The String Tremolo in the 17th Century

StewartCarter The

tremolo

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When BiagioMariniwrote tremolocon l'arco in the vio-

and in the continuo part, metti il tremolo('put [or set] the tremolo'). The advice to the continuo playerbecame the first composer to use this term in a com- undoubtedlyan organist-is particularlysignificant;he position for bowed string instruments.Apparentlyrea- is to activatethe tremulantstop. Marini'sadvice to the lizing the boldness of his stroke,Marinidrew attention other instrumentalistsnow becomes clearer:they are to to it by adding the subtitle Sonata a 3 con il tremolo. The imitate the undulationsof the organ tremulant. Marini does not say how this imitation of the organ term 'tremolo' however, is susceptible to a variety of this been tremulant is to be accomplished.'Tremblewith the bow' hence interpretations,' passagehas frequently I to mean to drawit back and forth rapidly,as in the In this could misinterpreted(ex.i). study propose identify the type of tremolo intended by Mariniand to trace its 'modern' tremolo, and indeed some modern scholars have interpretedit in this way. David Boydenwrites: developmentthrough the 17thcentury. correct can Cluesto the Monteverdi... claimed(1638)thathe inventedthemeasured interpretationof this passage be found partly in the composer's instructions, partly tremoloby writinga numberof repeatedsixteenthnotes, from examiningworksby Marini'scontemporaries.The playedin stricttime,to expresswarlikepassionsin a 'styleof excitement' ButMarinihadalreadyusedthis ('stileconcitato'). composer'sadviceto the performersis significant:in the kind of measuredtremoloin his Opus 1 of 1617,and there are violin parts he has marked tremolocon l'arco ('tremble muchearlier music, examplesin othervocalandinstrumental with the bow'); in the part for trombone or bassoon, in particular suchpiecesas Jannequin's chansons, descriptive

lin parts of his sonata La Foscarina (from Opus 1, 1617)he

or ... AndreaGabrieli'sAria dellaBattaglia... (1590).2

tremolo col strumento ('tremble with the instrument');

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1 Johan Jakob Walther, Hortus chelicus (Mainz, 1688), p.124 (Johnson Reprint Corporation) 42

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There are compelling reasons to doubt Boyden'sinterpretationof Marini.Monteverdisaysthattherearethree principal emotional states-anger, moderation, and humility or supplication-represented respectivelyby threemusicalgenera:concitato,temperatoand molle.3As we shallsee presently,the gentle organtremulantcorresponds to the third of these types, not the first.Modern writerswho equatetremolowith stileconcitatoconfound Baroqueand modern usage. The effectof the 'modern' tremolo sometimes called Bombi or Schwermer4appears frequently in string music throughout the Baroque and Classical periods, but I have found no source earlierthan the g1th centurywhich callsthis gesture 'tremolo'. A more plausibleinterpretationof the passagein ex.i is suggestedby Carlo Farina,an Italian composer who worked with Schtitzin Dresden. Referringto a passage in his Capricciostravagante(1627),he states:'The tremolo is done with a pulsatingof the hand which has the bow, imitating the manner of the organ tremulant.'5 AndreasHammerschmidt,who worked in nearbyWeisenstein, Freibergand Zittau, offers similar advice:'In the violin [parts] certain notes will be found, namely (ex.2) meaning that you play four [notes] in one stroke Musicalischer Ex.2 AndreasHammerschmidt, Andachten, dritterTheil(Freiberg, 1638),preface

Ganassi's Regola rubertina (1542-3), where the author

advisesthe playerof the viola de gamba:'Formelancholy words and music, move the bow gracefully,and at times shake (tremar)the bow arm and the finger of the hand on the neck [of the instrument], in order to make the effect conform to melancholy and tormented music.'8 Ganassimentions two types of 'shaking',one equivalent to the slurredtremolo,the otherto left-handvibrato.He does not relatehis tremartothe organtremulant,but the emotional qualitieshe associateswith it are consistent with the characterof the passagefrom Marini'ssonata, and also with laterdescriptionsof the organtremulant.9 Examplesof this kind of tremolo can be found in the music of Marini's Venetian contemporaries. In 1619 GabrielUsper published a Sonata a tre for two violins, bassoon and continuo which containsa tremolopassage (ex.3). In instrumentation,length, texture, harmonic rhythmand in its use of mild chromaticism,this passage is quite similarto Marini's.The principaldifferencelies in the notation, for Usper precisely indicates what Marini assumed performerswould understand:imitation of the organ tremulantrequiresrepeatedquavers, slurred in groups of four, One year later G. B. Riccio publishedhis Terzolibrodelledivinelodi musicali.Riccio surelymust haveknown LaFoscarina,for he adoptedthe latter'ssubtitle-con il tremolo-for two works in his collection.The instrumentsspecifiedin Riccio'sCanzon la Pichi-two violins and trombone-provides further supportfor such a connection.10The tremolo passagein LaPichiis remarkable,ascendingin the violin partchromatically through a diminished octave (ex.4). Riccio does not provideslurs,and it may be that passagessuch as this one have led some modern writersto conclude, mistakenly,that such a tremolo requiresseparatebows for eachnote. Italianprinters,however,could be careless about slurs. In a similar passagefrom a Canzond 4 by

with your bow (liketremulantsin an organ).'6The effect is thereforerelatedto the modern portatoor lourestyle of bowing:a seriesof notes of the samepitch aretakenin a single strokeof the bow, articulatedby a gentlepulsating motion of the bow armwithout stoppingthe bow. It mightbe called'bowvibrato';Boydencallsit the 'slurred another Venetian, Giovanni Rovetta (1626), slurs are tremolo'.7Probably the earliest reference to it is in marked in the first violin but not in the other parts." Ex.3 GabrielUsper, Sonata a tre, from Compositioniarmoniche(Venice,1619) vln. I

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z BiagioMarini,Affettimusicali (Venice,1617),basso, title page

BibliotekaUniwersytecka) (Wroclaw,

Slurredquaversappearin similarpassagesin the music of yet another Venetian,Dario Castello (1629), and of non-Venetians such as G. B. Buonamente, Pellegrino Possenti, Maurizio Cazzati, Marco Uccellini and BerOf the Italiancomposerswho used the nardo Barlasca.'2 tremolo in the first half of the 17th century,only Tarquinio Merula and Farinafollow Marini'snotation of the tremolo in string parts, using long notes accomThe others wrote out panied by the directive tremolo.'3 in their stringtremolos repeatedquavers,with or without slurs. When Marinitold his violinists to 'tremblewith the

bow',then, he was referringto the imitationof the organ tremulant-the slurred tremolo. The tremolo passage from LaFoscarinashouldbe performedin constantquavers, probablyslurredin groups of four, following the model in Usper's Sonata.'4Marini, a true child of the earlyBaroque,uses this passagefor dramaticeffect. It is preceded by a full bar's rest in all parts-a dramatic device,perhaps,but one which mayhavebeen contrived to allow time for the organist to draw the tremulant stop.5 With its evidently slow tempo and affective character,the tremolo passage serves as a contrasting interludebetween the two liveliersections.'6 EARLY

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Ex.4 G. B. Riccio, Canzonla Pichi, in ecco con il tremolo,from II terzo libro delle divine lodi musicali (Venice,1620) vln.

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Marini and his north Italian contemporaries, then, wanted to emulate the sound produced by the tremulant or 'shaking stop' of an organ. Most large organs of the 17th century had such stops, though they were not always noted in contracts or specifications;17the effect therefore was a familiar one. Properly speaking, 'tremulant' refers not to a rank of pipes, but to a device which causes regular undulations in the air flow of the instrument. It was constructed in two different ways, either by allowing wind to escape from the trunk in short bursts ('open' tremulant or tremblantfort), or beating within the trunk ('closed' tremulant or tremblant doux). The latter produced gentler undulations, and was probably the type employed in most Italian organs in the 16th and 17th centuries.8 Surely this is the type of tremulant to which Giambatista Morsolino of Bergamo refers in a letter of 1582 to the council of the cathedral at Cremona. The council had sought Morsolino's advice regarding projected alterations for the cathedral organ, among which 46

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was the addition of a tremolo. Morsolino replies: Now the tremolo is nothing otherthan a devicethat one places in the trunk which carriesthe wind from the bellows to the wind chest. It is not difficultto build, althoughit is difficultto construct one so that it makes a good effect. Thus one finds that althoughtherearemany of them, thereareveryfew which are good. And if it happens that the tremolo is not good, insteadof makingthe music languidand sweet,it will turn out to be harsh and displeasing, [sounding] like someone tormented by fever, whose teeth are chattering.But when it is good, certainlyit is a verygood thing, and veryhelpfulfor the organ. A man who is highly experienced,skilled and competent will know how to build [such a device] without danger or harmto the organ.Youcould then add if you want a rankof pipes imitating human voices [voci humane], assistedby the tremolo, or those which imitate wind instruments [such as] fifferi or flutes, similarly with tremolo, as one finds on the organsof S. Pietroand Sta.Agatain Cremona.And these ranks make wonderful effects with the tremolo and the sweetness and grace of these voices. These registerscan be added to the

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playingslowly,without divisions;and that it is a goodregistrationfor motets in few voices.2 GirolamoDiruta offers complementaryadvice: The vocihumane(voceumana)andfifferi(fiffaro,piffaro) Thesecondmode makesthe harmonymourn(hypodorian) were ranks of pipes slightly mistuned to the principal, in ful. This shouldbe with the principalalone,with tremolo, conjunction with which they produced an 'acoustical however,playeduntransposed, with sad melodies... The vibrato'. The voce umana, as its name suggests, ori- fourthmode(hypophrygian) makestheharmonymournfully ginated as an attempt to emulate the undulating of sad and dolorous.The principalregisterwith tremolowill with human voices, a characteristic occasionally attributed to makethiseffect,or someflutestop,playeduntransposed melodicmotion.Thismodeandthesecondhave the tremulant as well.20Morsolino clearly distinguishes appropriate of between these undulating stops and the mechanical almostthesameeffect;theyserveforplayingattheElevation imiand of Our Lord Most Blood the Jesus Christ, HolyBody tremulant, noting that the latter could be used to withtheirsoundthe crueland harshtormentsof His enhance the wavering effect of the former. He verifies the tating Passion.23

organwith the additionof a smallwind chest,as they did in the organthat Mr Claudio [Merulo]da Corregioplaysat S. Marco in Venice.'9

existence of a tremulant on an organ at St Mark's in Venice, where Marini was employed some 35 years later. Morsolino's advice was conveyed to the renowned organ-builder Gratiadeo Antegnati of Brescia, who offered advice of his own, confirming that the tremulant could be installed without damaging the cathedral organ." Gratiadeo was the father of Costanzo Antegnati, author of L'arteorganica (1608). Costanzo says that you can use the tremolo with the 8' principal and 8' flute for

Dirutaclearlyindicatesthat the tremolo was an affective deviceand recommendsits use at an emotionallysignificant point in the Mass,the Elevationof the Host. Organ registrationsare seldom indicated in Italian music. In the six-voice Magnificatfrom his 1610Vespers Monteverdi specifies principale e tremolarefor the phrase humilitatemancillae suae ('the humility of his Ban handmaid')to underscorethe word humilitatem.24 EARLY MUSIC

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47

chiericallsfor the tremolo in organbassesfor alternatim 'beats'per bar,then quitelikelyMarini'sviolinistswould settings of the Mass Ordinaryin his Organosuonarino have synchronizedtheir 'slurredtremolo' bowing with (1622). His tremolos are likewisetext-related,appearing the continuo instrument.29 at Qui tollispeccatamundi ('Thou that takest awaythe In 1666MatthaeusHertel statedthat: sins of the world') in four masses, and at the Cruci- Tremulantsmust not be used in all pieces, but each organist fixus-certainly an emotionalpoint in the masstext-in shouldjudgefor himself,accordingto the melody and text. He his Credo Domenicale.25 should not use it in a cheerfulor triple-timemelody or text, Further information on the tremolo comes from but only in melancholymusic such as penitentialsongs (BusGermanand Frenchsources.In a manualon organtest- sliedern),[the] Sanctus, and the like, because the tremulant ing written c.1614,EsaiasCompeniusand MichaelPrae- usuallymakesthe melody pious and devout,especially[if] it is torius call the tremolo 'a lovely voice' (eine fein played very slowly. It can be used in preludes and even in and recommendits use in motets. Theyalso fugues.30 Stimbwerck) statethatwhile manydifferentvarietiesof tremulantcan Whethera tremulantwas of the fortor douxtype, undube found, the most attractivesound is made by one lations in the wind supply would createcorresponding which beatseight times per bar (i.e. in quavers).26 Marin undulationsin pitch. The slurredtremoloby itself,howMersenne is even more specific, saying that the organ ever, has little effect on pitch; perhaps then the string tremulant 'beats as it should when it beats eight times player combined his 'slurred tremolo' with left-hand Both descrip- vibrato. This twofold trembling is of course precisely during a bar which lasts two seconds'.27 tions accordwith written-out examplesof string trem- what Ganassidescribes,though he does not relateit to olos in 17th-century Italian music, where quaver the organ tremulant.A parallelsituation can be seen in denominations are common; they further support my many discussionsof organregistration,which,likeMorinterpretationof the tremolo passage from La Foscar- solino's above, recommend use of the tremulant with ina.28 If the organ tremulated at approximatelyeight undulatingstops.31

NORVIS XXI

Northumbrian Recorder and Viol School

ALAN & NINA GROVE

N t k

&aryinusiaCJAnstmmems

V 7*. S

OFHARPSICHORDS, MAKERS CLAVICHORDS, ANDSPINETS VIRGINALS

COLLEGE OF ST. HILD & ST. BEDE DURHAM CITY

I

Replicas of Historical Instruments built to order

Further details on request

THE WOOD OLD YARD, HAGLEY HALL, DY99LG MIDLANDS WEST Nr.STOURBRIDGE, HAGLEY, 744960 886170 (0562) (0562) (Evenings) Workshop

48

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27th JULY - 3rd AUGUST 1991 NORVIS XXI Sessions for recorders, viols, singing, dancing, harpsichord, plucked instruments, renaissance band, baroque flute and strings. Among the tutors will be Alan Davis, Elizabeth Dodd, Martin Eastwell, Nicholas Gleed, Clare Griffel, Manfred Harras, Stewart McCoy, David Pinto, Helen Rees, Kim Robson, Jane Ryan Musical Director: Layton Ring Brochures from Mrs. Marlene Austin, 5 Birchgrove Avenue, Gilesgate Moor, Durham DH1 1DE.

I.

C'

I have found no writerwho recommendsthe simultaneous applicationof these two types of trembling in the period between Ganassi'sRegolarubertinaand the ecco forte Ecco f rte i9th century. It may be that the slurred tremolo was w__ w * _.f_ .... assumedto include left-hand vibrato, though supporting evidenceis lacking.Tremolooccasionallymeansleftforte Ecco forte 2::.1f-: a A--. handvibrato,though in the 17thcenturyit is more often - _OaO Y Ta #s: +=f = c:-: t "~~~-1 t F usedthis wayfor pluckedthan for bowedstrings.3Bythe mid-18th century, however, this usage was common amongviolinists.LeopoldMozartcallsleft-handvibrato 'tremolo' adding in a footnote that he refersnot to the frmolOy Tremulanten of the organ but to a Bebung(tremoletto).33 His disclaimeris apparentlyintended to mitigate con{~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~::::' fusion between his tremolo (i.e. left-hand vibrato) and so W1 t 'tS X 1+~·r1~