42

Lecture 10
Stylistic Awareness in Music of the Baroque

Generalities
As we enter the Baroque period (l600-l750), one does not find the
one all-powerful Church one found in the period of the Renaissance, that
being Catholicism. Instead we encounter the strengthening of
Lutheranism with the Counter-reformation in Catholicism. The function
of music within the two Churches differed.
Monteverdi’s first opera employed the use of the solo song through
the recitation (prose rhythm of the text) and the aria (metrical
organization). The recitation (recitative) fulfilled the great desire to project
words clearly, interpreting primarily from the text; when an aria was
performed, the interpretation came more from the musical connotation.
The Baroque period was primarily a revolt against elaborate counterpoint
as composers now wanted to get the words heard more plainly. True there
is counterpoint, particularly in Schütz and Bach, but it was more a ‘throw-
back’ to what had been prevalent before. Bach’s sons did not view their
father’s compositions with unusual admiration; he was simply behind the
times.
We see a new emphasis on dramatic expressiveness as determined
by the word. One cannot overlook the text in the Baroque, but it was not
the structural element it was in polyphony or yet the emotional element of
the Romantic. In this period musical structure was determined more and
more by harmonic implication. Thus the change from Renaissance
polyphony to the Baroque constituted one of the most drastic changes of
emphasis in the history of music, second only to the revolution as we
moved from Impressionism to the 20th Century!

Specifics

Rhythm
Baroque music is much more metrical. With the advent of the bar
line at the close of the Renaissance period because of the complexity of
the music, we find regular accentuations at regularly spaced intervals.
Syllable stress was not the dominant factor in the establishment of rhythm.
Rather than starting anywhere within the phrase, rhythm now becomes
very regular at regularly spaced intervals.
The obvious positive advantages of metrical regularity also had a
negative side. Beat one became so dominant as to take away a ‘dance
feeling’. The natural accents of a given measure gave a ‘square feeling’
 43

by nature of their undue importance. Duple rhythm especially could take

on a pneumatic feeling (as in an air hammer), constant regularity.
Early in my musical career, I attended a wonderful Evensong at St.
Mark’s Episcopal in Seattle. As I congratulated Peter Hallock, he said
simply: “Well, all music must dance!” I did not question him further, but I
continued to reflect on his statement. A somber Lenten hymn must dance?
A march? I understood how applicable this concept would be to triple
meter, but duple?
Prior to meeting Hallock, I had spent two six-week sessions with
Robert Shaw in San Diego. I had recognized he approached rhythm in a
manner somewhat foreign to me. I felt the difference as we sang with him
day after day. I liked it, but what was the underlying principle – how
could I verbalize it? His music danced! For him rhythm was not only
timing but also spacing.
Several years later when sharing with an instrumental colleague, I
mentioned how intrigued I was with the ‘Shaw feeling’ but I found it so
hard to verbalize it. “Have you ever read anything on this type of
phrasing?” “No”. “Well, it is documented in a Doctoral Thesis at the
Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Get a copy from their library.”
Soon I was reading a thesis entitled Note Grouping - A Method For
Achieving Expression and Style in Musical Performance by James
Thurmond. I could not put it down. I had found gold. I knew the
fundamental principle to make all music dance! The term ‘Baroque
Phrasing’ became part of my musical vocabulary. I had a core curriculum
of basic principles governing phrasing that prevailed at the time. And to
my delight these principles prevailed in subsequent periods of music as
well. I did not have to teach from intuition alone!
Baroque phrasing emphasizes what happens on the weak beats and
between the beats, quite opposite to the traditional concept of the
dominating importance ascribed to primary accents (or natural accents) as
customarily taught. Principal beats of the measure traditionally have been
stressed through accent, a somewhat mechanical and unmusical technique.
Rather the principal beat should be approached from the previous weak
beat!
Was this difference of approach the reason the performance of one
artist touches our spirit so deeply while another may be intriguing
technically but seems to have not touched a deeper side of ourselves? As
James Thurmond studied in detail the note grouping principles of Marcel
Tabuteau, the great oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Baroque Phrasing
principles quickly emerged (weak to strong).
 44

Nothing in life desires to remain weak if it is designated as such.

Strength is the recognized virtue. Natural accents are obviously the strong
beats of a given measure. Weak beats are inherently present as well. Can
a weak beat become strong? If so, there are two possibilities for
consideration, the strong beat before the weak beat, or the strong beat
following the weak beat. It is impossible to look back and become strong,
but one can look ahead and derive strength. Weak to strong is the
underlying principle of Baroque phrasing! Interestingly Scripture states:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in
weakness…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Cor 9-10) Every
weak note must never remain static but become strong by leading or
‘lifting’ into the strong beat that follows. A weak note then becomes an
upbeat!

“After much study of the extant literature regarding

interpretation, expression and musicianship, it has been
found that there is an important relation between the way
the arsis (or upbeat) is played, and the movement imagery
present in the mind when one is listening to music. This
imagery of movement, as will be seen later, actually does
affect the kinesthetic nerve system and can cause the foot to
tap, or incite in one the desire to dance. How many times
have we heard someone say, ‘What a moving
performance!’, or, ‘I was so moved by his playing!’? The
Reverend William J. Finn, director of the Paulist
Choristers, was cognizant of this relationship when he
wrote: ‘The mystery of music is in the upbeat.’”
(Thurmond, p. l8-l9)

There are four basic rules in the accomplishment of Baroque

phrasing which in actuality are applicable to all subsequent periods. Shaw
added a fifth one, which I will explain later.

Rule # l – Weak to Strong

Any weak beat must lead to a strong beat. Nadia Boulanger, the great
French teacher of so many of our great musicians as Bernstein, Sessions,
Copland, Barber, Menotti etc. placed particular stress on the beat just
before the bar line (i.e. 4 in duple meter). The weakest beat in any
measure it just before the bar line. It must be lifted across the bar line to
become strong with the energy of movement and flow of the phrase. Thus
the term ‘cross-bar phrasing’ is also used in conjunction with Baroque
 45

phrasing. The tyranny of the bar line must be overcome; the undue
emphasis on beat one. As beat four must go to beat one, so must beat two
(weak) lead to beat three. Triple meter is somewhat different which will
be explained later.

Square Phrasing Baroque Phrasing

Figure 10.1 Weak to Strong phrasing for quarter note rhythms in duple.

Two basic terms come into being, thesis (thetic) and arsis (arsic).
If one is going to write a paper, a basic theme must be presented. Thesis
in Greek means to fall, a dominant point. Thus all strong beats are termed
thetic. Arsis in Greek does not mean ‘weak’ as logic might determine.
Interestingly it means to lift, to lead on to a destination – the weak beat
then leading on to the strong.
The same basic principle applies in shorter time values as well.
When two eight notes are present, the first one is the stronger, the second
one the weaker. The destination of the weaker one is paramount. When
four eighth notes are present, the first one is the strongest and the fourth
one the weakest. In a faster tempo rather than thinking the microcosm of
the second eighth note going to the third (which it does) and the fourth
going to the following note (which it does), one might feel the first eight
note as thetic but the following eight notes are arsic all three leading on to
the next down beat. Tempo could be a determinant as well as the
composer’s preference.
 46

Square Phrasing Baroque Phrasing

Figure 10.2 Weak to Strong phrasing for eighth note rhythms in duple.

Look at sixteenth notes. Most often the first sixteenth is thetic

with the remaining three being arsic leading to the next down beat. Yet in
a subdivided passage, the second sixteenth might clearly go to the third
one, and the fourth to the following down beat. Again tempo and the
composer’s taste become the determinant.
A function of a note might change. For example, if a measure
consists of two half notes in 4/4 time, one might surmise both half notes
are thetic in feeling. In this instance, however, the second half note is
arsic, leading across the bar to the down beat.

Square Phrasing Baroque Phrasing

 47

Figure 10.3 Weak to Strong Sixteenth Notes in Duple.

Rule #2 – Short to Long

Shorter time values always lead to longer time values. This is
really a further clarification of rule #1 in that the shorter time value is
always weak, the longer time value being strong. Shorter time values can
be viewed in two different ways. A quarter note followed by two eights
followed by a quarter – here the two eights can be viewed collectively as
weaker. The second perception of ‘short to long’ is more obvious, such as
a dotted quarter followed by an eighth. The eighth is the weaker and thus
must lead on to the stronger beat that follows.

Square Phrasing Baroque Phrasing

 48

Figure 10.4 Short to Long Phrase Groupings

Now I want to introduce a term I have coined – springboard. Let

us examine more closely the dot of the dotted quarter note. It rhythmically
is an eighth note, making that eighth note thetic in relationship to the
actual eighth note that follows. If it is viewed as thetic, it must have
‘energy’ – it must have strength – it must have emphasis. It must function
as a ‘springboard’ to the eighth that follows. This can be realized by some
emphasis being placed on the dot, especially by the conductor. In certain
instances, Shaw would ask that an eighth rest be sounded on the dot, or
maybe a dotted sixteenth to give clarity both of precision and emphasis,
with the eighth note following leading on to the next stronger beat. The
same principle with a dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth, etc.

Rule #3 – Repeated Notes

Repeated notes are often separated, again a further subdivision of
the basic ‘weak to strong’. As I mentioned above a shorter time value can
be viewed as a quarter note followed by two eighth notes followed by a
quarter. But much more often, the two repeated notes have a feeling of
 49

separation. Shaw would state this so elegantly: “Don’t sing successive 8th
notes as equal values –sing the second one as a point of departure.” If two
eighth notes are not thought in this manner, tempo will invariably rush,
and the intensity of the phrase will be immediately be lessened as to its
forward motion.

Square Phrasing Baroque Phrasing

Figure 10.5 Grouping Repeated Notes

Rule #4 – Change of Song

If the melodic line changes direction, the melodic turn determines
the necessity of the notes after the turn being treated as weak, with the
note preceding the turn being treated as strong or thetic. The following
weak notes are arsic in direction. If you look at the example given
subsequent to this explanation, it will become immediately clear. How
this enhances the flow of the phrase, as there is a new burst of kinetic
energy!

Figure 10.6 Change of Song

You can easily teach the above rules through the use of this simple poem:

Weak to strong, Short to long,

Repeated notes, Change of song.
 50

Rule #5 – Just Because I Feel Like It!

Who else would dare add this rule! Think how deeply Shaw trusted his
basic instinct – a challenge to all of us!

Now to triple meter. Baroque realization can be accomplished in

two different ways, depending on the intent of the composer. It can be just
beat three being led across to beat one with beat two being the realization
of the down beat (in other words minimized), or it can be both beats two
and three being led to beat one. The difference is quite stark and should
be realized by determining the intent of the composer. The example in
Figure 10.7 illustrates this.

Square Phrasing

Baroque Phrasing

Figure 10.7 Triple Meter Grouping

I explained my use of the term ‘springboard’ in the ‘short to long’

explanation. May I take this a bit further. Rests have a definite function is
most instances. Visualize a 4/4 bar consisting of a quarter rest followed
by three quarter notes. The rest is more often view as a moment of
silence. This is wrong! The rest must be felt as thetic, with the following
three quarter notes as arsic to the down beat, or in a slower tempo, the first
quarter note being arsic leading to beat three which would be thetic. In
other words your rest is a springboard, and the conductor must energize
the downbeat to signal such. If this is not perceived in this manner, the
first quarter note will always be felt as thetic and this is absolutely wrong!
Sometimes rests in the Romantic period are treated as moments of silence
to enhance the drama of the moment. One must delineate between the two
possible functions of rests.
 51

What is the function of a tie? Just to lengthen the note of the

preceding note? Absolutely not! The second note of the tie must be
viewed as a springboard as well, functioning as a thetic note, with the note
following the tie then being arsis in direction. The first note of the tie is
arsic leading to the strong beat second note of the tie. A static moment is
avoided – the flow of the line is enhanced!
How does syncopation fit into this? One day in a rehearsal Shaw
pointedly asked me: “Weston, in syncopation do you feel the stress on the
down beat of the off beat?” Flustered I gave the answer “the off beat”.
“Wrong, Weston, you always feel the down beat in syncopation to get the
feeling of the off beat.” In other words in syncopation you give the down
beat part of the syncopation a thetic feeling which then gives the second
part of the syncopation a energetic arsic feeling. Interesting in jazz, it is
just the opposite. I will never forget that moment with Shaw as long as I
live!
How does one accomplish this realization of space between the
thetic note and the following arsic note? The realization of this space
results in the beginning of a new point of kinetic energy in the phrase,
which is vital to fine music making. It is accomplished in two ways: the
schism or indentation resulting in space may be an actual moment of
space, which I term ‘sunlight’. Or it may be accomplished in a mental
sense, the resulting space being accomplished through ‘mist’. The use of
either depends on tempo, style and degree desired. I feel the most
sensitive performer mentally lifts at moments even though not directly
indicated within the phrase. It is a wonderful constant subdivision!
Directors do not have time to explain every moment when Baroque
phrasing is desired. It can be beyond the comprehension of the singers as
well. If the instructor sings a passage with the desired result of this type of
phrasing, but substitutes a ‘day’ for every thetic moment and a ‘tay’ for
every arsic moment, the choir will sing back what was emulated and it
will follow every basic rule of Baroque phrasing. And the music will
immediately dance! The choir will respond with relative ease, simply
because it feels so natural to be sung this way basically speaking! One
might use ‘du’ ‘tu’ ‘du’ in passages that are quieter and the ranges not as
extreme. A definite mood is realized enhancing the beauty of the selection
being learned. Recordings by the Swingle Singers are excellent examples
of the use of syllables to enhance rhythmic groupings. Bach ‘swings’ or
dances as never before. Students are obviously drawn to this rhythmic
feel.
Here are several rehearsal methods for gaining the feeling of a
springboard: have the choir members tap on the dot, rest, tie, or downbeat
 52

syncopation or the director may do the same. I often bob my head slightly
adding kinetic energy to the springboard. Shaw would often ask us to put
a sixteenth rest within a dot or tie, creating space. This is particularly true
in a larger ensemble.
Remember all composers do not follow Baroque phrasing
consistently. They may intentionally ask for a different phrasing to avoid
monotony and to achieve individuality. One can trust the marking of
Romantic composers in this regard. Prior to this period, the realization
can be more complicated. In depth study of the original score or style of
the period are two factors that can help guide your decisions.
The above discussion is Baroque phrasing in the microcosm – one
burst of kinetic energy to the next, arsis to thesis. Several microcosms put
together can have an umbrella feeling of arsic or thetic. As more and
more microcosms are put together, ultimately a musical phrase is the
result.
The presence of a text gives singers a decided advantage in
realizing the rules in our poem. Since articles and adjectives (usually
weaker words) naturally lead to nouns, pronouns, and verbs (usually
stronger words), a well-set text enhances the ‘weak to strong’ principle.
The string player also has a decided advantage since often bowings are
determined by the ‘weak to strong’ approach. Woe to the wind, keyboard,
and percussion families – there are no built-in aids for you! It must be
articulated!
I remember so well the day when I began to realize I naturally
followed the above rules to a certain degree. Understanding the rules
thoroughly gave me a solid vehicle for teaching rather than having an
ensemble mimic back what I either sang or instructed. Shaw gave us a new
definition of rhythm. Rhythm is obviously timing, but now we must add
the word SPACING! There is a world of difference! I end this section of
Baroque characteristics with a Shaw quote: “Togetherness comes from a
divided pulse – think l6th notes!”