On Dec 30, 2008, at 4:08 AM, Mathias Rösel wrote:
With Perrine, both gigues (p. 24f, the
other p. 29f.) and La Poste have "C" (= 4/4).
I'm sorry, but that is not correct, all of the gigues (pp. 7, 18, 24,
and 29) in Perrine's 1680 publication "pieces de luth" are in cut
time or 2/2 (evidenced by the vertical line that runs through the
center of the C), or as he says in his "Livre de musique" from 1689
"binarie mineur," p. 48. This is a two-pulse measure with half notes
receiving the beats, one strong and one weak. They are not in common
time or 4/4, like all the allemandes are. For Perrine, 4/4 is
"binarie majeur," and results in four beats to the measure. See his
"Livre" p. 48
They are probably both in Binarie mineur or "cut time" or 2/2,
again, see Perrine's distinction between an allemande and a gigue in
his "pieces", p. 16-19. This makes a huge difference in the way we
would play them.
Huge difference, yes. The only difference that I can discover, though,
is that Perrine's gigue version of La Poste has most crotchet units,
so
to say, as dotted quavers and semiquavers.
I would also relate it to the dance, which has a different stress in
cut time (duple) than in 4/4 (quadruple).
3) There is no evidence to assume that these gigues should be played
very fast.
I had hoped so 8) However, how do we interpret, then, the alla breve
sign with Perrine's gigue version of La Poste?
In duple rather than quadruple meter, and as you and others have
suggested, more attention to the uneven rhythm, as Perrine
demonstrates in his example. Notes inegales may be used, but not as
a way of turning these duple meter pieces into a compound duple, in an
effort to satisfy our need for these gigues to sound like the gigues
we were raised on.
4) I would not force a a ternary subdivision as a uniform rhythm (6/8
or 12/8). The French had a ternary, gigue-like genre: the canarie
Yes, ternary may not be an apt term. Perhaps, dotted or close-to-
dotted
is better?
Yes, close to, but not exact. Perrine is clear about this as well
when he says that the first of two notes within a beat should be
longer than the one that follows. Perrine went to great lengths to
rhythmically notate the possible rhythmic interpretations for notes
separees, but did not provide a table of rhythmic equivalence for
notes inegales. Instead, he simply states that the first of two notes
within a beat should be longer than the one that follows. I believe
that he is being intentionally vague.
Best,
Jorge
Jorge Torres
Associate Professor of Music
237 Williams Center
Lafayette College
Easton, PA 18042
(610)330-5365
torr...@lafayette.edu
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