Cymbals and their notation in the Russian tradition

Cymbals and their notation in the Russian tradition.

If you have ever played cymbals in works from the Russian repertoire (specially from the late 19th-century and the first half of the 20th-century), you may have seen the following symbols: “+” and “o”. They have been driving percussionists mad for a very long time, but this article will clarify this issue once and for all.

The following examples are from Glazunov´s “La Mer”:

Some say suspended, some say clashed, some hold a cymbal in one hand and stick in the other one, there is no time to switch, etc. These are just some of the problems that percussionists face when seeing this notation as it does not seem to be explained anywhere. It does not help, neither, that Russian percussionists and conductors are not capable of explaining the meaning of those symbols.

Why does this happen? It is a constant in Music History. For centuries, composers premiered their own works, were present during rehearsals and there was a direct communication with the musicians playing/premiering their works. There was a direct oral communication that, most of the time, was not kept on written records and got lost as time passed, the world grew smaller (thus the works were played very far from where they were composed), the composer died and all that valuable information and performing tradition got lost.. Those symbols were perfectly clear for the percussionists of that period (as they worked directly with the composer) and, because it was clear, there was no need to write down its meaning. As time passed by, the works became “independent” from their composers and they were played all around the world, the meaning of that notation got darker and darker, even to a point where we no longer know its meaning. We also have to take into account passing trends, local traditions, compositional schools, etc. Is there a solution for this?, can we know the meaning of that notation? Fortunately, yes!

The examples above were not shown by chance. Glazunov was a great composer and orchestrator who wrote wonderful percussion parts (do yourself a favor and listen to his music). He was a composition professor at the Conservatory of San Petersburg, where his influence reached to Shostakovich and Prokofiev.

While researching another issue that will publish in the future, I found his “La Mer” (sadly, not played very often). The conductor´s score includes an indication regarding the percussion part which definitenily solves this problem:

Point 3 indicates the meaning of the cymbal notation:

3. The strikes on the cymbals are of three types: a) A strike with the sponge-headed stick on one of the cymbals “colla bacchetta” indicated with +, b) A strike with a wooden stick “col legno” and c) Striking both cymbals, one against the other indicated (after the preceding types of stroke) with o.

The indication “+” together with “colla bachetta” means a suspended cymbal played witht a soft mallet (specifically a sponge-headed one. Please check THIS article). When he wants a a suspended cymbal played with a wooden stick, he uses the indication “col legno”, not using any special symbol. “o” means clashed cymbals, but almost always as a reminder, as any of the previous strokes has been used before playing clashed cymbals.

Most of the times (I have studied many, many works and parts. You cannot imagine how many!), the symbols are used once, and it is understood that the following notes are played in the same manner. It is not until we find a new symbol that we have to change our technique/way of playing.

Why can we use Glazunov as a guide to understand these symbols? Because he was a very important teacher who influenced several generations of Russian composers. It is normal and natural for students to adopt their teacher´s techniques and notations, and this one (circles and crosses) was used with profussion by a good number of his students.

A very famous example is Prokofiev´s Symphony No. 5. Let us analyze its cymbal part following Glazunov´s indications. Here we have the first page:

Before and after fig. 2 it is suspended cymbal using a soft stick. Fig. 5 features a roll on suspended cymbal (also using a soft stick). The indication “+” at the end is just a reminder. Interpreting a change of stick/technique/cymbals just for the resolution makes no sense at all.

This is the second page:

Five bars after fig. 15 it is suspended cymbal using a soft stick (despite the pencil mark indicating clashed cymbals that some percussionist wrote on the part 😉; he/she did not consult my blog! 😊). It is exactly the same in fig.17, but rolling. Note that Prokofiev did not write “+” again, as it was already indicated beafore. Remember that, as stated by Glazunov, nothing is indicated unless a change of technique is requested. In the third bar of fig. 19 we have, again, the same: a roll on a suspended cymbal, where “+” is just a reminder. Again, a change of sticks, cymbals or technique makes no sense just for that resolution.

Third page:

In bar 9 after fig. 23, we have, again, a suspended cymbal played with a soft stick. There is no “+”, as that was the last indication before this point, therefore it is understood that its “validity” still “reigns”. The quarter-notes in fig. 24 are, again, on suspended cymbal played with soft sticks. They are marked with “+” because the last one (five bars before fig. 25) features “o”, meaning cymbals “a 2”. This movement finishes with a roll on a suspended cymbal (we already know this notation)

Fourth page:

Suspended cymbal with “verghe”. That means brushes, but bear in mind that the typical Prokofiev´s brushes are very different to those used in jazz (they look more like a small garden rake), but that will be dicussed in a future article. The rest of the movement is always suspended cymbal with a soft stick.

Page five:

The rolls in fig. 71 are on suspended cymbal using a soft stick. We then find a “o” indication (thus cymbals “a 2”) and, two bars later, suspended cymbal using a soft stick (“+”).

Page six:

Nothing special. A roll on a suspended cymbal using a soft stick.

Page seven:

All this page is played on a suspended cymbal using a soft stick (“+”).

Lastly, page eight:

Everything until fig. 111 is played on a suspended cymbal using a soft stick. There is no indication four and five bars after fig. 112 but, due to their character, I would go with cymbals “a 2” (also because Prokofiev did not write two consecutive suspended cymbal strikes in this symphony).

We then get to fig. 113, where “verghe” clearly entails using a suspended cymbal together with this specific implement. The last bar is, also on suspended cymbal, requiring a change to soft sticks (more specifically “colla bach. di timp.”), meaning that Prokofiev does not want the final roll with the verghe that we have been using for the previous bars. We have to say that, when Prokofiev wrote this symphony, sponge-headed sticks were already obsolet. For the previous generation (Glazunov) they were the normal soft implement for suspended cymbals but, for the next one (Prokofiev), the regular practice shifted to timpani sticks. Today we use yarn sticks on suspended cymbal. We can clearly see how our craft changes and evolves. As you can see, Prokofiev never indicated which sticks are to be used when rolling on a suspended cymbal. He took soft sticks (timpani sticks to be specific) for granted, and only indicated them (see the last bar) to avoid confusion when another implement was previosly used (“verghe”).

It is typical from him to indicate “+” after an unmarked roll. Weird, I know, but knowing that the resolution is marked as suspended (“+”), it is pretty obvious that the preceding roll should be on a suspended cymbal. Juggling while trying to play the roll in one way and the resolution in another one makes no sense and is unmusical.

This article (I hope!) clarifies the many obscure aspects that percussionists face when playing this symphony. I promess that I have witnessed this for the final passage: holding a cymbal in one hand, a brush and a sof stick in the other one, playing the verghe passage (while hoding the cymbal!), playing then the roll with the soft stick (while holding the cymbal and the verghe!) and, finally, playing the last note “a 2” having left the sticks and taken the other cymbal. CRAZY!! it makes no sense at all. The simple solution tends to be the correct one. That final passage is, as indicated, all played on a suspended cymbal, where only a chage from verghe to soft sticks is required.

Thanks to Glazunov´s indications in “La Mer” (there are other several works where these indications are clearly explained 😉) we understand the meaning of this very specific Russian notation, and I am glad to have “discovered” the “Rosetta Stone” that clarifies this writing, saving us from many headaches.

Do you think that this article will make your percussive life more convenient?

…et in Arcadia ego.