Pause |

from the Greek pausis – termination, stop; lat. silentium or pausa, Italian. pause, French silence or pause, eng. silence or rest

A break in the sound of one, several or all the voices of the Muses that lasts for a certain time. works, as well as a musical sign indicating this break in sound. In large instr. in compositions, ensembles, choirs and in mass opera scenes, the general break in sound is called a general pause.

The concept of P. is already represented in ancient music. theory, which considered all incorrect poetic lines as correct ones shortened by pauses; P. was indicated by the sign ^ (with additional signs for longer pauses); P., violating a certain meter, were also known. In non-mental (see Nevma) and choral notation, there were no signs of P., however, at a certain stage in the development of choral notation, the edges of the parts of the melody began to be indicated by a dividing line. With the advent of polyphony, this feature became a sign of a short pause of indefinite length. The designation of pauses differentiated by duration was brought with it by mensural notation. Even in its early period (12th-13th centuries), for all used musical note durations, the corresponding signs of P. were introduced: pausa longa perfecta (three-part), pausa longa imperfecta (two-part), pausa brevis and semipausa, equal to semibrevis; the outlines of some of them subsequently underwent changes.

With the introduction of smaller notes – minima, semiminima, fusa and semifusa – the signs of P., equal to their longitude, were borrowed from the tablature system.

In the 16th century the notation system for pauses has taken the following form:

Pauses of mensural notation

In modern P. is used in musical writing: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, sixty-fourth, and occasionally – a breve, equal in duration to two whole notes. To increase the duration of a P. by 1/2, 1/2 + 1/4, 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8, etc., as well as to increase the duration of a note, dots are used. A pause in a whole measure, regardless of its size, is indicated by the sign P., equal to a whole note. P. in 2-4 measures are indicated using signs borrowed from the mensural notation, P., equal to a greater number of measures, through the succession of these signs or with the help of special signs of an extended pause with numbers written above them corresponding to the number of measures of the pause.

Pauses of modern notation

If initially P. predominantly denoted the articulation of melodic. voices, they gradually began to be used inside the melodic. formations, becoming important express. means. As X. Riemann pointed out, such a pause has not a “zero”, but a “negative” meaning, significantly affecting the expressiveness of previous and subsequent muses. constructions. Expresses with examples. pauses can serve as many examples of classic. music, eg. “The theme of fate” from the 1st part of Beethoven’s 5th symphony, where P. deepens the dramatic. the nature of the music, or the melody of Tchaikovsky’s romance “Among the Noisy Ball”, where the shade of agitated intermittent breathing is largely associated with the use of pauses. See Mensural notation, Rhythm.

In other Russian. music theory during the period of transition from hook notation to square notation, there was its own system for designating pauses: edna – whole, eu (or es) – half, poles (poles) – quarter, sep or sema – eighth; friend – two measures; the third – three measures, chvarta – four measures, etc.

References: Diletsky H., Musician Grammar, (St. Petersburg), 1910.

V. A. Vakhromeev