🎵 Learn to Play Recorder
Lesson 43: Baroque Adagio Movement and Ornamentation
  • Master slow, expressive Adagio style
  • Apply extensive ornamentation to slow movements
  • Develop sustained tone control and breath support
  • Understand Baroque affects in slow movements

Introduction

The slow Adagio movement is the heart of a Baroque sonata—a vehicle for deep expression and ornamental virtuosity. Unlike fast movements (which emphasize clarity and rhythm), Adagios showcase your singing tone, emotional depth, and improvisatory skill with ornaments.

Characteristics of Baroque Adagio

  • Slow tempo: ♩= 40-60 BPM, allowing time for expression
  • Lyrical, singing quality: Cantabile style—"sing" through the recorder
  • Heavy ornamentation: Expected, even required! Performer adds ornaments
  • Expressive freedom: Subtle rubato, dynamic shaping
  • Affective character: Often melancholic, noble, or tender

The Bare Bones vs. Ornamented Versions

Baroque composers often wrote Adagios with minimal notation, expecting performers to add ornaments. The printed notes are a skeleton—you provide the flesh!

This is what the composer wrote:

Beautiful, but plain. Now let's ornament it...

Same melody with ornaments added:

(Imagine trills on C5 and final G4, grace notes on A4 and B4, mordents at phrase points)

The ornamented version is richer, more expressive, and more idiomatically Baroque!

Essential Ornaments for Adagio

1. Trills (Most Important!)

  • Add trills on long notes, especially at cadences
  • Start on the upper note (Baroque convention)
  • Include termination (Nachschlag) on final trills
  • Vary trill length based on note duration

2. Appoggiatura (Leaning Notes)

  • Small note before main note, without slash
  • Takes HALF the value of the main note
  • Receives dynamic emphasis (stress the appoggiatura!)
  • Creates expressive dissonance

3. Grace Notes (Acciaccatura)

  • Quick, crushed note before main note
  • Very short—almost simultaneous with main note
  • Adds sparkle and decoration

4. Mordents and Turns

  • Brief ornaments that add color
  • Use sparingly—don't clutter the line
  • Most effective on longer notes

Where to Add Ornaments

Ornamentation hot spots:

  1. Cadences: Almost always add trill on penultimate note
  2. Long notes: Sustain interest with ornaments
  3. Repeated sections: Add MORE ornaments second time through
  4. Expressive peaks: High notes, dissonances get ornamental emphasis
  5. Don't ornament: Short notes, fast passages, sequential patterns

Developing Sustained Tone

Adagios demand excellent breath control and tone quality.

Hold each note for 8-12 beats. Focus on:

  • Steady, unwavering tone
  • Consistent volume throughout
  • Pure, focused sound
  • Controlled breath support from diaphragm

Expressive Devices in Adagio

Dynamic Shaping

  • Crescendo toward phrase peak (usually the highest note)
  • Diminuendo toward cadence
  • Messa di voce: swell and diminish on long notes (< >)

Rubato

Subtle freedom with tempo:

  • Slight broadening at cadences
  • Lingering on expressive dissonances
  • Must sound natural, not mannered!
  • "Borrow and repay"—maintain overall tempo sense

Vibrato

In Baroque music, vibrato is used sparingly:

  • Add to long, expressive notes in Adagios
  • Narrow, gentle vibrato (not wide/operatic)
  • 4-6 pulses per second
  • Consider it another ornament, not constant tone color

Affect and Character

Common Adagio affects:

  • Lamento: Sorrowful, descending chromatic lines
  • Nobile: Stately, dignified
  • Affettuoso: Tender, loving
  • Grave: Serious, weighty

Identify the affect, then shape your performance accordingly!

Practice Strategies for Adagio

Step 1: Learn the Bare Bones

  • Master the notes and rhythm as written
  • Understand harmonic structure
  • Identify phrase structure and cadences

Step 2: Add Basic Ornaments

  • Start with cadential trills
  • Add appoggiaturas where appropriate
  • Keep it tasteful—don't overdo!

Step 3: Refine Expression

  • Work on tone quality and breath control
  • Add dynamic shaping
  • Apply subtle rubato

Step 4: Develop Personal Voice

  • Experiment with ornamental variations
  • Listen to recordings of great players
  • Make it your own interpretation!

Sample Adagio Study

A short study incorporating Adagio style elements:

Your task:

  1. Play as written first
  2. Add trill on D5 (whole note)
  3. Add appoggiatura before final G
  4. Shape dynamics: mp → mf → mp
  5. Apply gentle rubato at cadence

Common Adagio Mistakes

  • ❌ Too many ornaments: Clutters the line. Less is often more!
  • ❌ Mechanical ornamentation: Must sound improvisatory, natural
  • ❌ Breathy tone on long notes: Maintain firm embouchure
  • ❌ Excessive rubato: Becomes self-indulgent
  • ❌ Ignoring the harmony: Ornaments should enhance, not clash

Practice Routine (30 minutes daily)

  1. Long tones for tone development - 5 minutes
  2. Ornament practice (trills, appoggiaturas) - 10 minutes
  3. Work on Adagio movement, focus on expression - 10 minutes
  4. Listen to professional recordings - 5 minutes
Historical Insight: In Handel and Vivaldi's time, the written Adagio was considered a framework. Performers were expected to improvise ornaments, and the same Adagio would sound different each time. Your ornamentation is not "adding to" the composer's work—it's completing it!
Mastery goal: Perform a complete Baroque Adagio movement with appropriate ornamentation, sustained tone quality, and expressive phrasing. Understand where and how to add ornaments tastefully. Develop your own interpretation while respecting Baroque style conventions. Transform plain notation into rich, expressive performance!
Next: Lesson 44 - Introduction to Alto Recorder