ENTRY EIGHT
IMPROVISATION WITH CHRISTMAS CAROLS
Last week, we discussed the topic of orchestral reductions and the pianist’s role regarding interpretation of such transcriptions. The main takeaway was the importance of re-imagination — taking all the individual orchestral parts and combining them into something that will support the soloist(s). Albeit most orchestral reductions are written down on a score for the pianist to follow, but it would be acceptable to make changes here and there for the sake of matching the original orchestral sound more closely. There is a clear element of creativity involved in that department, but this past week I have enjoyed dabbling with popular Christmas carols at the piano: “Silent Night” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” to name a few. I know how the songs go, but there are too many musical adaptations for me to keep track of. If anything, I certainly know how to sing the soprano part for these carols, no matter what choral arrangement the composer chooses. My vocal range is bass, but I still feel most comfortable singing the soprano part, because that melodic line is most recognizable for me (and for many others, I’m sure).
With these carols stuck in my head this past Advent season, I’ve extracted the soprano parts and played them on the piano. Each song has different verses (different text/lyrics), but the melodic consistency appeals to me because of its repetitiveness and simplicity. Let’s take “Silent Night” as an example. When I play it at the piano, I turn the song into a theme-and-variations type of transcription. In my re-imagination, the first verse is the singular soprano melody, played in the right hand. The next verse has that same melody in the right hand, but with the addition of supportive harmony in the left hand via chords and arpeggios. The third verse is a little more complicated, with some changes to the main melody by adding ornaments (trills, grace notes, etc.). At this point, after a few verses, I’ve developed a pretty decent understanding of the song’s structure: I’ve established the chord progression, rhythm, and melody; now I can take a few more liberties with the subsequent verses. In the fourth variation, I can have the hands switch roles by transferring the melody to the left and the accompaniment to the right. Or, I could be more daring with the chord progression while still somehow preserving the original melody.
No matter how the music sounds after many verses of improvisation, the creative process is ultimately grounded in how well I know the original melody’s rhythmic structure. In the case of “Silent Night,” each verse is twelve measures long with a meter signature of 6/8 (6 beats per measure, with beats 1 and 4 as the stronger pulses). This understanding gives me the freedom to gradually stray from the original theme while relying on my “internal clock" to keep track of how much of the verse I have left to play. By the umpteenth variation, the music might sound so out there and ridiculous that I’m not sure if the audience will even recognize any resemblance of the original “Silent Night” melody anymore. Even if I could be that creative with improvisation in the wonderful world of Christmas carols, I don’t imagine myself going that far away from the source material.
Merry Christmas, and I wish you a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones.