(Italian = robbed)
Over the centuries the cry of Ancora rubato (robbed again) has echoed through the corridors of opera-houses as the orchestral musicians opened their pay-packets. In time, the word became so associated with the sight of players hanging about the stage door waiting to argue with the manager that it seemed natural to apply it to hanging about while playing an expressive melody. It is in fact the subtle art of flexing the rhythm in such a way as to enhance its expressiveness, sometimes retarding, sometimes accelerating, but always preserving a coherent musical shape. Its tasteful use almost invariably depends on an awareness of the relation between a melody and its supporting harmony. Questions of rubato should usually not be worked out but left to the inspiration of the moment. Abused, it can result in gross distortions of the music.
- Anthony Hopkins, Downbeat Music Guide, Oxford University Press, London (1977)
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