Recital Programme: Baroque Ornamentation and Contemporary Risk
Li is a flautist preparing a 25-minute recital including a Handel sonata movement, a unaccompanied contemporary work, and a newly commissioned piece. The Handel slow movement is marked Adagio; her edition includes no written ornaments, but the continuo part has figured bass. She has two rehearsals with a harpsichordist and cellist, one of whom argues for a very free tempo and extensive ornamentation; the other prefers a steadier pulse and almost no added ornamentation. The contemporary work uses multiphonics and flutter-tonguing; Li can play them reliably at rehearsal but they become unreliable under performance adrenaline. The commission is six minutes long and was delivered late, leaving 10 days. Li's teacher advises 'be faithful to the score' but the score of the Baroque movement is itself sparse. Li must allocate practice time and decide how much risk to take in each work.
1. How should Li decide on tempo and ornamentation for the Handel movement?
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Li should treat the sparse score as a set of conventions rather than a blank page. 'Adagio' indicates a slow tempo, but it does not mean a fixed metronome mark; the figured bass gives harmonic guidance, and the flute line's phrase endings suggest where cadential ornamentation is plausible. She should establish a tempo that allows the cellist to articulate the bass line and the harpsichordist to realize the figures without rushing. Then she can choose ornaments at cadences and at repeated phrases, not on every beat. The disagreement between her collaborators is useful evidence: a very free tempo may make the ornaments sound arbitrary, while a rigid pulse may make the Adagio lifeless. A defensible compromise is a flexible but clearly directed tempo, with ornamentation concentrated at three or four cadential points. She should rehearse the ornaments with the continuo so they are coordinated, not merely added on top. 'Faithful to the score' cannot mean playing no ornaments in a Baroque slow movement, because the score expects realization. But it does mean the ornaments should clarify the harmony and phrase, not display the performer.
2. How should Li allocate her remaining practice time across the three works?
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She should allocate time by risk and consequence, not equally by duration. The newly commissioned piece has the least rehearsal history and only 10 days, so it needs structural practice: learn the transitions, mark the difficult entries, and run it in context. The contemporary unaccompanied work needs targeted practice on the unreliable extended techniques, but she should also prepare simplified fallback versions that preserve the phrase if a multiphonic fails. The Handel needs rehearsal with the continuo players rather than solitary practice, because tempo and ornamentation are ensemble decisions. A sensible split might be 40 percent commission, 30 percent contemporary work, and 30 percent Handel plus rehearsals, adjusted after the first run-through. She should practise performance conditions: play the contemporary work after physical exertion, record herself, and simulate adrenaline by running the programme for a listener. If a technique is only 70 percent reliable in practice, it is not reliable enough for a high-stakes recital without a contingency. The judgement is to protect the overall programme rather than gamble everything on one virtuosic effect.
3. What should Li tell her collaborators about the Baroque movement, and why?
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She should explain her criteria rather than announce a fixed decision. She can say that she wants a tempo that supports the cello's bass line and the harpsichord's harmonic realization, and that she will ornament mainly at cadences so the additions are coordinated. She should invite the harpsichordist to suggest specific cadential figures and ask the cellist whether the pulse feels stable at the chosen speed. This turns the disagreement into a rehearsal experiment: try one reading with minimal ornamentation and a steady pulse, then one with more freedom, and compare which shape communicates the phrase. She should not simply side with the teacher's 'be faithful' slogan, because the Baroque score requires realization. Nor should she let one collaborator dictate extensive ornamentation without rehearsal. The reason to discuss it is that tempo and ornamentation are not solo decisions in a continuo ensemble; they depend on coordination. A clear shared plan also reduces the risk of a train wreck in performance.