No. 16.
Again, the term Allegro is a somewhat elastic one. The stroke is at or near the point of the bow, the first note covering enough space so as to allow a longer bow for the three slurred notes. This group should be sharply accented. Play forte throughout. Play the longer staccato groups in the second and third line near the point of the bow, using as little space as possible, until we come to the last two notes. Owing to the modulations in this étude, I frequently ask students to memorize it. We usually analyze it. There is a growing tendency among violin teachers to analyze all technical works and pieces with students. Foreign teachers rarely do so. It is a question whether the lesson should include harmonic analysis. That should be taught elsewhere. The violin teacher’s duty is to teach the pupil how to play works. Harmony and theory should be taught in classes. It is wise, however, to call attention to keys. All the major and minor keys should be studied. Remember the sharp accentuation on the first note, down bow, of slurred groups of three notes.
The trill should be played with a down bow. Raise the bow slightly between octaves; also play at the middle of the bow. Accent trills. The fingering in the last three measures is as follows:
[No. 17.]
A brief glance at this étude would naturally give one the impression that it is played in a light manner. It is, however, one of the most interesting Adagio studies in violin literature. The Fiorillo études are not single detached studies. They flow into each other, as it were, naturally, and with sufficient variety as to tempo and themes to make them fascinating and agreeable. This étude leads into the more rapid eighteenth étude gracefully and with dignity. Both études are usually taken out of order, on account of their difficulty, and the Kreutzer double-stop études are reviewed. Phrases should be full of meaning, clean-cut and distinct. The fingers must fall simultaneously in double-stops. A slur within a slur requires a slight separation, but not the raising of the bow. Note the exact reproduction of the first phrase, with the position of notes inverted, in the second phrase. Note the second and third measures, second line, the short staccato being avoided.
The long staccato double-stop passage should be played with slightly detached notes, not staccato in the extreme sense, with a slight ritard toward the close, about two-thirds of the bow being used, so that the following legato passage may be free. The next two notes slurred must be played near the point of the bow, followed by a staccato passage, as before played lightly and detached, with a free running stroke. When there are groups of two notes, the first is accented. Phrasing must be clean-cut at this point:
Naturally there is a ritard at the close. The first part of the étude begins on the tonic triad, with the fundamental note absent. It is well to call the attention of the student to the fact that the second part of the étude opens with the dominant chord, the fundamental note being absent. There is a decided pause in the fourth measure, owing to the demands of phrasing. The student should play one phrase repeatedly until mastered. The fingers move simultaneously into new positions. They must take the position at once. In the third line the accompaniment to the theme must be lightly played, no note being carried over a rest. Do not accent in syncopated passages, nor play the note of the accompaniment too loud, giving it more than its value. In the seventh line the short notes or groups should be played almost in a recitative style. The student should think his interval at once when suddenly passing to double-stops; in the higher positions the fingers fall together. The long runs may be played more nearly in staccato style. In the third measure from the close, play the thirty-second note at the heel of the bow.
In order to fully appreciate this étude, it would be well for the student to hear the great singers in such works as Bocca bocca bella, by Lotti, or Vieni che poi sereno, by Glück, which offer examples of pure technic and beauty of phrasing. I believe I can say frankly that I have learned more about phrasing from the study of voice than from violin study. At any rate the one aids the other, and the student must learn to play Fiorillo and Rode like an artist, giving to purely technical works a value that will materially aid him in the interpretation of pieces. Style and phrasing are so essential to violin playing that one should hear much good music, and all teachers should be able to illustrate the important principles of bowing, phrasing, and technic.