Your take on "a piacere"/"ad libitum" ... what kinds of liberties, and how much?

[stevebob]

I'm curious how others interpret the directions a piacere and ad libitum.  I never encountered them in anything I was learning until now, where Fauré indicates a piacere at bars 51 and 55 of his Ballade Op. 19:



The Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary offers these definitions:

a piacere - At the pleasure or discretion of the performer, typically with tempo and the use of rubato with a particular passage.  See also ad libitum; piacere.

ad libitum - At the discretion of the performer; At pleasure, changing the tempo of a particular passage. A part that may be omitted if desired. It is often used in the shortened form, ad lib.  See also a piacere. 

Dolmetsch Online provides these:

a piacere - (Italian) a bene placito (Italian), as you want, as you wish, ad libitum (Latin) (for example, whether or not to introduce a cadenza into a work), nach Belieben (German), frei im Vortrag (German)

ad libitum - (English, French, Spanish, ad-libitum (German), from Latin, literally 'at will') nach Belieben (German), at pleasure, as much as desired, as you wish it, synonymous with a piacere (Italian), recitativo (Italian), senza misura (Italian), senza tempo (Italian), a suo arbitrio (Italian), a capriccio (Italian), a piacimento (Italian), a bene placito (Italian), the opposite of obbligato. In other words, to depart from the written notes or script and improvise

Would people agree that a piacere implies a bit less license than ad libitum does?  Does ad libitum imply carte blanche?  And in either case, is the interpretation entirely a matter of the performer's sensitivity, taste and judgment?  It begs the question of what kinds of liberties may (or should) be taken, and to what extent; free application of rubato may be taken for granted, but what about dynamics, articulation, rhythm, tempo ... omission of notes? ... improvisation???

There aren't many recordings of the Fauré Ballade, even in the version for piano and orchestra.  In those with which I'm familiar, the only freedom taken in those measures seems to be a subtle but tangible stretto; I've never heard a performance of the version for solo piano.  Personally, the only clear interpretive notion I have at present is that I would like to omit those short appoggiaturas played by the left hand on the first and third beats:  they're awkward to play, they feel out of place and, ironically, their presence is inhibiting me from exercising the kind of interpretive discretion that a piacere otherwise encourages.

So this is my dilemma:  I'm conventional.  I hew to the printed score and what we can glean of the composer's intentions.  I don't make alterations to make a passage easier or for any other reason.  But in this case ... is Fauré really telling me instead that I'm at liberty to play it as I please, even discarding those appoggiaturas if I feel it works better without them?

How unusual are the directions a piacere and ad libitum, anyway?  Are there many examples in music from the common practice period (other than to indicate that the insertion of a cadenza is optional)?

Thanks in advance for any comments, opinions or insights.

[birba]

Well, in italian, a piacere means "the way you like it"  and ad libitum, in latin, means "freely", at your whim, so to speak.  Many times the cadenza in a concerto will say ad libitum, meaning you can play what you like.  Compose your own.  When "a tempo" follows "a piacere", it evidently means that the tempo is played with "the way you like it", until the "a tempo" appears.
So, I would say "ad libitum" implies greater liberty then "a piacere".

[birba]

A piacere implies ONLY the tempo. 

[fbt]

     I agree with birba (only tempo) NO improvisation, omission or adding notes. I would not play around with the dynamics only the tempo (a little more freedom to this passage) an a tempo appears  after the first a piacere and before the next a piacere. I  think ad libitum means almost the same thing except when  a voice or instrument is optional in an ensemble. Of course in Jazz or
some contemporary composers it does mean improvise.

[_jrg_]

Litteraly speaking "a piacere" and "ad libitum" mean the exact same thing.  Just different languages.

--
Jonathan.

[rienzi]

In the case of Fauré I would suggest that any liberties taken should be slight. He was known to drop the keyboard lid on to the hands of any pianist who deviated to much extent from his written instructions. Generally speaking French music should be played with a degree of "sang-froid" which would be inappropriate when playing music of, for example, the Russian or German schools.

[iratior]

The only piece I've played that has in it the direction "a piacere" is a Haydn piano sonata in E-flat major.  I play exactly the notes written (all small 32nds) but strive to make them as fast as if they were part of a glissando.  I'm very pleased with how they sound that way.