The Nature and Significance of the Trillo Ornament in Baroque Theory and Vocal Practice
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Abstract
The article is devoted to the current problem of the Baroque era vocal music authentic performance. The author raises questions about the correct decoding of the Italian trill of the 17th century, called “trillo” by G. Caccini. In the era under consideration, musicians did not mean the currently known oscillatory trill, but decoration based on a gradually accelerating rehearsal of the same tone.
Trillo was considered one of the most complex vocal ornaments of the Baroque era, the performance of which determined not only the technical and artistic level of the singer, but also created the necessary technical platform for mastering the coloratura technique. The complexity of considering this decoration also lies in the fact that in the period from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century there was no unified system of terms related to the characteristics of ornaments. The same techniques in performance were often called by different terms: trillo, tremolo, trill. The very nature of the execution of decoration, which musicians today often compare with vibrato, is also confused.
This article highlights the nature and significance of the trillo ornament in three aspects: historical, theoretical and practical. The vocal performance of the decoration in question involves expression in connection with the embodiment and transmission of affects. In accordance with this, the author puts forward a hypothesis about two forms of trillo articulation in vocal performance: staccato or non-legato.
For the first time in Russian musicology, the article examines the vocal ornament called the Italian trillo in its two component concepts: a decorative ornament that contributes to the transfer of affect, and a fundamental vocal-technical element in Baroque art. The question is being resolved whether trillo in vocal performance of the Baroque era is synonymous with vibrato of the singing voice in its modern presentation.
The material of the article and conclusions will be useful to singers performing baroque music for its stylistically correct interpretation, and can also be used in training courses on the history of vocal performance at vocal departments of music colleges and university faculties.
Keywords: baroque music, historical singing, ornamentation, Italian trillo, vibrato, tremolo, ancient music, vocal technique, flexibility of voice, ornament and affect, vocal performance school.
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