Character
After this lesson, you'll understand the character terms that set the expressive color of a piece, and you'll be able to translate them.
Character is the overall coloring you give to the expression of a piece. Each section of a work, and even each of its phrases, can have its own particular expression.
A skilled performer must be able to express the most varied feelings: calm, passion, grief, joy. For this, all the resources of technique, indispensable as they are, are not enough. You also have to be personally inspired and moved, and find within yourself the sensations you want your listener to feel.
Where to find character markings
Like articulation and dynamics, character is usually shown by Italian terms. Some of them concern the overall coloring, and they are added to the tempo marking at the head of the piece, as in “Andante cantabile” or “Allegro con brio”, which you met in Part 4, lesson 9. Others concern a single phrase or phrase member, and they are placed along the way.
The main character terms
| Term | Meaning | Term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amabile | Amiable, pleasant | Dolce | Sweet, soft |
| Amoroso | Loving, tender | Dolcissimo | Very sweet |
| Appassionato | Passionate | Doloroso | Sorrowful |
| Ardito | Bold | Drammatico | Dramatic |
| Brillante | Brilliant | Energico | Energetic |
| Capriccioso | Capricious, whimsical | Espressivo | Expressive |
| Comodo | Comfortable, easy | Furioso | Furious |
| Con allegrezza | With cheerfulness | Giocoso | Playful, joyful |
| Con bravura | With boldness, daring | Imperioso | Imperious |
| Con delicatezza | With delicacy | Lagrimoso | Tearful |
| Con dolore | With grief | Malinconico | Melancholy |
| Con grazia | With grace | Mesto | Sad |
| Con tenerezza | With tenderness | Nobile | Noble |
| Delicatamente | Delicately | Patetico | With pathos, deeply moving |
| Delicato | Delicate | Pomposo | Pompous, stately |
| Disperato | Despairing | Religioso | Religious, devout |
| Rustico | Rustic, pastoral | ||
| Semplice | Simple | ||
| Teneramente | Tenderly | ||
| Tranquillo | Calm, tranquil | ||
| Tristamente | Sadly |
The “genius of performance” according to Baillot
Danhauser closes this part by quoting the great violinist Pierre Baillot, who lived from 1771 to 1842, from his violin method:
In Danhauser's book, none of the lessons in this part is followed by a specific exercise. Instead, the author strongly recommends that you read, perform and analyze the works of the masters: this work shapes your taste and develops every quality a good musician should have.
Translate these markings: “Andante con tenerezza”, “Allegro giocoso”, “Adagio mesto”, “Allegretto capriccioso” and “Largo religioso”.
Choose a piece you love, in any style. Give it a tempo term and two Italian character terms, then justify your choice in one sentence.