Page:Scottishartrevie01unse.djvu/87

Rh ficiency in transposing. These accomplishments, however, are of a purely technical nature, and although absolutely necessary to the acquirement of the art of accompanying, do not in themselves confer the power of sympathetic playing any more than the possession of a thorough knowledge of liarmony, and the laws of composition will enable one to produce great compositions. The indifferent manner in which even successful virtuosi accompany songs has often been a subject of remark, and for this reason I will now consider some of the more subtle requirements of the art. In the first instance, the pianist should have a thorough understanding with the singer as to his reading of the song, especially in regard to changes of tempo and dramatic effects, in order that in his accompaniment he may further ex23ress the sentiment to be conveyed, and assist in emphasising the emotional expression of the words. An accompaniment which is only an unobtrusive, shadowy undercurrent of sound, varying from piano to pianissimo, instead of assisting the singer in the expression of the emotional feeling and dramatic significance of the song, only hampers and weakens him. An artist chooses tones and colours in har- mony with the subject of his painting ; be the motive bright and gay, or sad and sombre, the sur- roundings and background are treated in sympathy, and in like manner the accompaniment should reflect the varying sentiment of the song. A clear and sure harmonic support, with distinct funda- mental bass, is necessary throughout. Take, for example, the simple accompaniment of Mendelssohn's ' Auf Flligeln des Gesanges.'' Here it is of primary importance to render the rising arpeggios softly and smoothly, so as not to make the changing of the hands apparent, and yet with sufficient subdued fulness of tone to afford a perfectly solid support to the voice part. A monotonous whispering accom- jianiment gives no assistance to the singer, but rather renders him nervous, and is quite as objectionable as a continual hammering forte, which is, of course, barbarous. Where the composer has given practical indications of expression, the player must follow these implicitly, and where these fail, his own knowledge must suggest where the piano part requires special emphasis, even in some cases to being more prominent than the voice. In addition to this the player should make himself thoroughly conversant with the words of the song, so that he may be ready to almost anticipate the varying shades of feeling expressed by the voice. When there are several verses set to the same melody, the accompanist must exercise great care to vary the expression of the accompaniment in keeping with the words of each verse. Taking again the song ' Auf Flligeln des Gesanges,' in order to render impressively the words, ' Heimlich erziihlen die Rosen,' I would reduce the accompaniment to the most perfect which the piano can produce, whereas, at the beginning of this same verse I would not play very softly. At the words, ' In der Feme rauschen des heiPgen Stromes WelFn,' a peculiar but subdued impression on the low note in the bass is most effective, and in bars six and seven from the end, the E flat in the right hand should have a deep, dreamy effect. An accented minim will not do this alone, and ' der selige Traum ' must somehow be embodied in this one note. Taking another example in Lowe's ballad, the ' Niick,' the arpeggio C major chord after the words, ' Komm wieder Niick ! und singe schon,' must not be a sharp, rhythmical prosaic chord played anyhow, but the performer must convey in these little notes all that the poet says in the words —

' Da tont des Nocken Haifenschall, Und weiter stelit der Wasserfall, Umschwebt mit Schaum und Wogen Den Nock im Regenbogen.'

I remember well the first occasion on which I accompanied this song at sight, finding myself in a dilemma as to how these notes were to be played. Not until I afterwards discovered what Lowe really meant by these three bars, did I clearly conceive how they should be rendered. They should be played on the piano so as to give as nearly as possible the impression of a tender pianissimo C major chord on the horns, accompanied by an equally soft arpeggio on the harp. A good accom- panist must also clearly understand how to bring out the small points of tone colour, which a com- poser often introduces into his accompaniments. In Lowe's ' Heinrich der Vogler,' at the ninth bar, the notes must be played in such a manner as to suggest the lark and the nightingale, while the passage, ' da schwenken sie die Fiilinlein bunt,' must be rendered in quite an opposite way. At this latter point also the composer has written a 'forte,' and further on a 'crescendo.' This effect will best be obtained by short accented chords, played in such a way as to bring them out in relief from the other notes. Here also the pianist must exercise great caution in the use of the pedal, taking care that the harmonies in no way interfere with the progression of the voice part. I would suggest as an excellent study of accompaniment Lowe's 'Ballad Cyclus'—'Der Mohrenfurst,' 'Die Mohrenfurstin,' and ' Der Mohrenfurst auf der Messe.' In these songs the immense wealth of Oriental imagery, the rich glowing colour and variety of poetic simile.