From the Westchester Recorder Guild newsletter (Oct 90):
A short look at a rock music video will convince you of the power
of gestural language in engaging an audience. The great violinist
Nicolo Paganini often prepared his strings so that one would break
during concerts, electrifying his audience. Pianists are often
aware of the visual impact of piano technique, and many audience
members sit on the left side of the hall in order to watch.
The visual drama of an orchestra in full cry is very engrossing
to watch; indeed, the word "orchestra" comes from the Greek word
"orcheisthai" meaning "to dance".
However, most classical musicians are unaware of the degree to
which their own performances can be enriched by gesture. In a
recent concert, a Hungarian string quartet played works by
Haydn and Mozart with perfect immobility; the audience responded
with polite applause. They followed with a quartet by the Czech
composer Leos Janacek. They stormed through the music like a
boat on the high seas, and the audience rose to their feet with
wild applause. The performers had subconsciously mastered the
gestural language of Janacek, but not of Haydn and Mozart.
Early Music performers today seem to have an aversion to gestural
expression; indeed, a famous soloist moves only the very tips of
her fingers. Performers should use gesture to make music more
expressive, and to avoid boring the audience. Musical gestures
can be made by an instrument or by part of the performer's body,
even if not required by the production of sound, or the turning of
pages. Gestures should be performed so as to appear spontaneous,
and a musician should no more be rebuked for rehearsing gestures
than a ballet dancer.
Here are a few simple rules:
1. Gestures should be used sparingly, just as one does not add
an ornament to every note. For example, foot tapping should
be used only to punctuate a cadence, or to emphasize the start
of a new musical idea. (Loud tapping should be used only as a
deliberate "percussion obbligato".)
2. The speed of gestures should match the duration of the note
or phrase being ornamented. For example, long notes could be
ornamented very simply by raising or lowering the instrument slowly.
3. Rude gestures should be avoided unless appropriate to the music.
Gestures should be marked in the score, like other dynamics.
Suggested notation includes: L (tap foot) LL (tap both feet)
/ (raise instrument) \ (lower instrument) 8 (dip head)
oo (move head from side to side) () (gyrate hips) > (bend knees)
up-arrow (throw instrument in the air)
Compound movements can be noted as combinations of other symbols.
Rests can be gesturally ornamented as well as notes; in fact, the
the 'up-arrow' can normally be used only to ornament a rest.
Symbols for more complex gestures are still under study. If you
experiment with some of these modern performance techniques,
you can report your results here.
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