JAVS Spring 2013

Giuseppe Verdi, Un Ballo in Maschera : Act I, Scene 2, Number 38

sometimes with no notice. So any fingerings you prefer should be memorized as quickly as possible, for you may not have the luxury of writing them in your new part. Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera Incredible legatissimo is required in this excerpt. The quality of sound should be sul tasto . In that the whole section plays this as a solo together, find a vibrato that will blend in. Do the research and explore what is happening in the opera at this point so that you can emulate the character required. Always remember to shift into a hand position, espe cially with the larger shifts; this will go a long way in securing accurate intonation. Keep the bow moving at all times as this will help maintain the legatissimo of the excerpt. Do not stop the bow when you are making a particularly large shift as this will break up the phrase. In the seventh measure of this excerpt, use the first finger and as you shift down, ease up on the pressure of your first finger so that it becomes a

harmonic, and the note will still sound as you shift down. Play close attention to the dynamics in this excerpt. At rehearsal 39, the D is played using the second finger. For the following measure, stay in the same position since you are already there. you do not have to shift down until the last line when you begin on the second finger in third position. Finally, this is a pp excerpt until the crescendo to ff at the end! The musical tension of this excerpt has to be created within this dynamic. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos Style is very important in this excerpt, with the dif ferent voices popping out of the phrase. This is a prime example of how listening to an excerpt will go a long way in helping you to understand the charac ters Strauss depicts here through his extraordinary rhythmic and tonal composition. Again, the bowings should not supersede the original phrasing (see the second example); they are a guide. Legato phrasing and articulated motifs are to be brought out. Toward

J OuRNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETy 46