Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/99

ARNOULD. The Princess of Modena hearing the child sing in the church of Val de Grâce was so charmed that she recommended her to the royal Intendant of Music. Against the will of her mother, Sophie became a member of the Chapelle Royale, and was taught comedy by Mlle. Hippolyte Clairon, and singing by Mlle. Tel. Mme. de Pompadour hearing her on one occasion was so much struck by the young artist that she characteristically said, 'With such talents you may become a princess.' She made her début on Dec. 15, 1757, and remained on the stage till 1778, the most admired artist of the Paris Opera. In that year she left the boards and retired into private life. Mlle. Arnould was not less renowned for her wit and power of conversation than for her ability as a singer and actor. The 'Arnouldiana' contain a host of her caustic and witty speeches. She died in 1803. [ F. G. ]

ARPEGGIO (Ital., from Arpa, the harp; Arpeggiare, to play upon the harp). The employment in vocal or instrumental music of the notes of a chord in succession instead of simultaneously; also, in pianoforte music, the breaking or spreading of a chord, either upwards or downwards.

The introduction of the arpeggio as an accompaniment to a melody marks an important epoch in the history of pianoforte music. It is said to have been invented about 1730 by Alberti, a Venetian amateur musician, in whose 'VIII Sonate per Cembalo' are found the earliest signs of emancipation from the contrapuntal form of accompaniment exclusively used up to that time. The simple kind of arpeggio employed by him, which is still known as the 'Alberti bass,' (Ex. 1) has since become fully developed, not alone as accompaniment, but also as an essential part of the most brilliant instrumental passages of modern music.

Arpeggio passages such as those alluded to are almost invariably written out in full, but the simple spreading of the notes of a chord (in contradistinction to concento, the sounding of all the notes together) is usually indicated by certain signs. According to Türk ('Clavierschule') the signs for the arpeggio, beginning with the lowest note, are as in Ex. 2, those for the descending arpeggio as in Ex. 3. The latter is however only met with in old music; the downward arpeggio, which is but rarely employed in modern music, being now always written in full.

The arpeggio in modern music is usually indicated as in Ex. 4, and occasionally (as for instance in some of Hummel's compositions) by a stroke across the chord (Ex. 5). This is however incorrect, as it may easily be mistaken for the combination of arpeggio with, which, according to Emanuel Bach, is to be written and played as in Ex. 6.

In the arpeggio as above, the notes when once sounded are all sustained to the full value of the chord, with the exception only of the foreign note (the acciacatura) in Ex. 6. Sometimes however certain notes are required to be held while the others are released; in this case the chord is written as in Ex. 7.

The arpeggio should, according to the best authorities, begin at the moment due to the chord, whether it is indicated by the sign or by small notes, and there can be no doubt that the effect of a chord is weakened and often spoilt by being begun before its time, as is the bad habit of many inexperienced players. Thus the commencement of Mozart's 'Sonata in C' (Ex. 8) should be played as in Ex. 9, and not as in Ex. 10.

Nevertheless it appears to the writer that there are cases in modern music in which it is advisable to break the rule and allow the last note