A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Vorschlag

by Franklin Taylor

VORSCHLAG (Ger.), an ornament made at the commencement of a note, and therefore the opposite of the Nachschlag, which is placed at the end. It usually consists of a note one degree above or below the principal note, as the note which it embellishes is called (Ex. 1), though it may be more distant from it (Ex. 2), and it may also consist of more than one note (Ex. 3), in which case it has a special name. [Slide, Double Appoggiatura].

The Vorschlag is written as a small note or notes, and is not accounted for in the time of the bar. In order to make room for it, the principal note is slightly curtailed and its entrance delayed, as is shown in the above examples. This is in accordance with a rule which is insisted upon by all the best authorities, at least so far as regards the works of great masters, namely, that all graces must fall within the value of their principal note. Türk (Clavierschule) mentions with disapproval the custom of playing it before the beat, and therefore within the time of the preceding note, which method of rendering he describes as 'in the French style,' though it does not appear to have been universal among French musicians, for Boyvin, an eminent French organist, in his 'Premier Livre d'Orgue' (1700), explicitly directs that the Vorschlag shall be struck exactly with the bass.

The Vorschlag in its ordinary form, consisting of a single note one degree above or below the principal note, is of two kinds, long and short. The long Vorschlag, generally known by its Italian name of Appoggiatura, has a definite proportional value, which varies with the length of the principal note, being one-half of a simple note (Ex. 4), two-thirds of a dotted note (Ex. 5), or the whole value of the principal note whenever the latter is tied to another of the same name (Ex. 6). The written length of the Vorschlag, as may be seen from the examples, bears no exact relation to its actual length in performance, though it is customary in the case of the Vorschlag to a simple note to write it of its precise value, as in Ex. 4.

The short Vorschlag, also called unveränderlich (unchangeable) because its value does not vary with that of the principal note, is made as short as possible, and the accent is thrown on the principal note. Like the Appoggiatura, it is written as a small note, usually a quaver (a difference which produces no corresponding diversity in the rendering), and in order to distinguish it from the long Vorschlag it became customary about the middle of the last century to draw a small stroke obliquely across the hook of the note, thus . This sign, though highly practical and valuable, has unfortunately been so irregularly and unsystematically employed by composers, and so frequently abused by engravers and printers, that it is at present unsafe to trust to the appearance of the Vorschlag as a guide to its length, which has rather to be governed by considerations of musical effect. This is especially the case with modern editions of classical compositions, both instrumental and vocal, in which it is quite usual to meet with the cross stroke in cases where the long Appoggiatura is imperatively demanded by good taste. For a fuller description of both long and short Vorschlag see Appoggiatura.

[ F. T. ]