Tale in C Phrygian \"Phrygian Mode\", Op.42 No.2

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Musical Terms (11)

• Abbandonamente Italian
  Abandonedly, with abandon — a Medtner favourite indicating a quality of emotional release or surrender, as if the player gives themselves over entirely to the music.
  Allow expressive freedom here, but keep the underlying pulse and direction. 'Abbandonamente' in Medtner is passionate rather than sentimental — the abandon is inward, not theatrical.
• attacca Italian
  'Attack' — instruction to proceed immediately into the next movement or piece without pause. Used by Medtner at the join between Canzona matinata (Op.39 No.4) and Sonata tragica (Op.39 No.5), which he specified should be played as one continuous work.
  When observing attacca in Medtner, the transition is musically prepared — do not just rush in. Find the moment where one piece has completed its energy and the next can emerge from it.
• con moto flessibile Italian
  With flexible motion — a recurring instruction in Medtner indicating that the tempo should breathe and flex with the phrase rather than remaining metronomically constant.
  Let phrase shapes and harmonic rhythm drive the tempo. Slow slightly at peaks of tension, quicken slightly in moments of release. The flexibility should feel inevitable, not arbitrary.
• cross-rhythm English
  Medtner's music is characterised by constant interplay between conflicting rhythmic patterns — two-against-three, three-against-four, and more complex combinations — often sustained for long passages simultaneously in both hands.
  Work cross-rhythms slowly and separately by hand until each voice feels natural in its own right. Then combine, aiming for two independent rhythmic streams rather than forcing one to conform to the other.
• dithyramb Greek
  An ancient Greek lyric poem or song of passionate, irregular character, originally associated with the cult of Dionysus. Medtner titled both his Op.10 piano pieces and the final piece of Forgotten Melodies III (Danza ditirambica) as dithyrambs — implying celebratory, orgiastic energy.
  In Medtner's dithyrambs, the passions are channelled through strict formal control. The celebratory quality comes from rhythmic energy and harmonic boldness, not from excess.
• Minaccioso Italian
  Threatening, menacing. Used by Medtner in the Campanella (Op.20 No.2) and as part of the title of the Sonata minacciosa (Op.53 No.2).
  Play with concentrated intensity and a sense of suppressed danger rather than overt aggression. The threat in Medtner is often lurking rather than shouting.
• Narrante Italian
  Narrating; in the manner of a storyteller. Used by Medtner as a tempo and character instruction in several Tales, particularly in Op.26 No.3 and Op.35 No.3.
  Adopt a flexible, speech-like rhythm — not strict time, but not shapeless either. Think of the music as spoken declamation at the keyboard, with natural breathing points and forward momentum.
• Skazka Russian
  Literally 'tale' or 'folktale' — more precise than the English 'Fairy Tale', which was only applied after Medtner's first American tour in 1924. Medtner's skazki are not descriptive tales or adventure stories but, in Boris Asafyev's words, 'tales about personal experiences, about the conflicts of a man's inner life.'
  When approaching a Skazka, think of it as a tone poem in miniature: it has a narrative arc, a distinct character, and often a sense of return or transformation. Let the music tell the story without imposing a literal programme.
• Sonate-Skazka Russian/German
  'Sonata-Tale' — Medtner's hybrid form combining the structural architecture of the sonata with the narrative and imaginative qualities of the Skazka. Op.25 No.1 is the primary example.
  The challenge is holding both identities simultaneously: the rigour of sonata form and the storytelling freedom of the tale. Neither should dominate; each should enrich the other.
• tenebroso Italian
  Dark, shadowy, sombre. Used as a character marking in Op.34 No.3.
  Produce a muted, veiled tone rather than a loud, dramatic one. Tenebroso implies something concealed — mysterious rather than tragic. Keep the pedal a little more sustained to blend harmonics.
• Vergessene Weisen German
  'Forgotten Melodies' — the title Medtner gave to his three cycles Op.38, 39, and 40. The German title was his preferred one; the pieces were published by the German firm Zimmermann. The title implies melodies half-remembered, returning from some past time.
  The nostalgic, memory-like quality should permeate the sound throughout these cycles. Even the dances have a quality of looking back rather than forward.