Performance topics in harpsichord music in the second half of the 18th century – Part 2. Arpeggio

Abstract

The article on the rendering of the arpeggio is a continuation of the cycle devoted to performance topics in harpsichord music in the second half of the 18th century, the first part of which was published in “Notes Muzyczny” no. 2(10)2019. The author’s assumption is that the condition necessary for acquiring a convincing interpretation of works from the period of Classicism on the harpsichord is following the arpeggio mannerism in compliance with the performance style shaped in the 17th century called style brisé (luthé) and characteristic of the forms such as the allemande, tombeau or préludes non mesuré. Despite the arpeggio’s diversity, unlike ornaments, this mannerism has not been thoroughly described. That is why doubts often occur as to whether or to what extent it can be used in instances when it is not explicitly required. In the context of classical music performance on the harpsichord the arpeggio is of special significance as it is a very important mean of expression. In its many shades it is one of the mannerisms the use of which is a performer’s decision. The modern trend of historical performance has updated the approach towards this mannerism for keyboard music from the classical period, allowing the use of performance traditions of the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries. While performing arpeggios, one should be guided by the awareness of the historical context, musical sense, but also the instrument’s idiom, and apply them wherever they enhance the sound of the harpsichord and affections of a given fragment of a composition. The article discusses the guidelines on the ways of rendering of arpeggios, mainly based on the Klavierschule oder Anweisung zum Klavierspielen für Lehrer und Lernende by Daniel Gottlob Türk (1789) and its use options in harpsichord music of the second half of the 18th century exemplified by works by W. A. Mozart.