Phrasing and Articulation: A Contribution to a Rhetoric of Music

This book is a detailed study of two elements of music that are of vital concern to every musician. Since the problems of phrasing and articulation are especially acute in the unmarked or sparsely marked scores of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century composers, the author has concentrated on the music of that period, with special attention to the works of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.

Various aspects of each of these subjects are studied: the construction of phrases, their connection, extension, overlapping; the application of legato, staccato, and other types of articulation. In this discussion the author draws upon contemporary theoretical writings and methods, as well as upon his own extensive experience as an editor of music. Part Two is devoted to specific problems in the works of the three masters Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and includes a chapter on the nineteenth century. The Norton Library edition of Phrasing and Articulation includes a new preface by Mr. Gerdine.