Historical approach of ornamentation in Italy from about 1600 to the classical era Influences of vocal ornamentation in violin practice

Abstract

Embellishment improvisation was an essential practice in the early music. Many musicians wrote about its use in numerous treatises at that time. Around 1600 the role of performer and composer was well established. The composer wrote the basic material and performers were always expected to add ornaments on it. As the century progressed. these roles began to be questioned because of the increasing precision by the composer related to writing the ornaments. The motive was the indiscriminate use of diminutions by many interpreters. Another factor corresponds to the revolution in music around 1600 with the appearance of the opera and the new soloist monody style, that influences in the way to sing and compose as well. A controversy started to take place about the use of ornaments. Then, ornamenting a melody should be according to the new style, which demanded emphasis on the meaning of the text and support the affective message. This time, the liberty of the performer to improvise melodic lines was giving space to a new way of freedom. This time he should reveal more convincingly the text, based in how the composer conceived it.