Dear Martin, This is the $64,000 question, isn't it. Rolling a chord means that each of the notes sounds at a slightly different time. Only one note of a rolled chord can be exactly in time, so which note should it be? The first, the last, or one of the middle notes?
The Lachrimae version I usually play is the one from the Pickeringe Lute Book (f. 16v), which starts with a 4-note chord. It is easy enough to establish a nice, steady rhythm: |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ | |\ |\ |\ | | | |\ | | _a___________________d_____ _a_______d_b_|_a_____a___|_ _b_______a___|_b__d______|_ ______c______|___________|_ _____________|___________|_ _a___________|_a_________|_ Margaret Board's version (f. 11v), on the other hand, is quite different. Not only does it start with a full 6-note chord, but it also has a couple of ornaments on b3: |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ | |\ |\ |\ | | | |\ | | ___a____________________x.d_____ ___a_______d_.b_|__a______a___|_ _x.b_______a__._|_.b__d_______|_ ___c___ c_______|_____._______|_ ___c____________|_____________|_ ___a____________|__a__________|_ I think the first chord should probably be played like this: ___________a________ _________a__________ _____a_______b_a_b__ _______c____________ ___c________________ _a__________________ That's a total of nine separate notes. It is impossible to know from that great splurgle where the beat is. It is just a big flourish to attract attention, and get the piece off to a grand start. In the Pickeringe version the tempo is set with the 2nd event (c4); in the Board version we can have no clear idea of the tempo until the 3rd event (d2+a3). In practice I imagine a player would start counting from the last b3 of the first chord. A pavan is a dance, and so should be played in strict (foot-tapping) time. Of course one takes a breath between sections, but I think it is worth noting that apart from a 6-note chord in bar 5, which seems to balance the opening flourish, there are no more chords in the Board setting, which need to be rolled. Apart from those two chords at the beginning, there are no chords with more than four notes. Where the beat falls in a rolled chord is, I think, determined by the nature of the music, i.e. whether accompanying (a singer and/or other instruments), playing in a group of lutes (duets, trios, etc) or playing a lute solo. 1) Accompanying a singer or other instrument Unless it is some kind of opening flourish, which is like giving the singer his note - e.g. the first chord of Dowland's "Come again" - the first note sounded (the lowest in pitch) must be on the beat. The bass is the most important of the lowest parts, and that's what we must hear first. If a chord is rolled, the notes above the bass should sound after the beat. 2) Playing with other lutes Don't roll. One's instinct is to roll a chord so that the melody note on the highest string is sounded on the beat. That means that the bass comes in early. If you do that in a lute ensemble, the other players will hear you come in early, adjust their timing to fit in with you, and the music gets faster and faster. By and large, rolled chords in a lute ensemble are a mess. 3) Playing solos Here there is likely to be more flexibility with regard to time. A few rolled chords can be effective, which is why we sometimes see 5- and 6-note chords filling out a 3- or 4-voice texture. So which note comes on the beat? I would answer, the first and the last. The first note (the lowest) should sound in time after the previous event. The rolling takes time, of course, but it is extra time - a pause, for want of a word. The event following the rolled chord is timed from the last note (the highest). Let me clarify this with an example from the Pickeringe version of Lachrimae (last stave of f. 16v): |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ | |\ |. |\ |\ | | | |\ | __________________a________________ _f__e_c_e_f___e_|_a__d_b_a_______|_ ____________d___|_c________d_c_a_|_ _e______________|_c______________|_ _c______________|_c______________|_ ________________|_a______________|_ The G major chord has to start sounding after the last e2 of the first bar. We hear a6 played in time after that e2. While the G major chord is rolled, Time Stands Still (as Dowland might say). When a1 has been sounded, the clock starts ticking again, and the next event (d2) is played in time, counting from the previous a1. The effect will be like this: |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ | |\ |. |\ |\ | | pause | |\ | _______________________a________________ _f__e_c_e_f___e_|_____a___d_b_a_______|_ ____________d___|___c___________d_c_a_|_ _e______________|____c________________|_ _c______________|__c__________________|_ ________________|_a___________________|_ The rolling of the G major chord may look squiffy, but I've notated the six notes in the order they should be plucked, i.e. with the right-hand index finger plucking c3 and then c4. I did the same thing for the first chord of the Board version of Lachrimae. Conclusion 1) If you feel you really must roll a chord while accompanying, make sure the bass note is on the beat; 2) If you play with other lutes, don't roll anything; 3) If you play a solo, roll big chords only, and give them extra time. No doubt there are countless exceptions, because music is rarely that simple. However, I hope these various guide-lines make some sort of sense. All the best, Stewart. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Martin Shepherd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Lute Net" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 3:13 PM Subject: Re: Rubato and rolling chords > Dear Stewart, > > You said: > > > I sympathise with Oscar Gighlia's unhappiness at being told how to > > play by his duet partner. One's performance is very much a personal > > thing, and there are times when we might resent others interfering. > > In a successful duet partnership there has to be a certain amount of > > give and take. I don't know the circumstances, of course, but it is > > possible that Gighlia's playing might have benefited from listening > > to what his partner had to say. > > > You and I have played together a lot over the years so I just thought > everyone would be interested to know how much I agree with your last > sentence here. There are many times when we have debated an issue (like > whether or not to roll a chord) and experimented with it, and come to a > consensus, and learned something in the process. When people play together, > they should really leave their egos at home. > > On the rolling of chords/rubato issue, what are your thoughts on the opening > bar of Lachrimae? The chord must be rolled (I'm assuming a version witha 5- > or 6-note chord) - we would like the bass note to be on the beat (well it is > anyway because it's the first note of the piece) but the top note of the > chord is the first note of the melody and we would like that to be on the > beat, too. So when do we play the second melody note? Do we effectively > cut the dotted note slightly shorter to compensate? Sorry, everyone, I'm > sure Stewart will explain it better than I can. > > Best wishes, > > Martin To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
