Comprehensive Study Notes on Johann Joachim Quantz's Chapter on Cadenzas

Definition and Historical Evolution of the Cadenza

• Quantz defines the cadenza (‘Cadenz’ in German, ‘cadence’ in French) as an extempore embellishment created according to the fancy and pleasure of the performer.

• It is played by a concertante part (solo part) at the close of a piece on the penultimate note of the bass, which is the $fifth$ of the key of the piece.

• Historical timeline and origins:

  • Cadenzas became fashionable among Italians less than half a century prior to Quantz's writing (mid-18th century).   - Germans and others performing in the Italian style subsequently imitated them, while the French have traditionally abstained

  • Quantz suggests cadenzas were not yet in mode when Lully left Italy; otherwise, he might have introduced them to France.

  • They likely came into use after the publication of Corelli’s twelve solos for violin (Op. 5, first published in Rome in $1700$).

  • Footnotes indicate that versions with variations for the first six sonatas appeared later but lacked cadenzas $ad\,libitum$.

  • Before $1710$, the close of a concertante part typically involved a short passage over a moving bass with an attached shake.

  • Between $1710$ and $1716$, the current style of cadenzas, where the bass pauses, became the prevailing fashion.

  • Nicola Matteis (Mattei), a celebrated violinist in the service of the Austrian court, composed graces for Corelli's adagios that concluded with short embellishments, but these remained in strict time without a bass pause.

• Fermatas (pauses $ad\,libitum$ in the middle of a piece) likely originated earlier than the end-of-piece cadenza.

The Purpose and Proper Application of Cadenzas

• The primary object of a cadenza is to surprise the listener unexpectedly at the end of a piece and leave a special impression in their heart.

• Quantity and placement guidelines:

  • A single cadenza in a piece is sufficient to fulfill its object.

  • Excessive use is considered an abuse; for instance, if a singer makes two cadenzas in the first part of an aria and one in the second, the $da\,capo$ repetition results in $5$ cadenzas in one aria.

  • Such excess wearies the listener and exhausts a performer’s inventiveness. Limiting cadenzas to the principal close ensures the listener ‘retains his appetite’.

• Temperamental and stylistic suitability:

  • Cadenzas are considered ‘necessary evils’ in modern performance; omitting them is often viewed as a defect even if the performer is ill-equipped to invent them.

  • They are strictly prohibited in gay and quick pieces in $2/4$, $3/4$, $3/8$, $12/8$, and $6/8$ time signatures.

  • They are permissible only in pathetic and slow pieces or in serious quick ones.

Principles for Inventing and Executing Single-Part Cadenzas

• Compositional Nature:   - Cadenzas should sound like impromptu inventions and not constitute a formal, sustained melody (like an ‘arioso’ style).   - They must reflect the principal sentiment (passion) of the piece.   - A recommended expedient for lack of inventiveness is to select and repeat or imitate the most pleasing phrases from the preceding piece to confirm the prevailing passion.

• Technical Avoidance of Repetition:   - Figures and simple intervals must not be repeated more than twice in transpositions or they become disagreeable to the ear.   - Notes beginning a phrase should not be heard too frequently, especially at the end of a cadenza where pauses on the sixth or fourth above the bass leave deep impressions.   - Metre should seldom be regular; cadenzas should consist of detached ideas rather than formal rhythmic structures.

• Length and Performance restrictions:   - Vocal and wind instrument cadenzas must be executable in a single breath to satisfy reasonable brevity.   - String players are permitted longer cadenzas due to their technical nature, but brevity is generally preferred over ‘vexing length’.   - Beauty lies in the unexpected astonishment of the listener through simple intervals mingled with dissonances rather than a host of ‘motley figures’.

Harmonic Rules and Modulations in Single-Part Cadenzas

• Dissonance and resolution:   - Even though extempore, all intervals must be correctly resolved, particularly when modulating through dissonances like diminished fifths or augmented fourths.

• Modulation paths:   - Short cadenzas should not modulate out of the principal key.   - Long cadenzas most naturally modulate to the subdominant and dominant.   - In Major Keys:     - Modulation to the subdominant is through the minor seventh ($D\,sharp$ referred to as $E\,flat$ in examples).     - Modulation to the dominant is through the augmented fourth.     - Return to the principal key is through the perfect fourth.   - In Minor Keys:     - Modulation to the subdominant is through the major third.     - Modulation to the dominant and return to the principal key occur as in major keys.   - Movement by semitones (chromatic steps) is allowed for three or four steps before it becomes disagreeable.

• Aesthetic differences:   - Gay cadenzas use extended leaps, triplets, and shakes ($Table\,XX,\,Fig.\,7$).   - Melancholy cadenzas consist of small intervals and dissonances ($Fig.\,8$).

Technical Construction and Rules for Two-Part Cadenzas

• Authority of Rules:   - Two-part cadenzas are less arbitrary than one-part cadenzas and require strict observance of the rules of composition, specifically preparation and resolution of dissonances and laws of imitation.   - They are often studied and memorized in advance since it is rare to find two performers who both understand harmony well enough to improvise together.   - They may be slightly longer than single-part cadenzas as breath breaks are possible and harmony keeps the ear engaged.

• Structural components:   - Common elements include thirds and sixths moving in regular motion and imitative passages.   - Suspensions are critical:     - The second suspended from the third, resolving to the third or sixth.     - The seventh suspended from the sixth, resolving to the sixth or third.     - Moving from a third into an augmented fourth, or inversions like a sixth into a diminished fifth.     - Delaying the resolution of a diminished fifth in the upper part into the third, resulting in a perfect fourth before resolving.

• Execution of Imitation:   - The first part acts as the leader, providing a distinct statement for the second part to imitate. If the leader lacks compositional knowledge, the second player should stick to plain thirds and sixths.   - Cadenzas can be arranged as a canon (e.g., imitation at the $fourth$ below) or through steps using seconds (crossing parts resolved into thirds).   - In passages of sixths where no dissonances are touched, one part must anticipate a note to signal the other to ascend or descend.

• Preparing the Close:   - The end of a two-part cadenza is typically indicated by the $fourth$ above the final note (tonic) or the $seventh$ above the bass note.   - Figures can be lengthened or shortened by adding or omitting embellishments while maintaining the underlying framework ($Table\,XXI,\,Figs.\,5\,and\,6$).

Specific Applications: Half Cadences, Fermatas, and Minor Mode Closures

• The Half Cadence ($halbe\,Cadenz$):   - Occurs when the upper part is suspended as a seventh against the bass and resolved through the sixth to the octave (on the fifth of the key, requiring a major third chord).   - Common in the ‘church style’ and often found in the middle or end of slow pieces in minor keys.   - One-part ornaments for half cadences are restricted to notes from the chord of the seventh (third/fifth below and fourth/sixth above).   - In trios (two-part), the part with the seventh suspension makes the statement, while the other remains on the third until the shake on the sixth.

• The Fermata or Pause ($ad\,libitum$):   - Often found in vocal pieces or rarely in instrumental adagios (e.g., beginning of an aria).   - Usually involves a descending leap of a $fifth$ marked by a semicircle with a dot over the first note.   - Singers use these on two-syllable words with long vowels (e.g., ‘vado’, ‘parto’).   - Performers may use a $messa\,di\,voce$ (swelling and diminishing the tone) on the first note.   - Embellishments must stay within the bass chord and not modulate. No termination should follow the final shake on the third.

• Minor Mode Closing Shakes:   - Occasionally struck on the $sixth$ instead of the $fifth$ in vocal pieces.   - Quantz warns against overusing this, as it is old-fashioned and leaves a discord against the final major third/perfect fifth chord of the accompaniment.

Questions & Discussion

• How did Corelli's works influence cadenzas?   - Quantz notes that Corelli’s solos published in copper (1700) did not contain cadenzas $ad\,libitum$. Even the variations added to the adagios of the first six sonatas lacked them. The shift toward the current style of pausing the bass happened after Corelli and before 1716.

• What are the differences between vocal/wind and string cadenzas?   - Vocal and wind cadenzas are limited by the physical capacity of the performer to finish in one breath. String players, not constrained by breath, can play longer but should still aim for brevity to avoid exhausting the listener.

• What is the common error in aria performance mentioned?   - Performers often include too many cadenzas ($da\,capo$ issues), making up to five cadenzas in one aria. Quantz compares this to birds learning songs by rote rather than understanding composition.

• What are the technical resolutions for minor key modulations?   - One modulates to the subdominant using the major third. The modulation to the dominant and the return to the principal key follow the same pattern as major keys (augmented fourth for dominant, perfect fourth to return).