5 Fermate

The fermata, often called a “hold” or “pause,” is a musical notation symbol indicating that the note or rest over which it is placed should be sustained longer than its usual duration. The word’s literal meaning is “stop” in Italian. Fermata can also be used over bar lines to indicate the end of a major section of music. Interpretation of fermata, including how long they should be held and whether or how long to pause afterward, is up to the conductor and should be informed by experience, study, and musical intuition.

Fermate Decision Making

As you can hear in each of the examples above, the conductor’s interpretation of fermata can have a dramatic effect on the performers and listeners. Before making decisions regarding the interpretation of a fermata, it is helpful to consider the historical background of the piece as well as the more general background of the fermata in music.

The practice of sustaining notes beyond their usual value predates the fermata symbol. In the late medieval and Renaissance eras, performers relied on experience, education, and local tradition to sustain at key moments, such as cadences. The fermata as notation began to appear in musical works in the 15th century and usually indicated that a note should be sustained longer than normal. Initially, composers used other symbols for this purpose as well, but by the Baroque period the familiar “bird’s eye” had become the standard. Even then, however, composers used this symbol to mean things other than “sustain” or “stop.” In Bach’s chorales, for example, the fermata means that the phrase is over and space should be left for a breath, with little or no additional time added to the final note. Mozart used fermatas to indicate space for a cadenza or, in the final double bar line of a piece, to communicate that the piece was truly over.

When faced with a fermata in a score, one must make several decisions.

When should the conducting pattern stop?

The conducting pattern should stop only after all the rhythmic activity in the score stops.

For example, in the musical excerpt below, the vocal lines sustain the fermata on beat one, but the piano accompaniment continues for two more beats before its fermata. The left hand may be employed to show the beginning of sustain for the voices while the right hand continues to show the conducting pattern until the fermata for the piano.

The hand or baton should continue to move smoothly during the sustain, but should not beat time. The direction of this movement should anticipate the needed movement of the subsequent cutoff or prep.

How long should the sustain last? 

Several factors may contribute to this decision, and there is no single rule to guide the conductor in all situations.

The sustain may be measured (twice as long as the note indicated, for example) or unmeasured. Again, in either case the conductor should not continue to beat time, and instead pause the conducting pattern while very slowly moving the hand or baton in a gesture of sustain.

Factors one might consider when deciding how long to sustain should include the following:

• Performance practice and historical context (as in the chorales of Bach mentioned above)
• Performance elements of the piece (such as tempo, dynamic, or text)
• Extra-musical performance elements (such as the performance venue, ensemble size and experience, or intended audience)

How long should the pause last?

With regard to the pause, there are three options open to the conductor:

1. Short pause – The note should be sustained then followed by a short pause consisting of nothing more than the time needed for the prep.
2. Long pause – The note should be sustained, followed by a long pause in which the conductor does not conduct time, and then followed by the prep.
3. No pause – The note should be sustained and the conductor should indicate the continuation of sound, followed by the prep.

The short pause is sometimes known as a “lift,” Luftpause, or breath lift. The long pause is sometimes known as a grand pause, Generalpause, or caesura. If no pause is needed, this is sometimes called a “continuing” fermata.

The cutoff after the fermata (if needed)

If a cutoff after the sustain is required, the conductor should cut off the ensemble using either the same beat as the initial sustain (if musical action resumes on the next beat) or the beat prior to the next musical action.

The preparatory gesture after the fermata

The preparatory gesture after a fermata is somewhat different from an initial prep.

• If the next note after the fermata falls on a strong beat, one beat of preparatory gesture will suffice
• If the next note after the fermata falls on a partial beat, a gesture of syncopation will suffice
• …unless there is a change in tempo after the fermata. In that case, an additional beat to establish the new tempo is advisable

Gesture for a fermata with no pause

In the case of a fermata with no musical pause, the conductor should sustain as normal, then speed up this gesture to show the prep. As is the case with an initial preparatory gesture, there are two main scenarios to anticipate:

• Preparatory gesture for a strong beat
• Preparatory gesture for a partial beat

EVALUATE

About the author

name: Troy Roberston

institution: Tarleton State University

website: https://www.troydrobertson.com/

Dr. Troy D. Robertson (b. 1978) is Professor and Director of Choirs at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, where he conducts University Singers, Texan Harmony, Texan Riders, Chamber Choir, and Texan Troubadours. Tarleton choirs are renowned for excellence: under Dr. Robertson’s direction, Tarleton’s Chamber Choir has performed in the Xi’an China International Choral Festival, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and toured parts of England and Japan. Robertson is also the conductor of the Cross Timbers Civic Chorale, a community ensemble whose season includes collaboration with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Robertson is an avid composer. His publications include “The Beatitudes”, “Sleeping Heart”, “Soul’s Joy”, and “Since You’re Not Here,”. Distributor J.W. Pepper chose Dr. Robertson’s “In Meeting We Are Blessed,” for mixed chorus, treble chorus, or tenor-bass chorus and percussion, for its Editor’s Choice and Basic Library series.  Dr. Robertson’s works are published with Music Spoke, Santa Barbara Music, Hinshaw Music, and Colla Voce Music.

An active clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Robertson has served in festivals across the United States, including all state choruses in California, Virginia, and West Virginia. Dr. Robertson was named a fellow of the Carnegie Hall Choral Institute’s Transient Glory Symposium. As part of the symposium Dr. Robertson conducted the Young People’s Chorus in performance in Carnegie Hall.

Before coming to Tarleton, Dr. Robertson was Assistant Professor of Music Education at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and choral director at East Gaston High School in Mount Holly, North Carolina. Dr. Robertson holds degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D.), the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (M.M.), and Furman University (B.M.Ed.).