Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day Three: Poco Tranquillo

I have now made it through the 50 measures that comprise "the conversation" of WDAT.  It will take a couple of more days of polishing and making sure it is locked away in memory, but I can actually play it for the first time in a very long time.  How exciting!  So, I wanted to take a quick moment to discuss some of the musical notation in this part of WDAT.  If you have a copy of the music, you can check this out for yourself.  If you don't have a copy of the music and want one, please contact me and I will refer you to the best compilation of Grieg lyric pieces to pick up for your own enjoyment.

At the beginning of this section, the music is marked "Poco tranquillo."  This means to play this section calmly.    This is very important in setting the mood of the private conversation between the bride and groom.  Also, there is another notation here, "cantando," which means "singing style."  These notes should be played such that they mimic singing to each other.


This passage is also marked throughout with "dolce," which is a reminder to play these parts "sweetly," as they are talking lovingly to each other.  Note that the first measures start piano (and build a bit), but the next few measures that get repeated start off pianissimo.  It's as if they start softly, almost whispering, and build in their conversation, but then break it down to a whisper again so as to keep their very sweet exchange private.


I think I may have to upload a video of this section for you to understand what is going on here once I have it ready.  Oh, before I drop off for the day, one more term here: "una corda." Literally: one chord.  The pedal is depressed through several measures here to capture what is intended as one chord over several measures.  At least that is what I remember it being.  I entertain corrections to anything I may have wrong here.  Remember, music theory is coming into the fold for me as soon as I can get hold of a good book.

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