Expert: Pat G - 6/7/2010

Question
On the second last page of Chopin's Nocturne opus 9 no 1, where the bass plays the arpeggios on it's own, the last note of each arpeggio group has a Tenuto sign on it.
Must I just hold this note a little longer or should I accent it?

Answer
Hello, Louisa,

I am going to try, to some extent, to suggest a different way of looking at the question you asked. And I am going to express my personal opinion, for what it's worth. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule that we are absolutely bound to follow. This may be far more than you really wanted to know, but bear with me. Your question is not a trivial one.

I took a look at the sheet music here:

http://www.8notes.com/scores/10033.asp

I was also able to listen to a recording there. Although I know the piece in my memory, I have never played it, so I will make some general observations. Please note that in this score, there is no tenuto on any note in the arpeggios in the left hand. I interpreted your comment about the bass playing the arpeggios on its own as meaning the right hand isn't doing anything. I didn't see any place where the bass was playing alone. If you meant something else, please let me know.

Let me back up for a minute and tell you some things about the Baroque period. I think some of these ideas may have crept into romantic style music in various ways. During the Baroque period, many instruments had no ability to play loud and soft, so any interpretation of the music was done in a different way. For example, a performer might identify the measures that seemed to offer the most interest, and prolong the first note of the measure to call attention to that measure. For example, a measure that represented a change in key, or an unusual chord, might get the lengthened first note. I learned this from a lecture given by Anthony Newman, the famous organist. Adding this type of interpretation to a work can make a difference between a hum drum performance, and one that stands out. The first time I had an opportunity to play the harpsichord (it was sitting there, the setting was somewhat informal, and it was intermission, so I just sat down and started to play), I played the Prelude in C from Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. I incorporated this idea into my playing. It was the first time I had played that piece on anything other than a piano. After I finished, one of the musicians who was performing said I had talent. It was really a very simple trick as far as I was concerned, but I obviously had to be able to analyze the music and decide which measures should be emphasized.

During the Classical period, the earlier works (such as those of Mozart) were somewhat mechanical, at least in my opinion. The real innovation in interpretation came with Beethoven (his later compositions, since his earlier ones really did follow in the footsteps of people like Mozart). Beethoven began to use dynamic range and other features in a very creative way. A really good example of this is the first movement of the Pathetique Sonata. He would start with some very loud and ponderous chords, followed by some smaller ones played softer. And then runs were also softer. And then there is a sudden burst of loud chords again, followed by more soft notes. This is a dramatic contrast in the movement itself, in this way. You see this in a number of his compositions. This technique also grew to the point where they applied a term to this kind of composing: Sturm und Drang (storm and longing). "The Classical period music (1750–1800) associated with Sturm und Drang is predominantly written in a minor key to convey difficult or depressing sentiments. The principal themes tend to be angular, with large leaps and unpredictable melodic contours. Tempos and dynamics change rapidly and unpredictably in order to reflect strong changes of emotion." (Wikipedia).

Now I think that these very ideas carried forward into the music of later ages. We can't observe the composers and performers, but this was part of their tradition, and they were certainly well aware of it. In the Romantic period, encompassing Chopin and others, this idea was expanded to add a new dimension to the music.

Back to this nocturne, generally speaking, these kinds of differences you are talking about are really differences between editions of the same piece, published by different publishers. These things are done, among other reasons, so that the publisher can claim a copyright for what is otherwise in the public domain, and get a monopoly on selling that particular edition. Musicologists will tell you why they may favor one edition over another. (For example, I learned to prefer Kalmus editions over Schirmer, because that was the well-founded prejudice of my teachers.) I imagine this is why this particular online edition doesn't have any tenutos. Whoever edited the edition you have probably felt that the last note of each arpeggio group should receive some kind of emphasis. However, it is equally obvious that not everyone shares that opinion. Chopin, as I have said, being from the romantic period, lends himself to variations in the length of notes; a person can play a note or a few notes at a slower tempo for expression. It might also be appropriate to accent a note when the music seems to call for it. In my personal opinion, an accent on the last note of any of the arpeggios in this piece would sound rather odd. So would a prolonged note. On the other hand, there IS no last note as such. The arpeggio chords just keep happening in a smooth sequence. There is really no break in the arpeggio sequence until you get to that run of descending thirds in the right hand. Given that Chopin is open to a lot of interpretation, in my opinion, what to do with this is a decision that you as a performer are supposed to make. If you want to be really careful and do it exactly as Chopin intended, you can see if you can find a copy of his original handwritten score and see what he put on those notes, if anything. Composers often took playing styles for granted, so don't assume that if there is no indication, that he didn't intend for something special to be done with the notes. But unfortunately, he's not here for us to ask, and neither are any of his contemporaries. But judging from this information, whoever put the tenutos into your edition was way off base; I'd say, use neither.

(Keep in mind that a nocturne is not a dramatic piece. It is a quiet, flowing piece. Chopin didn't inherit the German style here so much, especially since the Nocturne was invented by John Field, who was Irish! Field studied with Italians such as Clementi, rather than Germans. Field made use of the ostenato, which is the idea that each note is of the same weight as the others. Chopin adopted the Nocturne style directly from Field.)

To some extent, a classical performer may desire to emulate the composer's original intent. However, I don't think there is any hard and fast rule. There has to be room for the performer's subtle interpretations, or the performer is nothing more than a computer or a robot reproducing something exactly. A performer is entitled to creativity!

So here is what I suggest. If you are learning this piece under an instructor, ask the instructor how he or she thinks it should be interpreted. If you are on your own, listen to several recordings and see what the performers do with it. Choose the one that seems to fit your personal interpretation of the music the best.

I realize this isn't a yes or no answer, but when it comes to Chopin, in my opinion, there isn't one. I hope this helps.