Hi all
back on Berlioz Fantastique...Often, we are asked by our conductor to make sure we (the section) count so we don't get it wrong. But when faced with passages such as the one attached, it seems more intuitive to "feel" the notes rather than mechanically go one and a two and "a" "a" ...etc. Question is: how do you approach counting passages like the one attached, or even others that may be way more difficult?
Regards to all
Please pardon my long, and slightly off topic response.
I hate looking at this spot. If you look at the actual rhythm, it is like -
1 -
2 - 3, 1 -
2 -3 or 1 -
da ka da ka. Even spaced sixteenths. In performance they are sometimes compressed - almost like the first two of every triplet
1 -
da ka *
da ka *
This is, however, not what's written. As a student, In my foolish youthful exuberance, I once protested publicly that the whole section was playing the rhythm wrong when they stylized it. In hindsight, I learned a few important lessons in that experience-
1. Rhythm is subjective, performance tradition can influence how players interpret rhythm.
2. Awareness and compromise are vitally important to getting along in a section
And most importantly
3. Never verbally protest in the middle of rehearsal. It didn't go well to inform my colleagues that they were "playing the rhythm wrong!"
If the way this passage is notated is giving you trouble, I suggest playing along with a recording so you hear what parts can cue you in if you are flustered or nervous about counting. You should be able to keep everything right in the pocket and land on the downbeat pizz that follows. Try to listen to the melody you accompany here (hint: you've heard it before)
With this excessive, over-notation, Berlioz probably intended the player to use a spiccato stroke where the string crossing
up is grouped to the previous
down. The rest is a form of note grouping articulation (like shortening the second note of a slur) he might have intended a thrown spiccato. Play, or sing it with sluring two notes together once, then play as written.
In a lot of ways, Berlioz was very modern and experimental and, as a result, precise in his intentions. The string parts in this piece are full of "extended techniques" that explore the capabilities of the new bows (Viotti/Tourte) the French using - portato, eccentric crescendos in all parts of the bow up or down, jeté, Col lengno etc.
I would caution against playing the four notes too equally or too swung like a "shoe shine". it is a subtle phrasing/grouping and the notes are very short.
As to your question, read the part carefully, practice it, listen to a recording to really help internalise the passage giving you trouble. Pick up on any other parts that you can use as cues to help you enter correctly. That will free you up to be more aware of other things going on and will make you much more flexible in the ensemble than someone who is just reading a tricky passage for the first time. There's a reason why we play things much better when we played them before than for the first time.
