So, what does THAT mean?? Well, ad lib
(short for ad libitum) means at liberty - so you can interpret
this with some freedom. For Recitativo I refer
you to the Virginia
Tech Online Music Dictionary, where we learn that this is a narrative. A
recitative is an operatic device, also used in oratorios and cantatas, to fill in some blanks in the story line. So - this is a chance to
tell a story, or to bring your heroic story line of the first movement into
the funeral march setting of the 2nd movement. This cadenza is punctuated by
accompanying chords in the piano, and you should build that into your
narrative.
ad lib, rubato, freely
I find it interesting that brass players, when
given the freedom implied in the terms above, will almost always use the tools
of decrescendo and rallentando - getting softer and slower. Crescendo and
agitato can also be very effective!
Now - to the cadenza: the four measures before your entrance
are crashing, descending runs built on diminished chords. You can't ask for a
more dramatic foreshadowing than that - and you should rise to the occasion.
m. 154-159 - piano lead-in to cadenza
Your first note can almost tell a whole story in itself. Go
ahead and let this one wail. This one note is perhaps the most operatic moment
in the concerto. Some singers would give their eye teeth to have just this one
note to sing! Listen to this student play it before
before
and then after considering the dramatic possibilities of this
one note:
after
Now you have everyone on the edge of their seats, waiting to
hear what comes next. Now you can go into the narrative. Tell your story
passage here. There are many ways to proceed, and it should be personal to
you.
Measures 160-162 remind me faintly of the opening to J.S.
Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in d-minor. If you don't know that
piece, treat yourself to it! Originally for organ, it has been transcribed for
orchestra, band, even brass quintet! You will rarely hear the opening notes
played the same way from two different interpreters. Some fly forward, some
drive forward against resistance, some....well, just listen!
You are not alone
This cadenza also has some punctuations added by your
accompanist. You should know those parts and know how you want them to fit
into your narrative. In a sense, it is like two people trying to tell the
story - maybe even interrupting each other, filling in each other's gaps,
prodding each other for more information.
In trying to strike a dramatic, narrative tone, it could be
helpful to imagine a text. This one came to mind spontaneously in a lesson:
spontaneous text
For your consideration
You can help yourself with some well-chosen positions in
measures160-162. Playing the d in fourth position puts all three slurs
"with the grain", giving consistency to the phrasing and inflection.
I personally like to set up my funeral march tempo at the end
of the cadenza. Listen and sense that the funeral march stride begins with the
pick up to measure 167 and continues right into the march itself.
Funeral tempo
In closing, I would encourage you to listen to as many
narrative recitatives as you can. This will help you form a solid concept of just
how much you can do with this cadenza. Listen to oratorios by Handel and
Mendelssohn, and to operas by Weber and Mozart. Observe and learn from
dramatic actors when they have a brief aside to the audience.
And
have fun with it.
Coming
soon:
Lesson 6,
Funeral March
LentheLessons