Ricardo Moreira Da Silva Baylina - Artistic Research Report

Artistic Research Report
Student name: Ricardo Baylina
Main subject: Violin

Main subject teacher: Igor and Vesna Gruppman
Research domain: Performance Practice

Research coach: Bárbara Varassi Pega
Title of the research: A fadistic approach to violin expression
Artistic Research Question: How can singing and playing Fado melodies expand my tools to develop a
more lyrical and expressive way of playing the violin?
Keywords: Fado; Lyricism; Melody; Ornament; Rhythm; Voice; Violin; Vibrato
Date of submission: 19-04-2021

Date of AR examination: May 2021
Table of contents
1 Abstract 3
2 Introduction 4
3 Research findings 6
3.1 Presentation of the artistic result 6
3.2 Documentation of the artistic result 6
3.3 Explanation of progress during the research process 8
3.4 Assess and expert feedback 9
3.5 Conclusion 9
4 Documentation of the intervention cycles 11

4.1 First intervention cycle 11
4.1.1 Overview of first intervention cycle 11
4.1.2 Reference recording 11
4.1.3 Reflect & assess 11
4.1.4 Data collection 12
4.1.5 Intervention 16
4.1.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback 19
4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first reference recording 19
4.2 Second intervention cycle 20
4.2.1 Overview of second intervention cycle 20
4.2.7 Reflect on your progress since the previous reference recording 29
4.3 Third intervention cycle 30
4.3.1 Overview of third intervention cycle 30
4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first reference recording 42
5 Reference list 43
6 Network 44
Appendices 45
Appendix 1: List of all recordings included in report 45
1
Appendix 2: Critical media review 46
Appendix 3: Full feedback on reference recordings 48
Appendix 4: Transcription of interviews 51
Appendix 5: Transcriptions/annotated scores/analyses 57
2
1 Abstract
It is commonly said within the Fado community that “those who listen are as much fadistas as those who
sing and play.” This is because Fado is to express one’s emotions in a way that anyone who hears can’t
remain indifferent, and for the duration of the song, the audience is drawn in by the lyricism,
expressiveness, and melancholy of its sound.
In this performance practice research, I have investigated what vocal tools and mannerisms are
responsible for these characteristics and how I could translate and apply them into my violin playing. In
order to do this, I resorted to primarily ethnographic and auto-ethnographic research, be it through visiting
museums, attending and taking part in Fado performances, taking Fado lessons, and playing Fado
melodies on the violin. Besides these, other methods, such as expert interviewing, literary investigation,
and the analysis of both scores and recordings, were used.
Through the use of these methods, I was able to gain new musical insights, which I then transformed into
violinistic tools that allow me to play in a more expressive and touching manner.
3
2 Introduction
Singing fado with feeling (sentimento) is commonly understood as something that cannot be learned;
rather a fadista is born with fado na alma (fado in the soul). Yet surely soulfulness is learned.1
The history of Fado’s origins is hotly contested. On the one hand, there is the highly documented
scholarly consensus that Fado has its roots in an Afro-Brazilian danced form of Fado, which arrived in
Lisbon in the decade of 1820 with the return of the Portuguese Court after the Napoleonic invasions.2 On
the other hand, there is the more poetic and mythological narrative, defended by performers and lovers of
the genre alike, which speaks of a song born during the Age of Discovery: as Portuguese men left their
homes and families to venture onto the unknown, they would sing their “Saudade”:3
... the nostalgic murmuring of nostalgic men...4
Although this recount of Fado’s genesis has long been debunked by historians, it is the one that is most
present in the collective minds of its performers and audience and is, therefore, in my opinion, the most
relevant of the two when trying to understand its contents and underlying emotions.
Fadista was in its origins, not the person who sang Fado, but it was the name associated with the
neighborhood rough guy. These outlaw men would gather in taverns which were usually also frequented
by prostitutes, and there they would drink, flirt, fight, and yes, sing and play. This gave a bad connotation
to the term as well as the practice. Fado was a song of a marginal population, but with the arrival of the
labor movement, it became a song of a marginalized population, as the working people adopted Fado as
a song of protest and social intervention.5 This informs the fact that Fado is so much of an oral tradition
and is mainly performed by people with no formal musical training.
Its strong link to socio-economic marginality, and later on, the association with Salazar’s dictatorial regime
has kept academics away from the genre. On the other hand, being a rather closed community, Fado
artists have been reluctant to collaborate with academic researchers.6
Studying abroad means collecting new experiences and widening the field of opportunities, but it also
means “ter Saudade”. “Saudade” is a Portuguese word that expresses a melancholic feeling due to being
apart from someone, thing, or place. This homesickness was perhaps the strongest (even if hidden)
reason that pulled me towards Fado.
Besides “saudade”, three main reasons led me to choose Fado as my research topic: The first is that
even though it is a song from my country, I was never exposed to it as a child. But in the last year or so, I
have fallen in love with Fado’s characteristic expressivity, making this a good opportunity not only to get to
know part of my culture but to dive deeply into it. The second was that unlike other folkloric genres
(Flamenco, Hungarian Folk, among others), Fado has been explored to minimal extent in the classical
music context. And lastly, being a genre in which the music exists to give life to the text, it is the perfect
medium to investigate lyricism as a musical quality.
1
Gray, Lila Ellen. "Memories of Empire, Mythologies of the Soul: Fado Performance and the Shaping of
Saudade." Ethnomusicology 51, no. 1 (2007): 106-30
2
Holton, Kimberley DaCosta. "Fado Historiograhy: Old Myths and New Frontiers." Portuguese Cultural
Studies 1 (2006).
3
Parente, Manuel. “Serão Comando, Uma Noite Chamada Fado.” LusoAmericano, March 21, 2001, 30.
4
Idem
5
Abib, Pedro. “FADO VADIO (documentário - 2010 - 18min.) Direção Pedro Abib” YouTube video, 18:08.
August 23, 2016. https://youtu.be/kYTowaHXgBM
6
Nery, Rui Vieira. “Para uma história do fado”. 2004.
4
Even though lyricism has since the 17th century been mostly associated with arioso and cantabile style, it
comes from the greek word Lyrikos and was used to define any text or poem worthy of being sung to the
lyre. When it was first used in the English language (around the 1500s), it was used to refer to poetic
forms that express strong emotion. Fado is precisely this, poems sung with intense expressivity
accompanied by a plucked string instrument. My goal with this research was to capture this expressivity
and translate it into my violin playing. Relating to the opening quote by Lila Ellen Grey, I aimed to discover
my Portuguese soul and sing it with my violin.
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3 Research findings
3.1 Presentation of the artistic result
Link to artistic result: https://tinyurl.com/aa72a2
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962); Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice (1911)

Violin: Ricardo Baylina (violin)
Recorded at home on January 28th, 2021; (2’51’’)
3.2 Documentation of the artistic result
The goal of this research was to develop my ability to play the violin in a more lyrical and expressive way
through the study of Fado and to be able to implement these newly acquired tools, whenever called for, in
the classical repertoire. I chose the Recitativo from Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice, composed by Fritz
Kreisler in 1911, as the final product of my Artistic Research for two reasons. Firstly, there is a clear
connection between the Recitativo and the topic and goal of this research, which meant it would be easier
to implement the acquired knowledge in a way that made its relevance clear and relatable. And secondly,
in most interpretations I knew (and later came to know) of this piece, there is very little thought given to
the rhetorical elements7 - making this research not only relevant for me (regarding its primary goal) but
also to anyone interested in studying this piece.
In my final interpretation of this piece, I use in several instances a “breaking voice” effect (marked in dark
blue below) which is intended as an imitation of the cracking heard in a crying human voice. This effect
was first discovered and studied during the first intervention cycle. It is produced by a descending
ornament of an indefinite interval before the main note, which should be performed extremely fast and
with the same finger as the main note.
Figure 1
Another tool acquired during this research that I went on to use in my final interpretation is portamenti.
Not that I didn’t use them before, but after receiving criticism regarding this technique in my second
reference recording (Fado Português), I dedicated a significant part of the second intervention cycle to it.
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Given the strong connection between music and text in both Fado and Krisler’s Recitativo, in this
research the words “rhetoric” and “declamatory” are used as synonyms and describe this relationship.
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During the study of Fado Português, I viewed all portamenti as an ornament used by Amália (the “Queen
of Fado”) to embellish the melody. Nonetheless, as I took Fado lessons and started to sing myself, I
realized that it is impossible for the voice to articulate every note in the same way that the violin can
(especially when there isn’t a consonant to help with this) and that some of the portamenti I heard in
Amália’s Fado Português were a result of this inability to articulate the different notes perfectly. While on
the violin, every portamento is indeed an ornament, I made decisions regarding when to use more
pronounced portamenti as an ornament to the melody and when to use very fast portamenti, suggestive
of the vocal articulation of vowels:
- for instance, in the fragment below (mm. 12), being that it is the fourth and last repetition of this gesture,
I decided to play it decisively and with more emotional expression than every previous iteration. Among
other things, I do this by playing a very pronounced portamento (in light blue) and a crescendo towards
the G.
Figure 2
- while in the passage below, wanting to keep the articulation as mellow as possible, I make a fast
portamento towards the top note (in orange).
Figure 3
Another insight brought by the Fado lessons I took with Magda Mendes (Portuguese singer with whom I
consulted during the second intervention cycle) was what she called “swelling”, or in more technical
terms, abrupt dynamic changes often spanning only one or two notes. This is an ornament often heard in
Fado when the singer emphasizes a note by making a fast crescendo immediately followed by a
diminuendo within that note or by accentuating it and drastically decreasing in dynamic on the following
note. As can be seen in the fragment below (in red), I used this ornament both on its own (first note) and
accompanying ornamental portamenti (last two examples):
Figure 4
Lastly, during the second intervention cycle, I also investigated how consonants are articulated in Fado
and attempted to translate this into my violin playing. Obviously, I could only do this to some extent, as
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recreating many of the vocal nuances with the violin is quite literally impossible. Nevertheless, by simply
attempting it, I deepened my understanding of both right- and left-hand articulation. As I already
mentioned above, I discovered that I could remove left-hand hand articulation in order to imitate a singer's
articulation of vowels. But the opposite can be done too: in the passage below, I use both right-hand (in
yellow) and left-hand (in orange) articulation in order to better express its assertive character.
Figure 5
3.3 Explanation of progress during the research process
From the beginning, this research was mainly experimental, with the most significant insights coming from
ethnographic research and self-critical practice, and each step naturally led to the next.
Not having had much contact with the genre until I started this journey, the first point on the to-do list was
to choose a Fado, make a transcription of the melody, play it, and see what I could learn - this was, in a
nutshell, my first intervention cycle. I walked away from my first contact with Fado with one particular new
tool that would prove to be incredibly useful in the final product and impactful in my general playing. This
tool is an ornament I call the “breaking voice” because it starkly resembles the cracking one hears in a
crying human voice.
The feedback I got after the first intervention cycle led me to dedicate the second one to two main points:
portamenti and dynamics. During the second intervention cycle, I was fortunate enough to take Fado
lessons from Magda Mendes and spend an afternoon at “Casa da Mariquinhas,” a traditional Fado house,
where I listened to amateur singers, sang and even played a Fado on the violin. There I also met João
Martins, the guitarist who would later record the multi-track accompaniment, on top of which I played the
result of the second intervention cycle. I consider the Fado lessons to have been the single most fruitful
instance of data collection of this whole research project, and for that, I am incredibly grateful to Magda.
During these lessons, I gained insights into the investigated aspects, which I have then applied in my final
product, but these lessons also led to a more personal finding - very often, my musical intuition was far
more expressive than what I could produce with the violin, and it was the process of singing a melodic line
to then attempt mimicking it on the violin that brought me this realization. This is, of course, nothing new
to any musician, and I had definitely been told by teachers that when in doubt regarding phrasing, I
should sing the melodic line in case, but having to prepare a Fado to take lessons on how to sing it made
me realize that it actually works and I have since used this practice strategy, on several occasions, in my
practice - not to mention in the process of creating the final product.
This “final product” was to be the fruit of the third and final intervention cycle of this research. My goal
from the beginning of this journey was to improve my expressiveness within the classical repertoire, so I
wanted to implement the tools acquired through the study of Fado in a classical piece and, in that way,
create a personal interpretation that would serve as an illustrative case study of how said tools have
impacted my violin playing. I have chosen the Recitativo from Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice, op.6 by
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Fritz Kreisler for violin solo as the piece upon which to do this. I believe this is an excellent choice
because, as the title indicates, the first half of this piece is all about translating the spoken word into
music, and as I’ve discovered during the second intervention cycle, so is Fado.
In order to inform my decisions on where and how to implement the knowledge acquired in the previous
two intervention cycles, I started by making a structural and motivic analysis of the piece. I then consulted
with two experts: For my questions regarding how to deal with rhetoric in this piece within the scope of my
research, I interviewed Job ter Haar. And for my doubts regarding interpretative choices, I contacted
professor Goran Gribajčevič who was so kind as to agree on a working session with me. After gathering
the data, I implemented all of the tools I had acquired during this research and reached the final product
of my journey.
3.4 Assess and expert feedback

Given that my final product was a personal interpretation of a classical piece informed by my research of
Fado, I decided to request feedback from the two experts who have most closely followed my journey -
professor Goran Gribajčevič and Magda Mendes. Their different backgrounds and areas of expertise
meant that the received feedback would be both relevant and broad. Both experts and I agree that I was
able to improve the expressivity of my playing through the use of the Fado elements investigated during
my research. My first recording of the piece was bland, very strict in tempo, and lacking in dramatism, but
after the third intervention cycle, my interpretation of Kreisler’s Recitativo was much more compelling and
had greater emotional depth.
By implementing different types of articulation, I created more variety and, in some passages, a
restlessness characteristic of Fado. By changing my approach to portamenti, I was able to more faithfully
imitate the vocal mannerisms of Fado, which in turn allowed me to, when called for, confer a sobbing
quality to my sound or to play with a much more temperamental character. Lastly, the addition of
ornamental dynamics and the “breaking voice” ornament to my toolkit has allowed me to create further
emotional depth by, quite literally, imitating the wailing or cracking of a crying voice.
Despite being happy with the interpretation of Kreisler’s Recitativo I present as the final product of my
artistic research, I still feel like I could have explored these ideas further and created an even more
experimental interpretation. Since recording it, I have already caught myself twisting my nose several
times when listening to it, saying to myself: “I could have played with freer rhythm here…” or “I could have
used more varied articulation there…”.
3.5 Conclusion
Roughly a year and a half ago, I wondered how studying, playing, and experimenting with fado melodies
would affect my expressiveness and lyricism on the violin. At the end of the line looking back, I am thrilled
with the fact that my takeaways from this research far exceed my expectations. As professor Gribajčevič
promised at the beginning of my journey, studying vocal music would be a “gold mine”, and this has
definitely proven to be true. Studying a melodic instrument with such different capabilities than the violin
has been very technically challenging and, therefore, very rewarding as well. During the self-critical
practice and experimentation that led to my final product, there were several ideas I would have liked to
include but was forced to discard because I just couldn’t perform them on a technical level. On top of
those, as I mentioned in the previous point, since recording the final product, I have already found new
interpretational possibilities. So, besides the impact on my playing that can be observed when comparing
the reference recordings and my final product, this journey has not only sown a seed of new interpretative
ideas that are still developing, but it has also shifted my way of thinking about interpretation altogether -
previous to this research, my technical capabilities would dictate my musical choices, whereas during all
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three intervention cycles, I have found interpretative ideas that I couldn’t execute and thus had to develop
my technique in order to perform them.
During this research, I think every time I had to stop experimenting and had to record any type of result, I
felt some level of frustration with all the things I wanted to do but couldn’t, due to them being nearly
impossible to do on the violin. But after coming to the realization described in the previous paragraph, I
am genuinely excited about the fact that I still can’t know the extent to which the knowledge and tools I
acquired during this research will affect my playing.
Lastly, despite being quite pleased with my findings regarding articulation and their impact on my playing,
I am very much aware that I have only scratched the surface on this matter and will, in the future, look to
continue investigating the possibilities of translating vocal articulation into the violin.
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4 Documentation of the intervention cycles
4.1 First intervention cycle
4.1.1 Overview of first intervention cycle

At the beginning stage of this research (and intervention cycle), I tried to find classical pieces with
influences of Fado, but as I mention in the introduction chapter, there is very little to be found, and I was
therefore discouraged from focusing on Fado by almost everyone I had contacted. At the advice of many
Portuguese musicians and Fado experts, I decided to shift my focus to classical pieces that had
Portuguese folklore, such as “Viras” and “Modinhas” as their inspiration. For this reason, my first
reference recording is of a piece for violin and orchestra by Ruy Coelho called Fantasia Portuguesa.
Nevertheless, during the first feedback session, in December 2019, professor Goran Gribajčevič
challenged me not to drop Fado quite yet. He pointed out that studying vocal music could be a “gold
mine”, especially for a violinist, as the violin is a melodic instrument. Among other things, professor
Gribajčevič told me to listen to recordings by Amália Rodrigues, mentioning that she “breaks the voice”.
I, therefore, recentered my research around Fado, but this time instead of looking for classical pieces that
had Fado roots, I decided to investigate and experiment with Fado in order to convey its melancholic
lyricism quality to my violin playing. And in order to do this, I decided to continue this first intervention
cycle by studying Amália’s interpretation of Fado Português by Alain Oulman. Since I could not find its
score, I transcribed the voice part in the simplest way possible, creating a sort of leading sheet to serve
as a departure point from my data collection. I then analyzed Amalia’s recording, intending to understand
each ornamentation and rhythm fluctuation in order to later create an annotated score. Once I had the
annotated score, I played the melody with my violin, looking for the best way to translate everything I had
found during the auditive analysis into violin playing.
4.1.2 Reference recording
Link to reference recording #1: https://tinyurl.com/yadzt2ny
Ruy Coelho (1889-1986); Fantasia Portuguesa - Intermezzo

Violin: Ricardo Baylina
Piano: Irene Comesaña
Recorded at Codarts on November 19, 2019 (2’41’’)
4.1.3 Reflect & assess
The feedback given by my violin teacher, Doctor Vesna Gruppman, on the reference recording had color
and phrasing as its main points. Phrasing-wise, she told me that my playing was too square and that the
movement lacked flow; that just because the tempo marking said “Lento”, I shouldn’t play it lifeless. And
color-wise, Professor Gruppman said that my playing was very monotone and that there was no
sentiment.
Later on, at the first feedback session, Professor Goran Gribajčevič challenged me to pursue Fado (as
was my original intent) and told me: “change your way of singing, your voice with your violin”. Professor
Gribajčevič told me to listen to recordings by Amália and pay special attention to a phenomenon he called
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“breaking the voice”. I was already inclined to investigate Fado and I personally like Amália’s singing very
much, so I had no doubt that I wanted to focus my first intervention cycle on Fado and more specifically
on studying Amália’s singing.
On top of that, this was a great opportunity to build on my teacher’s feedback. Maybe not in the way that
she envisioned, but there’s no denying that Fado has both plenty of “flow” and “sentiment”.
4.1.4 Data collection
Unfortunately, Amália Rodrigues passed away in 1999, so in order to study and learn from “The Queen of
Fado” I had to resort to recordings of her singing. I chose Fado Português by Alain Oulman as the piece
to investigate upon.
In this intervention cycle, I did a case study on Fado Português by Amália Rodrigues including recording
analysis, transcription, and an interview.
1) Desk research:
Interview with Hugo Vasco Reis, a Portuguese guitar player/composer, and fadista.
In our conversation, Hugo Vasco Reis told me that in Fado, like in many other genres, there are creators
and explained the difference between them and composers. The composer is, as we know it in classical
music, the person who writes the music, while the creator is the fadista who popularized that particular
Fado, usually because they were the first to sing and record it. Unlike in classical music, in the world of
Fado, the creators are the most important and well-known figures. Reis pointed out that while the Fado I
was working on is composed by Alain Oulman if you go around on the streets and ask: “By whom is Fado
Português?” You’re most likely to get “Amália” for an answer.
We also discussed the fact that due to the highly improvisational nature of Fado and the fact that it is an
oral tradition, we often find the same fado with different melodies. Because of this, Hugo Vasco Reis
advised me to use the original version for my transcription.
Transcription of the vocal part of Fado Português [Appendix 5, Transcription #1].
When I first sat with a pen and paper ready to transcribe and played the recording I was completely lost.
Amália sings with such rhythmic freedom that I had no idea what to write. Even the notes were sometimes
difficult to understand due to the ornaments. I looked for other versions that might be slightly more strict
rhythmically speaking but they were all just as “arhythmic” and on top of that they had slightly different
melodies - a phenomenon that had previously been described by Hugo Vasco Reis [Appendix 4, Interview
1] - but my goal was to study Amália’s interpretation, so I wasn’t interested in those recordings. This led
me to use two recordings: Amália’s own recording (https://tinyurl.com/9e9vp9rx) and the recording by
“Hoje” - a Portuguese project that transformed some of Amália’s Fado´s into pop songs -
(https://tinyurl.com/ybn5b9w5). Although this second recording can by no means be called a traditional
Fado, it was very helpful during the process of transcribing as, like almost all pop songs, it is rhythmically
very stable and has virtually no melodic ornaments.
With the transcription complete I was still far from understanding Amália’s interpretation of Fado
Português. For that, I moved on to the next strategy.
Analyzing Amália’s recording.
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In order to understand what was happening, both rhythm and melodic ornamentation-wise, I had to listen
to the recording at a slower speed. Thankfully, YouTube allows for this with minimal sound distortion.
Once I slowed the recording down, the dragging of an exhausted voice turned into portamenti, the painful
hesitations gained a (bit of) rhythmic structure and what once sounded like the breaking voice of a crying
woman, suddenly became clear melodic ornaments. All these discoveries were translated into an
annotated score.
Annotated Score [Appendix 5, Annotated Score #1]
Color coding:
Rhythm changes - Although a more careful analysis of the recording allowed me to more accurately
represent the rhythms performed by Amália, at some points, it was simply impossible to write exactly what
was happening due to the extreme rhythmic irregularity. Because of this, I resorted to the use of fermatas
and expressions such as “lento”, “veloce” and “accelerando”.
Ornaments - these are the note equivalents to the “breaks” in Amália’s voice. These were often
connected to the main melody note with portamenti (notated in the same color).
portamenti - I have only used blue to notate those portamenti which are performed between two main
melody notes or when the added note was not a melodic ornament nor did it sound like the “voice
breaking” effect described by professor Goran Gribajčevič.
Note: In the first column I used seconds instead of bar numbers due to the number of events contained
within each bar, as well as the fact that I only made a transcription of the voice part and it does not
contain the introductory bars played by the guitars.
Timestamp Description Annotated score
-portamento from A to Bb
-mordente on Bb
0m19
-portamento from Bb to A
-short fermata on D
0m23
-lower acciaccatura with portamento on the G +

portamento from G to Bb
-accelerando on the first beat and rhythm variation on

the second
0m28 -acciaccatura with portamento from A to F
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-portamento from F to E
-accelerando on the first beat

and rhythm variation on the second
-portamento from E to Bb
-three note upper turn with portamento to A
0m32
-acciaccatura with portamento from A to G

-portamento to F
-portamento from D to F
0m40 -two note appogiatura on E
-rhythm variation
-portamento from E to D + lower acciaccatura with
portamento on the E
-accelerando on the first beat + rhythm variation on

the second
-upper acciaccatura with portamento on C
-portamento from C to Bb
0m47
-upper acciaccatura with portamento on Bb
-portamento from Bb to A + gliss from G to A

-rhythm variations
0m52
-acciaccatura with portamento from A to F +

portamento to E
-rallentando
1m02 -lower acciaccatura with portamento on the G
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-lower acciaccatura with portamento on the F + upper
acciaccatura with portamento on the E + portamento
to D
-four-note upper turn on D
-accelerando
1m10
-acciaccatura with portamento from F# to C#

-rhythm variation
-rhythm variation
-acciaccatura with portamento from D# to C#
-portamento from C# to B
-accellerando on the first beat + short fermata on B

-appoggiatura with portamento on B
1m22
-acciaccatura with portamento from B to G
-rhythm variation
-acciaccatura with portamento from A to G

-portamento to F#
-rhythm variations
1m33 -portamento from F# to B
-acciaccatura with portamento from A to F#

-portamento to E
-portamento from A to C#
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-two note appoggiatura with portamento to A
-rhythm variations
- acciaccatura with portamento from F# to E +

portamento to D
Figure 6: Description of the annotated score on Amalia’s interpretation of Fado Português
4.1.5 Intervention
The process of bringing the annotated score to life was very experimental because even after knowing
the exact rhythm, portamenti, and ornamentation present in Amália’s rendition of Fado Português I still
had to translate all of those things into a violinistic language. To this end, I used two experimentation
strategies. On the micro-level, I did this by listening to small fragments, just a few notes long, and trying to
imitate what I heard:
Fragment Description Example Video
-The A is slightly longer than written and begins the

portamento to Bb very late.
-The mordente on Bb corresponds to Amália
breaking the voice and not part of the melody. To
imitate this I play the C and the subsequent Bb with
the same finger.
-The portamento is short and begins at the end of

the note’s duration.
-I play this fragment on G string, to allow myself to

vibrate the D (which would otherwise be an open
string) as well as for a more impactful portamento
from G to Bb.
-The appoggiatura is fast and the accent is on the
G.
-Here the choice for the G string was purely based

on timbre preference.
-The appoggiatura is not part of the melody, but only
an example of the “breaking voice” effect. For this
reason, I chose to play it as an extremely fast
portamento.
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-The portamento is a bit shorter and starts earlier in
the note.
-The portamento from E to Bb starts immediately

and is drawn out.
-The ornamentation notes are part of the melody
and the accent is on the first Bb. By playing the C
and Bb’s with different fingers I can effectively
articulate the notes while still leaving a ½ tone
portamento from Bb to A.
-The two portamenti are basically in one motion but

the A is again not part of the melody so I play the
first (written) portamento very fast and the second
slower, giving time to dwell on the notes.
-The ornamentation notes are again part of the

melody, so I articulate them using portamento only
between the last ornamentation note and the
melody note (E)
-The first portamento is very slow and starts as soon
as the first note is played, while the second is
extremely fast with the accent on the arriving note.
-The two appoggiature are again played fast and

with the same finger to create the “breaking voice”
effect.
-The portamento is fast but pronounced.
-Both portamenti start immediately and are very

long, lasting for the whole duration of the note
-Again, both portamenti are performed in one

motion with the A being practically inaudible.
-This time all three portamenti are slower, reflecting

the more pesante and pensive atmosphere.
17
-Here too, the ornamentation notes are part of the
melody, therefore I articulate all the notes, only
leaving a small portamento between the last two
notes.
-To produce a better ”breaking voice” effect, I make

the F# barely audible and the portamento is very
fast.

motion with the D# being practically inaudible
-Appoggiatura is part of the melody. It should be

played with a slight accent and the portamento is
not too fast.
-Again, to produce the ”breaking voice” effect, I

make the B barely audible and the portamento is
very fast.

motion with the A being practically inaudible
-portamento starts right away and is drawn out

motion with the A being practically inaudible
-Again, the portamento starts right away and is

drawn out
-Once again, the ornamentation notes are part of

the melody, therefore I articulate all the notes, only
leaving a small portamento between the last two
notes.

motion with the F# being practically inaudible
Figure 7: Execution of the annotated score on the violin
18
While on the macro level I played along with the recording, in order to get the general feel and timings of
the piece down, such as the rhythm on the second beat of bar 2, the timing of the portamento on bar 6,
and tempo oscillations like the one in bar 18.
4.1.6 New reference recording, assess and expert feedback
Link to reference recording #2: https://tinyurl.com/y8hk6zcf
Alain Oulman (1928-1990); Fado Português (1965)

Arrangement for violin: Ricardo Baylina
Recorded at home on May 21st, 2020; (1’19’’)
Based on my own impressions, and the feedback received from experts, these are the fundamental
points:
- Portamenti: They are too indiscriminate and indiscrete. Carlos Semedo told me that trained
singers make their portamenti extremely fast and that mine sounded more like those of amateur
fado singers who make them very slow and therefore very noticeable. I should only use them in a
few places where I think they really fit, similar to putting “little rocks of kosher salt on top of the
food” and preferably faster and more inconspicuous.
Professor Gribajčevič added that the timing of my shifts was very inconsistent and challenged me
to think about when a shift should be made on the old bow versus when it should be made on the
new bow.
- Color: Carlos Semedo also pointed out that the modulation to D major is one of the most
touching moments of the piece. “At this moment, Amália is no longer the narrator but instead
takes on the voice of a sailor who sings to lift his spirits - hence the major key”. He suggested that
I change color in order to most effectively express this new atmosphere.
4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first reference recording
I am very satisfied with the result of this intervention cycle. If the criticism from my first recording was a
lack of emotion and phrasing direction, I believe that I now have maybe gone a bit too far in the other
direction - which is, in my opinion, clearly an improvement.
Besides having been very rewarding work due to my love for the music, through analyzing and
experimenting with Fado Português, I have expanded my horizons regarding the impact that
ornamentation can have on the expressiveness of a piece. In her interpretation of this song, Amália
makes use of rubato, which reminds us of someone who is sorrowfully contemplative; she uses
portamenti, giving the impression of someone who drags their voice as though they are exhausted
(perhaps emotionally); and she uses appoggiaturas which sound just like the wailing of someone in deep
pain. Through the use of these techniques, Amália not only shows the audience what she feels when she
sings, but she pulls the listener in, who cannot help but share her pain for four minutes.
19
4.2 Second intervention cycle
4.2.1 Overview of second intervention cycle
In this intervention cycle, I decided to focus on articulation and portamenti, and this decision was based
on the feedback received on my latest reference recording as well as that given by the jury committee at
the AR1 exam.
My main goal for this cycle was to broaden my pallet of articulation possibilities by attempting to
reproduce the contrast between vowels and the different types of consonants. Secondly, I also wanted to
focus on portamenti, as most of the criticism I received regarding my latest reference recording was
directed at my portamenti.
Alain Oulman (1928-1990); Fado Português (1965)

Arrangement for violin: Ricardo Baylina
Recorded at home on May 21st, 2020; (1’19’’)
In this second reference recording, I attempted to recreate on the violin all the ornaments I could hear in
Amália’s interpretation of Fado Português. The feedback I received from the contacted experts (Carlos
Semedo, Noa, Goran Gribajčevič, and Magda Mendes) and my own reflection on my recording can be
divided into two categories:
- portamenti: I was told by several of the contacted experts that I played the recorded piece with
too many portamenti. Carlos Semedo explained that it felt like there were too many portamenti
because even though I played the same amount that I could hear in Amália’s version, mine were
too slow and pronounced. The great majority of portamenti as performed by a good fadista are
“too fast to perform on the violin”.
Professor Gribajčevič also weighed in, from a more classical point of view, on my portamenti
saying that they are “all over the place”.
- Articulation: In the exam moment of July 2020 I proposed focusing on articulation for a
subsequent intervention cycle, more specifically on how I could differentiate between vowels and
consonants with the violin. This idea was endorsed by the committee members.
In the present intervention cycle, I focus on the latter two aspects and on a third which I only found out
about its relevance later on in the intervention cycle, namely dynamics.
20
In this intervention cycle, I didn’t divide the data collection strategies by category but chronologically, as it
wouldn’t make sense any other way.
1) Interview with Nicole Jordan. [Appendix 4, Interview #3].
After the first intervention cycle, I received a lot of feedback regarding what to do next which was
obviously a positive thing, but it also left me a bit lost and not knowing what direction to take. For that
reason, I decided to speak with Nicole Jordan who is both a professional singer and an Artistic Research
coach, and could surely help me decide my next steps.
In the interview, I asked Jordan what were the characteristics that made Fado sound the way it does and
how I could translate that to the violin. She told me that she could hear a very unique timbre and vibrato;
the timbre was of a rusty and smoky nature, and the vibrato develops only towards the end of long notes.
Then Jordan mentioned two aspects that, together, contributed to creating a sense of restlessness and
agitation. The first was the very short phrasing that is present in any Fado, and the second was the way
that fadistas say the consonants - these are very sharp and pronounced.
Following this, Jordan told me to contact Magda Mendes asking to have Fado lessons. This led to the
third data collection strategy.
2) Ethnography (Full recording: https://tinyurl.com/y473twb2)
But in the meantime, on October 21st, as soon as I landed in Porto, I went to an open Fado afternoon
(Fado Vadio) at a small Fado house called Casa da Mariquinhas. I had the intent of listening to amateur
fadistas, singing some Fados myself, and, even though I didn’t expect it to be allowed, I brought my violin
along to maybe play one or two Fados on it as well.
As soon as I arrived everyone was very friendly and interested in my study and Artistic Research. I was
given a slot to sing right before the first break. I sang a traditional Fado called Fado Menor and it went
terribly wrong. I chose that Fado from a selection of three traditional Fados advised by Sofia Ramos - an
expert who I had previously interviewed regarding the creative process behind studying a new fado. She
said that it was good to start there since they have no “fixed melody”, so I could improvise at will. When I
first started preparing that Fado I felt very insecure because the melody she had given me (from a
compilation of traditional Fados) did not sound like Fado at all, but more like a Portuguese folk song, and
each recording I heard had a different melody, so I didn’t know what I was supposed to make of it.
Naturally, after singing so disastrously, I was feeling bad even though it was my first time singing Fado
(it’s never nice to perform badly in front of people). But right away, other singers and the guitar players
started telling me, in a very kind and constructive way, what I had done wrong. This was an amazing
experience for me, as by doing this, they made me feel accepted - they genuinely wanted me to become
as good as anyone else.
João Martins, the Portuguese guitar player, led the charge in educating me. During the break, he told me
that I was rushing between the verses and that I should give more time to the guitars after each verse -
interestingly, this is one of the things mentioned by professor Gribajčevič in the first feedback session:
“study the way that the guitars pave the way for the voice”. I ended up not taking my artistic research in
this direction but it is worth mentioning. Martins then insisted that I sing again and during this short
rehearsal, I was also told of the importance of the verses’ metric and that I had to sing the poem as I
would speak it.
Then, the second part began and more of the usual customers sang. In the third part, I was given another
slot, this time to play a Fado on the violin and I played my transcription of Fado Português from the first
21
intervention cycle. Compared to my previous performance, this was much more pleasant to listen to, but it
didn’t sound or feel like Fado, perhaps because the portamenti were too many and too pronounced and.
After the session was over, I approached João Martins and asked him a couple of questions about how to
achieve my goal of translating the lyricism of Fado to my violin playing. He told me that singing was a
good idea, but that I should definitely not start by traditional Fados, exactly for the same reason I had
been told to do so. He said that a traditional Fado is much more interesting for the fadista as it gives him
the freedom to improvise and therefore express his ideas, but being new to the Fado scene, I “have no
ideas”. According to Martins, I should start by studying Fado songs, which have a defined melody and get
more acquainted with the different languages of Fado (each fadista has its own).
When I asked him what made the “sound of Fado”, Martins replied with only one word: ornaments. He
told me to study Portuguese guitar players and to try to reproduce their playing as they have, over time,
adapted many of the idioms of the singers.
3) First Fado Lesson (Recording: https://tinyurl.com/48ehtuv8)
At the advice of Nicole Jordan, I contacted Magda Mendes and started to have Fado lessons. Mendes
proposed that I study Fado Menor do Porto by Camané. In our first meeting we did some breathing and
warm-up exercises in order to determine my voice’s range - we established that I should sing the chosen
Fado in G minor. For this I would need a singalong track in the right tone, therefore I contacted the
Portuguese guitar player from Casa da Mariquinhas and asked him to make said singalong track.
Once I had practiced the Fado with the singalong track we met for my first lesson with Mendes. Before
starting the lesson, Mendes asked me about my aims for this intervention cycle and what I wanted to do
during these Fado lessons that could further them. I told her that my first objective was to be able to
differentiate between vowels and consonants through the use of different bow articulation and she replied
that that would be very interesting since, in Fado, many beginners tend to sing the vowels too much and
not enough the consonants and that then creates a bland and directionless melody. I was very happy to
hear this as it is in agreement with several other sources - Nicole Jordan told me that the sharp and
pronounced consonants grant Fado its characteristic restlessness and in her thesis, Garcia Pindado
notes that throughout her career, despite changing many aspects of her technique, Amália never loses
articulation in the vowels and that lyric clearness remains a priority for the singer. Then I spoke of my
work with ornaments in the previous intervention cycle and how I can’t really apply that to classical pieces
and to that Magda Mendes replied that there are other types of ornaments in Fado, such as portamenti
and a characteristic swelling (in dynamic) of a single note. This was once again great news as I can
surely use that in classical music.
At last, we began the lesson - after some warm-up exercises, I started singing the fado with only the
piano playing the harmonic accompaniment. Mendes deemed that I was already at a quite advanced level
and told me to sing with the singalong. The first thing I was told was that I should wait a bit before singing
each verse and sing it faster and with more direction once I started. This correction was connected to
something that I had already been told by the Portuguese guitar player at the Fado house, i.e., that I
should wait and leave space for the guitars between each verse. Then Mendes told me that I was singing
the vowels too much and that I should exaggerate the consonants, just as she had warned me previously.
She explained that this is one of the biggest differences between classical and Fado singing: in classical
singing, the consonants must be said quickly and music only happens in the vowels, but in Fado, it’s the
other way around; the consonants are what gives life to the song because they allow for the lyrics to be
clearly understood and Fado is all about the poem. The most obvious thing to do, which is mostly the
correct one as well, is to articulate the consonant of the tonic syllables as that is where the musical
accents are, but we discussed a specific case in which the consonant of the tonic syllable could not be
articulated. This happens in the verse “Qualquer coisa que vai parar”, which has the strongest musical
accent on a soft “R” which is impossible to articulate, and to solve this problem, Mendes told me to
articulate the “P” right before the last syllable in order to “impulse” the accented syllable/note. Then to
22
conclude the lesson we discussed the possibility of phrasing a verse more passively, almost as if
speaking or in a more dramatic manner, and how the first compliments the second.
4) Literature
I found a paper written by Alina-Maria Naucef and Elena-Mihaela Manafu that is very much correlated to
the present intervention cycle, as it speaks of phonetics on the violin, or in other words, how to articulate
the different letters on the violin. Despite being helpful in the next step of my research, I am not in
complete agreement with some of the conclusions drawn by the authors, namely the fact that to describe
the articulation of several types of consonants, the authors refer to dynamics, which is a different musical
attribute and the two aren’t necessarily correlated. For instance, regarding the articulation of “M” and “N”
type consonants, the paper reads: “Unlike the vowels, these two consonants create a much more inward
atmosphere, with a feeling of deep introspection. In the score one finds them on the long, warm, maybe
non-vibrated sound in the nuances of pp, p.”8 But it’s not hard to imagine a syllable starting in “M” being
said or sung in a loud dynamic. In Fado Menor do Porto one can find many such instances.
After the first Fado lesson I set out to practice playing on the violin everything that we had discussed and
in order to do this, I transcribed the melody and created an annotated score with the different articulations
for each consonant. For the categorization of the different consonants, I referred to this research.
5) Transcription and Annotated score of my own interpretation of Fado Menor do Porto. [Appendix 5,
Annotated Score #2].
The reasons for basing this intervention cycle solely on my interpretation were: 1) I had already analyzed
the interpretation of a Fado master, but in this intervention cycle I wanted to sing it myself and since the
objective was not to compare sung versions but to translate a sung version with the violin, I decided to
use my interpretation; and 2) I took Fado lessons which helped me keep the whole process legitimate by
preventing me from creating a version that, due to my inexperience with the genre, deviated from the
style.
I decided to transcribe the melody without rhythm - dividing it only into 8 bars, one per verse - because it
was extremely free and I sing it slightly differently each time, and most importantly because rhythm is not
the focus of this intervention cycle.
The most important aspect researched in the present intervention cycle was how to differentiate between
consonants and vowels, so once I had written down the melody, I wrote the lyrics and proceeded to
create four categories in which to place the different letters: vowels, soft consonants (nasal and fricative),
hard or sharp consonants (non-vocalized plosive) and ambivalent consonants (vocalized plosive) with the
objective of then assign different types of articulation to each group:9
1. The first category is pretty self-explanatory with only the necessary mention of the letter “H” which
is mute in the Portuguese language. Since vowels are not articulated, regarding articulation, they
were attributed slurs.
2. In the second category, I placed the nasal consonants “M” and “N” and the fricative “V” and “S”.
Since these letters have a soft articulation, without a clear beginning of the sound, I decided to
use detaché (it is impossible not to have a clear beginning of sound in the violin, but detaché
allows for the production of notes with smooth beginnings).
8
Naucef, Alina-Maria and Manafu, Elena-Mihaela. "Articulation in Mozart’s piano and violin Sonatas."
Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series VIII: Performing Arts 9 (2016)
9
Rodrigues, Susana Filipa Viegas. "Caracterização acústica das consoantes líquidas do Português
Europeu." (2015).
23
3. To the third category, I assigned the occlusive or plosive consonants “K”, “P” and “T” which due to
their sharpness, were given the marcato articulation.
4. In the fourth category, we find the letters “B” and “D” which, being vocalized plosive consonants,
can be ambivalent - depending on the instance, these letters can be almost as sharp as a “P” and
a “T” respectively, or as soft as a “V” or the “TH” sound in “the” respectively.
It’s the letters in the third category that confer Fado the agitato feeling mentioned by Jordan.
Once I had the articulation, I proceeded to notate the musical accents of each verse, which correspond
with the stressed syllables of the most important words in the verse. And finally, I notated all the
portamenti I could hear in my vocal interpretation.
6) Second Fado Lesson (Recording: https://tinyurl.com/8cw8jt77)
During our second lesson, we worked on a lot of details regarding articulation, dynamics, and portamenti
and Mendes aided me in translating these details into my violin playing.
Below, a full description of said details:
A general remark about the words “vento” and “pensamento” - both of these words are stressed (and
therefore musically accentuated) on the penultimate syllable which in both cases doesn’t need help being
articulated. Although, the last syllable of both is “to” and due to the sharpness of the letter “t”, it is always
articulated from the stressed/accented syllable.
Verse Syllable Articulation Dynamics10 portamento
Initially, I had written a slur

but then realized that the
1 “o” note is articulated by the
last letter of the previous
word - “s”.
A fast and short

The previous word ends
portamento right before
on a vowel, which means
2 “eu” the top note also helps in
that it isn’t articulated,
achieving the desired
therefore it is slurred.
articulation.
No marcato, since “der” is

the stressed syllable and
2 “po”
doesn’t need help being
accentuated.
Very slight accent on the Fast downward

2 “sar” Diminuendo.
high note, slurred. portamento.
Accent on the low note, Very late and fast

3 “so” portamento toward the top
slurred.
note.
10
As Magda Mendes mentioned during our first lesson, abrupt dynamic changes within one or a few
notes are commonly used in Fado as an ornament. For this reason I only mention the use of “dynamics”
when such instances occur.
24
Accent on the low note,
3 “ven” Diminuendo Early, fast portamento-
slurred.
A fast and short

Again, the vowel is
portamento right before
preceded by another
4 “eu” the top note also helps in
vowel. There must be
achieving the desired
minimal articulation.
articulation.
No accent here. The

4 “der” phrase should be almost
only spoken.
“pa”, Marcato, in order to

4 “po” &
impulse the phrase.
“can”
Swelling: fast crescendo

4 “sar”
and slow diminuendo.
Swelling: slow crescendo

5 “Há”
and fast diminuendo.
Fast half-tone portamento

5 “men” Articulated accent.
to next note.
Marcato to impulse the

“k”
6 phrase. It should be quite
sounds
dry.
Swelling: slow crescendo

7 “Há”
and fast diminuendo.
7 “meu” Accent on the low note. No diminuendo. Late and fast portamento.
This syllable should be

only slightly marcato, so
7 “pen” as not to remove the
attention from the
important “men”.
7 “men” Accent on the high note. Diminuendo Late and fast portamento.
“k” Still marcato, but with less

8
sounds energy this time.
No accent. The phrase

Fast half-tone portamento
8 “coi” should run towards the
to next note.
end.
Marcato articulation on “p”

8 “pa-rar”
in order to propel the
25
following syllable which
can’t be accentuated on
its own.
Figure 8: Description of details worked on during Fado lesson by category
In the table above every portamento is characterized as fast. As Carlos Semedo had already mentioned
when giving feedback on my recording of Fado Português, the portamenti present in Fado (when sung
properly) are extremely fast and inconspicuous. While experimenting during the lesson with Magda
Mendes, we also concluded that when I played fast portamenti, it sounded the closest to the vocal
recording. For this reason, I will no longer mention the speed of a portamento, unless it is of a contrasting
nature - i.e., a slow portamento.
4.2.5 Intervention
After this second and last lesson, I added to the annotated score all the information gathered and
experimented further with the melody, both singing and playing in order to continue my translation of my
singing interpretation on the violin. In this last round of experimentation, I came to an important conclusion
regarding articulation. Up until this point, I was only using my bow in order to perform the desired
articulations, but when practicing the third verse I realized that in order to have no articulation between
the two first notes, simply slurring them wasn’t enough, but I needed to play them with the same finger.
Then when practicing the sixth verse I realized that I could use my left hand, not to remove undesired
articulation, but to add a specific type of articulation - that of the letter “R”, which, as has been mentioned
before, is impossible to articulate in the Portuguese language.
In addition to all the performance indications pertinent to the way of performing the melody on the violin, I
added markings that simply made the playing easier, such as bowings and fingerings.
The result of this intervention cycle was the following:11
Verse 1 - Slight speed accent on “mais”; articulated slur to “o”; speed accent on “ven” with a diminuendo,
slurred to the following note with a quite early portamento; “to” quite articulated:
Figure 9
Verse 2 - Short portamento towards “eu”; slight speed accent on “der”; marcato on “can”; speed accent on
“sar” with a diminuendo, slurred and with a late portamento to next note:
11
The reader can find the full annotated score in [Appendix 5, Annotated Score #3] and the full
audiovisual documentation of the experimentation process which led to the final result of this intervention
cycle through the following link: https://tinyurl.com/y5m5r56z
26
Figure 10
3: There should be no articulation whatsoever between the two notes on “so”, and playing this with open
string makes it impossible, as I then have to put a finger down, therefore I play it with the same finger on
the fourth string; very late portamento; marcato on “pra”; speed accent on “mais”; articulated slur to “o”;
speed accent on “ven” with a quick diminuendo, slurred with early and discrete portamento; dry marcato
on “to”.
Figure 11
4: This verse should be somewhat static and not very sung, marcato articulation on all the sharp
consonants helps achieve this; portamento and slur to “eu”; swelling on “sar”, fast crescendo, and slow
diminuendo.
Figure 12
5: Up bow on the first note in order to perform the desired swelling effect: slow crescendo and fast
diminuendo; speed accent on “meu”; articulated accent with diminuendo on “men” slurred and with early
portamento to next note; dry marcato on “to”.
Figure 13
27
6: Marcato articulation on all sharp consonants except on “que” as it would spoil the accent on the
following syllable; the portamenti following “coi” (here and in the 8th verse) are the only examples of a
slow portamento - what I hear in my voice is not a deliberate portamento to the following note, but a slight
drop in the note’s pitch - which because it is only of a halftone I don’t think it becomes heavy; speed
accent on “vai”; to imitate the type of articulation on “pa-rar” (as described earlier, regarding verse eight) I
decided to slur the two notes and articulate them with the left hand; diminuendo on “rar” with late
portamento to next note.
Figure 14
7: Due to the greater intensity of this verse compared to verse five, rather than the swelling effect on the
first note I decided to play it with an intense speed accent; in “meu”, accent on the low note, slurred and
with late portamento to top note, no reduction of intensity; this “men” is the high point of the whole stanza
and it should be played with an intense speed accent on the top note which is slurred and has a very
discrete portamento to the second note, the two notes are to be played as fast and clear as possible with
a pronounced diminuendo; just like in verses one, three and five, the last syllable is marcato.
Figure 15
8: This verse is almost identical to the sixth one, the only two differences being that there is no second
note on the last syllable and the marcato articulation on the sharp consonants is now less aggressive as it
is a calm closing to this stanza.
Figure 16
28
Link to reference recording #3: https://tinyurl.com/yyg947lu
Traditional/Camané (1966); Fado Menor do Porto

Transcription for violin: Ricardo Baylina
Violin: Ricardo Baylina
Portuguese guitar/viola accompaniment: João Martins
Recorded at home on Nov 20th, 2020; (1’22’’)
Based on my own impressions, and the feedback received from expert Magda Mendes, these are the
fundamental points:
- Portamenti: Compared to my previous recording (Fado Português) in Fado menor do Porto the
portamenti are present in a much more pleasant proportion, played lightly and with an appropriate
velocity, much closer to the portamenti as performed by an experienced Fadista.
- Articulation: Although not always perfect, the articulation of the notes corresponding with
consonants is clearer, which gives the recording more direction. I don’t sing out all the vowels, but
instead, make a conscious decision between which notes should be sung and which should
simply move the melody forward. Now the articulation might be a bit too energetic and in some
places, I could have used rounder articulation in order to create a different atmosphere.
- Dynamics: I used dynamics quite effectively in order to imitate the intention of the portamenti in
my vocal interpretation and to accentuate a note which corresponded to the syllable “Há” - which,
due to consisting of a deaf vowel (h) followed by "a", cannot be accentuated like a consonant. I
also managed to capture the swelling effect I was told about by Mendes.
4.2.7 Reflect on your progress since the previous reference recording
I measure my progress since the last reference recording in two different units: my ability as a violinist
and my level of artistry. Regarding the first, I believe that I have improved in regards to articulation and
portamenti. I found the work that I set out to do to be highly challenging as I had never tried to make so
many differences in articulation in so few notes. I had also never thought so thoroughly about the
accentuation, timing, and direction of a portamento before, so I am very happy to have done this to a
modest degree of success.
The second unit in which I measure my progress is artistry. Besides improving the aspects mentioned
above at a technical level, paying as much attention as I did during this intervention cycle to these tiny
details made me realize that I could think much more in-depth about technical aspects which I have been
using for a long time in order to create more nuanced performances as a violinist.
Lastly, I am very happy about the insight that I gained into Fado. This has been a beloved genre of mine
for a long time, but for some reason, I never dared to sing it, but this research, and this intervention cycle,
in particular, has brought me the opportunity not only to sing Fado but to have lessons and learn how to
do it properly. When I was listening back to my first lesson with Mendes, I was surprised by my
improvement. I remember commenting to myself that I wasn’t articulating the words but only singing the
melody.
29
4.3 Third intervention cycle
4.3.1 Overview of third intervention cycle

In my interview with Nicole Jordan, she told me that I could go in three different directions regarding the
final product of my artistic research. One, and the most challenging, of them would be to choose a
classical piece for violin where I could not only demonstrate what I learned about Fado but, more
importantly, point to how this newly acquired knowledge contributed to my interpretation of said piece. For
the reasons mentioned in point 3.3, I chose Kreisler’s Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice for solo violin,
composed by Fritz Kreisler in 1911 - more specifically, the Recitativo.
My aim in this third and final intervention cycle was, therefore, to implement the insights gained through
studying Fado during the two previous intervention cycles - namely, the voice breaking ornaments from
the first and the articulation and portamenti from the second - in Kreisler’s Recitativo in order to create a
personal interpretation that brings the suffering melancholy and declamatory aspect of Fado into the
piece.
For this, I have conducted a performer’s analysis of the work: I did a formal analysis of the piece as well
as an analysis of its motifs. I have also analyzed and compared three recordings of the Recitativo by
different violinists, read a pertinent article regarding the interpretation of this piece, and consulted with two
experts: Job ter Haar and Goran Gribajčevič. After collecting all the data I implemented it into my
interpretation of this piece while also applying the knowledge gained in the previous two intervention
cycles.

Link to reference recording #4: https://tinyurl.com/yx9wy8g2

Recorded at Codarts on January 28th, 2021; (2’51’’)
Based on my own impressions, and the feedback received from the contacted experts (Magda Mendes
and Goran Gribajčevič), these are the fundamental points:
- Rhythm: In the recording, I play too strictly and I barely do anything special in the “ad libitum”
sections. I should give more time to some important notes and play more freely in general.
- Articulation: I could use different types of articulation in both hands to create a more “speaking”
interpretation.
- Dramatism: My recording of Kreisler’s Recitativo is quite flat and lacking in dramatism. I should
use a broader range of colors and dynamics together with the tools acquired through the study of
Fado in order to create a more dramatic and passionate interpretation.
30
In this intervention cycle I used the following data collection strategies: score analysis, expert
consultation, literature review and recordings analysis.
Analysis of Recitativo by Fritz Kreisler
Formal analysis:
The formal structure of this piece is: A - from bar 1 to 9; A’ - from bar 10 to the end.
The first section is again divided in two phrases/sentences. The first begins with a basic statement of only
two bars which is repeated immediately after with a slightly varied ending. In the second half of bar four,
the second phrase begins and a new idea is presented, again in a two bar statement (mm. 43-62)12
followed by a second statement in which the music seems to be trapped by the gravity of the dominant.
The second section begins with an exact copy of the very first phrase, generating the expectation that we
will hear a repetition of the section, this time perhaps concluding on the tonic and resolving the tension.
The second phrase also starts exactly like in the first section but it deviates, in m. 153, through the use of
an extension (this will be analysed in the ensuing pages). This extension of the original second phrase
goes on until m. 252 and is followed by a concluding section using both old and new material.
Motif Analysis:
The most important musical idea present in this piece is chromaticism and with this idea, Kreisler created
what are, in my opinion, the two main motifs of the Recitativo, namely: a) a single half-tone step at the
end of a phrase or musical gesture (marked with a purple circle in the annotated fragments that follow),
and b) a descending chromatic line (marked with a blue circle in the score below in the annotated
fragments that follow). These chromaticisms are reminiscent of sobbing or painful sighs. A third motif, not
deriving from chromaticism, but still important within this piece is Kreisler’s use of rests. The composer
uses two kinds of rests: the first are rests at the end of phrases, representing pauses between sentences
in normal speech and the second are rests within a phrase or musical idea which are an integral part of
that idea.
Both statements of the first phrase end with an ascending half tone (G#-A, marked with a purple circle in
the score below), but in the second one, Kreisler writes a small variation - whereas in the first statement
the top and the bottom notes are connected by a simple 32nd note upbeat (marked with a blue circle in
the score below), in the second statement Kreisler expands on the idea, by making the top note higher
and connecting it to the bottom one through a diatonic scale in sextuplet rhythm reinforcing the emphasis
on the all important ascending half step. Note that in both instances there is a short rest after the top note,
which I interpret as the narrator catching his or her breath.
12
mm. 43-62 stands for “ from the third beat of measure 4 to the second beat of measure 6”.
31
Figure 17
In the second phrase, Kreisler inverts this half step at the end of the first statement (m. 6) and then
repeats it several times.
Figure 18
Another interesting instance of material development happens in this last statement: similar to the
material relation of the first sentence, after the short rest, we see the simple 16th note upbeat to bar 6 be
transformed once again into a more complex rhythm but this time, Kreisler removes the rest and adds the
chromatic component creating an even stronger pull toward the semitone interval and then repeats it
three times, building tension with each repetition and bringing it to a resting point (on the dominant) only
in m. 9.
Figure 19
As mentioned above, the second section of the Recitativo is, simply put, an expansion of the musical
ideas of the first. The first deviation from the original section comes in m. 15. If we compare it with the
analogous measure (m. 6) we see that the first two beats are very similar despite the fact that here
Kreisler takes us to the Neapolitan chord rather than to G major. It is upon this chord that he builds the
first extension.
Figure 20
32
From m. 183 to the end of bar 19 we have a chromatic descent in sixths which is actually an elaboration of
the second half of bar 4 and this time, Kreisler reintroduces the rest after the top note.
Figure 21
After this, from mm. 20 to 221 we have an exact copy of the music from mm. 7 to 91 which, as we saw,
builds tension by revolving around the dominant and never quite being able to escape it. The difference
between the two iterations comes at the very end of the statement: while in m. 92 we feel that the music
comes to a rest (even if on the dominant) through the use of a downward perfect fifth, this time around,
Kreisler delays the arrival to A by no less than three bars. In order to do this, he once again resorts to
chromaticism and introduces trills with double stops. This lack of the perfect fifth in combination with the
texture of the continuous trills passing through the fast changing harmonies makes this arrival at A feel
much more open than the one in m. 9.
Figure 22
From m.253 until the end, Kreisler slowly brings us to the tonic and resolves for the first time the harmonic
tension created throughout the piece. This section starts out with a simplified version of the melody from
m. 43, but this time the composer elaborates on the idea by continuing the descending chromatic line.
Figure 23
After a small harmonics cadenza, Kreisler uses an ascending chromatic line starting on G# but doesn’t
bring to the tonic before taking some turns around the tonic.
33
Figure 24
This ascending chromatism appears here for the first and last time in this piece and contrasts with all the
descending lines and finishes this Recitativo on a hopeful or even optimistic note.
Interview with Job ter Haar
Being that I intended to explore the declamatory nature of Kreisler’s recitativo, it seemed only natural to
consult with Job ter Haar - a baroque expert who also has experience in different genre playing.
The first thing we touched upon during the interview was the origin of instrumental rhetoric and the
relation between vocal and instrumental portamento. Ter Haar mentioned that the starting point for
rhetoric in western instrumental music is Monteverdi’s fourth book of madrigals, where he lays out the
rules of rhetoric and emotions. It was also around that time that instrumentalists started to try to imitate
singers, which made the use of portamenti a common practice. From then on, both singers and string
players compiled a significant repertoire of portamenti.
Then, after listening to a short excerpt of the Recitativo, ter Haar told me about Kreisler and Ysaye’s style,
in particular how their style of portamenti fits in the historical development of portamento practice.
I then asked how I should go about analysing the rhetoric elements in Kreisler’s Recitativo, to which Job
ter Haar answered that, given my goal, it would be wise to disregard Ysaye and Kreisler’s style as well as
modern violin tradition and approach it entirely based on the findings from my first two intervention cycles.
Working session with Goran Gribajčevič
In this working session, professor Gribajčevič gave me both interpretation suggestions and technical
advice on how to execute the many difficulties in the piece. Professor Gribajčevič started out by asking
about the dynamic markings in my score, as there are versions which have some dynamic indications, but
according to him this is wrong, since there aren’t any in the original score.
After discussing our opposing views of how the first chromaticism should be played, we came to the
conclusion that I should give emphasis to the G# and then let the A ring by playing it with a fast, yet light
bow as this mirrors my findings from the second intervention cycle on how portamenti are often combined
with ornamental diminuendi in Fado. In regards to the overall phrasing of the piece, the main advice given
was to follow the harmonies and use them to create expression without necessarily playing louder. As to
rhythm and tempo, I was told to take a lot more time to play certain notes and play more freely -
especially in the passages where “ad libitum” is written. In this matter I will need to draw on the feeling of
rhythmic freedom I experienced during the first intervention cycle.
Then we worked on more specific details, such as bar 8, where professor Gribajčevič told me to use a
portamento into the Bb unisson and explained how to make it technically easier. I was also told that in the
accelerando leading to the climax in bar 18, I should divide the passage in sections and save bow so that
there is “inner strength” in my sound, which will lead to greater damatism. Regarding the left hand
pizzicato passages, the professor told me to play them either before or after the beat, as doing it precisely
on the beat is very difficult and will often sound like a mistake due to suboptimal sound quality and
resonance. In the second left hand pizzicato instance, I was told to lift the left hand in order to facilitate
the execution. In the double stop trills passage (mm. 223 to 253) I was told that the most important thing
34
was to make the harmonies as clear as possible and professor Gribajčevič suggested that the section
should sound like a guitar.
Finally, I was challenged on what to do regarding the dynamics. Since there is maximum freedom, I have
to make all the choices. On this topic, professor Gribajčevič mentioned that the audience “will always hear
the main notes…”, meaning that I should sing out the notes that don’t belong to the harmonies.
Article by Axel Strauss on how to perform Kreisler’s Recitativo und Scherzo-caprice, Op. 6
I found this article very interesting, which is rather lucky given the fact that it was the only pertinent piece
of literature that I found regarding the interpretation of this work. In it, the author writes about the music as
if it were an actual recitativo from an opera or even an emotional and dramatic speech. Although I agree
with most of Strauss’s interpretative ideas, I can’t say that I got any of them from reading his article, but
rather from my own analyses and musical intuitions. Nevertheless, I find his writing so illustrative and
inspiring that I recommend reading his article to anyone who wishes to play this piece or just understand it
from a rhetorical perspective.
Analysis of several recordings of Recitativo by Fritz Kreisler
During my interview with Job ter Haar, I mentioned that I was planning on comparing several recordings
of this piece by different violinists. He suggested that I analyse: one recording by a violinist from the
russian tradition - I chose Heifetz’s because besides being one of my favorite violinists of all time, his
recording was the earliest I could find; one by a modern violinist - I chose Braunstein’s because it
immediately caused a negative impression on me and I thought it would be interesting to include a
recording which I didn’t like in the comparison; and since I had mentioned that I liked Giles Apap’s
version, ter Haar said that it could be an interesting third recording to analyse, given that it is quite
personal and doesn’t conform with violinistic tradition.
- Jascha Heifetz (1948)13:

Heifetz plays with a very full and present sound always keeping a lot of contact between the bow and the
strings and his dynamics revolve around the forte range only making a couple diminuendos towards the
end of a few phrases. This, plus the fast tempo at which he plays the piece, makes for an extremely
intense interpretation but it lacks in difference of colors. Heifetz’s bow articulation is very clean and clear;
he plays every single parlando instance (dashed legato notes) with great diction and every note at the
beginning of a bow is articulated with a very clear attack. Regarding portamenti, Heifetz’s interpretation is
very sober with only a handful of pronounced portamenti throughout the whole piece.
Heifetz gives, in my opinion, little importance to most instances of chromaticism in this piece. In the
opening statement, the two ascending half steps are completely overshadowed by the powerful bars
preceding them. The same can be said about the ones is the second phrase, except for the very last one,
where Heifetz takes the time to speak it out. Heifetz also pays little attention to the short rests within the
phrases, executing some and overlooking others without a clear musical reasoning behind it. Regarding
the extension and development of material in the second part of the piece, from mm. 15 to 182, Heifetz
does little to stress the connection between this section and beats 1 and 2 from measure 6. As to the
connection between the second half of bar 6 and mm. 183 to 19, a tempo relation can be heard between
the two sections - both times, Heifetz places a small fermata on the first note and then accelerates
towards the end of the passage. Lastly, in mm. 223 to 253, Heifetz plays the double stop trills rather fast
and with a lot of direction which helps the listener recognize that this section is an extension of the
resolution in m. 9.
13
https://tinyurl.com/ytk9j5wr
35
- Guy Braunstein (2012)14:
Although using a slightly broader palette of colors and dynamics, Braunstein’s interpretation lacks in
dramatism. This is most evident in the piece’s climax - Braunstein makes a very early crescendo leaving
no space to grow in the last few notes and rather than accelerating toward the top note, he slows down
and doesn’t make use of the fermata to play out this climax. Although not many more portamenti are
heard compared to Heifetz’s version, Braunstein makes his portamenti much slower and heavier.
In Braunstein’s interpretation, only the G#-A interval is emphasized and not even every time. I appreciate
that he plays the second time slightly different in both instances (mm. 4 and 13), but I miss a little hint that
in mm. 7-9 (and later, mm. 20-22) this motif is elaborated upon. Regarding the small rests within the
motifs, what was written about Heifetz’s interpretation can be said about Braunstein’s. From mm. 15 to
182 Braunstein makes use of different colors in order to highlight the derivative and persistent nature of
these bars. In the following measures, like Heifetz, Braunstein opts to stretch out the fourth beat in m. 18
and then accelerate the remainder of the passage, although he doesn’t quite achieve the same effect as
Heifetz, due to a lack of direction in the accelerando itself. Finally, Braunstein plays mm. 223 to 253 much
more statically than Heifetz and with less articulation than Apap, further conveying the feeling of
disorientation inherent to this passage.
- Giles Apap (2006) 15:

Of the three analysed recordings, Apap’s is where we hear the most variation in types of articulation. He
is also the violinist who employs most portamenti with the majority of them being quite slow and
pronounced. I consider Apap´s dynamic range to be somewhere between those of Heifetz and
Braunstein, but just like the latter, Apap’s interpretation of the climax is rather underwhelming.
Apap is also the performer who most effectively uses articulation in order to emphasize the ascending half
steps in mm. 2, 4, 11 and 13; although, like Braunstein, he gives little importance when this interval is
inverted (mm. 7-9 and 20-22). In Apap’s interpretation, he makes every single rest audible and uses them
to give shape to the musical lines.
In mm. 15-183 Apap doesn’t resort to any change of color dynamic or tempo in order to underscore the
relation between these bars and the two beats from which they derive. The same cannot be said for the
following passage: in mm. 183 to 19, Apap plays an accelerando towards m. 20 but rather than stretching
out the fourth beat in bar 18 he takes time on the first beat of measure 19. Lastly, much like Heifetz, Apap
plays mm. 223 to 253 at a very fast tempo and on top of that, he articulates the changing harmonies
extremely well, which is in my opinion very pleasant to hear but undercuts the purpose of the passage.
4.3.5 Intervention
I wanted the final product of my Artistic Research to be a personal and experimental interpretation of
Kreisler’s Recitativo based on the knowledge I had acquired through the study of Fado. In order to create
this personal interpretation, I drew on the data collected during this third intervention cycle to inform the
implementation of the findings from the first - i.e. the “breaking voice” effect; as well as those from the
second - the different types of portamenti, ornamental dynamics (also referred to as “swelling”) and
articulation.
The interpretative choices that were made have been explained through the use of annotated musical
fragments with accompanying descriptions and audiovisual exemplification. The full annotated score can
be found in [Appendix 5, Annotated Score #5].
14
https://tinyurl.com/2nmvcs2f
15
https://tinyurl.com/vtte5evv
36
Color Coding: -“Breaking voice” effect
-Ornamental Dynamics
-Right-Hand Articulation
-Left-Hand Articulation
-Ornamental Portamenti
-Vibrato
-Tempo
Mm. 1 & 2: The narrator starts off quietly and it’s difficult to understand the words. I play with barely any
right-hand articulation, start from nothing and make a late swelling in dynamic and vibrato on the first
note; The narrator’s voice cracks: on the appoggiatura, I play a “breaking voice” effect from E to D. As I
found during the second intervention cycle, using different types of left hand articulation can be useful in
imitating vocal articulation (or lack thereof), so here, in order to reinforce the lack of articulation, I play a
fast glissando towards the F. Direction towards the G#; slow portamento to A and vibrato on A with light
fast bow, as discussed in the working session with professor Gribajčevič. At the advice of Magda Mendes,
I play the G# completely without vibrato and only vibrate slightly on the A.
Figure 25
Link to audio visual example of figure 25
Mm. 3 - 42: In the repetition, I play the first note with an earlier dynamic swelling as a means to create
diversity. I play the “ad libitum” section with free bowing as it helps maximizing the rhythmic freedom as
well; I play a typical Fado portamento towards the top note: I repeat the E and execute the portamento
between it and G, with the accent being on E and then diminuendo (this is actually a near copy of the
gesture in Figure 11, page 27). After the top note, I play a small accelerando toward m. 4 and use the
“breaking voice” effect on G# and early portamento to A.
Figure 26
Mm. 43 - 62: To heighten the melancholy inherent to the downward chromaticism, I play a pronounced
portamento in the double stopped half step. I do the same from Ab to G (the finger swap on the Eb
creates a small “breaking voice” effect which was unintended, but I think it fits). Fast portamento from C to
B.
37
Figure 27
Mm. 63 - 9: Slight fermata on G and gradual accelerando towards m. 7. Early portamento from F to E with
accent on the F and diminuendo; once again, slight fermata on G and accelerando towards the following
bar. In m. 81/2, the same as in the previous one, but now in a mp/mf dynamic; portamento towards the
unisson Bb; In “ad libitum”, I once again chose for free bowing as it facilitates playing the rhythm freely. I
now play with marcato articulation and full sound. In m. 9, rather than portamento from F to E, a “breaking
voice” effect is played from E to A, as the narrator finally manages to finish the sentence and we hear the
fundamental of the dominant chord in the bass.
Figure 28
Mm. 10 & 11: This is the third time we hear this - the matter is serious. I therefore chose to play this
passage louder, with sharper articulation and faster vibrato. The “breaking voice” effect is still present but
almost imperceptible and in contrast to the first time, I play with as much right hand articulation as I can.
Figure 29
Mm. 12 - 132: Unlike in m. 3, here there is no “ad libitum” so I play with stricter rhythm; This time, to help
create a more dramatic atmosphere, I invert the portamento used in m. 3: rather than accentuating E and
making a diminuendo towards the top note, I start the portamento later and make a crescendo
culminating on G and plunge right away into the fourth and last iteration of this ascending half tone sigh.
38
Figure 30
Mm. 133 - 182: Until m. 15 I use the same ideas as in the first part, only now, maintaining the slightly
louder dynamic and sharper left hand articulation (through the elimination of all portamenti) established in
the previous phrase. Whereas in the first half of m. 6 I make a portamento from C to B, here we no longer
have a semitone (as we move into the Neapolitan chord), so I highlight this change by playing softer and
articulating the Bb; we once again hear the dominant of G major, this time arpeggiated and a little louder
but once more we have a deceptive cadence. Then in m. 16, with the repetition of this Neapolitan chord, I
play it on G and D strings which both creates novelty and allows me to make a portamento from C to Bb,
recalling the original passage (m. 6); With this reiteration of the D dominant 7th chord the tension is
clearly rising and therefore I play now with full sound and with as sharp articulation in the left hand as
possible. In order to most effectively transmit the sense of urgency and desperation I associate with this
climb (mm. 17-182), I follow the advice given by professor Gribajčevič and save bow which confers “inner
strength”16 to my sound. I make a swelling in vibrato and dynamic in 172 in order to give it an expressive
accent and at the climax of the passage and the piece, I stretch out the fermata playing this note with
maximum sound and vibrato intensity (as much as I am technically able).
Figure 31
Mm. 183 - 19: After the excruciating climax of this piece, Kreisler took the descending chromaticism from
m. 3 and turned into a painful sobbing. Here I return to a very soft dynamic and use drawn out portamenti
and mellow left hand articulation in order to cry these aching notes; just like in the original passage, I
make a small fermata on the G and then accelerate towards the end of the passage; the appoggiaturas in
m. 19, I believe, are Kreisler’s attempt at translating the breaking voice of someone crying, for this
reason, I play them as fast as possible and minimally articulated in the left hand; although professor
Gribajčevič advised me to execute the left-hand pizzicatos slightly before or after the beat (which I later
realized reminds the listener of all the open G string appoggiaturas), doing this creates too much activity
and would undercut the melancholic atmosphere I wish to create in this passage.
16
From working session with professor Goran Gribajčevič.
39
Figure 32
Mm. 20 - 222: In these two and a half bars I use the same ideas as in their analogous passage except for
the last two notes - while in m. 9, after three iterations of the descending semitone, we finally get the A in
the bass, here we don’t, and have to wait another two and a half bars to hear it, therefore I repeat the
portamento from F to E; another important difference relative to the related passage in the first part is the
fact that this time I keep the whole phrase in a soft dynamic range.
Figure 33
Mm. 223 - 253: As discussed in the working session with professor Gribajčevič, in this passage I should
strive to sound as close to a guitar as possible and make the harmonic changes very clear. In order to do
this I give a lot of support to the fingers which remain on the string (top and bottom notes) and play the trill
(middle note) with good left hand articulation and as fast as possible. The bow, on the other hand, should
not be articulated, therefore the accents are achieved through bow speed.
Figure 34
Mm. 253 - 272: In this last descending wail, for the sake of applying the “breaking voice” effect on the first
third, I play the Bb-A on G string; I then make pronounced portamenti in the descending semitones and
play the passage with a ritardando. Given that the tempo gets slower rather that faster (as happens in the
other left-hand pizzicato passage) I allow myself to play the pizzicatos after the beat, as it doesn’t
interfere with the mood.
40
Figure 35
M. 273: In this short cadenza, we are no longer listening to the narrator. Instead, Kreisler makes use of the
calm G string sound and the intermittent artificial harmonics to paint the landscape: it’s night, and the new
moon makes it possible for the narrator to see the starry sky out the window.
Figure 36
Mm. 28 & 29: As mentioned in the analysis section, these final two bars close the piece with a little breath
of hope. This hopeful note is nevertheless uttered by someone in pain and whose voice still cracks and
trembles when trying to speak (trill on C#), therefore I make one final use of the breaking voice effect
before this note.
Figure 37
Link to reference recording #4: https://tinyurl.com/aa72a2

Recorded at home on January 28th, 2021; (2’51’’)
For self assessment and expert feedback see point 3.4
41
4.1.7 Reflect on your progress since the first reference recording
I am pretty happy with the result of this intervention cycle. After applying the tools gathered during the
previous two cycles, I managed to create a more speaking interpretation of Kreisler’s Recitativo with
greater expressive nuances and more emotional depth than in the previous reference recording.
During the experimentation process, I realized that after all the contact I had with Fado, I developed a bit
of a fadistic intuition - in some instances, without thinking about what I wanted to do, musically speaking, I
instinctively tried to make a fadistic gesture - but I still struggle to translate this fadistic intuition into the
violin.
42
5 Reference list
● Abib, Pedro. “FADO VADIO (documentário - 2010 - 18min.) Direção Pedro Abib” YouTube video, 18:08.
August 23, 2016. https://youtu.be/kYTowaHXgBM
● Ayres de Abreu, Edward Valeriano de Luiz Gonçalves. “Ruy Coelho (1889-1986): o compositor da
geração d’Orpheu.” Diss. 2014
● Cascudo, Teresa. “A década da invenção de Portugal na música erudita (1890-1899)” Revista

Portuguesa de Musicologia nº 10 (2000): 181-226.
● de Castro, Paulo Ferreira. "O que fazer com o século XIX?–Um olhar sobre a historiografia música
portuguesa." Revista portuguesa de musicologia 2 (2014): 171-184.
● Nery, Rui Vieira. “Para uma história do fado”. 2004.
● García Pindado, Sandra. "La voz del Fado: una propuesta de análisis del canto de Amália Rodrigues."
(2015).
● Gray, Lila Ellen. "Memories of Empire, Mythologies of the Soul: Fado Performance and the Shaping
of Saudade." Ethnomusicology 51, no. 1 (2007): 106-30. www.jstor.org/stable/20174504.
Accessed April 15, 2020.
● Holton, Kimberley DaCosta. "Fado Historiograhy: Old Myths and New Frontiers." Portuguese Cultural
Studies 1 (2006): 1.
● Lemmens, Brita. “The learning process in fado through artistic research”, Journal for Artistic Research,
2 (2012)
● Naucef, Alina-Maria and Manafu, Elena-Mihaela. "Articulation in Mozart’s piano and violin Sonatas."
Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series VIII: Performing Arts 9 (2016).
● Nicolay, R., & Sociais, C. (2012). O fado de Portugal , do Brasil e do mundo : as teorias sobre sua
origem, 10.
● Parente, Manuel. “Serão Comando, Uma Noite Chamada Fado.” LusoAmericano, March 21, 2001, 30.
● Rodrigues, Susana Filipa Viegas. "Caracterização acústica das consoantes líquidas do Português
Europeu." (2015).
● The Oxford Dictionary of Music, edited by Kennedy, Joyce, Michael Kennedy, and Tim
Rutherford-Johnson.: Oxford University Press, 2012. https://www-oxfordreference-com.codarts.idm.ocl
c.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780199578108.001.0001/acref-9780199578108.
● Strauss, Axel. “Speaking with Strings” Strings (April 2005): 34-36
43
6 Network
Vesna and Igor Gruppman - My violin teachers at Codarts. They will be helpful in guiding the preparation
of the pieces I will work on from a technical point of view.
Goran Gribajčevič - Violin teacher at Codarts who gave me the inspiration to research this topic.
Nuno Meira - My former violin teacher. Although he is not specialized in Portuguese music, he has a huge
network in Portugal, which he will gladly give me access to.
Daniel Aires - A colleague of mine who expressed interest in Fado. He has led to a significant
enlargement of my network.
Carlos Semedo - Portuguese guitar player and composer. Has referred me to the following entry.
Hugo Vasco Reis - Portuguese guitar player and composer. I have maintained active contact with him. He
has been advising me on the direction in which to take my research. He has also referred me to two other
people but they have not yet replied to my messages.
Magda Mendes - Portuguese singer who, among other genres, sings Fado. I took Fado lessons and
worked closely with her within the scope of the second intervention cycle.
Daniel Raposo - Portuguese guitar and guitar player based in the Netherlands.
Maria de Fátima Travassos - Portuguese Fado singer based in the Netherlands.
Noa - Singer and violinist, who among other genres performs Fado.
João Martins - Portuguese guitar player with whom I played in “Casa da Mariquinhas” and who recorded
the accompaniment track of Fado Menor do Porto used for the third reference recording.
44
Appendices
Appendix 1: List of all recordings included in report
Link to reference recording #1: https://tinyurl.com/yadzt2ny
Link to reference recording #3: https://tinyurl.com/yyg947lu
Link to reference recording #4: https://tinyurl.com/yx9wy8g2
Audio visual examples from figure 2: https://tinyurl.com/y2f92pel
Audiovisual documentation of my visit to Casa da Mariquinhas: https://tinyurl.com/y473twb2
Experimentation Process leading to reference recording #3: https://tinyurl.com/y5m5r56z
45
Appendix 2: Critical media review
Abib, P. “Fado Vadio” Documentary. 2010.
The documentary opens with A Viela by Alfredo Marceneiro. While we listen to this fado, written on the
screen appears the definition of “Fado Vadio” which is basically a type of Fado that is sung by amateurs in
Taverns. When the song fades, musicologist Rui Vieira Nery gives a brief background on the origins of
Fado and how it fused itself into the pre-existing musical traditions of Lisbon. After a short intermezzo with
another fado - this time, Misérias by Adelina Fernandes - Nery continues by explaining the evolution of
Fado in the 19th century.
At this point we hear the first “Fado Vadio”, sung in a tavern in Lisbon. After this, we hear from a man,
seemingly outside this tavern, that tells us about the infamous history of Fado. Nery makes this exact
point, telling the audience about the (earlier) bad connotation of the word “Fadista”. We then see a scene
from a portuguese silent film bringing this to life.
We hear Nos Tempos Em Que Eu Cantava by Alfredo Marceneiro.
Rui Vieira Nery speaks of the connection of fado to the labour movement and other progessive
movements, up until the 1926 coup d’etat that established the dictatorship. At this point Fado, like all
other art forms, was targeted by state censorship.
Nowadays, claims Vieira Nery, upon entering the mainstream of portuguese culture, Fado has lost most
of its early characteristics as a song of protest and social intervention.
We hear another “Fado Vadio” and the documentary closes with some beautiful words by the man outside
the tavern: “Fado is the portuguese soul. They can take everything from us, except Fado.”
García Pindado, Sandra. "La voz del Fado: una propuesta de análisis del canto de Amália
Rodrigues." (2015).
In her thesis, Sandra García Pindado analyses the evolution of Amália’s vocal technique through the
years. She notes that throughout her career, there are changes in the singer’s technique regarding
parameters such as timbre, volume, thickness, ornamentation and vibrato. But more interestingly, she
writes that Amália’s articulation remains clear in all the analysed interpretations and denotes the
importance given to the lyrics. Unfortunately there is no further mention as to how Amália achieves this
level of precise articulation - probably because it was not interesting for her investigation.
Lemmens, Brita. “The learning process in fado through artistic research”, Journal for Artistic
Research, 2 (2012).
Brita Lemmens puts one sentence at the core of her artistic research - “Fado isn’t learned.” - and she
made it her mission to disprove this affirmation. To do this she used only two data collection strategies for
her whole research: ethnography and self-critical practice. She describes her life in Lisbon and her visits
to all the Fado houses, clubs and cafés. Lemmens rigorously documented the whole process through the
use of written notes, audio and video recordings. She mentions a score annotation technique which has
been useful in my own research.
Although I had already been urged by my coach to go to a Fado house and sing with the musicians,
reading this research gave me the courage to do so.
46
Naucef, Alina-Maria and Manafu, Elena-Mihaela. "Articulation in Mozart’s piano and violin
Sonatas." Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, Series VIII: Performing Arts 9 (2016).
In the third chapter of this paper, entitled “Musical phonetics”, the authors write about articulation on the
piano and the violin and make a correlation with the vowels and consonants of spoken language.
Regarding violin phonetics, a division is made between vowels (A, E and I), and consonants of several
types (P, M, N, T, Ţ, R) and then a description of how to play each type of letter is given. Although
interesting, I am not completely in agreement with the findings of this research project - to describe the
articulation of several types of consonants, the authors refer to dynamics which is a different musical
attribute and the two aren’t necessarily correlated. For instance, regarding the articulation of “M” and “N”
type consonants, the paper reads: “Unlike the vowels, these two consonants create a much more inward
atmosphere, with a feeling of deep introspection. In the score one finds them on the long, warm, maybe
non-vibrated sound in the nuances of pp, p.” But it’s not hard to imagine a syllable starting in “M” being
said or sung in a forte dynamic. In Fado Menor do Porto one can find many such instances.
47
Appendix 3: Full feedback on reference recordings
Reference Recording #1
Vesna Gruppman: “Dear Ricardo, I listened to your recording and the tempo is too slow. Even though the
tempo marking says Lento, the music should have flow. Furthermore, the piece sounds monotone. You
should use vibrato in order to create different colors. Experiment with different ranges and speeds of
vibrato.”
Goran Gribajčevič: “I’ve seen your video! I like it, I wonder if you realized that your timing of shifts is all
over the place...... please, pay attention to that, it’s a crucial aspect of translation between singing and
playing.... In other words. We classicall people ALWAYS shift on the new bow! That’s our dogma! It has to
be! The other people shift before.... and then we call it bel canto playing.......But, when before? That’s my
question to you....... Greetings”
Noa: “Hi Ricardo, I already saw your video. I liked it a lot. Although I think that those sort of hungarian
portamenti shouldn’t be common practice. Only in some moments, stylistically and not as current
language. As if they were little rocks of kosher salt on top of the food. Now try it with a live guitar!”
Carlos Semedo: “It’s too ornamented. As an exercise, portamento works, but only in small amounts. A
good and healthy voice uses portamenti on slurs, but when well done it’s too fast to execute on other
instruments, or in consonants (as it ends up not being heard). But when we listen to amatures who still do
it very slowly, it is too obvious.
I advise you to do them (in a more obvious way) only where you decide they are suited. Unless the
challenge is really doing them as fast as the voice, but I’m not sure if that’s technically feasible.
There is one [portamento], however, that MUST be there - when it moves to the major key (on that
“cantava”). I think catching that one well is the key to this song. I’m not listening right now, but from what I
remember, that moment is one of the most expressive and it changes the intonation.”
Magda Mendes: “I thought it super interesting that you made the transcription with all the ornaments that I
recognize from Amália’s version, so it’s clear that you used that version. It’s super well played, but it
sometimes reminds me of Jewish music and that has mostly to do with how you play the portamenti, more
specifically with how you support them. For instance, at the end of the last verse from the first strophe you
make a portamento with the accent on the first note and with diminuendo to the second note and that
makes it sound less like Fado and more like Jewish music.”
Magda Mendes: “portamento´s in Fado Português are really "present", with weight and in the foreground,
many times as loud as the main melody. This is a quite dominant ornament that in your recording kind of
took over my attention, more than being a colour became the message in my ears. In Fado menor do
Porto I hear them pleasantly in another proportion, played lightly and with an appropriate velocity, making
them more like "ghost notes" that ornament the melody, more than being the melody. I really like how you
"corrected" or adapted that ornament.
48
Dynamics: Now I hear much more clearly a dynamic between staccato "words", crescendo´s and
temperament. The way you approach the lyrics in minute 00:53 (há no meu pensamento) fits, in my
opinion, the singing way to approach a mute consonant (h) followed by "a", which for singing poses a
challenge when you want to accentuate it. You managed that, the sudden crescendo followed by
diminuendo, I like it!
Nostalgia: Despite the seemingly balanced proportion of portamento´s and other approaches to
articulation, I feel the temperament is energic which is most of the time fitting the words but other times
could be more "round", more soft. I am not sure how to put this in words, but maybe something we can
explore together in a lesson. It's a cliché that is often associated with fado, but here I feel like it's really
important, though a subtle element.”
Magda Mendes: “The first note in bars 1, 3, 10 and 12 feels like a great opportunity to implement the
subito crescendo-diminuendo that we explored in Fado Menor do Porto. It’s probably a complicated vocal
effect to translate in the violin, I don’t remember if that was something that you used in your version of
Fado Menor do Porto. I would like a bit more emphasis on the halftone interval in the second bar - again,
experiment with the swelling effect, with and without accent and make the portamento a bit more
pronounced.
In the second half of bar 13 begins a series of sentences leading to a climax which I feel could belong to a
Fado and if I were to sing that I would have the temptation to stretch the last note and sing it very
dramatically.
I see the sentences after the fermata in bar 18 as the calm and sweet response to all the drama that
precedes them. For that I would suggest accentuating slightly less the very first note after the climax. You
could “cry” more the chromatic descent following it and the chromatic interval F-E which appears several
time could also be more expressive. Finally I would like the “ad libitum” passage in bar 21 to be calmer
and sweeter.”
Goran Gribajčevič: “Don’t be so strict! I could change more colors, it’s Recitativo. You should try to
present it in very easy, free and yet dramatic fashion.”
Final Product
Goran Gribajčevič: “I like it! It doesn’t sound like a standard violin piece! It’s a real compliment in this
case. It’s very difficult to avoid the forms and expectations of a standard violin repertoire . The message
you tried to convey, is very obvious to me! I would still use a different timing with left hand pizzicato’s.
Bravo”
Magda Mendes: “I like the swelling on the first note in bar 1 and 3. This is something that I imagined
would be difficult to translate from singing to the violin. Although it was my suggestion, I don’t think that
the ornament in the beginning of bar 2 works very well there. But when you repeat the passage (mm.
10-13), I think it fits much better and I start to hear the Fado temperament. The same thing goes for the
portamento in m. 3 and m. 12 - it doesn’t work the first time and it does the second. It might have to do
with the fact that these ornaments aren’t meant for calm and introspective passages but for passages with
temperament.
I like the crescendo in mm. 17 and 18 as well as the intensity with which you play the fermata. It is much
more dramatic than in the previous version [reference recording #4] and this is something very Fadistic.
Then I also like how you immediately switched to a very melancholic way of playing in the following
sentence.
49
Lastly, in measure 10 there is a gesture that reminds me of Fado (D, C#, D, E, F) and you played it much
more articulated that in the first version [reference recording #4]. This gives it a much more Fadistic
feeling, as we discussed in the lessons - you need to sing the consonants rather than the vowels.”
50
Appendix 4: Transcription of interviews
INTERVIEW 1
Hugo Vasco Reis (Portuguese composer and portuguese guitar player/fadista)
RB: So, could you tell me about “the creators”?
HVR: “The creators”. It’s the concept of a creator. For instance, Cheira bem cheira a Lisboa, I don’t know
who the composer is, but I know who the creator is and that’s Anita Guerreiro. She is a lady who is about
80 years old right now, she’s in the “Casa do Artista” and she is already has some health issues, she still
sings every once in a while, but she used to do a lot of “Revista” [theatre] and was the first person to sing
and record it.
RB: Can I show you my transcription of Fado Português?
HVR: Of course! (takes my score and starts humming) See, I wouldn’t write it like this. (hums a slightly
different melody). It’s not an ascending scale there. But that’s the thing, maybe I’m already “styling” (a
estilar) because I’ve heard this piece so many times that I feel like the melody is like this, but maybe it’s
not. But I must tell you that you can have a problem with transcriptions. Why? Because you should listen
to the first recording of that Fado, that’s the one that establishes it. But then other recordings end up
being made, that maybe are of better quality, or the fadista is better and then people start to appropriate
the melodies and even excerpts that they like better. A sort of “cut and sew” ends up happening, which
might be good in terms of renovation but it can be bad when it comes to preservation of the original.
RB: I understand. My original idea was to transcribe the melody and rhythm as simple as possible, to then
compare what is done by each fadista.
HVR: Fado Português, I believe, repeats 4 times.
RB: Amálias recording only has three repetitions.
HVR: Ok, you’ll notice that each of those repetitions will be different. Usually the first is to present the
Fado and the others are where the fadista can “style”. In traditional Fado’s you can “style” more, in
Fado-songs you shouldn’t “style” as much. Because in traditional Fado’s there’s very little harmony, which
gives liberty to the voice.
INTERVIEW 2
Sofia Ramos (Portuguese fadista)
RB: When you first learn a new fado, how do you arrive at your final interpretation? What does the
creative process look like?
SR: When I prepare a Fado, normally I think of a melody that I want to sing. Then I look for lyrics that suit
the music and make sense. Before singing the lyrics with the melody, I try to memorise them just talking,
to be closer to the register of speech. This way when I introduce the melody, the words don’t lose
meaning.
51
To arrive at the final interpretation I need to sing the theme more than once and preferably with different
musicians. This allows me to find my way of singing, experimenting with different tempi, different
melismas, etc.
RB: How do you decide where to use portamenti/portamenti?
SR: The use of portamenti or portamenti comes naturally. If the melody asks it and that particular syllable
allows for it, I do it. It depends a lot on the moment and what I’m feeling.
RB: How do you decide when and how to use “voltinhas” (turns)?
SR: This question is similar to the previous one. The turns occur naturally if the metric of the lyrics is
respected. I believe that stylling becomes more natural and personal when we give attention to the words
and find in them the places to perform the turns. The decision to do them comes from singing a lot, but is
never stagnant. Some days I do this, some days I do that.
INTERVIEW 3
Nicole Jordan (Artistic Research Coach and professional singer)
RB: When I started this quest to translate the crying and suffering lyricism that can be heard in Fado into
my violin playing, I thought that I would achieve this by imitating the ornaments. But unfortunately this
wasn’t the case, two of the juries in my exam said that it reminded them of balcanic violinists, which is not
what I was going for. As a singer, could you tell me what gives Fado this sorrowful expression?
(We listened to a couple of songs)
NJ: It reminds me a lot of Flamenco, it’s got a lot of the same qualities. So the first thing is the timbre. And
this is a vocal element that you can aim for with your violin, but you won’t get the same.The timbre is very
unique, very rusty, with an open throat. The vibrato that is used is quite specific as well so it’s worth
analysing that. To me it’s quite similar to the Flamenco vibrato, it’s right at the end of the longer notes and
then right at the end of the phrase. Phrasing is also something interesting. At least this song has a quite
short and gasping kind of phrasing. So it’s got this agitation in it that gives the emotion. And of couse,
because of the language there’s the use of the consonants and the vowels. The vowels are closely
related to timbre, so I leave that there but the consonants - how the R’s are rolled, how the T’s are formed
- are also related to this agitation that I just mentioned.
So these are like two and a half or three elements that give this “saudade” pathos to Fado. These are all
things that are also recognizable in Flamenco. I don’t know much about Balcanic music so I can’t say
anything about that. But how you manage that as a violinist… (makes a “confused”/”clueless” face)
RB: Yeah, that’s something that I’ll have to work out. I also wanted to show you something else. In the
exam, professor Goran Gribajčevič mentioned this Romanian singer and when I listened to her it didn’t
sound anything like Fado, so I didn’t know what to make of it.
(We listened to the song)
NJ: I can understand how if someone is listening from a tonalities point of view there could be some
similarities. The phrasing is quite short as well. From the emotional singer point of view it’s not that similar
but the tonalities I could say that there’s something there, how the phrasing is used, and slightly the
vibrato, but it’s not quite the same. To me still, flamenco has much closer connection to Fado and even a
singer like Fairouz, who was an arabic goddess. And she is arabic so that’s more or less the same roots
as Flamenco so that’s not surprising. Have you spoken to Magda Mendes?
52
RB: Yes I did.
NJ: You should have Fado lessons with her.
RB: Okay, I’ll ask her if she would be willing.
NJ: Is that all? Do you have any more questions?
RB: Well now I’m still struggling with what my final result is going to be.
NJ: You’re a classical violinist, right?
RB: Yes.
NJ: And are you supposed to go back to classical music with this or are you ok with staying in Fado?
RB: My goal was to take this “saudade” way of singing and bring it into my violin playing.
NJ: Okay. Do you have repertoire for that?
RB: Not yet.
NJ: I see two and a half ways that you can go with this. One is you make some Fado arrangements for
violin and that is your result - you’ve got some more repertoire. The second is indeed to go back to
classical music, but then you have to find some very clear, well chosen repertoire. And the questions
you’ll get if you do this will be “Why this piece?” and “ What will you bring to it?” which is fine, a bit more
difficult, but definitely possible. And the half way is that you have a way of explaining what you learned
from Fado and how you can apply it in classical music, by exemplifying it in the repertoire that you’re
playing.
RB: Thank you very much Nicole.
INTERVIEW 4
Job ter Haar (Artistic Research Coach, Professional Cellist and Baroque Expert)
RB: Hi Job, thank you for meeting me! So, a short introduction about my work so far: in the first two
intervention cycles I transcribed and analyzed the melodies of two Fado’s and then played them on my
violin with the intention of capturing some of the nuances that I could hear in the singer’s voice.
What drew me to Fado was this melancholic sound in the singer’s voice and then, as it happens during a
research, it kind of strayed away from that but what I also learned about Fado is that it’s all about the text
and the music is there to sort of bring the poem to life and in the Fado’s that I transcribed and analyzed
the singer is crying out the poem. So for my final products I took the piece Recitativo und
Scherzo-Caprice by Fritz Kreisler, do you know it?
JtH: When I hear it I’ll probably recognize it; I know most pieces by Kreisler.
RB: Great, so as it’s clear from the title, the first part of this piece is about reciting there are many
elements that even before I started studying fado I could hear that they were rhetorical elements. So I
asked myself: how can I apply what I learned from Fado to this piece?
53
So my first question to you is: did rhetorical instrumental music evolve from vocal music?
JtH: Yes, most definitely. It starts the moment people start singing with text but in our western musical
tradition I would say that Monteverdi is the starting point. I think it’s in his fourth book of madrigals that he
explains the rules of rhetoric and the emotions - the passions are governed by the text and if you don’t
have a text you have to invent one. And from there all the passions arise. There are many ways to do this
and it depends a little bit on the style of music, the language and the time period, but the way to work with
text fundamentally has not changed between the 1600 and 1900. Then things start to change a bit - you
get these opera singers who just shout and make long lines using a diminished 5th vibrato and then all
connection to the text is lost. But before that, despite big changes in the style of music and the text, the
basic way you work with text did not change so much and I wouldn’t be surprised if those principles are
also fundamental to how it is done in fado.
RB: Great, thank you! My second question is: what is the connection between vocal portamento and
instrumental portamento/portamenti.
JtH: Generally speaking it is supposed to be the same. So the objective in all music since 1600 is for
every instrumentalist to play like a singer in all aspects. Singers have, especially in the 19th century,
amassed a huge repertoire of portamenti that string players can imitate. On the other hand, string players
can also do things that singers cannot do - those types of portamenti are quite rare and they’re not used
very much anymore, but players like Kreisler used to use them.
RB: What do you mean?
JtH: So for instance, there is a kind of portamento that is performed when you have an ascending interval
but play a descending portamento - this doesn’t make any sense for a singer, but string players did it. This
is a kind of a sob and in a way, it is still an imitation of what singers could do but it’s translated into string
playing because singers also make these sobs. There are all kinds of sounds that nowadays would be
considered unmusical but that were part of the 19th-century string vocabulary and eventually, they fit in
the vocal style of playing although the effect itself is not necessarily possible on the voice. So it isn’t a
literal translation, it’s more a translation in the spirit than the flesh, so to speak.
(We listened to Kreisler’s Recitativo)
JtH: It sounds very much like Ysaye.
RB: Yes! Actually, it was dedicated to Ysaye.
JtH: That’s very clear. It belongs to a style of playing which is very much 19th-century style. If you listen
to Ysaye and Kreisler, Kreisler has one foot in the modern world, in the sense that he uses continuous
vibrato, but on the other hand, his style of portamento is still completely 19th century style, maybe a little
bit more to the point. So, in the beginning of the 20th century there was a movement led by Pablo Casals
to get rid of the standard practice of basically connecting all notes with portamenti, or at least all shifts.
Until then, all shifts meant a portamento because players did not lift the bow when making a shift - they
just went back and forth and no matter the musical context there would always be a slide and then if there
was an expressive moment they would exaggerate, but the basis was that all shifts were slides, basically.
This gives an overall vocal feeling to this style of playing.
When you listen to Casals now, you hear a lot of portamenti that you don’t hear nowadays, but compared
to earlier players, his playing is cleaner because he pinpoints his portamenti - he adds them when he
feels that they are necessary. So this is a bit of a change and Kreisler is, maybe not exactly in the same
54
school, but related. This also starts with Carl Flesch in the violin and Kreisler is not so far apart from that,
so you hear the beginning of more functional, or at least the absence of non-functional portamenti.
Technical portamenti were also very much used in that period, so when you need to reach a note, you
approach it by means of a portamento, and the singers would do this as well - it’s called “cercar della
nota“ - but later it is viewed as a sign that you are an amature so people start to avoid it, but it’s part of the
19th century vocabulary. So that sort of disappears and it becomes a tool that you use only for expressive
intervals and Kreisler is sort of halfway in this process, I would say.
RB: Thank you. That’s very interesting! One thing that I was told by Fado experts about my playing in the
first intervention cycle was that my portamenti were too over the top and too pronounced and that a good
Fadista sings the portamenti must faster and that there isn’t this searching of the note. So that is
something that I tried to do in the second IC - make the portamenti as fast as possible. So from what you
just told me I guess I went to the very extreme of eliminating portamenti, or when playing them, doing it as
fast as possible because that is what I can hear and what I was told to look for in the recordings.
JtH: I would be curious to listen to the portamentos in old recordings, because if Fado followed the
development of singing of the rest of the world, you would expect the portamenti to be fatter and slower
before the second World War. And this is not the case then Fado has its own tradition in this respect.
I was listening to some turkish violinist and discussing with Michalis Kouloumis, the violin teacher from the
Turkish department, and he thought that the use of portamento was stronger in Ottoman music than after
the second World War, and I was wondering how these early Turkish and Greek violinists were trained.
Because if they were trained in the classical way then they would have this old fashioned way of playing
portamento, or maybe this is just something that was in everyone’s ears - you would go to a café and you
would hear western singers - and then these things get mixed. It’s difficult to find a “pure” tradition, as far
as that exists.
RB: Okay, with all of this in mind, how would you go about analysing the rhetoric elements in this
particular piece?
JtH: That would depend a little bit on my goal, on what kind of performance I want to do. If I want to be
experimental and learn from the Fado tradition then I would try to approach it entirely based on the
findings you mention in your first two intervention cycles and I would completely ignore the violin tradition
of Kreisler and Ysaye as well as the modern way of violin playing completely. But this really depends on
your standpoint, where you want to be with your performance.
RB: You just described it. My idea is to create this personal interpretation which is not correct, it is just
what I arrived at after having gone through this whole process.
JtH: Yes, sure! And as a second experiment you could try to emulate Kreisler’s style. Kreisler has this
“parlando” way of playing that is typical for this period and they use the upper part of the bow a lot and
they articulate… Gitlis had this a little bit, I think. He was a bit in this tradition, they could play this
“parlando” very well. I think you could try to emulate this style of playing and see what comes out. Listen
to a lot of Kreisler and see how he speaks with the violin. Then you could compare modern recordings
and recordings from russian tradition violinists and see what comes out. And then compare your Fado
version.
RB: I have looked for a recording of Kreisler himself playing this piece, but I couldn’t find it.
JtH: It probably doesn’t exist. I would know about it.
55
RB: Where can I find recordings of Kreisler’s playing? Because maybe I could use an analysis of his
playing in general to deduce how he would have played this piece.
JtH: You’ll find a lot on Youtube, there you have more than enough material. But I wouldn’t go that far. I
would say that is a research in itself to try to emulate Kreisler’s style and it would take you a lot of time.
You could try to do some reenactment but if you don’t have a recording of this particular piece, it would
require a lot of research.
RB: Yes, I agree. I mentioned it because one of my intended data collection strategies is a performer’s
analysis and then to position my interpretation among the field and it would be interesting to have a
reference of Kreisler’s style.
JtH: Yes, that would be interesting, but also a lot of work. And I also think that it would be polluting your
research by deviating from the main topic. What you could do is ask someone who has done this
research to play this piece for you.
RB: Then for my performer’s analysis, I could have a traditional version, a modern version and then
myself.
JtH: You can also add Apap, because you like it and because it is also a personal approach. See if you
can the earliest recording.
RB: Okay, I have everything I came for and more. Thank you for your time!
56
Appendix 5: Transcriptions/annotated scores/analyses
TRANSCRIPTION 1
57
ANNOTATED SCORE 1
58
59
ANNOTATED SCORE 2
Color Coding: -Articulation

-Stressed syllables
-Portamenti
60
ANNOTATED SCORE 3
Color Coding: -Articulation

-Stressed syllables
-portamenti
-Dynamics
-Helpful notation
61
ANNOTATED SCORE 4
62
ANNOTATED SCORE 5
Color Coding: -“Breaking voice” effect

-Ornamental Dynamics
-Right-Hand Articulation
-Left-Hand Articulation
-Ornamental Portamenti
-Vibrato
-Tempo
63
64

Ricardo Moreira Da Silva Baylina - Artistic Research Report

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Ricardo Moreira Da Silva Baylina - Artistic Research Report

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Artistic Research Report

Student name: Ricardo Baylina

Main subject: Violin

Research domain: Performance Practice

Title of the research: A fadistic approach to violin expression

Keywords: Fado; Lyricism; Melody; Ornament; Rhythm; Voice; Violin; Vibrato

Date of submission: 19-04-2021

4 Documentation of the intervention cycles 11

... the nostalgic murmuring of nostalgic men...4

3.1 Presentation of the artistic result

Link to artistic result: https://tinyurl.com/aa72a2

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962); Recitativo und Scherzo-Caprice (1911)

3.2 Documentation of the artistic result

3.3 Explanation of progress during the research process

3.4 Assess and expert feedback

4.1 First intervention cycle

4.1.1 Overview of first intervention cycle

4.1.2 Reference recording

Link to reference recording #1: https://tinyurl.com/yadzt2ny

Ruy Coelho (1889-1986); Fantasia Portuguesa - Intermezzo

4.1.3 Reflect & assess

4.1.4 Data collection

Transcription of the vocal part of Fado Português [Appendix 5, Transcription #1].

Analyzing Amália’s recording.

Annotated Score [Appendix 5, Annotated Score #1]

Timestamp Description Annotated score

-lower acciaccatura with portamento on the G +

-accelerando on the first beat and rhythm variation on

-accelerando on the first beat

-acciaccatura with portamento from A to G

0m40 -two note appogiatura on E

-accelerando on the first beat + rhythm variation on

-upper acciaccatura with portamento on Bb

-portamento from Bb to A + gliss from G to A

-acciaccatura with portamento from A to F +

-four-note upper turn on D

-acciaccatura with portamento from F# to C#

-accellerando on the first beat + short fermata on B

-acciaccatura with portamento from B to G

-acciaccatura with portamento from A to G

-acciaccatura with portamento from A to F#

- acciaccatura with portamento from F# to E +

Figure 6: Description of the annotated score on Amalia’s interpretation of Fado Português

Fragment Description Example Video

-The A is slightly longer than written and begins the

-The portamento is short and begins at the end of

-I play this fragment on G string, to allow myself to

-Here the choice for the G string was purely based

-The portamento from E to Bb starts immediately

-The two portamenti are basically in one motion but

-The ornamentation notes are again part of the

-The two appoggiature are again played fast and

-Both portamenti start immediately and are very

-Again, both portamenti are performed in one

-This time all three portamenti are slower, reflecting

-To produce a better ”breaking voice” effect, I make

-Again, both portamenti are performed in one

-Appoggiatura is part of the melody. It should be

-Again, to produce the ”breaking voice” effect, I

-Again, both portamenti are performed in one

-portamento starts right away and is drawn out

-Again, both portamenti are performed in one

-Again, the portamento starts right away and is