Talleres pedagógicos

Alfabeto songbooks only tell half the story of guitar performance in the early decades of the seventeenth century, as they do not convey the complexities of right hand technique or the

sophistication of the instrument’s harmonic vocabulary. Printed sources of the solo repertoire portray the latter more accurately, but still offer little hint of any use of plucking in conjunction with strumming at this time. It is manuscript sources, unhindered by the limitations of the printing press, that give a fuller account of early guitar performance. The 1630s are generally regarded as the landmark decade when strumming and plucking were combined to create the ‘mixed’ repertoire, because printed sources do not provide evidence to the contrary. Manuscripts, however, reveal that this was occurring at least two decades earlier. The information to be gleaned from printed sources is still important, however, as published chord charts are good indicators of the harmonies being taught to guitar students as standard at given times. It should also be borne in mind that chord charts in print had a much better chance of being widely disseminated and reaching a larger audience than those in manuscript, which were likely to be known only in intimate circles. It is important to realise that what appears in print is likely to be an already established practice rather than something new. Landmark developments in notation, such as the combining of alfabeto and tablature, or transposing notations, are therefore likely to have existed in practice prior to their appearance in print. This is especially true of dissonant chord charts. Tagliate chords may have first left the printing press in the 1620s, but evidence suggests that they were known at least a decade earlier (which is a possible reason why later composers rarely bothered explaining their uses), and the printed dissonant charts of the 1630s (discussed below) have precedents in manuscript sources dating from c.1610. Mixed tablatures, characteristic of the printed repertoire between c.1630 and

69 c.1660, can be found in a manuscript dating from c.1614. This rather muddies the traditional

timeline associated with guitar practice, in which the repertoire between c.1580-c.1629 is usually thought of as exclusively strummed. It also has large implications for the early guitar song, as suddenly the possibility that the accompaniment may feature plucking is very real.

Francesco Palumbi

One of the most important guitarists of the early seventeenth century was Francesco

Palumbi, a name rarely mentioned in guitar research and a man about whom precious little is known. To date, the most comprehensive description of his life comes from Tyler, who wrote:

. . . the inclusion of Italian, Spanish and Sicilian texts in his manuscripts and, of course, the presence of alfabeto, strongly suggests that he was one of the many South-Italian singers and guitarists who travelled to the northern courts with their music and performance practices in order to augment their employment opportunities.49

It seems that Palumbi was the inventor of a system of notation that ingeniously allowed guitarists to indicate individual notes without the need of a stave. Lacking the assisted dissemination of his works in print, such innovations may have gone unnoticed, but it seems that Palumbi occupied much of his time compiling manuscripts and teaching guitar (one of his pupils was the Veronese aristocrat Count Paulo Canussi). In his own way, then, Palumbi was able to spread his system and his mixed style of performance. Six substantial manuscripts in Palumbi’s hand are extant, and it seems that he also contributed partially to I-Fc Ms. 2556. His influence goes further, however, as his chord symbols and plucking notations were incorporated into manuscripts by other authors (I-Fr Mss. 2973/3, 3121 and 2774, I-Fn Fondo Landau-Finaly Mss. 175 and 252 and F-Pn rés vmc Ms. 59). Tyler also suspects that contents of I-Fr Ms.2951 were copied directly from Palumbi’s manuscripts.50

Palumbi’s plucking notations are simple in principle. They consist of one number above another. The upper figure represents the fret number and the lower figure is the course to be stopped, so 3/5 indicated the third fret of the fifth course. If a course was to be played open, this

49 _{James Tyler, ‘The Role of the Guitar’, par. 2.11} 50

70 was indicated by the word voto. Voto 5 therefore meant an open fifth course. Where the notation is unclear for interpreters today is whether the notes should be plucked alone or incorporated into a strum. One of the most sensible conclusions (which was also reached by Dean) is that context will dictate matters. If including the note in the strum is unduly awkward, then it is likely that it was intended to be played alone.51 In some circumstances, as we shall see, the individual notes seem to assume the role of a theoretical bass. What is interesting, however, is that these plucking notations often occur in conjunction with tagliate chords.

Tagliate Chords

Nowadays, early guitar researchers and performers most commonly associate the word tagliate with the four chords originally published in Millioni’s works, as these were widely

disseminated in guitar books across Italy by several different authors. The availability of facsimile editions of Marchetti and Pico’s books has also contributed to a more common knowledge of these four chords. Discussions of tagliate chords have so far been focussed on printed sources. Tyler glosses over them in his reference manuals for modern performers,52 and Monica Hall and Lex Eisendhardt have both discussed the examples found in Bartolotti’s guitar books.53 The multiple manuscript sources of tagliate chords housed in Florentine and Parisian libraries, however, have not been discussed in any great depth. Palumbi’s manuscripts, all dating from c.1610-20, are the earliest extant sources of tagliate chords. Other manuscript sources date from roughly the same period, though some date from as late as c.1640. There is an extensive range of tagliate chords in these sources, and consistent use of the same symbols by different authors could imply that at least some of these notations were common knowledge among guitarists. This suggests a performance

convention beyond the boundaries of print that was integral to the guitar repertoire. Why, then, were these chords not in print? If we assume that Millioni was familiar with early tagliate notations,

51

Dean, ‘The Five-Course Guitar’, 232

52 _{See his two practical guides: The Early Guitar: A History and Handbook, Early Music Series 4 (Hatfield: The}

Stellar Press Ltd, 1980), pp. 67-68; and A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar, pp. 22. See also Tyler and Sparks, The Guitar and its Music, p. 168,

53 _{Monica Hall, ‘Angiol Michele Bartolotti’s Lettere Tagliate’, JLS, Vol. 47 (2007), pp. 81-97, Lex Eisenhardt,}

71 why did he only include three different tagliate harmonies in his books? Besides the limitations of print, the other likely reason is the target audience of his ‘teach yourself’ books. Printing tagliate symbols was challenging enough, but as they were part of a mixed repertoire that featured plucked melodies that were beyond the limits of the printing press, the context in which they were

commonly employed could not be produced in print. In any case, in books aimed at beginners, the mixed style of performance would be over-ambitious, and as the music tended to be restricted to ‘comfortable’ keys, the select few chords included by Millioni sufficed for novice guitarists.

In sources where the notation of individual notes is possible, the melodic role of tagliate chords is less important. Nevertheless, it seems that the different chords were intended to fulfil different purposes. Whilst some are simply alternative voicings of standard alfabeto chords, others have added fourths for use at cadences, and others are reduced in texture to make passagework easier (which, of course, was not required in early printed sources). There are three Palumbi manuscripts in the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence and all feature tagliate chords. Whilst I-Fr Ms. 2793 has no chart, chords A and F can be found in the music. The chart in I-Fr Ms. 2804 features five tagliate chords and the chart in I-Fr Ms. 2849 has seven. These are transcribed in Example 1:21.

Example 1:21 Palumbi's Tagliate Chords

a)Ms. 2804

72 The exact voicings of Palumbi’s chords are unknown in some cases. The only three that are fully strummed across all five courses are A, L and P. The first two are consonant variants of the standard alfabeto voicings. P is a C chord with a doubled added fourth. G, F and K raise doubts about whether the fifth course should be included. In the case of G, one could ask whether Palumbi intended a root at the bottom of his chord (although this also necessitates the other question of what tuning he employed). Chords F and K are more complex as a second consideration for whether a simultaneous third and fourth should be avoided is required.54 This phenomenon is not unknown in the guitar repertoire but one cannot be sure if this is the effect Palumbi intended. Alternatively, one could take the view that these are early precursors of Bartolotti’s reduced texture chords, in which case the fifth course should be omitted. This hypothesis is feasible, as Palumbi was incorporating melodies into his music and keeping a finger free by omitting a course would have facilitated the playing of passing notes. Chords Ɔ and 3/4 raise further questions. Is Ɔ a reduced texture E minor chord, or is it an E minor chord with a simultaneous third and fourth? More perplexing, is the identity of chord 3/4. If one did not include the first course in the strum, it would be a D minor chord with a simultaneous third and fourth. By this reckoning, Palumbi would appear to sanction this dissonance. If the first course is incorporated, then this would result in an additional ninth, a harsh dissonance indeed. Another possibility, however, can be surmised from the chord symbol. 3/4 resembles Palumbi’s plucked notation, so this could well be an indication that an interval of a sixth may be played above an F on the fourth course. Both chords are included in the following possible transcription of one of Palumbi’s passacaglias in A minor.

Example 1:22 A Passacaglia from I-Fr Ms. 2804 fol. 33r

54 _{Note, however, that the voicing of F in the two manuscripts is different, and in Ms. 2804 it is likely to be fully}

73 This adds a new dimension to tagliate chords as one considers that they could be plucked as well as strummed. If Palumbi did intend a two part chord for chord 3/4, then it is easier to contemplate that the remaining uncertain chords need not be fully voiced. One can see from the level of

speculation raised by Palumbi’s chart that there is little certainty regarding dissonant harmonies that are notated in this fashion. Unfortunately, the neglect to indicate open courses characterises many dissonant chord charts in the 1620s and 30s.

Contemporary with Palumbi’s sources are two anonymous manuscripts that both include tagliate chords. Both are also of interest as they feature transposing notations (which, incidentally is also a feature of one of Palumbi’s manuscripts, I-Fr Ms. 2804), a possible indicator that these existed before they appeared in Colonna’s 1620 book. The first, I-Fr Ms. 2973/3, does include a chord chart, but the tagliate chords are not explained. Nevertheless, chords G, F, B and Ɔ can be found in the music. There is no chord chart in the other manuscript, I-Fn Ms. Fondo Landau-Finaly XIX. 175, but the music features an even broader selection of tagliate harmonies, including D, F, P, A, G, B and L. There is a third manuscript, also featuring tagliate chords and dating from the same period. I-Fr Ms. 2774 includes chords C, D and B, though again, these are not explained in a chord chart. Clearly, the lack of explanation of these chords poses problems for their correct identification, but as some symbols are identical to Palumbi’s, and as others match those in subsequent chord charts, it is possible to surmise their likely identities, as will occur below.

Further use of tagliate chords is found in manuscripts dating from c.1620-30. I-Fr Ms. 2951 and 2952 are written in the same hand, and as has already been mentioned, there are suggested links between Ms. 2951 and Palumbi’s works. Again, neither source explains the chords in a chart, so we must surmise the possible intended harmonies. Ms. 2952 features chords G, F, D, and E, whilst Ms. 2951 features, in addition to these (though not including D), B, I, K, C and P. Tagliate chords are also found in another contemporary manuscript housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. These chords are explained in a chart entitled ‘parole tagliate’, transcribed in Example 1:23.

74

Example 1:23 Anon, ‘Parole Tagliate’ in F-Pn Res Vmc, MS 59

As for those tagliate chords that are not explained in charts, what is immediately apparent is that many of the authors were using the same tagliate symbols. This then begs the question: did the symbols represent the same harmonies to each of these authors? Table 1:3 lists ten manuscript sources of tagliate chords, all dating from between c.1610 and c.1630 (with the exception of I-Fr Ms. 3121 which dates from mid-century) and it presents clearly which chords featured in each source. The likelihood that the symbols represented the same harmonies in each case is supported by the contexts in which they are employed in the music. For example, the authors all use certain tagliate symbols in particular keys, and cadential progressions featuring the same tagliate chords recur again and again. This would therefore imply that these harmonies were common knowledge in certain guitar circles. So with this in mind many of the symbols can be cross-referenced with those in extant chord charts with a high likelihood that the harmonies will be the same. They can be further

checked by seeing if the harmonies make sense in real musical examples.

Table 1:3 Tagliate Chords in Manuscript Sources

Ms Author I-Fr Ms. 2951 Anon B C D E F G I K P I-Fr Ms. 2952 Anon D E F G I-Fn Fondo Landau-Finaly Ms. XIX. 175 Anon A B D F G L P I-Fr Ms. 2973/3 Anon B F G Ɔ I-Fr Ms. 2774 Anon B C D I-Fr Ms. 3121 Anon F I-Fr Ms. 2793 Anon A F F-Pn Rés. Vmc. Ms. 59 Anon A B D K P Ɔ I-Fr Ms. 2804 Palumbi A F L P Ɔ I-Fr Ms. 2849 Palumbi A F G K P Ɔ 3/4

75 The bottom three sources in Table 1:3 each feature charts that explain the tagliate chords. Where a symbol appears in two, or all three of these sources, the charts indicate that the harmonies are always the same. The exception to this is F, for which Palumbi provides two conflicting voicings. He probably chose the voicing in I-Fr Ms. 2849 (see Example 1:21 b) because the voicing in I-Fr Ms. 2804 is more traditionally associated with chord D, though this chord does not appear in his charts. The charts authored by Palumbi and the anonymous author of F-Pn Rés. Vmc. Ms. 59 allow us to identify all but two of the unknown tagliate symbols. Chords C and E remain uncertain. Both chords were, of course, popularised by Millioni who published them as chords Ct and Et. In Millioni’s books, both symbols represented the same harmony, which was an A chord with an added 4th. It seems unlikely, however, that this was the identity of chord C, as on the rare occasions when it appears in the music, it precedes a G chord. This makes it more likely to be a D chord with an added 4th, which is what one would expect at a cadence on G. There is some evidence to support this hypothesis, as dissonant chord charts of the 1630s label this harmony chord C+, a symbol not far removed from C. Moreover, a tagliate chart dating from the mid-seventeenth century (I-PEc Ms. H72) indicates the same

harmony with the symbol C. E is harder to determine as this clearly was not so commonly used. The two manuscripts in which the symbol appears are both written in the same hand, so this symbol may have been an original contribution on the part of the author.

The transcription of chord B in F-Pn Rés. Vmc. Ms. 59 is a consonant alternative to chord B that matches Millioni’s chord B3. It is likely that this voicing was intended by other manuscript authors, as there are several instances of the chord being used to open and close dances, thus making a consonant harmony a likely candidate (see Example 1:24).

76 The intended harmony of chord D is likely to match the transcription in F-Pn Rés. Vmc. Ms. 59 as it frequently occurs in the same cadential progression in A minor (D, F, D). This is demonstrated in Example 1:25. Note that this is the same voicing published by Millioni as chord Dt. F is an early precursor of the chord published by Bartolotti in 1640. Palumbi makes it clear that the fifth course should be omitted by notating zeros on the first two courses only.

Example 1:25 ‘Passacaglia’ in I-Fn Fondo Landau-Finaly Ms. 175 (c.1610-20) fol. 17v

Another likely reduced texture chord is G and this was another voicing included by Bartolotti in 1640. Palumbi uses it to facilitate the playing of passagework, as is demonstrated in the following chaconne.

Example 1:26 ‘Ciaccona’ I-Fr Ms. 2849 fol. 135r

Chord I is rare but it is likely to be an A major chord with an added 4th. This could have been the precursor of Millioni’s chord Ct, or it could even have been the precursor of Foscarini’s dissonant chord I+ (discussed in the following section on the 1630s).

77 Chord P is a C chord with an added 4th that precedes chord B at cadences on F, as in the chaconne in Example 1:28. Note also the use of chord G to facilitate the passing note.

Example 1:28 ‘Ciacone smenuita’ [sic] [ciaccone sminuite] I-Fr Ms 2951 fol. 10v

Chord K is an F chord with an added 4th that is used by Palumbi to further elaborate a cadence on F (see Example 1:29). It could, of course, also be used at cadences on B♭.