rhythms and pairs of 8th notes or 16th notes will give the first part of a phrase such strong momentum into its climactic point that a natural denouement occurs in the final part of the phrase. See example 10. 2. Phrase Markings Phrase markings used to indicate two notes
for a syllable or word often occur within the beat and, although they are a strong visual cue for matching text and notes, they also present a visual cue that is counter to Baroque phrasing. Have singers mark those places with brackets that indicate phrasing across the beat. See example 11. 3. Text Punctuation Just as commas are not always observed
with a break when reading text aloud, the same is true in choral music. Music often heightens textual meaning with a melodic line or harmonic progression that transcends the punctuation. When text and musical phrases contradict each other, the musical phrase must always take precedence. In other words, be careful of strict adherence to text punctuation. 4. Conducting While every conductor should have
absolute command of traditional conducting patterns in duple and triple meter, strict adherence to metrical time beating contra- dicts Baroque phrasing. Conductors must use gestures that beget expressive singing: inter- pretive gestures that give forward movement to phrases by negating traditional primary accents. BUT, the conductor must be able to abandon expressive gestures in favor of the metrical pattern that will keep the singers together if their rhythm loses its accuracy. In other words, don’t let your conducting
get in the way of the music. 5. Rests, Ties, and Syncopation Although rests are the absence of sound,
they should not be void of the internal puls- ing required to incorporate them into Baroque phrasing. The notes following a rest must be propelled forward by lifting into them off of the rest. Don’t take “time off” during a rest! See example 7. Internal pulsing for phrasing that propels
the phrase forward is also required through the sustained sound of a tie. Don’t “sit” on the sound! See example 8. Give the downbeat part of a syncopated fig-
ure strong emphasis followed by a brief space to provide a big lift into the second part of the syncopation. See example 9.
Summer 2012 p. 84
Final Thoughts 1. The principles of Baroque phrasing align
with the philosophy of curriculum develop- ment espoused by Jerome Bruner in The Process of Education. Bruner stresses the impor- tance of learning the structure of a subject. According to Bruner, structure provides for transfer of learning and teaches students how things are related. (Bruner, pp. 7 and 25). 2. Baroque phrasing illustrates the old
Maryland Music Educator
Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” 3. In short, Baroque phrasing requires
phrasing across beats within a measure and between measures. 4. To acquire the feeling of lift in the arsis,
climb a set of steps one at a time. The lifting leg is the arsis, the other leg is the thesis.
Expressive...continued on page 39 31 34
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p. 83
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