Appoggiatura's.....question

[Shagdac]

I have a questions regarding Appoggiaturas, single and double I know are generally played on the beat. I want to know about exceptions to anticipations of the following note..(ie octave skips, before bar lines) etc...
what then? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

[newsgroupeuan]

I would help you if I could,  but my theory is rubbish.

Refer to the ABRSM Theory handbook - it may help.

[bernhard]

Execution of appoggiaturas depends on the period, on the composer, on the piece and on the author of the ornamentation manual you are studying. Here are the general guidelines:

1.      Baroque and classical appoggiaturas are long appoggiaturas (that is, they rob the main note of it s time) and are always played on the beat.

2.      19th century music rarely uses the long appoggiatura, which is basically written out in full as part of the rhythm of the piece. Instead they use a short appoggiatura. Although the rule here is still that the short appoggiatura should be played on the beat, it rarely is. Basically composers of the 19th century either forgot the rules, or ignored them, and tended to be guided by the position of the appoggiatura on the score to determine performance. Some 19th century composers place the appoggiatura before the bar line to indicate that it should be played before the beat. There is much ambiguity and the truth is that no one really knows what certain composers intended in certain pieces. However common sense usually shows what to do. Most of Liszt’s appoggiaturas for instance should be played before the beat, for if you follow the baroque and classical rules the music just does not work. Chopin, Field and Beethoven on the other hand should follow the  Baroque/classical usage. In general for 19th century works you should play appogiaturas before the beat.  Sure bets: a) A single appoggiatura that comes before an identical main note is to be played before the beat. b) Bass appoggiaturas followed by a leap to a higher note or chord also should be played before the beat.

3.      Normal 20th century practice is to play all appoggiaturas before the beat, unless the composer directs otherwise (e.g. when imitating baroque style).

Ornamentation is a minefield with new theories coming up all the time. Since originally ornaments were improvised on the spot, and since we have no recordings to guide us all you can do is an informed choice and hope that your ears are sensitive enough to guide you.

The most complete work on ornamentation I know of is:

Frederick Neumann – Ornamentation in Baroque and Post-Baroque Music (Princeton).

A very basic introduction (but very helpful) is:

Valery Lloyd-Watts & Carole Bigler – Ornamentation: A questin and answer manual. (Alfred)

Somewhere in between these two works is:

Howard Ferguson – Keyboard interpretation (Oxford)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Shagdac]

Thank you SO much. This information is truly helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to to give such a detailed explanation.....I think I finally have it!!