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to Early Music
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Correspondence
Charpentier's croches blanches notation can have both slow and fast time-words and may
In her article 'Once more into the void: Marc-Antoine be underlined with different characters of text is no proof
Charpentier's croches blanches reconsidered', EM, xxx/1
for a lack of meaning. If we were to look at all passages in
3/4 or in 'normal' 3/2, we would come to the same result,
(Feb 2002), pp.82-92, Shirley Thompson concludes that,
although probably differently distributed. Since it is clear
for Marc-Antoine Charpentier (and Francois Couperin),
'void and modern crotches and quavers were interchange-
from numerous French treatises that 3/4 normally has a
able, both styles of notation must, as the treatise attributed
faster tempo than 3/2, in spite of the said result, it is still
possible that void notation too may intend some general
to Carissimi puts it, be identical "in their value and every-
thing else"-the "everything else" including the mannermeaning
in on tempo.
which they were performed' (p.91). Thompson's tables 1-3 show that void notation is usu-
May I first point to the German source attributed
ally accompanied with the sign t3/2 (there are only two
to Carissimi, who was Charpentier's teacher in Rome.
exceptions with simple 3/2), while three of only five (thus
The quotation comes from a context where the author
not representative) examples of normal notation have just
describes the note-values, here the semiminim. He 3/2, with once c3/2 and 03/2. Thompson confirms (p.83)
explains that there are four notes of this type to be sung to that 'Croches blanches ... occur most frequently in associa-
the tactus, and then follows with the statement: 'Die weisse tion with the time signature 03/2'; on the other hand, she
Noten aber Minimae, so fern sie mit einem Schweifffound that they 'are also used with 3/2 on numerous occa-
gesehen werden, so kommen sie in der Geltung und allemsions'. But surely there is a tendency with Charpentier to
mit den Semiminimis tiberein.' ('But the white notes ofcombine void notation and 03/2. I have no access to Char-
minims, as far as they are seen with a flag, they are identi- pentier's (Euvres completes, but in an good edition of Neuf
cal with the semiminims in their value and everything Legons de Tenebres, H120-25, 135-7 (Editions du CNRS,
else.') It is important to state that in the whole of thisvo1.2) I found nine cases of void notation, each marked
section, '5. Abtheilung. Von den Noten // Punkten und03/2, and 12 cases of normal triple double, each marked 3/2.
Pausen' ('5th part: Of the notes, points and At least in a group of pieces with such a consequent com-
pauses'),'Carissimi' deals only with the value of the notes bination of signature and notation it seems unlikely to me
and their relation to the tactus. Later, when he is talking that the void notation should be meaningless.
about tempi, he makes no more mention of void notation. So let us look at what Charpentier's contemporary
So the only source contemporary with Charpentier thatEtienne Loulie says (on p.6o of his Elements ou principes de
deals with the tempo of void notation (as far as Dr musique (1696)) about the combination of ? with other
Thompson and I know) remains Jean Rousseau, who signs: 'pour marquer que les Battements en sont aussi
advocates a faster movement than in the 'normal' 3/2. In vistes qu'en quatre Temps vistes' ('to indicate that the
general it may be argued that if authors of treatises who beats here are as fast as in [the metre of] four fast beats').
mention void notation (e.g. Lorenzo Penna, Sebastien de Accordingly the combination with c indicates 'que les Bat-
Brossard, Michel Pignolet de Monteclair) say nothing tements ou Temps en sont aussi lents qu'a quatre Temps
about a special meaning, it does not mean that void nota- lents'.
tion had no meaning to a particular composer such as It is in question, however, whether Charpentier uses ?
Charpentier. It might have been that different uses by dif- and 2 in the same way as Loulid; that is, the former for two
ferent composers led the authors to be silent. slow or four fast beats, the latter for two fast beats. To me,
Besides the 'Carissimi' treatise, Thompson's arguments it sometimes looks the other way round, as indicated by
for the meaninglessness of void notation are concerned Jean-Pierre Freillon-Poncein in 1700. So it may be safer for
with the appearance of occasional black semiminims the moment just to say that the minims (beats) in 03/2,
instead of croches blanches or vice versa, and the distribu- and thus often in void notation, equal the minims (if in
tion of time-words and textual character. The former can two) or crotchets (if in four) in ?. The result, however,
be easily explained as writing mistakes, especially inwould be the same, whether Charpentier's : is in fast four
Thompson's ex.4, where only seven bars of void notation or in fast two, because Loulid referred to the beats, not to
stand within a normal 3/2. The fact that passages in void the note-values. Only ifwe put two slow beats to Charpen-
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tier's ? would this lead to an extremely slow t3/2; this, tions. Anomalies can be inconvenient, and it is tempting
though, is improbable, since it contradicts Louli"'s Tempo to support a preferred hypothesis by drawing selectively
as well as the below-mentioned use compared to the upon the evidence. For this and other reasons, Klaus
simple 3/2. Miehling's argument does not stand up to close scrutiny.
It is true that the treatise attributed to Carissimi gives
If 03/2 means constant beats in relation to ?, then the
simple 3/2 might indicate a sesquialtera relationship. This no information about the tempo of void notation. But
can also affect 'free' triple metres, because there are ordi- what it does tell us is that the two forms of semiminim
nary durations for slow and fast beats in e or 4 (temps lents (crotchets) are identical in value 'and everything else'. The
/ temps vistes), of about one second and a half second fact that in discussing tempo this theorist makes no further
respectively, and the triple metres could easily refer to reference to void notation surely supports the point that it
those temps in one way or the other. Of special interest are has no special implications for tempo.
Thompson's ex.3, showing a passage of void notation As Miehling writes, the lack of comment from various
marked viste after a normal 3/2, and ex.4, showing void theorists about void notation cannot be taken to mean
followed by normal notation, the latter marked lentement. that it did not have any special meaning for Charpentier;
Both examples show void that notation is faster than the this is why the only reliable way of establishing his intent is
other. This is important, since Thompson does not seem by an exhaustive examination of clues in the autograph
to have found contradictory examples, with 3/2 being manuscripts. Yet his case is weakened considerably by the
obviously faster than 03/2 in the same piece. It may still be fact that his comments are based on an examination of an
argued, however, that Thompson lists more examples of extremely small sample of Charpentier's works-nine
slow than fast time-words for 03/2; but, on the other hand, works out of some 550, all from a single secondary source.
for 3/2 she has slow time words only! One sample may well suggest something quite different
If we take a tempo of about MM 80 (the model of a from another, which is why it is unwise to comment with-
sarabande) for the minim in the usually slow 3/2, then out having examined the autographs in their entirety.
03/2 with void notation may indicate about MM 120, the It should be stressed that the conclusions in my article are
minim equalling a temps viste in ?, assuming this being based on an exhaustive examination of all the autograph
Charpentier's signature for fast quaternary (as with sources.
Loulid) or-more likely-fast binary metre. The addi- Also provocative is Miehling's comment
tional viste in Thompson's ex.3 may stand for an even appearance of occasional black semiminims
faster tempo of about MM 160, thus doubling the foregoing croches blanches or vice versa ... can be easily
3/2, and, by the way, still slower than a minuet-like 3/4. writing mistakes'. Charpentier's autograp
So I presume that Charpentier uses void notation when remarkably few uncorrected copying errors, an
the tempo seemed too fast for a normal triple double, and unjustifiable to write off these instances. In a
too slow for a triple simple (3 or 3/4). Especially if it occurs showed, other evidence in the autographs p
together with normal 3/2-notation in the same piece it interchangeability of the two kinds of notation,
would indicate a relatively faster tempo. ther reason for accepting these passages of mi
I would be pleased if my calculations should encourage at face value. Moreover, it is not only Charp
Dr Thompson to reconsider the meaning of Charpentier's combines the two styles of semiminim, but al
void notation, and also to examine his use of ? and 2. For Couperin (see my illus.7).
example, the famous Te Deum has the former only in the In stating that in illus.4 'only seven bars of
final chorus ('non confundar') which, as such, is expected tion stand within a normal 3/2', Miehling miss
to be fast. Are then all other binary measures in this piece, This example (written in the time signature ?3
marked 2, slow? Or does the piece end with a slow move- out) shows two things. First, in bar 8, we find
ment? There is interesting work to do. patch of normal semiminims in the context
KLAUS MIEHLING otherwise using void notation. Second, and mo
Freiburg im Breisgau cantly, while the first nine bars (and the preced
shown here) use void notation, the tempo chan
Shirley Thompson replies: ment at bar to is accompanied by a surely
In searching for patterns in a composer's notational or
change to normal crotchets.
other habits, we would all prefer cut-and-dried explana-
Miehling's unfamiliarity with Charpentier's
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habits is further revealed by his implication that void nota- tempo; by careful choice of different examples it would be
tion generally occurs in ?3/2, with instances in 3/2 excep- easy to argue the opposite. Clearly it cannot be both.
tions to this rule. As my article makes clear, a full exami- Finally, there is no evidence at all in Charpentier's own
nation of the composer's manuscripts demonstrates that manuscripts to support either Miehling's specific sugges-
Charpentier used both void and normal semiminims irre- tion that void notation in e3/2 with viste ('vite') is double
spective of whether the time signature was 03/2 or 3/2. the speed of normal 3/2, or the more general notion that
This makes a discussion about the relative tempo of these Charpentier used void notation 'when the tempo seemed
two metres-which takes up much of the second part of too fast for a normal Triple double, and too slow for a
Miehling's argument-irrelevant. Triple simple'. If this were the case, how are we to explain
Miehling also disputes the significance of void notation the combination of void notation and time-words indicat-
variously associated with fast or slow time words and/or ing a slow tempo? If void notation indicated a quicker rate
with texts variously suggesting fast or slow movement. It of movement, surely Charpentier would have indicated
nevertheless seems self-evident that if, irrespective of the slower movement in these passages by using 'normal'
time signature, the same style of notation can as often be notation.
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