to the right and stuck there permanently, in spite of Fuller's withering rejection of Neumann's conclusions in New Grove [2] and in spite of the logical absurdity of playing Bach's many French-style pieces in an unFrench manner. |
The french
connection
I continue to test the hypothesis that notes
inégales was common to all European music between about 1680 and
1750. For some time I have been suspicious of the orthodox view that notes
inégales was a purely French affair. The huge French documentation
does seem to point firmly in this direction, yet I believe that we may be wrong
to treat the convention as in any way essentially French. Our employment of the
very term notes inégales could leading us astray here for early
use of rhythmic inequality is recorded by Spanish, Swiss and Italian writers of
the Renaissance and early Baroque. I would never deny the huge importance of
inégalité to French music or the massive contribution that
French authors made to what we know about it. I simply believe that the
striking Frenchness of the documentation tells us more about a Parisian passion
for amateur music at the time than it does about the use of the convention
outside France. I also believe that, when we find evidence for
inégales in other countries such as England and Germany, we
shouldn't assume straight away that it has come from France.
RECORDINGS
Notes inégales in Bach's keyboard music
Four Bach movements performed inégal on the harpsichord by
John Byrt
I have experimented with notes inégales in Bach for many years. I certainly did not confine myself to his French style pieces, and yet at no point did I feel myself caught up in a nightmare scenario. On the contrary, I discovered a relaxed, urbane mood that seemed much more in keeping with 18th century manners than the hectic pace of many of today's performances. My first recordings date from 1993 but since then I have refined my performing style considerably, particularly in the areas of articulation and tempo. After trying various combinations of staccato and legato I now try to phrase the unequal notes in pairs as if played in the paired fingering that was certainly current in the 17th century, though falling out of use by Bach's time. The slurring goes from strong to weak notes, not the reverse. As regards tempo, I aim for a strict pulse, which I regard as a prerequisite of good inégal playing.
Fugue in F sharp minor, 48 Book 1
This fine
fugue has various features which make inégalité
appropriate. It is in a French metre - 6/4 with running quavers - and these
quavers are often grouped into falling pairs which in turn appear frequently in
luxurious cascades. Such passages lend themselves to rhythmic inequality. This
fugue might be compared to the third prelude from Couperin's L'art de
toucher le clavecin, which resembles it in gravity and contrapuntal
ingenuity.
Example 1 JS Bach: Fugue in F sharp minor from 48 Book 1, opening
Allemande from French suite no. 5
The remaining
three examples are in C time, the Germans' favourite metre. This metre
was not much used by the French, who tended to reserve it for allemandes. They
nevertheless instruct that in C time the semiquavers should be played
inégal. A few theorists, especially Quantz, imply that this usage
may have been found in Germany too.
The allemande, with its C time and running semiquavers, was a hallmark of the German style in the late baroque. No doubt as a tribute to German music, and especially to the work of Froberger, it was widely cultivated in France too by Louis and François Couperin and their fellow-countrymen.
Example 2 JS Bach: Allemande from French suite no. 5, BWV 816, opening
Sinfonia in D minor
Inégalité enlivens upbeat figures such as dominate
this piece.
Example 3 JS Bach: Sinfonia in D minor, BWV 790, opening
Fugue in D minor, 48 Book 2
When semiquaver
triplets occur, playing the regular semiquavers inégal helps to
synchronize the two rhythms, which otherwise conflict.
Example 4 JS Bach: Fugue in D minor, 48 Book 2, opening
The above recordings (complete) come from my 22-track CD: BACH INÉGAL (Dec 2003)
For details please see below
Notes inégales and Handel's Brockes
Passion
In the Spring 2002 issue of The Musical Quarterly I explored
the use of notes inégales in Handel's music. It seems that the
voice part of a Handel air may require the use of notes inégales
to make it conform with the same music written with dotted notes in the
orchestral parts (see p. 206). This may have been a time-saving device. In the
article I illustrate this point with reference to various movements from the
little-performed Brockes Passion, some of whose rather lurid text Bach was to
use in his own Passion according to St. John. Below are three of the extracts
quoted in the article, both in notation and sound, followed by complete
performances of the two soprano pieces. In each case what you hear is what I
believe Handel intended.
In the soprano arioso 'Besinne dich, Pilatus' the basso continuo part is dominated by a vigorous ostinato, which is written throughout with semiquaver dotting. When at bar 24 the voice part takes up the same motive, however, it is expressed only in even semiquavers. This is particularly odd, since the diminutions at bars 25 and 26 are clearly based on this motive and sound very weak without any form of inequality. I believe that this is just one example of 'dotting for the band, inégales for the singer', a procedure that Handel uses in a variety of instances when apparently short of time.
Example 5 'Besinne dich, Pilatus' (extract)
Performance 5 'Besinne dich, Pilatus' (extract)
Emily Hindrichs (soprano), Michael Edwards (cello),
John Byrt (harpsichord)
In the soprano aria 'Lass doch diese herbe Schmerzen', also from the Brockes Passion, the continuo part has dotting throughout while the entire vocal part has only four pairs of dotted semiquavers. In the opening ritornello the cello has an attractive semiquaver figure featuring undulating arpeggios, which is developed at the end of bar 10 and appears in the closing ritornello as well. Each time it is notated in written-out dotting. When the singer takes up this motive in the middle section of the air (at bar 19), however, it is notated in even semiquavers throughout. Once again Handel seems to be using 'dotting for the band, inégales for the singer'.
Example 6 'Lass doch diese herbe Schmerzen' (extract)
Performance 6 'Lass doch diese herbe Schmerzen'
(extract)
Emily Hindrichs (soprano), Michael Edwards (cello), John Byrt
(harpsichord)
In 'Mich vom Strikke meiner Sünden', the opening chorus of the Brockes Passion, the technique of 'dotting for the band and inégales for the singers' is taken even further, for here the complete choir (with oboes) read from even notes while the strings and continuo have dotting. This means that in some passages players and singers perform simultaneously music that is written with dotting for the orchestra but in even notes for the singers.
Example 7 'Mich vom Strikke meiner Sünden' (extract)
Performance 7 'Mich vom Strikke meiner Sünden'
(extract)
Catherine Bass, Hannah Reynolds (soprano), Peter Allsop
(violin), Michael Edwards (cello), John Byrt (harpsichord). There is no bass
singer on this recording.
Here follow complete performances of the arioso and the aria:
Performance 8 'Besinne dich, Pilatus'
(complete)
Emily Hindrichs (soprano), Michael Edwards (cello), John Byrt
(harpsichord)
Performance 9 'Lass doch diese herbe Schmerzen'
(complete)
Emily
Hindrichs (soprano), Michael Edwards (cello), John Byrt (harpsichord)
Though the triple metre and jagged rhythms of 'Mich vom Strikke meiner Sünden' could be French in origin, the soprano solos quoted above are clearly Italian in style. They are both in common time - not the most favoured metre in French music - and they have the busy counterpoint and walking basses that we associate with late baroque Italian opera. This confirms that Handel's use of notes inégales is in no way limited to his French style music.
'Dotting for the band, inégales for the singer' is implied in other Handel pieces, including the tenor air 'Erwäg, ergrimmte Natternbrut' from the Brockes Passion, 'From this dread scene' from Judas Maccabaeus, 'Clouds o'er-take the brightest day' from Susanna and 'Egypt was glad when they departed' from Israel in Egypt (bars 30 to the end). JS Bach uses a similar technique in the opening chorus to his Trauerode.
Here are two more tracks from the same recording session.
Performance 10 'The Lord is my strength and my song'
from Israel in Egypt.
Performers as no. 7
Once again Handel dots most of the semiquavers in the instrumental parts while leaving most of the semiquavers in the voice parts undotted. Our singers perform their parts inégal throughout.
Performance 11 'Hark, the ech'ing air' from Purcell's
Fairy Queen
Catherine Bass (soprano), Peter Allsop (violin),
Michael Edwards (cello), John Byrt (harpsichord)
We perform this air with unequal semiquavers throughout. William Christie uses inégales extensively in his recording of The Fairy Queen but not in this air, which he takes much faster than we do. Inégales tends to lead to slower tempi which may not please everyone, but I find them more in keeping with the easy-going spirit of the age.
My stubborn belief in this research is nourished by a conviction that our long pilgrimage towards the true baroque sound has still some way to go. I am an instinctive sort of person and to me the way much baroque music is played today doesn't feel right at all. Furthermore, my own experiences of inégalité outside the conventional French repertoire seem so artistically and ethnically plausible that I should like to share them with others.
Please send me your reactions to all this - you may be able to influence the future course of my research.
Publications
Here is a
list of my published work on notes inégales:
'Notes inégales, some misconceptions?'
Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 20 no. 3 (1967), p
476-480.
'Just a habit with us' in The Musical Times (Oct. 1995), p.
536.
Notes inégales, a European style', Tiverton Devon UK,
1996
'Writing the unwritable' in The Musical Times (Jan. 1997) p.
18.
'Quantz's Solfeggi - a unique document', Leading notes, (Autumn,
1998).
'Some new interpretations of the notes inégales
evidence', Early Music (Feb. 2000).
'Alteration in Handel: a fresh
approach', Musical Quarterly (Feb. 2002)
Footnotes
[1] At the time I was in correspondence with Miles Kington (then jazz critic of The Times) over the relation between jazz and baroque music. In a letter dated Sept. 12th 1967 he wrote "last week, on Friday, I was herded into a television studio with William Mann, Jacques Loussier and James Greenwood (a jazz critic of the Daily Mail) for Late Night Line Up, on which we were expected to thrash out the problem of Bach and jazz. Thanks largely to Loussier's bad English and his tendency to talk interminably in Gallic generalities, nothing was thrashed out at all … Mann tried to bring up the unequal quaver business but this was beyond Loussier's power to translate (or traduce, as he put it) and he thought Mann was talking about printer's errors".
John Byrt was first conductor of the Oxford Schola Cantorum and for some years conducted the early music group Musica Reservata. He has lectured on notes inégales at the University of Bristol, at the Birmingham Conservatoire and at the University of Maryland, USA.
| The Bach recordings (complete) come
from my 22-track CD: BACH INÉGAL (Dec 2003) Only available |
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1 Fugue in D major, 48 Book 1 2:18 2 French Suite No 1 in D minor, allemande 3:51 3 Sinfonia in D minor 1:54 4 Fugue in D minor, 48 Book 2 2:08 5 French Suite No 5 in G major, allemande 3:35 6 Sinfonia in G minor 2:05 7 Fugue in C major, 48 Book 1 2:25 8 Sinfonia in C major 1:38 9 Prelude in C minor, 48 Book 2 3:57 10 Fugue in C minor, 48 Book 2 2:19 11 Fugue in E flat major, 48 Book 1 2:40 12 Prelude in G sharp minor, 48 Book 1 1:48 13 Partita No 3 in A minor, allemande 3:09 14 Prelude in F minor, 48 Book 1 1:45 15 Sinfonia in B flat major 1:56 16 Prelude in F sharp minor, 48 Book 2 3:05 17 Prelude in F sharp minor, 48 Book 1 1:43 18 Fugue in F sharp minor, 48 Book 1 3:04 19 French Suite No 3 in B minor, allemande 3:45 20 Sinfonia in D major 1:49 21 Sinfonia in A minor 1:54 22 Partita No 4 in D major, allemande 8:51 |