Klarinet Archive - Posting 000186.txt from 2009/03

From: Joseph Wakeling <joseph.wakeling@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Glissando vs. portamento (was: Rhapsody in Blue)
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:55:36 -0400

hns692@-----.com wrote:
> After checking Merriam Webster on line, it appears that a portamento is more
> a slur; glissando a "rapid sliding" between notes of a musical scale. I
> suspect glissando is correct for Rhapsody. The definition for portamento
> doesn't allude to slur, but a slur is described as, " a: a curved line connecting
> notes to be sung to the same syllable or performed without a break b: the
> combination of two or more slurred tones." Definition "b" being more appropriate
> in this case. Is that close to your understanding?

Well, what I was really getting at was the distinction that is often
drawn in orchestration books, and is actually reflected in the Merriam
Webster definitions: portamento being defined as 'a continuous gliding
movement from one tone to another (as by the voice)' whereas the
definition given for glissando is, as you say, 'a rapid sliding up or
down the musical scale'.

The orchestration books will usually give context to this by saying that
'glissando' originates from harp and piano music, where it refers to a
sweep across the strings or keys and, obviously, produces a slide up or
down a scale. By contrast 'portamento' originates with string and vocal
writing and involves a continuous slide between two pitches, produced in
the former case by literally sliding the finger up or down the string.

In any case, what the orchestration books usually say is that,
technically, a _glissando_ is a fast run across distinct pitches in a
scale whereas a _portamento_ is a continuous slide. So according to
this interpretation, the 'smear' in the Rhapsody ought really to be
called a portamento. (Philip Rehfeldt, for example, makes this
distinction in New Directions for Clarinet.)

Unfortunately there's a problem with this, which is that if you look at
scores old and new (mostly new) which include slide effects, they are
almost always referred to as glissandi. You see 'gliss.' written in
clarinet parts, in trombone parts, even in violin and vocal parts. As
one of my orchestration books puts it, 'In practise these two
definitions are often ignored or totally reversed. Glissando has become
more all-inclusive, while portamento has been limited to a few special
vocal and string effects. This book will reflect the practice rather
than the ideal.'

So there was always some curiosity in the back of my head about why, if
this was the ideal, it has been ignored so comprehensively.

Anyway, recently I was reading a book on contemporary violin technique
and was fascinated to discover string players' take on the issue, which
in my experience orchestration books have completely ignored. You're
right on the money about the 'slur' aspect: portamento, to violinists,
is a legato technique, with the slide used to connect two notes which
cannot be slurred in the more conventional way.

By contrast when it comes to glissando, violinists couldn't make a
'rapid slide up or down the musical scale' even if they wanted to.
What's important to them about a glissando is that the slide begins
_from the moment the note starts_ and represents a continuous transition
between its start and end pitches, whereas portamento is a last-minute
slide to cover the gap between two distinct notes.

So there you have a fairly good and logical reason for why glissando is
the 'catch-all term' and now my only curiosity is why the orchestration
books have not picked up on this logic...

Incidentally, there's some insight to be had at looking at the original
language involved, where 'glissando', means literally sliding or
skating, whereas 'portamento' comes from 'portare', 'to carry' ... in
this case, to carry one note to another, which is not so different from
legato -- 'tied together' or 'connected'.

So that was all an interesting discovery for me, anyway. :-)

-- Joe

P.S. I realised after posting the original question that this had
already been discussed on the list a few years ago: see
http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/2004/06/000045.txt
http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/2004/06/000052.txt
http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/2004/06/000055.txt
http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/2004/06/000064.txt

P.P.S. I'd be quite interested to hear what Michael's trombonist friend
(or indeed anyone's trombonist friend:-) has to say about this. After
all, trombone is another instrument where glissando and portamento (in
the violinistic sense) can both be performed, and where piano-esque
glissando clearly cannot (although 'rip' or overtone glissandi are
possible).

------------------------------------------------------------------