In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

10 � The Violin: Technique and Style david douglass The seventeenth century was a period in which profound changes in style bridged the musical aesthetics of the Renaissance and the Baroque. As a result, seventeenthcentury styles include elements of both periods. The complex nature of seventeenthcentury music offers a wealth of musical expression to violinists who attempt to understand it. Since an in-depth analysis of the numerous musical styles that developed during the seventeenth century is beyond the scope of this paper, my intention is to identify the major stylistic trends which motivated the musicians of the era, and to explain how these trends affected both the violin and the violinist. Any discussion of style will eventually address issues of technique. Inasmuch as the seventeenth century was a volatile period of stylistic change, techniques had to adapt rapidly in order to communicate those changes more effectively. I shall explain the stylistic connection to those changes in technique. Throughout this chapter I shall refer to the violin and violinists, but it should be understood that my intention is to include (in the Renaissance sense) all sizes of violin and viola, just as the terms “recorder” or “viola da gamba” can imply all sizes of those instruments. Style and Context Many violinists, when first attempting to play in a historical style, are both confused and intimidated by the immensity of the subject. To start with a definition, one might say that style is that quality that imparts meaning to a performance—a meaning that can be appreciated through the context of the culture that gave it birth. In still simpler terms, style is the meaningful shapes we give to music. Notated pitches and rhythms, played without inflection, provide musical direction through harmonic and melodic rhythm, but that direction alone never fully expresses all that either the music or the performer has to offer. The shapes that we give those notes, through the manipulation of sound, articulation, dynamics, time, and the improvisational The Violin 169 addition of notes, can impart a special meaning to what we play. The vast number of possible combinations of shapes can allow for any piece of music to be performed in a tremendous range of styles, even within one cultural context (compare, for example , Jimi Hendrix's rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to anything you'll ever hear at the ballpark). One could learn a particular style by assembling, piece by piece, all of the many shapes used in that style. And, indeed, many performers begin to learn to play stylistically by this method. But that process by itself is ultimately unsatisfying. It would be the same as learning to recite poetry, with meaningful inflections and dramatic pauses, but in a language you did not understand. It is far more useful and satisfying to have an understanding of the general background and framework of a particular musical style and how that framework changed over time. The task, then, is to establish the stylistic context of a repertory so that the special details of a particular place and time have meaning. Once the stylistic context of a piece of music is established, the specific stylistic details included in a performance of that music can be arrived at through intuition, as well as deduction. At the most subtle level, the stylistic context of any repertory is closely linked to all of the social forces that shape human (and therefore musical) history, and a truly complete picture of a style can be assembled only through an interdisciplinary study that brings together as much information about a period as possible. It is hoped that your native curiosity will carry you on a lifelong pursuit of knowledge that will enhance your perception (and performance) of many styles. The most important principle underlying all stylistic development is so simple that it is usually overlooked. That principle is that stylistic context is fully perceived only when it is examined with a forward-looking perspective with regard to time. In other words, you will understand a style better if you know where it came from. Even though that seems obvious, it is difficult (and ultimately impossible) to accomplish. It is irresistible to bring our modern sensibilities back to whatever we play, and, in a sense, that bit of ourselves that we bring back is what makes it our music, our artistic expression, instead of a perfect historical recreation. Still, every attempt must be made to establish, for ourselves and the listener, the stylistic context of...

Share