La Joyeuse in D major, RCT 3

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Musical Terms (4)

• agrement French
  The French Baroque term for ornaments: the tremblement (trill), port de voix (appoggiatura), coule (slide), mordant, and double, each notated with a specific symbol. Rameaus 1724 collection includes a detailed ornament table (methode) explaining their execution.
  Consult Rameaus own ornament table before editing any agrements. French ornaments generally begin on the beat and on the upper auxiliary. The tremblement starts from above; the mordant touches the note below. Never substitute German or Italian ornament conventions.
• main croisee French
  Hand-crossing: a technique in which one hand must pass over or under the other to reach notes on the opposite side of the keyboard. Les Trois Mains (RCT 5) is named for this effect, creating the illusion of three independent voices from two hands. Les Cyclopes (RCT 3) also uses it extensively.
  Prepare hand crossings visually before they arrive - the arm should be in motion before the moment of crossing. Keep the landing precise; hesitation destroys the illusion of a third voice. Slow practice with exaggerated crossing height builds the muscle memory required for security at tempo.
• pieces de caractere French
  Character pieces - keyboard works with descriptive titles evoking a mood, scene, person, or animal. Rameau popularised the form alongside Couperin, and many of his most celebrated harpsichord works (La Poule, Les Cyclopes, L'Enharmonique) belong to this tradition.
  The title guides affect and touch, not a programme to illustrate literally. Rameau himself said titles sometimes came after the music was written. Identify the central quality - rhythmic drive, tenderness, wildness - and sustain it throughout without caricature.
• tambourin French
  A lively Provencal dance in a quick duple or compound metre, typically featuring a drone bass imitating a long cylindrical drum (tambourin de Provence). Rameau's keyboard tambourins (RCT 2, RCT 9) became so popular they were arranged for orchestra in his operas.
  Maintain a steady, driving drone bass throughout; the upper voice should snap off the beat with crisp articulation. Resist the temptation to rush - the tambourin gains its energy from rhythmic precision, not merely fast tempo.