Church Music Committee: Choristers’ Manual, Lesson VIII; Interpretation

CHURCH MUSIC COMMITTEE Choristers' Manual — Lesson VIII — Interpretation By Edward P. Kimball In the simple term "interpretation" is embodied everything concerned with the reproduction of a song or a piece of music except the purely physi- cal agencies employed in bringing the notes on paper into being as sound, and even these are involved in such a way as to make it impossible to think of interpretation without taking some of them into account, among these being reading, voice, breathing, enunciation, etc. The commonest meaning of the word interpret is, "to explain, to elucidate, to make clear the meaning of," and this definition holds good in music, for the conductor or performer finds that his task is to clear to his auditors the message of the composer. In the matter of interpretation, im- portant as are the tasks of the interpreting artist, conductor or performer, consideration of the composer cannot be omitted, for in the words of a recent writer, von Hernberg, the interpreter is a messenger from the com- poser to the audience. And he goes on to state that, "as a messenger is accountable to both sender and recipient of his message, so is the interpretive artist in a position of two-fold trust, and, therefore, a two-fold responsibil- ity. The sender of his message — creative genius — is behind him ; before him sits an expectant and confiding audience, the sovereign addressee. The interpretive artist therefore, first, has to enter into the spirit of his message; to penetrate its ultimate meaning; to read in, as well as between, the lines. And then he has to train and develop his faculties of delivery, of vital pro- duction, to such a degree as to enable him to fix his message decisively, and with no danger of being misunderstood, in the mind of the audience." He might have gone on to say that if one is to be able to understand a message for his own information, and if this understanding is to give him something intelligible and appreciable for his audience, he must be able to read the language in which the message is written. The finer and more subtle meanings of language are plain to us only in proportion to our knowl- edge of the true meaning of words, and the uses of punctuation. Music and language are closely analogous. So it is not putting it too forcibly to maintain that a knowledge of all the symbols and signs used in a printed page of music is essential to a correct understanding of the com- poser's intent, because our present system of notation is so complete and com- prehensive as to make it possible to express in minute detail practically every effect desired, and the performer is weak or strong in proportion to his ability or lack of it, to read this music language as easily, and with the same understanding of its various subtleties, as he reads his mother tongue. Therefore, it may be said that interpretation is founded upon the written language of music — notation. Added to this for the singer is the text, but the former must be studied as such, while the latter is one of the things we understand because it is the medium in which we express all our thoughts and is consequently at the disposal of all from our earliest experience, and its meaning is infinitely more easily understood. The previous lessons should have opened the way for a close study of notation in general. One important factor in the written page which contributes to proper interpretation is the tempo sign, at the beginning of the composition, which indicates the rate of speed desired by the composer. This indication is made by the use of words — usually Italian- — which must be known if the performer is to get the correct conception of tempo. Briefly, and not too

764 IMPROVEMENT ERA fastidiously classified (for there are various conceptions of each designation) these may be classified as follows: The very slowest tempo: A moderate tempo: Larghissimo (superlative of Largo) . Moderato. Adagissimo (superlative of Adagio). A moderately rapid tempo: Lentissimo (superlative of Lento). Allegro (cheerful) A very slow tempo: Allegretto (diminutive of Allegro- Largo (from Latin 1 a r g u s — a Httle sk)wer (han Allegro) . broad-large). „ .. Adagio (at ease). A "? raP.,d temP°: Lento (slow). Con moto (with motion). A slow tempo: Vivo (lively). Larghetto (diminutive of largo). Vivace (vivacious). Adagietto (diminutive of Adagio) . Presto (quick) . A moderately slow tempo: Presto assai (very quick). Andante (going or walking). The most rapid tempo possible: Andantino (diminudve of Andante. prestiSsimo (superlative of Presto) . meaning literally going less but yivasissimo (superlative of Vivace). because of a misconception of the „„ . . , r . . . ... >. term, now more frequently under- Allegnssimo (superlative of Allegro). stood as meaning slightly faster Prestissimo possibile (hyper-super- than Andante). laive of Presto). These terms may be, and often are, followed by qualifying words, in which case they should be looked up in a music dictionary, for they are far too numerous to be considered here. The above are the primary designations most commonly used to indicate tempo. Words which indicate change in tempo should also be looked up. These belong to the things that must be understood in writing music. Without further definitions let it be said that the performer must know the meaning of every sign and expression used on a page of music. Because of the difference in opinion as to the degree of speed desig- nated by the words given above, it is not possible to indicate exact tempo .without the aid of the metronome. This is a little clock-like instrument with inverted pendulum, upon which are a series of figures and a movable weight which may be set at any figure and the pendulum caused to swing at a given rate until the weight is moved. As the weight is moved toward the end of the pendulum it moves more slowly and vice versa. Each tick or stick oi the metronome is loudly audible and by the ticks the performer governs his tempo. It was invented about 1815 by a Bavarian named Maelzel, and for many years was the only one in existence and was known as the "Maelzel Metronome," and often its use on a composition is printed M. M. (Maelzel's Metronome) followed by a note and some figures, thus: M. M. J = 80 or just J =80. This is carried out like this: Set the weight on the pendulum of the metronome at 80, and every tick will represent a quarter note. This sign J = 64 would mean to set the weight at 64, and each tick would stand for a half note, and so on. The machine is regulated so as to allow the number of ticks at which the weight is placed to pass in a minute, viz. at 80, eight ticks per minute, etc. There can be no argument about the tempo indicated by the metronome, and every performer should learn to use it as his final court of appeal. Discussion 1. Define "interpretation." 2. Differentiate between "interpretation" and "expression." 3. What is relationship between performer and composer. 4. Upon what is interpretation dependent? Discuss. 5. Illustrate use of metronome.

CHURCH MUSIC COMMITTEE 765 Christmas Cantatas That ward choirs may have sufficient time in which to order and prepare their Christmas cantatas, the following list is given: The Incarnation — Adam Geibel: Adam Geibel Co. The Shepherd King — J. Lincoln Hall: Hall Mack Co. Behold the King — Alfred Judson: Hall Mack Co. The Story of Christmas — Stults. All of these cantatas cost 60 cents a copy with 10 per cent off in dozen lots. Order from music stores. The Leaning Fir Tree We have all heard the story of the man, who on pointing out to his little boy a grown, leaning tree, and asking him why it leaned that way, received the apt reply, "I don't know unless it was stepped on when it was little." Life is a process of being stepped on or lifted up, bent or straightened. On the beach of Waiehu, Maui, T. H., there is a fir tree. It has no branches stretching broadly out in all directions, as a normal tree has. Its life has been influenced by an environment few trees know — a steady, ever-blowing trade wind. The breakers race in to shore over nearly a mile of shallow coral, rushing and roaring. Those breakers and that wind have never been known to stop for an instant. And the little fir tree, trying to withstand the strain, has majestically held its trunk upright, but its branches, in the face of great forces of nature, are perverted. They all lean to one side, — - Ora Haven Barlow-