Maria551
Conducting involves not only precise indication of speed, dynamics and phrasing, but also careful preparation to ensure that the balance is correct and that the intentions of the composer are adequately represented. These requirements are not always observed, but a good performance is impossible without them. Unlike the singer or instrumentalist, the conductor has to persuade others to accept his view of the music and so help him to shape it into a unified and convincing whole. The method by which this is achieved varies according to the individual. Some conductors make detailed annotations in the orchestral parts or vocal scores, indicating details of bowing to the string-players or of breathing to the singers. Others rely on verbal instructions at rehearsals and on the impress of a strong personality. The use of baton, though at least as old as the 15th century, did not become the almost universal method of directing a performance until the second half of the 19th century. Other methods before that time included the hand, a roll of paper, or a violin bow. When a stick was employed it was sometimes used to beat time audibly, e.g. at the Paris Opera in the 17th and 18th centuries. Elsewhere in the 18th century it was normal for opera to be directed from the harpsichord, which was in any case necessary for playing the recitative, and for symphonies to be directed by the principal first violin (still known in Britain as “leader” of the orchestra). When the baton was introduced to London by Spohr in 1820 and to Leipzig by Mendelssohn in 1835, it was regarded as a novelty. The increasing complication of orchestral writing and the growth of the forces employed made a clear and visible direction indispensable, and
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Jullianna
Conducting involves not only precise indication of speed, dynamics and phrasing, but also careful preparation to ensure that the balance is correct and that the intentions of the composer are adequately represented. These requirements are not always observed, but a good performance is impossible without them. Unlike the singer or instrumentalist, the conductor has to persuade others to accept his view of the music and so help him to shape it into a unified and convincing whole. The method by which this is achieved varies according to the individual. Some conductors make detailed annotations in the orchestral parts or vocal scores, indicating details of bowing to the string-players or of breathing to the singers. Others rely on verbal instructions at rehearsals and on the impress of a strong personality. The use of baton, though at least as old as the 15th century, did not become the almost universal method of directing a performance until the second half of the 19th century. Other methods before that time included the hand, a roll of paper, or a violin bow. When a stick was employed it was sometimes used to beat time audibly, e.g. at the Paris Opera in the 17th and 18th centuries. Elsewhere in the 18th century it was normal for opera to be directed from the harpsichord, which was in any case necessary for playing the recitative, and for symphonies to be directed by the principal first violin (still known in Britain as “leader” of the orchestra). When the baton was introduced to London by Spohr in 1820 and to Leipzig by Mendelssohn in 1835, it was regarded as a novelty. The increasing complication of orchestral writing and the growth of the forces employed made a clear and visible direction indispensable, and
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The use of baton, though at least as old as the 15th century, did not become the almost universal method of directing a performance until the second half of the 19th century. Other methods before that time included the hand, a roll of paper, or a violin bow. When a stick was employed it was sometimes used to beat time audibly, e.g. at the Paris Opera in the 17th and 18th centuries. Elsewhere in the 18th century it was normal for opera to be directed from the harpsichord, which was in any case necessary for playing the recitative, and for symphonies to be directed by the principal first violin (still known in Britain as “leader” of the orchestra). When the baton was introduced to London by Spohr in 1820 and to Leipzig by Mendelssohn in 1835, it was regarded as a novelty. The increasing complication of orchestral writing and the growth of the forces employed made a clear and visible direction indispensable, and
The use of baton, though at least as old as the 15th century, did not become the almost universal method of directing a performance until the second half of the 19th century. Other methods before that time included the hand, a roll of paper, or a violin bow. When a stick was employed it was sometimes used to beat time audibly, e.g. at the Paris Opera in the 17th and 18th centuries. Elsewhere in the 18th century it was normal for opera to be directed from the harpsichord, which was in any case necessary for playing the recitative, and for symphonies to be directed by the principal first violin (still known in Britain as “leader” of the orchestra). When the baton was introduced to London by Spohr in 1820 and to Leipzig by Mendelssohn in 1835, it was regarded as a novelty. The increasing complication of orchestral writing and the growth of the forces employed made a clear and visible direction indispensable, and