Introduction

As noted in Chapter 2, we must be prepared to assimilate details from a wide variety of sources, some of which may not be directly related to our specialist instrument, in order to enter more closely the sound-world of a particular composer. Just as we need to learn the grammar and vocabulary of a foreign language in order to express ourselves freely within it, our understanding of a composer's full expressive range requires an intimate acquaintance with the musical conventions and idioms of his time, many of which will not be part of present-day practice. These may involve unwritten conventions that were simply expected to be observed and annotations in scores that may require something other than a literal realisation, as well as instrumental preferences and technical differences mentioned in Chapters 3 and 4; a knowledge of pertinent national or regional idioms, which tended to be more diverse and less homogeneous than in modern music-making, will also be essential, as the first two case studies in Chapter 6 will confirm.

National idioms and changes in style

The respective qualities of the three principal national idioms of the Baroque period – Italian, French and German – have been discussed at some length in this series' parent volume. Like Georg Muffat and many other writers before him, Quantz directly contrasts these idioms and their implications for composition, singing and playing.