Re: Performance advice: Tied quavers in British (sacred) music

[Trevor Daniels]

Alexander Kobel wrote Thursday, November 17, 2016 10:13 PM

> The question is whether the singers are supposed to sing the note values 
> true to notation, or whether a final quaver after a long note indicates 
> that the final consonant is to be executed on the very beat where the 
> note is.

In most cases I believe the latter is intended.  I don't think the final
consonant should occur on the half beat immediate after the quaver,
but on the first beat of the bar.  I've always interpreted it to mean the
composer definitely wanted a full bar of sound with no cutting off
early to breathe or to sound the consonant.

> In the meantime I've been told that some conductors in Britain prefer to 
> have the consonants at the beginning of a syllable spoken *before* the 
> beat, so that the vowel already is delivered with full sound *on* the 
> beat.

Yes, I've often come across this, but personally I think it can be overdone.
Sometimes it can be helpful to avoid the entry sounding late, though.

Trevor