A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Repetition

by A. J. Hipkins

REPETITION (Pianoforte). The rapid reiteration of a note is called repetition; a special touch of the player facilitated by mechanical contrivances in the pianoforte action; the earliest and most important of these having been the invention of Sebastian Erard. [See the diagram and description of Erard's action under Pianoforte, vol. ii. p. 722.] By such a contrivance the hammer, after the delivery of a blow, remains poised, or slightly rises again, so as to allow the hopper to fall back and be ready to give a second impulse to the hammer before the key has nearly recovered its position of rest. The particular advantages of repetition to grand pianos have been widely acknowledged by pianoforte makers, and much ingenuity has been spent in inventing or perfecting repetition actions for them: in upright pianos however the principle has been rarely employed, although its influence has been felt and shown by care in the position of the 'check' in all check action instruments. The French have named the mechanical power to rapidly repeat a note, 'double échappement'; the drawbacks to double escapement—which the repetition really is—are found in increased complexity of mechanism and liability to derangement. These may be overrated, but there always remains the drawback of loss of tone in repeated notes; the repetition blow being given from a small depth of touch compared with the normal depth, is not so elastic and cannot be delivered with so full a forte, or with a piano or pianissimo of equally telling vibration. Hence, in spite of the great vogue given to repetition effects by Herz and Thalberg, other eminent players have disregarded them, or have even been opposed to repetition touches, as Chopin was and Dr. Hans von Bülow is—see p. 7, §10 of his commentary on selected studies by Chopin (Aibl, Munich, 1880), where he designates double escapement as a 'deplorable innovation.'

A fine example of the best use of repetition is in Thalberg's A minor Study, op. 45:—

etc.

where the player, using the first two fingers and thumb in rapid succession on each note, produces by these triplets almost the effect of a sustained melody with a tremolo. It is this effect, produced by mechanical means only, that is heard in Signor Caldera's Melopiano as made by Herz in Paris, and Kirkman in London. Repetition is however an old device with stringed instruments, having been, according to Bunting, a practice with the Irish harpers, as we know it was with the common dulcimer, the Italian mandoline and the Spanish bandurria.

A remarkable instance may be quoted of the effective use of repetition in the Fugato (piano solo) from Liszt's 'Todtentanz' (Danse Macabre)

But there need be no difficulty in playing this on a well-regulated and checked single escapement. With a double escapement the nicety of checking is not so much required.

[ A. J. H. ]