Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: cadenzas (Read 5084 times) previous topic - next topic

cadenzas

how do you do a cadenza on nwc

Re: cadenzas

Reply #1 –
Well, I was going to refer you back to https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=2171, when I realized that was a thread you yourself started not long ago.  I conclude from this either that you have a terrible memory or I don't understand your question.  Assuming the latter, could you be a little more specific about what you're trying to do?

Re: cadenzas

Reply #2 –
Cadenza was first used  in late baroque and early classical concerts. When the concerto movement is finishing the whole
orchestra makes a suspension just before the end. At this point the soloist should make and improvisation on the musical ideas of that movement exploring he's virtuosity as well. That's an "open" moment allowing the soloist to show his skills being all by himself!
With time composers started to right down cadenzas. Mozart didn't write any for his piano concertos, yet Beethoven wrote cadenzas for his piano concertos and for all Mozart's piano concertos.

Usually a cadenza is written like this:
(try to find a printed score to see how cadenzas look like).
1 Place a fermata on the last beat of the bar/measure preceding the cadenza.
2 Write the cadenza using grace notes and no bar-lines.
3 After the cadenza use default staff notation

I hope this helps
Paulo Galvao
www.musicaliaportugal.com
www.pressioni.com/adc/index.html

Re: cadenzas

Reply #3 –
Paulo, I don't know if you were responding to me or to Simon.  I certainly know what a cadenza is, and if you follow the link I posted you'll see that the thread I was referring to includes a discussion of the use of grace notes to notate a cadenza.  Since Simon himself started that  thread, I assume that he too knows what a cadenza is and is asking a question other than the one you've answered.  But you never know.

Re: cadenzas

Reply #4 –
Hi Grant,

I was trying to help Simon.
Now I'm wondering if Simon is reffering to cadenza or cadence?

Best,

Paulo Galvao

Re: cadenzas

Reply #5 –
What's the difference?

Re: cadenzas

Reply #6 –
In English, a "cadence" is simply a melodic or harmonic progression that serves as "punctuation" in the musical phrase structure.  Some of the most common harmonic cadences are the
  • authentic [or full] - dominant to tonic (G to C in C major)
  • plagal - subdominant to tonic (F to C in C major)
  • deceptive [or interrupted] - dominant to submediant (G to A minor in C major)
  • half - a progression ending on the dominant (G in C major)
"Cadenza", although it is really just the Italian form of the the same word that English inherited from French as "cadence", means something entirely different.  It is restricted to the meaning that Paulo described above.

I believe the connection is that the cadenza (display of instrumental virtuosity) originated as an embellishment of a structurally important authentic cadence (harmonic progression) near the end of a concerto movement.

Re: cadenzas

Reply #7 –
One thing you can do is:

Write the score (in the print/view part) till the cadenza comes, put down a fermata and before you insert the bar line to the next bar out of the cadenza (as in classical concertos) put a bunch of hidden dotted whole rests, these are the biggest note values Nwc has.

In the hidden (play part) insert the cadenza without bars, make sure that the hidden rests have the same lenght as the cadenza, there will be a blanck space in the printed version, but not much, use it to write: Cadenza, in big font.

Re: cadenzas

Reply #8 –
actually double dotted whole rest are the biggest note values nwc has.
 

Re: cadenzas

Reply #9 –
Well strictly you can achieve a value of 99 whole notes by putting in a time signature of 99/1 and one semibreve rest.

In fact it might be easier to do it this way by putting a temporary time signature the same length as the cadenza (instead of padding with rests).

Re: cadenzas

Reply #10 –
Are there any rules for writing a cadenza?

Re: cadenzas

Reply #11 –
The stuff before the cadenza ends on a dominant note or chord, (like the 3/4 hour chimes on a Westminster style clock).

Embellish themes which have already been introduced, whatever the soloist can handle.

End with a long trill (so conductor can get everyone ready to play) ending in the tonic.

As with any creative venture, YMMV.
Since 1998