The small notes in the classical style

[pianoman53]

My teacher and I came into a discussion yesterday. Not the "what, dude, why can't I play the way I want?!"-sort of, but to a thing none of us actually knew the answer to.

I was playing the Haydn sonata in a flat, and already from the beginning there is a small notes. Since they sometimes are played on the beat, and sometimes off, we couldn't really figure out why they were written as small notes (He is far more romantic pianist than classical)
We talked a bit, and came up with a few alternatives:

1. They weren't allowed to write dissonances on a strong beat, so they wrote small notes, to not write an official dissonance.

2. They simply had a different taste, and thought it was prettier with a short note.

3. To make a sort of accent on the note, or to make the performer "notice" it.


Does any of these make sense? And is there any book to read about this?


Thanks

[richard black]

Your suggestions 1 and 3 are basically spot-on.

For further information, Google 'appoggiatura'.

[iansinclair]

also note that the small notes in classical and baroque writing indicate exactly what kind of ornament is to be played.  It might be a turn, it might be a trill, it might be all kinds of different things.  These old boys had certain very definite intentions with their ornaments.  Also note that the ornaments are played in time -- usually at twice the prevailing tempo.

[kalirren]

What I'd heard from my teacher was that ornamentation was expected to be improvised in the Classical period.  So if the composer had written in their own ornamentation in small notes, it was the equivalent of the composer saying, "Not only is this the principal note I intend, this ornament is also the one I want you to put on it."  If that same ornament had been written in all large notes, interpreters of the time would have taken all of those notes as principal notes to be further embellished.

[iansinclair]

What I'd heard from my teacher was that ornamentation was expected to be improvised in the Classical period.  So if the composer had written in their own ornamentation in small notes, it was the equivalent of the composer saying, "Not only is this the principal note I intend, this ornament is also the one I want you to put on it."  If that same ornament had been written in all large notes, interpreters of the time would have taken all of those notes as principal notes to be further embellished.

Absolutely correct, so far as I was taught too.  Goes for baroque as well.