The significance of the varieties of parlando-rubato in the rhythmic language of Bluebeard’s Castle

Abstract

‘Parlando-rubato’ rhythm in Bartók’s thinking, does not mean complete rhythmic freedom; it is not necessarily accompanied by rubato tempi or rubato modes of interpretation. Musical declamation approximating to the rhythm of speech can be regulated by strict metrical structures, even if these do not follow a regular beat. Bartók’s writings dealing with the parlando phenomenon support the complexity and variability of ‘parlando-rubato’ as folk rhythms and performing practices. It was precisely the manifold nature of the parlando-rubato rhythm that enabled it to become the most important rhythmic foundation for musical declamation in Bluebeard’s Castle . The different level of rhythmic freedom of the characters not only reveal the contrast between their characteristic parlando types but also communicate their own personal rhythmic profile. The main aim of this study is to highlight those aspects of this musical phenomenon which greatly contributed to the 20th-century renewal and emancipation of rhythm while not eliminating rhythmic patterns based on bars.