Classical Period Performance Practice

Vocabulary and key concepts from lecture notes regarding Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and Classical period musical execution.

Bar hierarchy

The principle of assigning importance to beats within a bar; for example, in $4/4$ time, weightings are heaviest on $1$, then $3$, followed by $2$ and $4$.

Slurs

In Classical performance, these indicate diminuendos (originating from bow strokes) and typically involve a lift at the end.

Gestural Phrasing

Also called 'micro-phrasing,' this involves shaping shorter groups usually determined by slurs, as opposed to modern 'long line phrasing.'

Johann Joachim Quantz

Author of 'On Playing the Flute' ($1752$) who distinguished between principal 'good notes' (accented) and passing 'bad notes.'

Leopold Mozart

Author of 'A Treatise on Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing' ($1756$) who stated that crotchets and quavers should be held half their written value to accentuate character differences.

Malcolm Bilson

A proponent of Historical Keyboards who noted that evenly-marked notes must be made uneven to convey musical sense and syntax, similar to speech.

Vibrato

In the context of Classical period performance practice, this is treated specifically as an ornament.

Playing 'im takt'

A form of rubato involving the separation of hands, specifically through a rhythmically steady left hand line.

Artur Schnabel

A pianist who advocated for a traditional approach, suggesting the right hand emphasize the third beat in Mozart's KV $332$ to maintain a 'long line.'

Daniel Gottlob Turk

Author of the work 'Klavierschule' ($1789$).

Appoggiaturas

Musical elements used as examples of the concept of dissonance versus consonance (strong versus weak).

Terraced Dynamics

A general aspect of performance practice used in the Classical period.

Stroke

A marking used to indicate the weight of a downbeat in Historically Informed Performance (HIP) principles.