 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2009-02-19 18:14
I am preparing the Brahms trio and we were discussing some of the Brahms markings, specifically the use of dolce vs. espressivo. Here is the gist of it a quote taken from an email from the pianist:
"my piano teacher's opinion was that "dolce" meant something specific, and that "espressivo" also had its own meaning. In terms of dynamics, my recollection, and i think this is borne out by the music, is that dolce would generally be softer, more tender, and that espressivo would be fuller, as in those places in the 1st mvmt where each of us has that secondary tune and our parts are marked accordingly. i'd be interested if you could find some documentation of this!"
My questions to the experts are:
1- Do we know whether Brahms had some very specific intent when using these two markings.
2- If so, what are their meanings?
I am not looking for a translation dolce = sweet, soft and espressivo = expressive. I can look this up in a dictionary.
I have been told a few times that Brahms intended something very specific in terms of interpretation, and I'd like to know if that is true and what the intent of these words are.
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-02-19 18:49
I just tried punching this into Google a minute ago and found a blog where the writer (a choir member) recounts something mentioned by conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn in a recent rehearsal of Brahms' Requiem with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. Maybe this is the sort of explanation you are looking for (or at least a partial explanation):
"I really liked Ignat's explanations of Brahms' use of dolce and espressivo, which made a lot of sense. Probably no one will care except [info]yhlee, but his opinion is that in this piece, dolce is meant as a more "innocent" unaffected sound and espressivo as a marker of more intensity and color. Which totally matches the feel of the music when Brahms uses those words."
Stuff I've read about Muhlfeld indicates that these were characteristics of Muhlfeld's playing Brahms was particularly impressed with, namely his ability to play with a sweet, feminine sort of tone and his remarkable dynamic range.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2009-02-19 22:56
Surely the dictionary meanings are really relevant, Dolce after all implies a degree of emotional restraint and Espressivo essentially the opposite.
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