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From:  "Fiona Chow" <fionat@i...>
Date:  Mon Jan 28, 2002  2:34 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Baroque Pitch--Can I transpose?

Hi Leslie,

Ah, you are singing Tornami a vagheggiar - a great aria! Some scores/people
will tell you it is sung by Alcina, but it was originally intended to be
sung by Morgana (her sister). However, since it is such a showy piece,
some leading Alcina sopranos tried to claim it for their own!!! Anyhow, in
the Dessay/Fleming recording, Dessay as Morgana sings it, and that is how it
should be. :).

Back to your question about Baroque pitch.

Karen gave you a good answer (as always). However, I'm pretty sure that
recording was done at A=415 - this is more commonly known as "Baroque pitch"
over the A=432 that Karen mentioned (but, I have never tested it, and I am
only going by what my ear tells me and I have only heard bits of that
recording).

Now - A=415 is closest to a half tone lower. I've done gigs with Baroque
ensembles, and therefore if I'm at practising on my home piano, I'll sing a
half step lower for vocal reasons. If however, I'm near a harpsichord tuned
to A=415, then I will use the harpsichord and the music as written!! (I also
play the harpsichord, so I do pay attention to Baroque pitch and all that).

You don't need to transpose the aria from Bb to A. Very few people will
care that it is at A=440, because that is what it SHOULD be at (I assume
you're doing this with piano, at the NATS competition) unless you've got a
Baroque orchestra with you. And even today, many Baroque pieces are done at
A=440 - there is nothing wrong with it. Realize that the difference in
pitch has to do with a different frequency for A, and that one is not better
than the other. You needn't change the pitch of the aria, and you wouldn't
want to, because it is not the easiest thing to play and have to transpose
either!

If you get to perform the aria with a Baroque ensemble, then you might sing
it at A=415, in which case, you might want to practise it that way, as I
mentioned I do above. This is purely for vocal reasons though, as usually
you don't want to practise it in one key, and perform it a half step lower
(but maybe you don't care either... everyone is different). So don't worry
about transposing this.

Have fun with the aria, and I hope this information helps you.

Fiona




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