Charpentier's Croches Blanches

Author(s): Klaus Miehling and Shirley Thompson

Source: Early Music, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Feb., 2003), pp. 156-158
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3137938
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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-

156 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 2003

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tier's ? would this lead to an extremely slow t3/2; this,
though, is improbable, since it contradicts Louli"'s Tempo
as well as the below-mentioned use compared to the
simple 3/2.
If 03/2 means constant beats in relation to ?, then the
simple 3/2 might indicate a sesquialtera relationship. This
can also affect 'free' triple metres, because there are ordi-
tions. Anomalies can be inconvenient, and it is tempting
to support a preferred hypothesis by drawing selectively
upon the evidence. For this and other reasons, Klaus
Miehling's argument does not stand up to close scrutiny.
It is true that the treatise attributed to Carissimi gives
no information about the tempo of void notation. But
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
/ temps vistes), of about one second and a half second
respectively, and the triple metres could easily refer to
those temps in one way or the other. Of special interest are
Thompson's ex.3, showing a passage of void notation
marked viste after a normal 3/2, and ex.4, showing void
followed by normal notation, the latter marked lentement.
Both examples show void that notation is faster than the
other. This is important, since Thompson does not seem
to have found contradictory examples, with 3/2 being
obviously faster than 03/2 in the same piece. It may still be
(crotchets) are identical in value 'and everything else'. The
fact that in discussing tempo this theorist makes no further
reference to void notation surely supports the point that it
has no special implications for tempo.
As Miehling writes, the lack of comment from various
theorists about void notation cannot be taken to mean
that it did not have any special meaning for Charpentier;
this is why the only reliable way of establishing his intent is
by an exhaustive examination of clues in the autograph
manuscripts. Yet his case is weakened considerably by the
fact that his comments are based on an examination of an

argued, however, that Thompson lists more examples of
slow than fast time-words for 03/2; but, on the other hand,
for 3/2 she has slow time words only!
If we take a tempo of about MM 80 (the model of a
sarabande) for the minim in the usually slow 3/2, then
03/2 with void notation may indicate about MM 120, the
minim equalling a temps viste in ?, assuming this being
Charpentier's signature for fast quaternary (as with
extremely small sample of Charpentier's works-nine
works out of some 550, all from a single secondary source.
One sample may well suggest something quite different
from another, which is why it is unwise to comment with-
out having examined the autographs in their entirety.
It should be stressed that the conclusions in my article are
based on an exhaustive examination of all the autograph
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

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 2003 157

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habits is further revealed by his implication that void nota-
tion generally occurs in ?3/2, with instances in 3/2 excep-
tions to this rule. As my article makes clear, a full exami-
nation of the composer's manuscripts demonstrates that
Charpentier used both void and normal semiminims irre-
spective of whether the time signature was 03/2 or 3/2.
This makes a discussion about the relative tempo of these
two metres-which takes up much of the second part of
Miehling's argument-irrelevant.
Miehling also disputes the significance of void notation
variously associated with fast or slow time words and/or
with texts variously suggesting fast or slow movement. It
nevertheless seems self-evident that if, irrespective of the
time signature, the same style of notation can as often be
tempo; by careful choice of different examples it would be
easy to argue the opposite. Clearly it cannot be both.
Finally, there is no evidence at all in Charpentier's own
manuscripts to support either Miehling's specific sugges-
tion that void notation in e3/2 with viste ('vite') is double
the speed of normal 3/2, or the more general notion that
Charpentier used void notation 'when the tempo seemed
too fast for a normal Triple double, and too slow for a
Triple simple'. If this were the case, how are we to explain
the combination of void notation and time-words indicat-
ing a slow tempo? If void notation indicated a quicker rate
of movement, surely Charpentier would have indicated
slower movement in these passages by using 'normal'
notation.

found in association with fast time-words and texts sug-

gesting rapid movement as with those with slow time- Maisica Inedita
words and suggesting slow movement, the style of nota- I greatly enjoyed reading Tess Knighton and Michael
tion in itself is unlikely to have a bearing on the rate of Noone's 'Letter from Spain' in EM, xxx/3 (Aug 2002),
movement. If such evidence were restricted to a few iso- pp.489-93. I wonder, though, if I might add an emphasis
lated examples, there might seem room for doubt. As it is,to their report about the Mtisica Inedita project? This con-
the amount of such evidence is considerable, and it must cerns the scholarly impetus behind this venture, deriving
all be taken into account. By careful choice of examples itspecifically from the Royal Library (Real Biblioteca), and
would be easy to argue that void notation indicates a slownot least its director, Dr Maria Luisa L6pez-Vidriero
Abello: they are providing the 'brains' behind this impor-
tant undertaking, and I would very much like to see due
recognition of such a crucial dimension explicitly
recorded too.
Ta e In U' s i ERIC SOUTHWORTH

Baroque??Ll St Peter's College, Oxford

Summer~stitut

. ...... Frsnorsu e tpepoeso a The expressive Clavier

In my article about the expressive Clavier in Mozart's time
(EM, xxx/4 (Nov 2002), pp.502-20) there are three mis-
takes on p.508 regarding 1. G. Wagner and his Clavecin
This international orchestral andAND
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158 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 2003

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