Laurence Sherwood wrote:

>Bill Blank indicated "rubato" was the word he was seeking, whereas I had
>thought Len Feshkens came up with a good answer ("ad libitum", which
>probably is not Italian).   Could someone describe how the two terms
>differ?  Are they in any sense interchangeable?
>
>Actually, both terms COULD, and only COULD be the same, and
>interchangeable.

when you read both term in the score they mean that you can play something
"as you feel it", "as you believe", "as you think".  that means that the
interpretation is necessarly an act of will, but it is full of desire,
passion and any human feeling that could affect it. The difference could
be noticed into the score: I mean Rubato means to play excactly the bars
but some "stolen", as the word in english says. By the other side, when
you play "Ad libitum", that is according to you will, you have more
freedom to play it "as you wish".  Obviusly that freedom has a limit:
the will of the composer; you never could betray it; you must interpretate
it.

Arturo Llamas Orenday <[log in to unmask]>